Burned by Rejection (Book 4 of Wolves of Milano )

2.Running

Allegra finally has a few fun days. Who would have thought it was possible with all the madness going on around her? She is working on her line and studying for the next exam. She told Alessio about the apartment Grazia offered her the other day, but she would wait to move. She will be there for him, because he needs her to centre his wolf. It’s bad to spend time apart when you meet your mate. Everyone knows that. The added stress doesn’t help Alessio now. It didn’t help her either, but she promised her brother. 

Her exams are on the line, because she has trouble concentrating. It’s not just that damn dream that won’t go away. She dreams about it every night, no matter what she does before sleep. Being followed around the city makes her nervous. She doesn’t like it at all. Why the hell does she have a stalker? Is her Uncle spying on her too? Has he lost it completely? Does anyone know what is wrong with him? She doesn’t think he is fit to be Alpha, but who will gather the courage and challenge him? Crazy is not just an excuse this time.

“Want to go running with me?” Allegra asks Alessio after a pizza and a few beers. She needs to burn some energy and shifting is not possible in the city. Her wolf would tear her room apart trying to get out. The streets of suburbia are not the place for a frustrated wolf.

“Not a bad idea. Do you think he’ll run or drive behind us?” Alessio winks.

“I bet 20 that the lazy ass will drive.” Allegra laughs. The stalker they have today hasn’t left his car yet. “Meet me downstairs in 5 minutes. I have to change.”

“Sure. Bet on.” He smiles.

“Now, that’s a smile I love to see on your face.” Allegra comments when she comes down the stairs in her running shoes and tights. The light jacket she has on is just for show, she doesn’t really need it. Alessio is going without it altogether.

“I was texting with Grazia. She had a great idea. I can meet her tomorrow and nobody will know.” He smiles again.

“Where?” Allegra exclaims and jumps at him. What did they figure out, she wonders?

“At your work. I’ll pick you up and drive you home.” He winks at her.

“Good one. Let’s run.” She laughs and slams the door closed behind them.

Running through their neighbourhood is fun. Nobody is out on the streets this late, no traffic to count. Just one stalker in a car, not suspicious at all. The i***t is driving behind them. They look at each other and speed up just a bit. They have to run at a plausible speed for a human, just in case they do meet someone. It’s going to take longer to get tired, but safety first.

“You win the bet. The lazy ass is driving around the streets after us.” Alessio laughs. He is even doing stretching exercises with her as they turn corners, because of their slow pace.

“How cliche.” Allegra smiles. She was right about their stalker. “Do you think he knows how ridiculous he looks?”

“No. I think he’s too dumb to realize it.” Alessio chuckles. She’s forgotten how funny he can be. They don’t spend as much time together anymore.

“Can we lose him, if we take a few shortcuts?” She winks at him and takes a turn down a pedestrian-only path. It’s too narrow for a car to pass and they can hear the guy slam on the breaks and get out of the car.

“He’ll actually run after us?” Alessio laughs.

“Yep. The i***t left his car in the middle of the road.” Allegra glances back and laughs at the clumsy wolf following them.

“When do you think was the last time he ran?” He asks her. He winks at her and speeds up. “Don’t know, don’t care. Let’s give him proper exercise.” “Just keep your temper when he catches us.” She nods and runs faster. She is worried about what Alessio might do. He hadn’t been in a fight in a long time, but he usually started one for his cousins to finish. It’s just them tonight, and the i***t following them. The guy has a target on his forehead, he just doesn’t know it yet.

“When?” Alessio asks.

“Oh, don’t front bro! I know you.” She winks.

“I need to get the anger out somehow.” He smiles at her. This should be fun to see. If the guy following them is this clumsy when it comes to running, he stands no chance when Alessio hammers him in the face.

Being followed is not fun. And it’s not even the same person every day. There is this new guy she has never seen before, but just by the way he handles himself, she knows he is a wolf. Is that the new enforcer her Uncle imported? He looks the part. There is something military about the man. He scares her. So she will take great measures to avoid him. At least he is not being too obvious about stalking her. She saw him outside of her college and he followed her to work, but he disappeared after that. He wasn’t there when she went to collect their lunch.

Hopefully, he will miss Grazia when she comes. Unless she has a stalker of her own. Uncle knows about her, it’s safe to assume he has her followed as well. Allegra wonders how she accepted the things Alessio told her. Is she angry that nobody said anything earlier? She hopes Grazia won’t hold a grudge against her. It really wasn’t by choice. It’s not something they go tell everyone they meet. Friends or not? Not even one of Allegra’s school friends knows about this side of her. Maybe she should tell Grazia, if she asks anything. At least now they can talk openly.

She is busy with a customer at the time Grazia walks in, but her friend is in a good mood. She even smiles at her before she goes to Vesna’s office. They really must talk, but it’s more important that Grazia gets some answers. And Allegra needs to get her head back in the game. This customer is important. She always buys something. Vesna will kill her if the lady walks out with nothing, because she was not paying attention.

“Who is that morsel?” The lady coos in Allegra’s ear. Yuck, she thinks. The lady could be his mother.

“My brother.” Allegra scoffs. This is one woman Alessio would not even notice. She is not his type at all. Now that he has met his mate, all the other women are close to invisible to him. “He’s taken.”

“Too bad.” The lady sighs dreamily. “But I can watch.”

“Sure.” Allegra shrugs. She takes the dress they were discussing: “Shall I set the dress aside for you?”

“No. I’ll take it home today.” The lady smiles and winks at her. “Do you know who the other guy was? I just caught a glimpse of him.”

“That is Ty. He’s Vesna’s husband.” Allegra tells her. “He doesn’t come around much.”

“It figures!” The lady exclaims. “Do you have a guy equally dreamy?”

“No. I don’t want a guy. They are too much trouble.” Allegra responds. She packs the dress and helps the lady slip back into her coat. She’s happy things turned out well for her. 

Damn! Alessio doesn’t look too happy. She is curious about what they discussed back there, but she is afraid to ask. He looks like a storm cloud ready to explode. He helps her onto his bike and drives them home. Silence all the way. She can feel the tension, but all she can do is try to soothe him. The contact between them always seems to help, so she plays a damsel in distress and lets him help her off of the bike when they come home. She keeps her hand on his when their father storms out of the living room.

“Alessio! Get your ass in the living room. Now!” Father yells from the hallway.

“Oh oh.” Allegra whispers. She knows this can’t be good. Their father is livid with anger. She is half hidden behind Alessio, but father pays her no attention at all. He doesn’t even look at her, like she’s invisible.

“Go. I’ll tell you all about it.” He whispers to her and continues in a normal voice: “Coming. No need to yell.”

Allegra runs up the stairs and opens, then closes the door of her room, but she stays out in the hall. Nobody can see her from down below anyway. She needs to hear this. Whatever it is, it’s nothing good. Is Uncle Vito here again? Where did he hide his car that they haven’t seen it? The yelling escalates and she can hear Alessio clearly even with all the closed doors and other voices trying to overpower him. She moves silently over the runner and opens the door of his room. She grabs the duffel he has for his irregular gym visits and stuffs a few of his clothes in there. A pair of running shoes and his favourite jacket. Then she rushes over to the stairs again. She can hide halfway down.

“No.” Alessio repeats. “I’m out of here. You can have that wedding without me.”

All hell breaks loose in the living room. She can hear yelling and outrage behind him, but her brother is determined. He will not marry that girl. He almost runs Allegra over. She is standing there, right in his way. She thrusts the duffel bag into his hands and whispers to him:

“Go. Run. I’ll stall them.”

“I owe you. Big time.” He whispers back and runs to his bike. She even opened the garage door for him. If she had the time to turn his bike around, she would have done it, too. She hopes she bought him enough time. Their stalker was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he took a break?

“What did you do?” Her father growls at her.

“Nothing.” Allegra plays it innocent. She’s not telling them anything. “This mess is on you. You don’t treat me as an adult, keep me out of it.”

“Allegra? Where did he go? Where is Alessio?” Uncle Vito thunders down the hall towards her. She takes all her strength not to flinch away from him. She will stand her ground.

“I have no idea. No one tells me anything. I’m like the fifth wheel in this household.” She shrugs all nonchalantly. 

“Lie to someone else, girl!” Uncle Vito growls. Is growling his natural state now? Can’t he talk normally? She doesn’t respond to him, so he adds: “I know you two are like ticks. I’m sure you know where he is.”

“Fine.” Allegra draws the word out. Every second of her stalling them counts. “He drove off with his bike.”

“What direction?” Her father wants to know. Yeah, like she will tell them that. What do they think? She’s not stupid.

“I didn’t see.” She shrugs. She even goes so far as to walk away from them all. She turns at the top of the stairs: “Your mess, not mine.”

She slams the door of her room shut and drops down on her bed. She stood her ground. For once, she was a rock. She didn’t break. Now she just needs to start breathing again. What will she do now? Her only ally in this house is on the run from their own family. She hopes he had time to make a plan and hide well. Maybe he went to Grazia? If nobody follows him, he can hide there. Her house is big enough for him to stay out of sight for a few days. Worrying about Alessio is not good. She was supposed to study. Damn them all for messing with their lives. 

She wishes she was a different kind of wolf. Maybe she could take her Uncle on and end this madness. But she is an ordinary wolf with no special powers or skills. The ones that could possibly win a fight with Uncle Vito don’t want the position. The ones capable of running the pack are not strong enough to win the fight. She is thinking of her Aunt Marra, the woman who would be a fabulous leader. But it was never encouraged for the women in this pack to be fighters. Basic self-defence was enough for them. Was that all just one big plot to keep them in place? Yeah, wolves can be chauvinist pigs like that. It’s completely plausible that they did it on purpose and took away any chance of a woman ever taking the Alpha position through a fight.

Could it be achieved in another way? She will have to get her hands on the pack rule book. There might be something they don’t know about. If Uncle Vito could change the rules and go back to old customs, could they do it too?