The Alpha Mafia King
Chapter 15

Piccolo Durante was not going to miss Greece, Athens. The home to super ugly modern buildings next to ancient ruins. It was a dirty, noisy, old city with a few charming sites. The weather was plain boring, yes it was always sunny and warm but that itself got boring when there was no variety.

Also, since it was such a prominent place, traffic in Athens was terrible! Italy, Sicily, on the other hand, seemed more fascinating! More modern-like. The nightlife was fantastic in Italy and Athens, so he did not feel like missing out on those late-nights drinking and partying.

Fear of being murdered by Callisto Beaumont had driven them to Athens, but his mother had made him stay. She found love, good for her and in some ways him too.

The Athenian was a warm-hearted person, just like most Athenians were undermining their stern-looking faces. He treated him as his son and even gave him the Greek name Hercules Othello. He looked forward to the day Alonso would call upon him. He knew the day would come when Vladimir would have to step down for him, but he did not think he would be stepping six feet down a grave.

“Alonso, the left-handed Sica! What’s good, brother?” Piccolo said his usual baritone intonation. He hugged Alonso upon seeing him in the lobby.

“I’m good, Pico! You look smaller,” said Alonso laughing and taking a surprise step backward to inspect his friend.

“You know how stressful Athens is; wow, you’ve grown bigger yourself!”

“Sure, that’s true!” Alonso said, leading the way. “Oh, I got bigger, alright! It’s been years of so many workouts and training coupled with good food and wine.”

“You seem happy to me, so why did you sound like a volcano erupting over the phone?”

“Who wouldn’t be happy to see their best friend?” Alonso said. “Ah yes, the phone call; something triggered my bad mood.”

“What was that?”

“I’ll tell you over dinner,” Alonso replied as they rounded corners.

“Well, that’s excellent. A good story is best shared over wine. You Italians and your ethics.”

“What? What does that even mean, Pico? You’ve spent just a few years in Athens, and now you no longer associate yourself as an Italian.”

“What do you expect? I got myself an Athenian stepfather who insists on calling me, Hercules Othello.”

“Nonetheless, a man must never forget his roots!”

“You know I can never forget, and I’m happy to be back.”

Finally, they entered the restaurant and bar section. Since Greco’s hotel was a private one, there were only a handful of people who were allowed to check-in daily, and so the restaurant was almost close to being empty. They settled down and placed their order brought to them within minutes.

The once open table was now occupied with a bottle of Campari, two wine glasses, all served before two plates of classic eggplant parmesan.

“So, are you ready to tell me what’s going on?” Piccolo Durante said, right after taking the first sip of the cocktail.

“Hmm, Pico, my grandfather found a lady.”

“And?”

“She’s my mate,” said Alonso.

“Wow, that’s awesome, the wait, isn’t it?”

“It’s not Pico! I didn’t ask to be mated to anyone, and besides, she’s not even a werewolf, she’s a human and she’s not from around here?”

Pico bellowed in laughter before speaking, whispering, “Bro, you’re a werewolf; what did you expect? And what’s this talk about her not being from around here? Where’s she from?”

“That’s also a problem! My grandfather found her unconscious, and she claims she doesn’t remember a thing about who she was and where she’s from. However, she has a heavy Russian accent. Then something else happened tonight, the real reason I was seething earlier.”

“God, I hate it when you stall me,” Piccolo stated.

“Fine, then there’s Eureka, you know her, I suppose. She came to a party with me, and Mazza brought this same girl, Taleela, to the same party. I started feeling drawn to her, resulting in Eureka pouring wine over her, and they started fighting. An associate of mine had tried to touch Taleela’s breasts while separating them, and she almost broke his hand.”

“Man, as your friend, I would advise you to get to know your mate better and forget that mistress of yours,” Piccolo said. “There’s something my father told me about how your parents met, and I’ll give you the same advice he gave your dad.”

“The story surrounding how my parents met?” Alonso said, raising a brow at his friend. “Ah! Do tell because I’ve heard so many versions of that from my grandfather. I don’t know which is true anymore.”

Piccolo smiled. “Don Palumbo is always behaving like that. So, similarly, your father had a mistress before he found his mate in Switzerland. He brought his mistress along with him to Switzerland. Your mother loved him, but your father was slow to reciprocate for whatever reason. He had conflicting choices, but ultimately my father asked him to marry his mate and grow in love with her.

“Also, he told your father that there was no time to waste, that he needed an heir apparent. Now, your father had listened. Needless to say, though, but then you were born, and five years later, Callisto struck. A man needs to settle down, Alonso, especially if he sees an opportunity early enough. All this money should have who it can be passed down to, especially Macorvic’s name.”

Alonso listened intently; Piccolo was driving home in a point. He had heard his grandfather make the same point, but he felt more inclined to listen to his friend. Death ended all of life’s opportunities, and despite having a longer lifespan than a human, the fact remained that a werewolf could still die at any time. He thought of Camilo, the man who cared not for his father’s wealth but who still carried on his lineage regardless.

“Alright, I’ll try to get to know her,” he said, finally. “However, you should learn to take your advice. You’re still five years older than I am, and yet you’re unwed.”

“Haha! Certainly, I’ll take your advice.”

—

Taleela had been furious, but after she had gotten to the mansion, her anger had begun to lift. Mazza had told her it was not her fault and that she was right to have defended herself. He apologized for Eureka’s behavior and said he would talk to Alonso to make up his mind once and for all.

In her bedroom, her mind trailed back to the ballroom how she had felt very attracted to Alonso. He could not stop staring, and neither could she. She almost would have instigated the fight herself had Eureka not come to rain a bottle of wine on her.

She, too, had felt so much jealousy seeing Eureka holding Alonso. Likewise, she got the feeling that Alonso was jealous of Mr. Reynolds! Her mind trailed to a different thought.

She recalled the memory she had back at the party quite vividly now. It was like a fragment of the entire thing she felt had happened to her, and she was equally now frustrated not being able to recall all. Someone had taught her that defensive move she had used against Mr. Reynolds. She had seen herself using it on the same man that had taught it to her, but then his face and name eluded her.

•

The following morning, Mazza was knocking on Taleela’s door because he had not seen her even after taking his tea. He tried to open the door, and to his surprise, it was unlocked. He peeped into it at first, and when he saw it was empty, he entered. The bathroom was open too. He left the room and ran to the kitchen.

“Lady Tanya, I can’t replace Taleela,” he announced, sounding panicky.

“That is strange,” Lady Tanya said, dropping the kettle she was holding. “I have not seen her all day myself. I thought she would be in her room.”

“No, Tanya, she’s not in her room,” Mazza replied.

“Maybe she just decided to check out the mansion,” Tanya suggested. “You know, Taleela hasn’t gone around the house since she got here.”

“Oh really? Well then, let me look for her outside.”

Alonso returned with Piccolo Durante to the house. They found his grandfather in the living room. He had a worried and sad look on his face. He did not even give acknowledgment to the fact that Piccolo was standing there.

“She’s gone,” he muttered.

“What? Who’s gone?” said Alonso.

“Taleela, of course,” Mazza replied, standing up and pointing at Alonso. “You’ve succeeded in sending her away. You and that Eureka girl. Fine, go and be with Eureka. Look at how she embarrassed this family out there. Is that the kind of person you want to end up with? She is gone, and it’s all your fault! Welcome home, Pico.”

Mazza tapped Pico and left. Alonso watched him in stunned silence. He laughed hysterically, turning to Pico, who sat down on one of the chairs.

“Pico, I guess I explained everything to you, right?” said Alonso. “How is any of this my fault?”

“No, it’s not your fault, brother,” Piccolo assured. “How is he certain that she is gone? Maybe she just took a stroll outside the city on her own, or she needed a break from this scene to clear her head.”

“From what I know about her, she’s always indoors unless Mazza takes her out himself.”

“Seriously? She’s a grown woman, and she can decide things independently. Maybe you should first check if she took her belongings along before panicking.”

“I’m not panicking, but let’s go and check for Mazza’s sake.”

“Have you called her?” Piccolo asked.

“I should ask Mazza that,” he replied. “I don’t even know if she owns one.”

They were in Taleela’s room, and Piccolo asked, “So does it look like she’s gone?”

“Everything still looks intact to me,” said Alonso.

“She’ll be back, Alonso, don’t worry. And if she’s not back by tonight, maybe we can start searching for her tomorrow.”

“Uh, alright,” said Alonso, suddenly sounding nonchalant. “Bianco and Vincenzo will be back soon. If you need anything, ask Lady Tanya, or come to me directly. I’ll be in my room.”

–

By nightfall, it was clear that Taleela was not returning. The men were gathered by the poolside. Mazza was smoking in silence. Alonso was avoiding him too. Piccolo felt that they were childish because of one missing girl. He called Bianco aside but not Vincenzo. He was only familiar with Bianco.

“Bianco, we know Alonso could act as he cares less about his mate,” Piccolo said, trying to lower his tone. “Uh, but he is sure feeling bad about Mazza not talking with him. So let’s search for this girl first thing in the morning.”

“That’s not a problem, Pico. I had that in mind already. However, you know Don Alonso could track her if he wanted to. I heard she’s his mate.”

“He won’t! Look, I know him okay; he would wait until Mazza gets tired of keeping him quiet or hope she returns of her own volition. He’s not the kind to chase after women.”

Meanwhile, Taleela was at a bar. She was drinking and thinking. She had been able to remember the name. of the man who had taught her to fight. His name was Dimitri. That was all the information she had. She was not going to go back to the house until morning. She planned on sleeping in a hotel. She had left basically to cause panic in their hearts and make a voiceless statement that any of them did not own her. She felt sorry for Mazza, though.

Mariyanna Makarov decided to leave things in the hands of her underboss while she prepared herself to return to Italy. She was going to establish an empire there. She also needed to affiliate herself with a powerful Mafia boss there.