Chapter 10 - Alexei
Two weeks. Marco Bellini hadn’t stepped foot in Bloodburn Academy in over two weeks. At first, I told myself it was nothing, but the longer the absence stretched, the more it itched at the back of my mind.
Had my little torments broken him? I had marked him, spanked him, and kissed him like I owned every breath he took.
I had bent him over my car and made him count while I painted his ass red.
If he was staying home because of that, it meant I had succeeded in carving myself deeper into his fragile little world.
But something told me that wasn’t it. Marco was too stubborn in his fear. He would have dragged himself to school just to avoid me if he could. No… something else was keeping him away.
I was debating if I should ask Rei about him.
It was easy now that he was permanently glued to Dimitri’s side.
My cousin had been driving me insane lately, obsessing over that flower boy like a man possessed, skipping meetings, ignoring family business, and generally acting like a lovesick idiot.
Ivan had pulled me aside multiple times.
“Keep an eye on him,” Ivan had said during one particularly unpleasant conversation. “If he gets himself disowned, you’ll be stepping into his shoes sooner than you want. I don’t need another headache.”
I had smiled politely and promised to handle it, but the truth was I was growing tired of playing babysitter for my cousin’s obsession.
After two weeks of nothing, I decided I was done waiting.
I took matters into my own hands.
The drive to Marco’s modest little house on the outskirts of the city was long. I parked a block away and walked the rest of the distance. When I reached the front door, I pressed the doorbell and waited.
A woman answered.
She looked tired, dark circles under her eyes, hair slightly messy like she hadn’t had time to fix it properly, but there was a kind, warm expression on her face that immediately told me she was Marco’s mother.
She had the same olive skin, the same soft features.
She blinked at me, clearly surprised to see a tall, well-dressed stranger on her doorstep.
“May I help you?” she asked, her voice gentle but cautious.
I put on my most charming, completely fake smile, the one I reserved for people I needed to manipulate without effort.
“Good evening, ma’am. I’m looking for Marco. Is he home?”
Her tired face brightened a little at the mention of her son. “Marco? Yes, he is here. One moment, please.”
She turned and called over her shoulder. “Marco! Someone is here for you, tesoro!”
I heard footsteps, then the sound of someone coming down the stairs. A second later, Marco appeared in the doorway behind his mother.
The moment his hazel eyes landed on me, his entire face went pale. He looked like he had seen a ghost. His mouth fell open slightly before he quickly shut it, and he raised a hand to cover his face in sheer disbelief, like he could will me out of existence if he just hid for long enough.
His mother glanced between us, clearly confused but still smiling.
“Is this your friend, Marco?” she asked kindly.
Marco and I spoke at the exact same time.
“No,” we both said.
She blinked, looking a little startled. Her eyes darted between us again, clearly trying to read the situation. Then she asked, more carefully this time.
“Boy…friend?”
“Yes,” I said smoothly at the same time Marco blurted out, “No!”
His mother’s head whipped back and forth between us like she was watching a tennis match. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open in surprise. Marco looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. His face was burning red, and he was still half-hiding behind his hand.
I smiled and stepped a little closer, resting a hand lightly on Marco’s shoulder. He stiffened under my touch but didn’t pull away.
“He’s a bit shy about it,” I said smoothly, my voice warm and polite. “We’ve been… keeping things quiet. Marco didn’t want to make a big deal out of it yet.”
His mother’s face transformed in an instant. The confusion melted away, replaced by delighted surprise. Her tired eyes lit up like someone had flipped a switch. She clasped her hands together in front of her chest, beaming so brightly it almost made me feel guilty for lying.
“Wow! I didn’t know you had a boyfriend!” she exclaimed, looking at Marco with so much excitement. “Why didn’t you tell me?! Marco Bellini!! You’ve been keeping secrets from your own mother?!”
Marco made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, clearly mortified. His eyes were wide with panic as he looked at me, silently begging me to stop this disaster. But I didn’t. I just kept my hand on his shoulder.
His mother was still talking, her voice full of happy energy now.
“Oh my goodness, this is wonderful! Come in, come in! Both of you! You must stay for dinner. I want to hear everything. How long has this been going on? How did you meet? Marco, you never tell me anything important!”
She was already stepping aside, gesturing us inside with open arms, completely oblivious to the way her son looked like he was about to pass out on the spot.
I glanced down at Marco, my green eyes gleaming with amusement as I leaned in just slightly so only he could hear.
“Be a good boy and play along, Malyshka,” I murmured, low enough that only he could hear. “Or I’ll make this much worse for you.”
His face went even redder.
This was going to be interesting.
I stepped inside the modest house with my hand still resting lightly on Marco’s shoulder, guiding him forward like the devoted boyfriend I was pretending to be.
The place was small but warm, lived-in, with family photos on the walls and the faint smell of cooking in the air.
Marco’s mother bustled ahead of us, still beaming like she had just won the lottery.
“Come, come! Sit down, both of you,” she said, waving us toward the small dining table. “I was just about to finish dinner anyway. You’re staying, right? Of course you are staying.”
I gave her my most charming smile, the one that had disarmed far more dangerous people than a tired mother. “I wouldn’t want to impose, but if you’re sure, I’d love to.”
Marco looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor. His face was still flushed, and he kept shooting me panicked glances as his mother pulled out chairs for us. I sat down first, right next to him, close enough that our knees brushed under the table. He stiffened but didn’t pull away.
His mother disappeared into the small kitchen, humming happily as she finished setting the table. She brought out plates, glasses, and a big pot of what smelled like homemade pasta with sauce. The whole scene felt domestic.
“So,” his mother said as she sat down across from us, still smiling warmly. “Tell me how you two met! Marco never tells me anything. I want all the details.”
I chuckled softly, turning to look at Marco with what I hoped looked like fond affection. “It was a year ago. He caught my eye right away. I had to work to get him to even talk to me at first.”
Marco made a small choking sound beside me. I squeezed his shoulder gently, a silent warning to behave.
His mother laughed, clearly delighted. “That sounds just like him! He’s always been shy. But you seem like a good influence… and you came all the way here just to see him. That’s sweet.”
That wasn’t true. The Marco I met in Italy wasn’t shy, and I didn’t know what exactly had changed that, but I hoped to find out. Don’t get me wrong - I loved how timid he was sometimes, but he used to be naturally talkative and brave. Now he seemed dimmed.
I kept the smile on my face, answering every question she threw at me with charming ease.
She asked how long we had been “together,” what I studied, whether I treated her son well.
I lied effortlessly, weaving a story of dates while Marco sat beside me looking like he was dying inside.
Every time he tried to interject, I would cut in smoothly or give his knee a light squeeze under the table.
Eventually, his mother wiped her hands on a dish towel and looked at me with genuine warmth.
“You have to come again when Marco’s father and brother are home too. They would love to meet you. Luca especially. He’s always so curious about Marco’s friends.”
I smiled, tilting my head slightly. “Of course. I’d be happy to. And I apologize for showing up uninvited like this. I know it’s a bit sudden, but since Marco hasn’t been to—”
A kick landed against my shin under the table.
I didn’t flinch. I simply glanced sideways at Marco. His face was pale now, eyes wide with pure terror. He had kicked me hard enough that it actually stung. Interesting. So his mother didn’t know he had been skipping for two weeks. That explained the panic.
I recovered smoothly, not missing a beat.
“—I just missed him,” I finished, turning my full attention back to his mother with an easy smile. “I really had to come see him today. I hope you don’t mind. Next time, I’ll make sure we plan it properly. I’d love to meet the rest of the family.”
His mother beamed.
I stayed longer than I had originally planned.
After dinner, Marco’s mother kept me at the table with question after question. She smiled the entire time, clearly relieved that her son had someone watching over him.
Eventually she stood and began clearing the plates.
“Marco,” she said warmly, “walk your boyfriend out, okay? It’s getting late.”
I nodded before he could protest. “Thank you for dinner. It was lovely.”
She beamed. “Come again soon.”
I followed Marco outside into the cool night. The moment we were far enough from the house that his mother couldn’t hear us, he stopped near my car and turned to face me. His voice was strained.
“What are you doing?” he asked, looking up at me with tired eyes. “What was that about in there? You can’t just show up at my house like this. You can’t lie to my mom and pretend we are… that we are together.”
My fake smile disappeared the second we were alone. The cold, bored expression I usually wore settled back onto my face.
“I can,” I said calmly. “And I did.”
Marco stared at me, clearly unsettled by the sudden shift in my tone.
“Why haven’t you been to the academy?” I asked.
He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s none of your business.”
“It’s exactly my business,” I replied, taking a step closer. “You belong to me.”
He let out a breath, shoulders sagging with exhaustion.
“Really? How long do I have to play this with you? I know what you like to do. You like to get inside people’s heads, to…
to twist things until they break a little.
That’s fine. I can handle it. But my family doesn’t deserve to be part of it.
They’re good people. They don’t know anything about you or about what happened.
Can you just… leave them alone? Please.”
I tilted my head, watching him. He had spoken more words to me tonight than in all the weeks before. And every word had been to shield the people inside that house. The protectiveness was interesting. It made the carving of him feel more precise.
Most prey thrashed for themselves. Marco thrashed for others.
“You’ve never spoken so many words to me at once,” I observed, voice flat. “Come to school.”
“I can’t,” he answered. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
“I just can’t right now.” He shifted, curls falling across his forehead. He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t give me the opening he knew I wanted. “It’s personal. I need to handle things here for a little while longer.”
I studied the way he held himself, shoulders squared in that unassuming way. He was hiding something. Not lying outright, but keeping the truth folded small and safe behind his ribs. I could press. I would press.
“You’ll come to school tomorrow.”
“Why does it matter if I am there or not?”
“Because I must see you. These eyes of mine need the sight of you.”
Marco’s head snapped up. His cheeks flushed bright red all the way to the tips of his ears. He opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again. “If I come tomorrow… will you stop showing up here? Will you leave my family out of it?”
“Behave,” I said softly, “and I’ll consider it.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.” My hand shot out and gripped the back of his neck, fingers wrapping firmly around the delicate skin. I yanked him forward until our faces were only inches apart.
“I’m not asking,” I whispered against his lips, and held him there, feeling the rapid flutter of his pulse beneath my fingers. Then I slowly released him.
Marco stumbled back half a step.
I opened the car door and slid inside without another word. I started the engine, rolled the window down just enough to look at him one last time.
“Tomorrow, Malyshka,” I said. “Don’t make me come find you again.”
Then I drove off into the night, leaving him standing there under the streetlight.