Burned by Rejection (Book 4 of Wolves of Milano )

17. Fire

She got sneaking in and out of work down to a science. Even if one of the enforcers sees her in the shop, they know better than to come in. She can slip away after her shift. She locks up and goes out through the back. Before they realise it, she’s long gone. She even has a set of clothes to change into. Not elegant, but casual street wear for teenagers. She doesn’t stand out in a crowd or on the bus. She is proud of her accomplishments. She gave everyone the slip for two days. Except Elio! He figured her out and found her. But he promised to cover for her. Can she trust him? Even after all the trouble she got him into?

She will see him tonight. Elio promised her the rule book. If he brings that to her, then she will know that he still cares for her. But for how long? She can’t give in. She can’t put all this responsibility on him. He deserves better. She can barely function on a good day. It’s hard to live her life. She can’t just thrust that on him. She misses her wolf. She would like to talk with her, but she can’t. She sees the positive side of taking the meds, but she doesn’t like it. The wolf was right, though. She can get things done if she takes her meds. She can think better and hide better. 

Allegra gets off of the bus and runs two blocks to her rental home. The back alley is mostly for locals and their garage access. She never met anyone in the evening. If her neighbours have dogs, she doesn’t know about them. Nobody is walking those back here. Not even a whiff of dog in the air. She is glad about that. She likes to be alone. It’s easier to spot things or people out of place this way. She unlocks her door and types in the alarm code. One glance around, she is still alone. She lets out a breath she wasn’t aware of holding. She is home safe.

Arming the alarm is her evening routine. It gives her a measure of peace to know that she will be alerted if anyone tries to get in. Today’s dinner is steak. She is a wolf after all. Medium rare and just a slice of bread as a side. Salt and pepper as seasonings and that’s it. Perfection. Not a green thing on site. She enjoys her meal slowly and savours the flavour. She will be a good girl and respect her wolf’s wishes. She takes her meds and cleans the kitchen. She has no TV here and she ignores her phone. She is not interested in the news. The things she wants to know are secret, but she is scared of calling any of her cousins.

Thinking about the rule book brings Elio back to the front of her mind. She can see his blue eyes clearly. He will be her downfall. He will be the one to ruin her. He will be the one to break her. Nobody else has that kind of power over her. Not even she does. His words still echo in her mind. He loves her. Doesn’t he know she is not worthy of his love? She is broken, she is damaged, she is not worth the trouble. And he is perfect. An army veteran, a good looking wolf, a perfect gentleman, and a great friend. She doesn’t deserve him. She has to set him free. Somehow. She will think of something. Rejecting him didn’t work. She can’t kill her wolf, because it wouldn’t bring the desired effect. Running away doesn’t help either. He would just follow her. He can find her even with their broken bond. There is no place on this Earth where she could possibly hide from him.

The doorbell brings her out of her thoughts. She stands on the stairs and waits. Was she imagining it? Can she hear someone outside? Who is it? Only Elio and Grazia know where she is. Since Grazia is still in Iceland, it can only be Elio. But is it really? How can she tell? She peeks out the blinds and tries to see who is down below. Her phone’s ringtone makes her jump. She is all out there today. She swears she took the meds. Why is she so jumpy all of a sudden? It must be Elio. He has that kind of effect on her.

She opens the door and glares at him. He doesn’t look happy. She notices the deep frown lines on his face. Something must have happened. She can feel his rage. It wafts off of him like a cold breeze. She steps a few paces back to let him in. Maybe that’s not a good idea, but she has to find out what happened. Did he accept her rejection? Did he come to terms with it? Did he come here to tell her never to call him again? 

“I brought you the book. I don’t know what you hope to find in there, because I have read it over and over and I found nothing useful.” He tells her.

“Thank you.” She whispers. She is afraid of him. Why is she afraid? He always calmed her down, before. What changed?

“Have you been talking with anyone?” Elio asks her. There is worry in his eyes when he looks at her.

“No. I’m all alone.” She shakes her head. She wanted it this way, but now she is bothered by it. She wants her wolf back. She wants her brother back. She wants her life back. 

“Vito ordered the destruction of Rialto. It went up in flames this afternoon.” Elio says quietly. “Kara is safe, but your Aunt is livid. She is pissed off.  Her chef got locked inside the cooler at the time of the first explosion.”

“Oh my God! Did they get Fernando out? Is he OK?” Allegra exclaims. She knows there is affection between her Aunt Marra and Fernando. They are more than friends. 

“Yeah. He’ll be fine. I can’t say that for Vito if she gets her hands on him.” Elio chuckles. “Your Aunt is not one to mess with.”

“You read the book. Is there anything in here that can help her? She would be a much better Alpha, I think.” Allegra inquires.

“You think right.” He nods. “But I found nothing. Short of an Alpha challenge, I don’t see anything that could help her.” 

“You know Vito cheats. She can’t win a challenge.” She scoffs. “Isn’t there a rule against cheating?”

“It’s not that straight cut. There are no defined rules for a challenge fight. It’s implied that anything goes, except magic.” Elio answers.

“So he can dip his claws in poison and that’s fine?” Allegra wonders. She had heard stories about her Uncle. She wonders how that works? “Doesn’t the poison hurt you too? If you have it on your claws?”

“Depends on the poison. I think it would sting a little as long as you don’t get it into your system or onto your skin.” Elio shrugs. “I’m not an expert on poisons.”

“How are you holding on? Vito is not gunning for you, is he?” Allegra asks him. She looks at him and he seems tired. Should she invite him upstairs? Make him coffee?

“I’m angry. I didn’t know about it. Vito is keeping me out of things. I found his goon, though. He’s safely stashed with Vttorio and Signore Mutti. He’s going down for arson.” Elio growls. “Too bad we can’t prove it was Vito who ordered it.”

“The guy is not talking?” She inquires. She sits on the stairs and beckons him over to her. They can talk some more. She will probably regret it later.

“No. He’s afraid.” He shakes his head. “Maybe that’s what bothers Vito? I’m not afraid of him. He can’t intimidate me.”

“Well, I’m scared.” She whispers and he hugs her. She takes in his scent of rain on the grass and sighs. He affects her too much, but he brings her peace. “What if he hurts you because of me? Is he still searching for me?

“He’s not going to hurt me. He can’t win against me. He knows that pitching any other enforcer against me would be futile. Alessio only won against me, because I made a mistake. I told Vito I was trying to put on a good show. It could have worked. He agreed. He wanted to see Alessio humiliated. I could have ended the fight with a few blows, but then he wouldn’t have a show.” Elio explains to her. He is gently rubbing her back and it makes her breathe easier. “As to you? He is still searching for you. I get reports every day that they have seen you, but you always manage to get away. They think Vesna is helping you, but nobody saw her in town for days.”

“Make sure they don’t find out it’s you.” She whispers. She worries about him. “Maybe you shouldn’t come here.”

“I can evade them just fine.” He chuckles. “The idiots are useless when it comes to real tracking. You manage to confuse them just by taking the back door out. And they are spread too thin to call for help. You are far gone by the time someone else could get there.”

“Uncle has about thirty enforcers? Where are they?” Allegra looks up at him. Mistake! A huge mistake, because she gets lost in his eyes for a second. 

Elio sighs and closes his eyes. He breathes out and tells her: “I have most of them running around Milano searching for your Aunt Marra. We keep sending them around town. I know exactly where she is, but I’m not giving that up anytime soon. Vito can’t do anything major without her and the elder's council. She’s working on a few of them to go into hiding as well. She is undermining his authority on two sides.”

“Good for her! She will get Kara out of the mess. And my parents? What are they up to?” Allegra is happy for Kara, but she is still deep in this mess herself. She can’t believe that her own father is such a puppet who does nothing but nod.

“Your mother is locked inside her library and your father is at Vito’s house every day. He is still firmly in his grasp. He is planning your wedding to that Gio guy. He doesn’t know yet that we will sabotage it. You can’t have a wedding without the bride and groom.” Elio laughs. 

“What are you talking about?” Allegra pales. She is scared of that sound. What is he planning? She will be in hiding. She is not going to that wedding at all. Over her dead body! And she means it.

“I will hide you away myself. I have a plan in motion to get Gio stranded at the airport for some time, and then get lost on his way over. I have just the guy. I think the kid can be relied on to mess up big time. In any case, I tampered with his navigation.” Elio explains.

“Hide me? Where?” Allegra inquires. “I think I’m hidden quite well here.”

“You are. But I plan on getting you out of town that day. Just in case.” He smiles at her. “I haven’t given up on you. I still plan to win you over. You will see that we can make this work. There is a reason that Fate brought us together.”