When he heard the name Talon, his senses went to full alert. He knew that an outsider was in the vicinity of his mansion and it could conceal his or her identity quite well. He had informed Love about it but she was in another country doing some photoshoots for some magazine. She had sent someone to watch around his mansion but still could not find the presence they were looking for.
They both agreed that someone was in the mansion. He had been sensing its presence since last night, on and off, until it totally disappeared. He thought it finally left but he didn't expect it—him to be inside the bathroom in the basement. The bathroom was an added feature, hence, it did not have spells on the walls.
Last night, he had a gut feeling that whoever was moving around the mansion was someone that was stronger than him for him to be bold enough to step onto the premises of his mansion because he was able to hide his presence from him.
And he was right. Not only that he was stronger than him, but he was also cunning as well for him to find the weakness of the basement that he considered a safe fortress for Iris of his kind.
He knew that it was not but he did not expect anyone to find the weakness of the basement. And now that someone did, he wanted to beat himself for putting Iris' life in danger.
He stopped at a full stop, slamming the bathroom door open, and found it empty. He saw Iris' laptop beside the bathroom sink and on top of it was a half-empty glass of milk.
He sniffed the air and had a whiff of Talon's scent. It had been so many years since he saw his father's brother but he would not forget his scent. He noticed the air vent was open and realized that he had entered through it.
His presence in the bathroom was strong and it meant one thing. He had been in here for a long period of time and he did not mask his scent that was still lingering in the air, taunting him that he was right under his nose and he did not know.
He hissed, baring his fangs but it was all useless. Talon had been long gone. But he had to watch his back because he would not let go of what he did. No one can just waltz inside his territory, walk away, and not get repercussions.
He had to pay for his boastfulness.
He picked up the cold milk and sniffed. Talon drank the milk from Iris' favorite mug and he snarled at his reflection in the mirror for he had no one to receive his wrath. He carried the mug after emptying the remaining milk on the silk, together with Iris' laptop outside.
Iris was standing, waiting for him outside the bathroom door but because of his rage, he did not notice her presence. He had to do something about it because it was the reason why Talon was able to slip into the mansion without being caught. Whenever his attention focused on something, he could not sense other things. He had to be careful and learned to fix it soon before it became something that would put his and Iris' life in danger, like today.
"Is it fine?" Iris asked, staring at her laptop wishfully.
Calixto handed her laptop without a word, then returned to the bathroom. He opened the shower into the hottest setting and let the water steam the whole bathroom to remove Talon's scent and to get his message. He stared at the glass wall of the shower stall and the message that he was looking for appeared.
He scoffed and shook his head. He was still the Uncle Talon that he knew many years ago.
"He was there waiting for me when I entered the bathroom to use it."
He turned around and faced Iris who was hugging her laptop tightly to her chest as if she was scared for it to be taken away from her.
"Did he do something to you?"
Iris hugged her laptop closer and tighter to her chest and shook her head once.
"Are you sure? If he did something I want you to tell me." He watched Iris' expression closely. She looked like she was too stunned and too confused to speak and he could not blame him. Talon had a way to scare any living things with his presence.
"Don't be scared." He said, assuring her. But at the back of his mind, he was still blaming himself. He knew that the extended bathroom was a weak part of the basement, yet he did not do something about it. He just assumed that the gate and the fence of the mansion were enough to keep those uninvited guests away. And the thought of being uninvited, he heaved a deep sigh, thinking who gave Talon the invitation to enter his house.
"He did not do anything. He just told me that I should be careful of his brother," she said to Calixto as she stared at the floor. She could not meet his eyes because she was scared that he would read that she was not telling everything that happened in the bathroom between her and Talon.
She did not know why she felt that she had to lie to Calixto and she was glad that he seemed to not be able to read her thoughts as long as she did not look in his eyes.
"That's all?" He asked, raising his brow in doubt. The Talon he knew would do more than just that. But he did not want to call Iris a liar right in her face.
Iris lifted her eyes and said. "He told me to run. That when things got complicated between you and your father, I should run."
She chose to tell Calixto that part because she had a feeling that it was the most important of what Calixto told her. That those words weren't just for her ears but for Calixto.
Calixto's brows furrowed and his breathing became shallow. The audacity of uncle Talon to tell Iris to run when he faced his father. He would give his uncle a piece of his mind once he met him. And he would make sure that it would happen soon because, despite his annoyance, he understood that Talon was giving him a warning. The silly message that he left in the shower and what he told Iris about running when she came across his father was not really meant just for her but mostly for him.
Now, he had to find out where Talon was hiding and how the hell did he get to enter his mansion when he was not invited. He hated that there were a lot of things that he had a hard time finding out just because he was still adjusting to this new world.
"Do you need to talk to Talon?"
Calixto was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Iris' question.
"Why? Did he tell you where I could find him?" He asked in a snippy tone because he was still pissed off that someone was able to get through his property and leave without him knowing. He felt stupid and weak. He had a feeling that Talon was gloating right now—wherever the hell he is, with the fact that he was able to get to Iris under his nose—within his property!
"No, but Love may know," she said.
In the back of her mind, she was thinking of how Love would properly hate her because she had told her clearly when she met Talon for the first time that she should not tell him about Talon. And she had the intention to keep her promise, however, the situation is different now. Talon came into the mansion, in her bathroom which was a few steps away from her bedroom.
The situation is different now and hopefully, Love can see it that way because she doesn't want her to be really angry at her because even though she is bitchy, she likes her.
"Why would Love know about Talon's whereabouts?" He asked in a dangerous tone of voice. After what his father and the woman he loved did to him, betrayal would be something that he would never want to experience again, especially from the few people that he still trusts.
"Explain," he snarled at Iris who unconsciously step back with the tone of his voice.
"Well, when you left me with Love, she took me to a club—"
"A club??"
Iris heaved a deep sigh and pursed her lips. She did not feel good spilling everything to Calixto when she gave her word to Love that she would not say anything. And if Calixto would continue to interrupt her while she was talking, she would rather not tell him anything.
She stared at him and it seemed that he understood her annoyance, he leaned his back against the doorframe, folded his arms across his chest, and nodded to her to continue with her story.
Iris cleared her throat and opened her mouth to speak.
"Just what I was saying, Love took me to a club and Talon just appeared…" She cocked her head to the side, "or he just happened to be there…I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders, trying to be cool while she recounted the event that night, making sure to leave out some details that she knew would make Calixto's temper flare up. For example, the fact that Talon danced with her for a long time while she was drunk on the dance floor, or the way Talon held her and how she shamelessly danced with him in a provocative way.
She did not know exactly why she thought that those things would make Calixto angry. Just that she knew, hence, she carefully told her story, making sure that those details were omitted.
"I don't know exactly how he was also there at the club. So, I guess you have to ask Love about it."
Calixto remained quiet even after Iris was done talking. He was deep in his thoughts, trying to put two and two together based on Iris' story and the event that Talon entered his mansion like a thief, leaving cryptic messages for him.
"Did Talon introduce himself to you at the club?"
Iris sucked in some air and held it in her chest. She was anticipating the question from Calixto but she was hoping that he would not ask it because she deliberately avoided any hint that she had a close encounter with Talon at the club. She was just trying to paint the event in the club as something in passing. She even left out the fact that Talon followed her in the bathroom like a pervert.
She smirked inwardly when she realized that today was her second encounter with Talon inside a bathroom.
"He followed me to the bathroom at the club. I did not know him at that time until Love came to the bathroom as well and the two of them started talking."
"What do they talk about?"
Iris bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze.
"I don't know."
He furrowed his brows. "Why don't you know?" He asked, feeling the frustration rise up from his chest. He did not like the way Iris was acting and the way she could not look him straight in the eyes.
Iris heaved a deep breath and as she exhaled her breath, she whispered. "I was drunk."
"You were drunk?" He asked, enunciating each word, disbelief was in his tone. He had to talk to Love and she was not only going to tell everything she knew about Talon but she also had to explain why she took Iris to a club when he clearly told her to keep her safe while he was away and why in the world did she let her drink to the point of intoxication.
"Yes," Iris nodded. Her eyes were glued on the floor that she did not see the hint of a smirk, playing at the corner of Calixto's lips.
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