Trespassing Into The Alpha's Heart

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I winced as Eri wrapped a sterile dressing around my now clean hand, trying to focus on anything but the pain. Alcohol would undoubtably do the trick but I didn't think there'd exactly be bottles of the beverage hidden in a coffee shop. Still, I'd prefer to feel the liquid burn down my throat and cause a lightning storm in my stomach if I was going to be given a few home truths.

          "My question still hasn't been answered," I said carefully, keeping my eyes on Eri as she avoided my gaze.

          "It's a pretty loaded question, Avalon," Eri responded. And then, "There. All done."

          I offered a tight-lipped smile as I inspected my bandaged hand. "Thank you. Really, you didn't have to do that."

          "Don't mention it," she said. "Now, your hand should heal soon but you'll probably need some stitches on your leg." She had already cleaned and wrapped the cut there, but I had to admit that it was pretty nasty looking. I was just grateful that her husband was coincidentally a doctor and had taught her all he knew.

          As soon as I entered the coffee shop, my question seemed to alarm everyone so Eri kicked all the customers out frantically and closed early for the night. Her and the elderly couple Camila and Tony, who I learned were her mother and father-in-law, fussed over me and spoke amongst themselves in angry Italian, almost as if they were blaming each other for my bloody state. I picked up on a few words as a close friend of mine was Italian and her and her mother were always arguing, but my own father was Greek so that was the only other language I was fluent in.

          Camila and Tony had been seated beside Eri whilst she tended to me, and they did not look happy. Whilst Eri cleaned up the first-aid appliances she had set out on the table, as well as all the glass that had been picked out of my skin, they finally gave me their full attention.

          "This is all our fault," Camila was the first to speak, and I wondered how I had managed to miss that slight Italian accent the first time we met. Now that she was across me I realised that the elderly woman was not elderly at all. Although she may have been in her seventies, she didn't look it. Her hair was an ethereal silver, wrapped in a bun at the nape of her neck with a few wisps framing her face. Her skin was smooth and tan, eyes bright blue, teeth straight and white, and cheeks hollow. She was strikingly beautiful, and it was hard not to stare in awe.

          "I'm the one who smashed a window and jumped out of it like an idiot," I reminded her.

          Tony shook his head. He was just as captivating as Camila. Thick head of silver hair, defined jawline, and a sun-kissed complexion that only wrinkled around his emerald eyes if he was to squint. "None of this would have happened if we managed to stop you from leaving that day. Instead I scared you away," he admitted.

          "Well I'm here now," I said. "And this time I'm prepared to listen to whatever you have to say."

          Eri returned to her seat across me, and said gently, "First you have to tell us what's been happening, honey. Particularly in regards to Talon Rivera."

          I swallowed. "That day I walked out of here, I ended up wandering around the woods. There was this line," I paused, my brows knitting together as the image flashed in my head. "It was dug into the ground, like some sort of warning that if I crossed it I'd be trespassing. I mindlessly did it anyway and that's when I met him."

          "Te l'avevo detto," Camila said to Tony. I mentally translated it to, I told you, or something similar.

          "And then what?" Eri pressed.