Burned by Rejection (Book 4 of Wolves of Milano )

6.Everyone is crazy

Allegra listens carefully to the front door opening and closing. She can tell by the sound of the car that her father had left for work. But what is mother doing? The door was opened and closed, then opened again. She doesn’t hear the second car leaving and she’s in danger of running late. She doesn’t want to meet her mother on her way out. The quiet is much preferred over the questions. Her mother’s weird behaviour lately is only bound to ruin Allegra’s day. She could try to avoid it, but for that, her mother needed to leave in the next five minutes.

Did she lose count of the opening and closing of the door? Did she miss the car driving off? Did she space out again? She knows she wasn’t daydreaming. Her wolf is of no help this early in the morning, the animal is blessedly sleeping. Does she risk going down? She’ll be late if she dallies up here longer. But it goes the same if her mother catches her. She can’t win today. Either way, she’ll be late. She takes her backpack and slips out of her room. Everything is silent in the house, the only thing she hears is the grand clock in the living room. 

“Allegra? We need to talk.” Her mother says and scares her out of her skin. Damn! Ambushed at the bottom of the stairs. Was her mother even breathing?

“I’m late for my classes. Can’t it wait?” She retorts. She really doesn’t want to speak with her mother. She is not interested in anything her mother has to say.

“No.” Her mother grabs her by the arm and drags her into the living room. 

“Can you make it quick? I might catch the second part then.” Allegra glares at her mother. The woman who always preaches about the importance of good education and moral values, about never being late for anything, is now holding her back from all of those things.

“Your Uncle has a groom for you. The ties to our allies need to be strengthened. After your brother’s blatant disregard for our family and the pack, I expect you to show reason and good behaviour. This is all in your best interest.” Her mother says in a cold and detached way.

“Excuse me? What?” Allegra gapes. “I’m not getting married. You can just forget it!”

“Oh, but you will!” Her mother scoffs. “You’re not getting a chance. The wedding will happen as soon as he gets here.”

“No. You can’t force me.” She stands her ground. She will not quake in fear of her mother. 

“Hm.” The sarcasm is tangible. “Your guard will drive you to college. Don’t even think of running away.”

Oh the horror. The guy waiting for her outside is someone new. She had never seen him before. The smirk on his face is grousing her out. Are they going to keep watch over her every second of the day? Even if she runs away, she’s got nowhere to go. She can’t endanger her friends, and Grazia is not answering her phone. And she can’t go to Vesna. That’s the first place they would look. Was her mother right? She refuses to think so. There is a way out of this. She just needs to find it. She doesn’t say a word inside of the car. She doesn’t even acknowledge the guard. Will he let her walk to class alone, or will he stick to her back? If she can go alone, she’s got a chance to text or call someone. But who? Vittorio might know something and he owes her. She didn’t plan on calling him out on it, but now she sees no other way.

As luck would have it, the guard is not following her to classes. She dials Vittorio and hopes he can talk. She needs help with this, she can’t do it alone.

“Can you talk?” She asks when he answers.

“Sure. I’m at work, but my office is a safe place to talk.” He tells her.

“Everyone has gone crazy. Mother just informed me that they expect me to marry some guy I have never seen before.” She tells him. She needs to breathe! Being in public is a safe place. She is surrounded by people, she won’t shift, she just needs not to panic.

“Damn!” Vittorio exclaims. “Did she say when?”

“Soon, I guess. She said as soon as he got here.” Allegra responds. “I don’t want that.”

“I know.” Vittorio growls. “I can’t kidnap you. It would be too obvious.”

“I’m being followed. A new enforcer drove me to college today. I guess they are worried that someone I know would help me out.” She lets him know.

“That’s bad. Do you know who it was?” He inquires.

“I didn’t ask. Could it be Elio? I never met him.” Allegra wonders. Why didn’t she ask anyone what the guy looked like?

“It wasn’t Elio.” Vittorio denies it. “He’s in bed. Alessio knocked his knee out. He’s on our side, anyway.”

“Could he help me? What does he know?” She wonders. Could she charm the guy into helping her? She could pay him, she’s got some savings. 

“I can call him. I’ll let you know.” Her cousin gives her hope. “Are you going to work?”

“I have classes, but I will be in the store in the afternoon.” She answers.

“Good. I’ll text you.” Vittorio hangs up on her. He mellowed a little, but his manners still slip from time to time. What is it with men in her family? Nobody uses greetings or a simple goodbye anymore. 

Half of her class, she is thinking of ways out of this predicament. She can’t concentrate on anything. Her notes are full of questions and not a single answer. Will Vittorio get Elio to help her? Will Elio even go for it? Who is Elio? What does the guy look like? Who is her guard? How can she get away from him to meet anyone? Can she say no at the wedding if they drag her there? She’s not doing that. She will never agree to it. She doesn’t want a man. They can’t force her. She’s not signing anything, she’s not saying the word yes to any family member, no matter what the question is. Well, the dream was temporarily forgotten in light of this new problem she has to solve.

Vittorio sent her a text that Elio would meet her at work later. He’ll sneak in the back if she unlocks the door. It’s probably better if her guard didn’t see him there. But what will she do with the guard? Can she forbid him to come inside? It’s a store for ladies fashion. An expensive store too. He would scare away the customers. That is her reasoning for why the guy must stay out of sight. She’s not keen on looking at his face all afternoon. He can wait outside for all she cares. 

“You’re not coming in the store. I can’t have you scaring away the customers.” Allegra says to her guard.

“Whatever.” The guy answers gruffly. He has no right to be in a bad mood! He’s not being forced to do anything. She slams his car door behind her and slips inside the store, going directly to the back door and the office. They ruined her good mood for the forthcoming month with this nonsense. 

One of the things she has on her mind is a pretend boyfriend. She knows from movies that it can’t work out in the long run, but she only needs someone to pretend for a short while. Just to get her out of this mess. Elio would be perfect for that, if she could get him to agree. Her Uncle Vito likes him. He is the head of the enforcers. He’s a tough guy from what she heard. But he’s also new here. She doesn’t know where the guy came from, but nobody says no to extra cash around here. Milano is expensive to live in. Paying the guy is her best bet. If nothing else, she can ask Vesna for an advance. She knows her boss wouldn’t ask too many questions about it. Vesna doesn't care about money. Allegra knows that, because she gets paid very well for a temp job. Maybe she could ask for a full-time job? She can skip a few classes and just go for the exams.

A knock on the door shakes her out of her own thoughts. She’s been here for close to an hour and she’s done nothing at all. She wonders who is out front. Nobody that works here knocks when Vesna is not here. Allegra hasn’t earned that kind of treatment yet. 

“Come in.” She says and stares at the door. It better not be her guard.

“Hey.” The voice sends goosebumps down her whole body. The blue eyes staring back at her are so bright they are almost grey. The dishevelled black hair is just the length she likes and that smile does something strange to her heart. The guy is wearing motorcycle clothes, but a crutch is spoiling the perfect image of him.

“You’re Elio?” Allegra breathes the words. She suddenly feels breathless and she is sitting here behind the desk, not running a marathon. Oh my God, he’s dreamy, she thinks.

“Yeah. Nice to meet you.” Elio nods. He sets the crutch in the corner and hobbles over to a chair. She wonders what that is all about, but bites her tongue. “I heard a few things about you.”

“Good things, I hope?” She asks. She can’t get herself to look away from him. He could play a role in any dream scenario she could come up with.

“Mostly good. Alessio didn’t say much, but I can see why he cares for you so.” He smiles at her and she melts. Is she drooling? That would be so bad!

“He never mentioned you.” Allegra tells him. She breathes in his scent and swoons. She’s lucky that she’s sitting. “But he did vanish on me.”

“I’m sorry. I never saw that coming. No one did.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry I had to beat him up like that. The show had to be good to convince everyone. We couldn’t risk any doubt, especially with Vito.”

“Dominic told me about the fight.” She scoffs. “Why are you walking around with a crutch? Wolves heal lightning fast. I bet Alessio is completely healed by now. It’s been days since the fight.”

“Yeah, well…” Elio looks away from her and she gets to breathe, because he broke eye contact. What is with this guy? Why does he affect her so? “Alessio has his mate by his side. And doctor’s care. I heard that Ty is a real medical doctor.”

“I know Uncle Vito is mad, but he can’t forbid you to get medical care.” She gasps. 

“I went to see my doctor. It will be fine.” He glances back her way. “It just takes time.”

She nods, but she is at a loss for words. What does she say? She feels bad for him, because he seems like a nice person and he did help Alessio. He came here to help her too. He doesn’t know her at all. Vittorio said he switched sides, but why? She needs to know more about him. She must be sure she can trust him. If he switched sides once, he can do it again. Who is to say he’s not here to spy on her and report back to her Uncle? Can she offer him money for his help, or will that piss him off? Damn! She didn’t have enough time to think this through. Vittorio vouched for him, but is that enough?

‘You can trust him.’ Her wolf speaks for the first time today.

‘Where were you? I needed you!' Allegra inquires of the wolf.

‘Sleeping. Someone has to. You have a good plan, you know? I agree.’ The wolf nods at her.

‘Then let’s do it.’ She answers.