Kissed by Fire (Book 5 of Wolves of Milano)

2. Renovating

He got a contractor to come see the mansion. The guy took one look at it and fell in love. He can understand him perfectly. The old style of building is much more pleasing to the eye than the modern houses in the upscale part of the city. The roof will be the biggest challenge, but the windows will cost more. They have to look period correct, but have modern latches and double glass. It’s a custom built, so he’ll have to wait for them for a good month. Well, they have a lot of other things to do while they wait. The roof can be done, the back porch needs renovating and his special project in the cellar can start early.

“What exactly are you building down here? I understand what you’re telling me from the material point, but what is it?” The contractor asks him.

“Call it a panic room. That is the most basic description.” Mateo answers calmly. He likes the guy. He has a good feeling about them working together.

“Oh! Like those safe rooms in the movies?” The guy exclaims.

“Yeah. I write crime novels. I want to have one for visualisation. I want to make it real.” Mateo tells the guy. He just decided to make him his test bunny. To see how the guy reacts to the truth. Then he will have an easier time telling Lyana. Hopefully.

“All right. I see where we’re going with this. Reinforced concrete won’t be a problem, but that two-way mirror will be hard to get.” The contractor nods: “I have a friend who works for the police. Maybe he’s got a small piece of it left over?”

“That would be great. We would install it in the bathroom. Nobody would suspect it there.” Mateo smiles. He has a clear idea what he wants. “I can make the layout of the basement for you by tomorrow if you help me measure the place.”

The small measuring gadget is cool. It measures distances with a laser beam. The accuracy is astonishing, and you don’t have to run around with a tape measure, so it saves a lot of time, too. He ordered the cameras and monitors, but he still needs the door. It has to be reinforced and seamless. He wants it to blend in with the wall. He will add a small observation room down here and connect all the outside cameras to the same system. And fingerprint locks. No way can the beast get out of here. He will make it wolf proof. Only a human fingerprint will be able to open the door.

His phone beeps with an alarm and he frowns at it. The wrong time for it, but then again, when is a good time for a fire? He looks for his realtor and pushes a set of spare keys into the guy’s hand:

“I have to run. A fire alert just came in. If the delivery guys come, just put everything in the front room.”

“You’re a firefighter? That’s so great.” The guy gapes at him. “I’ll lock up when I go.”

“Perfect. Just shoot me a text or an email with estimates when you’re done.” Mateo shouts and runs out the door. He never messes with the fire alerts. His father would have his hide if he didn’t show up. Being the son of the Fire Chief doesn’t give him any leeway. Not even with the volunteer firefighters. They take things just as seriously as a professional squad.

He washes the soot and ash from his equipment and face. Everything will smell like smoke for a while. Nobody is talking, the silence is only interrupted by running water. They are all lost in their thoughts. It was a bad fire and he feels sorry for the family that lost their home. He contributes to a few charities of his choice, but he knows he can’t solve everyone’s problems. He sighs deeply before he checks his messages. He has to respond to the realtor and give his blessing for the purchase of wares. Then he sends a text to Lyana:

- Sorry, I’m late. Bad fire today. At least nobody got hurt. Mateo

- Dinner on the stove. Sorry that we’ll miss each other, but I can’t wait. Lyana

-Thank you. Don’t work too much. Mateo

-You know I will :) Lyana

Yeah. He knows she will. He really has to do something to make her life easier. Coming clean with all his secrets would do that, but he’s afraid she would leave him. He messed up so badly and he can’t see a way out of this. Maybe the readers will come up with something? There is always hope. He can’t go messing with her brain. He thought about it and decided that it’s not fair to her. He could have told her everything and erase her memory afterwards if her reaction would be too bad. His wolf is capable of doing it, but it just doesn’t sit right with him. It was bad enough what he did to his own mother. He couldn’t risk it with Lyana. She would never forgive him for it. He would lose her for sure, and he can’t afford that to happen.

He takes another shower at home. He can’t get clean enough. The feeling of ash sticking to his skin is still there even though he sees nothing. He wouldn’t call himself a germaphobe, but he likes to be clean. The generic soap at the fire station just doesn’t do it. He is lucky that Lyana uses the hospital grade soap with no scent of its own. He smiles and makes a mental note to pick up a container of it from the pharmacy. The dinner she left for him is her famous stew. She cooks by the recipes of her grandmother and those are just the best. He wolfs down his portion and sighs.

He is tired. Could he risk a nap? The wolf is out cold, because he lent him the strength to keep going with the fire hose during the worst time of the fire. Mateo sets his alarm for two hours and curls up on the bed with Lyana’s robe. He will try to get some rest. He can’t even think straight right now, that’s how tired he is. He slows down his breathing and sinks into sleep. Blessed oblivion. But the alarm goes off too soon. He is all groggy and disoriented when he wakes up. He needs more sleep, but he can’t risk it. He can feel his wolf close to the surface. The blood-red eyes are staring at him with glee. The wolf is waiting for one mistake from Mateo to tear out and wreak havoc.

He slams his metal shields in place and smiles wickedly. No luck for the beast. Not this time. Not in a long time, and not soon if he can help it. He can feel the wolf’s annoyance and the quiet rumbling of the beast’s growling. Not that he cares if the wolf is annoyed, he only cares that they don’t mess up anything or land in any kind of trouble. He likes his under the radar kind of life. It’s very important to him that he doesn’t draw attention to himself. His father has some crazy ideas lately and he will do anything he has to to not get involved in those plans. He might help his cousins if he hears something useful, but he will not get directly involved.

Mateo checks his mail and responds to a few. His editor loves the new book. He can finish that in a few days and get it edited over the weekend. It can be print ready by the end of the month. He gets a few more chapters typed out and posted. The responses are mixed. He can’t find any useful tips there. He will just take the story in the direction he feels best. It’s a bit past midnight when he switches over to graphics design. He needs a catchy cover for the book. And a snack. His hidden stash of sweets is easily reached. Lyana never checks behind the books in the living room, she is more for comics than novels.

Mateo checks the time. He knows Lyana gets home around four in the morning. He needs to be in bed at that time. So he signs off of his computer and gets ready for bed. Brushing his teeth slowly to kill the time, he smiles at his own reflection. The wolf is still there. His eyes shine red back at him.

‘Still angry?’ Mateo inquires.

‘No. I’m just playing with you. You have to let me out sometime.’ The wolf responds.

‘I’m working on it. The plans for a safe room are made. I think it can be finished in a week.’ Mateo answers. He imagines the safe room and places his wolf inside. The beast circles the room and pushes on the walls. He pads into the bathroom. The wolf howls quietly before he returns to the door. The mesh window is too strong even for the shifter.

‘Looks safe. When can we test it for real?’ The wolf asks him.

‘I’ll help build it. It will go faster and I can install all the cameras myself.’ He smirks at the wolf. He likes this new face to face through the mesh conversation.

‘Right.’ His wolf draws out the word. A soft doggy bed appears in the corner and the wolf makes his new home right there. Mateo still hasn’t figured out why his mind portrays his wolf white when they both know the beast has dark red fur in real life. Is that the fur he was meant to have? Would he be white under other circumstances?

One by one, Mateo’s diplomas blink into existence in the room. The wolf likes to surround himself with those. The newest one even has a light on it. He finally got his law degree. He knows he’ll never practise, but he can list lawyer in his long line of titles. What should he do next? Could he drop this habit of studying something when he gets too bored? Maybe the mansion can keep him occupied for a while? He got a text that the things he ordered were delivered. He can get his office set up tomorrow. The antique table and comfortable new chair, the sofa and the shelves. He doesn’t need much there. Just his computer and he can work anywhere.

He hears keys rustling and the lock of the front door clicks open. This is his cue to get moving. She insisted that he shouldn’t wait up for her, so he will be in bed and feign that she woke him when she enters the bedroom. He can feel how very tired she is. He only blocks their bond from forming and her perception of him. She can’t feel his emotions or fatigue. It’s not fair to add that to her load if he doesn’t tell her everything else.

“Sorry I woke you.” She smiles at him. “Don’t say you have another headache and can’t sleep?”

“No. All is fine with me.” He tells her. It’s a partial truth, he is fine. “I think the fire today is keeping me from sleeping. I can still see that house in ruins.”

“Don’t think about it. You know your father won’t let you quit even if you start having nightmares.” Lyana smiles sadly.

“I know.” He nods. She is right about that. He is stuck with the fire department as long as his father is alive. “Come to bed. You must be tired.”

“Mmm.” She murmures. “Sleep sounds good.”