A Warning From His Uncle

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.