Fire and Sweets (Book 3 of Wolves of Milano)

8.Arrangements

Why does every morning bring new problems? Kara is starting to think she is cursed. Why can’t her life be sweetly normal like her neighbours? Why can’t I worry about what to cook, and not about the fate of the pack? Her mother prepared the breakfast, but she didn't say a word until Teo left for school. This gives Kara the feeling that something bad happened yesterday and nobody dared to tell her. Will her mother?

“What’s with the silent treatment? Something happened?” Kara asks her mother.

“Yeah.” Marra nods. She sits opposite Kara at the breakfast table and clutches her coffee cup close. “Your Uncle is an i***t!”

“Oh. We have known that for a while now. What did he do?” Kara inquires. The bad news just keeps piling on, no matter what they do.

“Alessio won the fight and Vito banned him from the pack, from Milano, from everyone. He just couldn’t take it that someone beat him at his own game.” Marra whispers.

“Damn it!” Kara exclaims. “He will ruin the pack.”

“I know. We have to do something.” Marra nods.

“I hope Grazia took Alessio to Vesna. They are safe at Castelletto.” Kara whispers.

“I hope so. He was banged up badly. I have no idea how he won.” Marra shakes her head.

“Luck? Sheer power of will? Stubbornness? I have no idea, I’m just guessing.” Kara shrugs. She has an idea, but her mother doesn’t need to know about it. Elio is only safe as long as only a few people know that he turned sides.

“I will try to get some of the elders on my side. It might take time, but I promise you, I will get you out of this stupid arranged marriage idea he has. If I have to fight him, so be it.” Marra declares.

“No, mom!” Kara shakes her head. “You’re not a fighter. You know you can’t win a fair fight.”

“Neither is Alessio and he got it done.” Mara shrugs. Kara can see the determined look on her mother’s face and she is worried. Alessio had help, he had a tutor, and somehow Kara thinks it was Elio who did it. It just adds up, she only hopes her Uncle doesn’t make that connection.

“Vittorio could do it, he’s in good shape.” Kara says.

“He doesn't want to be the Alpha. We need someone who actually wants the position, skills alone are not enough.” Marra smirks. “That fight must be wanted and the challenger must want the position enough to have the upper hand. You know, just as everyone else, your Uncle cheats.”

“Yeah.” Kara sighs. “I wish I could bash Mateo over his thick skull and make him see sense, embrace his destiny.” 

“Where did that come from? Mateo has no future. He’s a recluse that gives all of us sleepless nights anytime he decides to make an appearance. He’s the last one we could count on.” Marra scoffs. They all know what the elders think about Mateo, but Kara knows more. She knows the real reason as to why he is withdrawn from the pack.

“Can you get Aunt Ellena on our side? Don’t tell me she’s supporting this madness?” Kara inquires.

“Ellena is on our side. She is my spy. She only acts indifferent.” Marra whispers.

“I won’t say a word to anyone. She’s risking her life with this.” Kara promises.

The work conversation is much more pleasant after all this doom and gloom pack business. Kara is not really involved with any of it, but she gives her mother support and good ideas. Sometimes it’s enough to just be here and listen to her mother's rant. The restaurant is what really counts for both of them. It’s her mother’s baby and Kara grew up there. It’s like a second home for her, she spends more time there anyway.

“I saw you gave yourself half a day off on Thursday. Is that the opening day?” Marra asks her.

“Yes. I decided to go. The attention this exhibition got, thanks to Teo, makes me wonder how many people will show up in real life? i********: is going wild with all the comments.” Kara explains.

“If there is a really good crowd, you can blend in.” Her mother smiles. “Make sure to tell the others not to out you. Unless you want the attention?”

“Oh, hell no! I will tell Devana to keep my presence there a secret. If someone recognizes me, then so be it. But we will not tell the people out front that I’m there.” Kara shudders. The thought of getting all that attention is scarring her, she doesn’t like to be in the spotlight.

“Well, I wish you success. You deserve it.” Her mother smiles gently.

The rest of the day flies by her as she emerges herself into her work with chocolate. She even came up with a new creation for a cake in a glass. Using gingerbread cookie mix of spices in a vanilla cream made up for a stunning Christmas cake. Soft spongy biscuit for a base and the cream, topped off with crumbs of crushed chocolate cookies, garnished with candied fruit and whipped cream. A drizzle of honey for more colour and voila! It even looks good in pictures.

“He’s here again.” Marra whispers into her ear.

“Who?” Kara responds. She is in her little world and she hates to be disturbed.

“The guy from the Gallery.” Her mother snickers. “He must really like your sweets, if he’s content with eating them by the bar.”

“What did he order?” Kara blurts out. She is never interested in what the guests eat, but he gets to her. Why does she care? He is nothing to her! Just a guy from the Gallery!

“Tiramisu and cognac. A bold choice, I must say.” Marra laughs.

“Damn! He’s ruining the flavours. He needs to stop that.” Kara scoffs. She has half decided to go stop him herself.

‘And he’s nothing to you?’ Her wolf asks.

‘Shut up! I can’t have him ruining the balance of flavours in my sweets. A cognac is too strong to go with my tiramisu.’ Kara yells at her wolf.

‘Whatever. You’ll see it eventually.’ The wolf responds and sulks off.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” Kara asks Mattias when she walks up to the bar.

“Hello.” He smiles back at her. “Doing what? I didn’t know it’s forbidden to come eat here, if you won’t go out with me?”

“Ugh! So you will just come here every day and make some strange combination just to piss me off?” She wonders out loud. She can see that he finished the tiramisu, but his cognac sits there untouched. He has some semblance of good taste after all.

“I just wanted to see you.” Mattias smiles again. Is he aware of what his smile does to her? How on Earth is he able to chip away her defense walls?

“Ah.” She scoffs. She will stay strong and not fall for his charm. “I will come to the opening, but please don’t make my presence there public. I don’t want the attention.”

“Deal. I will tell the hostesses to evade any questions about you.” Mattias nods at her.

“Good.” Kara tells him. He might be useful after all.

She is back in her small slice of heaven, smiling to herself. Mattias is a weird one, she has to admit that, but he likes her creations enough to sit by the bar and sample them. She knows it’s close to impossible to just walk into Rialto and get a free table. Nobody is that lucky. Not even her stalker. She understands his reasoning, but she doesn’t want to make more complications for herself right now. No matter how charming and sweet he is.

“Hey kiddo. You’re being watched.” Vittorio tells her when she answers her phone.

“You’re joking?” Kara exclaims.

“No. I got it straight from Elio. My father went totally nuts, we are all watched.” Vittorio scoffs. She can hear the disdain in his voice and she doesn’t like it.

“That’s bad.” She says, “But I got mom out. She will try to get Uncle Vito to see some reason. Or at least prevent him from doing something stupid.”

“We are way past stupid, but your mom can help slow things down. Hopefully she can stop him, too.” Vittorio laughs. “Take care and be careful.”

“Thank you.” Kara whispers. She is officially worried now. 

She walks over to her mother’s office and knocks. She knows her mother is in there, but the rules go for all of them, she is no exception. She waits for her mom to invite her in and she searches for the right words. How does she bring this up? It will be a surprise for sure. Oh, the gods! How she wishes she could do something, but her powers are unreliable at best, she can’t bank on those to help her win a fight. She doesn’t really want to win it, so it’s a moot point anyway.

“Come in, Kara.” Her mother calls out. She could swear there is a camera hidden somewhere. How else would her mother know who is out front?

“Hey, mom. I have news.” She smiles, sadly. She hates to bring more to her mother, but she needs to know what is going on.

“Oh.” Marra sighs. “More bad news? I can’t catch a break, can I?”

“Sorry. Vittorio just let me know that we all have a personal stalker. He has us watched. He’s using the enforcers as his personal spies.” Kara tells her mother. There is no need to elaborate who he is, Mara knows perfectly well.

“Damn it!” Marra exclaims. She takes a deep breath to calm down and looks over at Kara. “He is abusing his place. Those boys have more important tasks. Why would he have to spy on his own pack? He lost it! Completely!”

“Yeah. We have to be careful what we talk about and where. Your office is safe. It has no outside walls and no windows. Even if my stalker is at the bar or out front, he can’t hear anything.” Kara winks at her mother.

“Good thinking. I need to get over there and shake some sense into my brother.” Mara tells her.

“Good luck, mom.” Kara smiles. She will need it. They all will. Uncle Vito is a formidable foe on his best day. Crazy as he is? Who knows what he’ll do next? She hates to be on his list, but right now there is no way out. She can’t run away, it wouldn’t work anyhow. Lone wolves don’t last long out there. She thinks about Alessio and how they could make this right. If he can’t come back to Milano, what can he do? Does he have options? Do any of them? Marco might be a safe bet, but who is ready to move to Iceland? And that would have to be permanent.