“You sound assured that there’s nothing I’d do or say that would change her mind, Gianna.” Alessandro looked amused. “Have you ever been in love, Alessandro?” I asked. “What does love have to do with any of this?” Alessandro said, suddenly sounding defensive. “When you love someone, their flaws become invisible to you. You brush them off and you don’t realize your wrongdoing until it’s too late.” I explained. “You sound like you’ve had a great deal of experience in matters of the heart,” Alessandro pointed out. Now that I had told him about Mike, he knew everything and there wasn’t any need to say anymore so I merely shrugged. “For what it's worth, I’m sure you loved Maya’s mum. For you both to have a child that’s nearly my age, it must have been a whirlwind romance.” I remarked. I’ve always wondered about how Alessandro could have Maya as his child, it seemed so surreal to me and to complicate things even further, they were nothing alike. Complete opposite of themselves by eve
“I owed it to my best friend to make the best with the remaining years I have left to live and I’ve damn well made sure that I have,” Alessandro said. “Does Maya know the truth about her parenthood?” I asked. Alessandro hesitated for a bit. “She was a little child back then, not more than two years. I doubt if she ever remembers calling anyone other than myself her father and my subordinates who’ve been with me from the start know better than to talk about this with her.” “I guess she’s never going to know the truth,” I stated. Alessandro had no plans of telling Maya the truth and while a small part of me considered it to be selfish, I could also understand why he wanted to keep it from her. It’s been nearly two decades and the thought of alternating everything Maya had known her whole life wasn’t a pleasant one. So it would be best if he keeps on being her father—biological or not. It wasn’t going to change anything. “I can’t do that here, Gianna. She’s going to be broken and Ma
The past few days have been surreal for me and I had to pinch myself at intervals to remind myself that it was real life and not a dream. I couldn’t pinpoint where or when it happened but I was starting to have an actual relationship with Alessandro, much to my surprise. Now and then, I waited for him to wake up and revert to the man I knew him to be but each day, the same surprise kept on happening and it started with him waking me up with a kiss every morning unlike it had been before. “You look like you weigh the world on your shoulders, Gianna.” Alessandro’s voice broke me out of my daydreaming. “I was lost for a moment. It’s nothing for you to worry about.” I forced a smile onto my face to dissuade him from asking any more questions. “You just lied,” Alessandro chuckled, throwing me off balance.“What did you just say?” I asked, rather surprised.“Whenever you tell a lie, you look to your left. It’s a reflex action and I’m sure you don’t know about it.” Alessandro explained.
It didn’t take long for the dark cloud hovering over my head to fizzle over and I was starting to feel like my old self once again. I took Isabel’s advice to heart and decided on kickstarting a conversation with Alessandro the next time he came to see me but after his absence from my room for three consecutive days, I had to find out what had happened to him. Alessandro wasn’t one to disappear without leaving a trace or informing me of his travels. He traveled a lot and each time, he always told me ahead of his departure except this one time. “I know I’m asking quite a lot from you, Isabel, but I need to know what has happened.” I began, as we both sat on the patio, looking at the garden below. Isabel was brushing my hair gently, trying to untangle my stubborn curls. “Is this about Don Alessandro, miss?” Isabel paused for a bit. I nodded in response and she continued to brush my hair. “Well, yes. It’s been a couple of days now and I haven’t seen him around the mansion.”“I’ve not
“Thank you, Yoda. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t in harm’s way.” “He’s a mafia Don, nothing fazes him anymore except for one thing—one person if I should put it that way.”“Alessandro has someone who rattles him?” I couldn’t believe what I just heard, I tried to cover up my laughter but I ended up failing. “Who would’ve thought that the great Lycan King would have a weakness?” “Everyone has a weakness, Gianna.” Yoda chuckled. “You may not know it yet but it exists.” “I might be reaching but would you mind telling me who has Alessandro so twisted up?” I clasped my hands in earnest, hoping he would give me a name. I had to know this little secret of Alessandro’s, if I wanted to be seen as significant around him, I had to get something to level the playing field and this would be it. If I knew how to break down his walls of ice, I would have a greater chance of taming the wild beast inside of him.Yoda opened his mouth but he sighed and snapped it shut, turning his eyes away f
It’s been a week since my encounter with Yoda and ever since then, I’ve barely left my room except during the evenings when I went out to the patio to watch the sunset and silently whisper my wishes before returning to my room. Other than that, there wasn’t much for me to do around here and the boredom was starting to get to me. I hated being idle and having nothing to do for so long was starting to give me the ick. One thing I knew for sure was that I wasn’t going to waste away in this castle until I grew old and had grey hairs, that wasn’t what I wanted for myself. I wanted more and my current situation would have to change as soon as Alessandro came back. Given that he’s been away for nearly two weeks should’ve been enough cause for concern but Yoda’s confidence that Alessandro was fine wherever he was did enough to convince me not to get worked up over nothing. One of the reasons I was looking forward to his return was because I had to discuss the terms of my future here. I wa
The ray of sunlight slipped in through the blinds on the window as my eyelids fluttered open. I yawned and rolled over, careful not to wake Alessandro who was still sleeping soundly. I pushed the hair away from his face as I took in his appearance. He looked so delicate and pure as he slept, the only sound in the room came from his light snoring. He was starting to sleep a lot after nagging from me. I returned my gaze to the clock on the nightstand. We were already running late for the sparring contest Alessandro organized for us yesterday. I had been starved of a good fight for a long time and I had to throw in a couple of incentives to make the fight exciting. I couldn’t remember the last time someone smashed my face or landed a blow on me, everyone was scared of hitting the Alpha for fear of being killed and I hated feeling protected, it made me feel weak. Today was going to change all of that. I could notice the hunger in their eyes as I mentioned a prize for the first man to l
Everything was set and the sparring was about to commence. I would be facing off with a few of Alessandro’s subordinates to work on the techniques he’s taught me over time for him to record my progress. I could taste the hunger as the first man approached me, it’s been a while since I was in an actual fight and I couldn’t wait to kick this off. The first opponent sized me up before he broke out into a run, charging towards me with his fists at eye level.Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alessandro make his way into the seat on the elevated platform as he gave me a small nod. This was going to be fun. ***I breezed through the first few opponents with relative ease, many of them relying on brute strength and desperation, all too eager for my liking. I wanted a smart opponent and one who could fight with his wits and not his strength. Alessandro had been watching me all along, his eyes never leaving me. He was the last person amongst the men I was slated to fight and he looked l
Seven years laterIt’s been seven years of peace and our relations with everyone have prospered as well. There has been no war or reports of rebellions in any part of the jurisdiction that Yoda oversees and we have been living our best lives as well aside from the occasional attempts by people who wanted to harm us. The pact we made with Yoda seven years ago had proven to be a masterstroke. The starting had been extremely difficult seeing as Yoda wasn’t from the bloodline but as things went on, it became easier for Alessandro to teach Yoda the ropes and he had been extremely patient with Yoda until he became his own man. Jade had returned to her coven after completing her teachings and it had been a year since we saw her last. It was quite understandable, she had left a lot of things unattended to and they needed her now more than ever. The coven was growing and they needed a permanent high priestess. The most shocking thing that had happened in the past seven years was the marria
The door opened once again and this time, Yoda walked in.“Am I interrupting something?” He asked.“No, not at all. I was only checking in on the Don.” The doctor said, “You also need to convince her to sleep, I pray you have better luck with that than I did.” As soon as the door closed, Yoda turned to face me.“You know the doctor is right, yes?” “I’m tired of hearing that, Yoda.” I sighed. “I’ll have peace of mind when he’s back with us, not before.” “You’re just as stubborn as he is.” Yoda shook his head. “Is that a compliment or..?” I trailed off, hoping he would provide the answers. “It depends on what perspective you’re seeing it from.” Yoda shrugged. “Do you think he’s going to come out of this?” I asked, my eyes finding Alessandro. “I’m going to tell you something, Gianna. I’m not sure he’s told you yet but Alessandro relinquished his position in this mafia a while ago.”I stared at him like he’d gone mad. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” “No, I’m not. He handed everythi
I was consumed by fear and an even greater desire to figure out what the hell was going on with Alessandro. It’s been weeks since the decimation of Syrius and I was supposed to have the best time of my life at this point. I had been working hard to pick up the pieces of the rubble the scuffle left behind. It was over now, our enemies and anyone who might have wanted to stand against us, their prestige, and honor were in the dirt now. Everyone was begging to swear fealty to the mafia. Life couldn’t have gone any better or so I thought. I had to face the backlash head-on, I had everything to lose and nothing to gain if I didn’t figure out what was wrong with Alessandro. Thankfully, our child had been drugged with sleeping pills throughout, so he wasn't traumatized and the doctors had cleared him a few days after I was discharged but Alessandro’s case was proving to be quite difficult. It was expected that defeat would come at a huge price and seeing Alessandro lying unconscious in h
“You should’ve stayed hidden, Syrius. What the fuck do you want?” “Careful, Gianna. I enjoy you but be careful. The Syrius you once knew is gone and I don’t play around anymore.” I paused and weighed my options. I didn’t want to rile him up, he held all the chips and I had nothing. “Where’s my son?” I asked. “He’s safe.” Syrius replied. “He has no part in whatever revenge plot you have, you need to let him go and take me in his stead.” I said, trying to bargain. “I’ll make you a better offer, Gianna.” Syrius chuckled. I didn't want to hear anything he had to say but I had no choice.“And what could that be? All I want is my son. I’m not interested in bargaining for his life.” I reiterated. “I know Alessandro forces you into doing and if it weren’t for him, I’d have taken you from him all those years ago.” Syrius began. “You’re delusional if you—““I can’t stand seeing him happy and if you’ll be willing to cut ties to him, I’ll return your son to you and you’ll be by my side
I walked briskly into the large room, it was a typical, bleak coffee-stained room with dirty walls. The scent of sweat, cigarettes and musky cologne hung in the air like a chandelier, there were pictures on the wall which were some kind of modern art, the furniture looked plain, uncomfortable, leather and black. My eyes landed on a large man sitting at the center of the room. A long metal table with paper strewn across the surface, separated me from who I assumed to be the boss, he was flanked by men holding mean-looking guns, some I hadn't seen before in my life and that said a lot about the kind of people I was dealing with here. I took a close look at him as I approached the table, my gaze wary as it darted from face to face trying to pick up a hint. The skin on his body looked like grade-three sandpaper, the consistency was unreal. He lifted his face and pushed away his bowl of cereal as he saw me coming towards him. His face was badly burnt, the hair on his head was charred an
Lying down on the raw concrete, I could feel the walls closing in around me. I felt the vicious pounding of my heart banging repeatedly against my ribcage.I shut my eyes tightly. I could still hear myself yelling their names over the cacophony of a billion shards of glass as my head slammed into the mirror. I couldn't bring myself to bask in the pain I felt. I had little to no time to do what these men wanted or my son would be dead. Instinctively, I touched where a shard of glass had cut me. The wound had been bandaged expertly. I had to give it to them, they had thought everything through before they made their first attack. I was like a recruit thrust into the heat of a raging war, I needed to find a safe place before I was blown to bits out here in the open.I groaned as I struggled to sit up, I had no idea on how I got here but I didn't care about that right now. I had more important things to worry about, I needed to be up on my feet, thinking. I needed my brain working overt
I had lost my touch. That's what happens when you become docile after years of being on guard."Do exactly what I say or you die." I could feel my heart racing despite my best attempts to compose myself.I knew I was walking into a trap but I had no choice. I wasn’t entirely sure that the letter came from Syrius, maybe it was only a silly joke being played by some crazy maniac but what I was certain of was that whoever sent the letter had my son and I was willing to do anything to get my child back. The accent was masculine and Eastern European. There was no quake or tremor in the man's voice. His tone sounded calm and detailed. This was no hoax, if I went out of line, I would die.I tried to remember if either Alessandro or myself had any issues with any mafia from that part of the world but I couldn’t come up with anything. "What do you want?"I asked fearfully as the cold steel of his gun pressed into the small of my back.I needed a distraction. My first instinct was to lean
I felt dejected as I searched each room hoping to find him in there but I knew the truth, he was gone and I had no idea where he had gone to. The wardrobe was empty as well, he had packed his bags and he was probably halfway across the world for all she could know. Despite sitting in our room for hours, I knew I missed him and I could feel the tears stinging the back of my eyes. This wasn’t how I had envisaged my life a few weeks and it hurt now that I was faced with this shitty reality. Our first conversation after he’d been discharged from the hospital didn’t go too well. I couldn’t stop myself from blaming him for the disappearance of our son. I categorically told him that I believed our son was kidnapped because of the ties he has to him and the mafia. Alessandro had tried to reason with me but I didn’t want to hear any of it, all I wanted was my son. My phone rang and I retrieved it from my pocket, it was Tiffany. She had promised to call back after a couple of hours.“Hey
I had lost my touch. That's what happens when you become docile after years of being on guard."Do exactly what I say or you die." I could feel my heart racing despite my best attempts to compose myself.I knew I was walking into a trap but I had no choice. I wasn’t entirely sure that the letter came from Syrius, maybe it was only a silly joke being played by some crazy maniac but what I was certain of was that whoever sent the letter had my son and I was willing to do anything to get my child back. The accent was masculine and Eastern European. There was no quake or tremor in the man's voice. His tone sounded calm and detailed. This was no hoax, if I went out of line, I would die.I tried to remember if either Alessandro or myself had any issues with any mafia from that part of the world but I couldn’t come up with anything. "What do you want?"I asked fearfully as the cold steel of his gun pressed into the small of my back.I needed a distraction. My first instinct was to lean