Family Meeting

Iris's jaws dropped to the ground with surprise. It was the first time she heard Calixto use the tone of voice that he used just now. She didn't expect him to be polite in any way. She was used to Calixto's rudeness and sarcasm.

'Wait' a voice said inside her head. She snapped her head in Calixto's direction. Did he just call the man with white hair at the other end of the table father?

Her mind could not keep up with all the possibilities of what she was hearing at the massive dining table but before she could listen to what else they were talking about, the man who poured her a glass of water returned to her side with a woman around her age.

The woman touched her arm and removed the rope tying her wrist on the armrest of the dining chair. She untied her hands without a word and then stepped back like nothing happened.

The man who she assumed was a butler in the house, beckoned another woman—a bit older than the one who untied her hands, to serve her a hearty platter of food that she had no idea how she could eat in the given situation.

She murmured her thanks and stared at the food in front of her with the server and the butler left her side. She would rather listen to Calixto talk to the man with white hair than eat. She wasn't hungry at all and she was scared to eat anything.

She perched on her chair ready to eavesdrop on whatever Calixto was going to say. Still, he just glanced in her direction once as though he was making sure that she was in a good condition and he turned his attention to his plate and started cutting the meat on his plate as if he would eat it.

She knew from previous experience that Calixto could not eat any human food. He only consumed her blood and nothing else. He didn't even like other human blood other than hers. She had no idea why but since he emerged from the deep crevices of the mansion's basement, that was how things were.

And she had no plan to know.

She turned her eyes to the man with white hair; unlike Calixto, he was eating with much gusto. He had almost finished half of the Turkey leg on his plate. Seeing him eat like he had been famished for days made Iris sick and she forced herself to tear her eyes away from him.

She wondered how long she had lost consciousness. There was no clock in the dining room and she noticed that all the windows were closed and the brightness in the room was due to the warm lights lighting the whole room.

She tapped her pockets and found no phone. Someone confiscated her phone and she didn't know why. She hoped to God that they didn't do anything to her phone and that she could take it back. She wanted to ask Calixto what was happening but there was a huge gap between their chairs and he was still too busy cutting the meat in his place. She wondered if he was going to eat them because if he didn't, it would be a waste. She has no plan to touch the food on her plate not only because she has no appetite but because she was thinking that since she didn't touch her food, others could still eat it.

She was still staring at the food in front of her when she heard the sound of something scraping the floor. She looked up and turned her head to the location of the noise and saw Calixto, pushing his chair as he stood up, leaving the meat that he had cut on his plate untouched.

"Iris, let's go," he said.

She scrambled to get up when she heard her name.

"Stop," a booming voice from the other end of the table made Iris step halted.

She wanted to turn her head but a small voice whispered in her ear not to. She clenched her fist and kept her eyes on Calixto. She didn't want him to disappear from her sight anymore. She didn't want to wake up in another strange place just like what had happened.

"Don't ever think that you can mask the scent of her blood. She came from Sangre Flores. And it only means she belongs to me."

Iris didn't understand what the old man was talking about but a dread cruises her spine that jerked her from being frozen. Her feet moved on their own, quickly closing the gap between her and Calixto.

She exhaled a relieved breath when she stood next to Calixto and if she wasn't trying to save her pride, she would grab his arm to make sure that he would not leave her here in this place.

"It's been so many years, Father. Don't tell me you still have the monopoly of your Sangre Flores?" He mockingly asked. The politeness in his voice was gone.

A dangerous silence enveloped the dining hall. Iris stole a glance over the old man with white hair and found him sitting languidly at the head of the table, cupping his chin with his arm that was propped at the edge of the table—seemingly bored.

Calixto waited for his father to reply but he simply stared at him.

"Thank you for your hospitality but I would prefer in the future if you would give us a choice to say no to your invitation," he said, grabbing Iris's wrist and dragging her out of the dining hall.

Iris for the first time didn't say any kind of complaints about Calixto's action. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. She quickly buckled her seatbelt when Calixto shoved her into the passenger of their car. She had so many questions but all of them could wait. She could not understand what was happening but she knew she wasn't safe around Calixto's father.