Chapter XL

A month and a half flew by and mid-December, Elián was already going to the central offices, thanks to the clothes of the one who was his Alpha their broken bond remains peaceful, but that was soon going to end in a few days unless he went to get her clothes from Darío's house in Mexico.

He was sitting in his office reviewing documents, he looks up and sees the photo of Secundina, although behind him is one of him with his deceased wife, he turns his chair and sees her, smiles, stands up and raises his right hand, it is her face.

• I can't forget those words. Tell me, darling. What should I do? I wish I could turn back time to that night, take her with me like she asked. Why didn't I?—he leans his forehead against the portrait—I would go to Hades for her, you know that well.

He thinks for a moment, his words repeating in his head, “I would go to Hades for her” he returns to his seat and enters a world of documents from the Australian subsidiary, in truth the pandemic had hit hard, that if it were not for the vast wealth that has been accumulated over time, more than one company would have gone bankrupt, however the pharmaceutical company worked at forced marches, even requiring more staff than normal, according to the WHO the worst had already passed, production was returning to normal and with it the dismissal of workers.

The Greek is looking for a way not to do it, so he's doing his math, sending them to the olive groves or to the different Agora Resort hotels, which did not go bankrupt because of agreements he made with different governments to use the hotels as shelters for health personnel when they had to isolate themselves from their families, it wasn't much, he only charged a million in national currency per hotel in each city that had headquarters more than three hundred in Europe and America, he was really racking his brains because he didn't want to fire anyone, finally he asks for a meeting for the next day first thing in the morning with the direct General Manager of the hotels and the pharmaceutical company. In the afternoon he arrives home and his faithful Typhoon was already waiting for him, as soon as he enters the house, the girl asks for his arms, the two leave closed in conversation, but Elián says no to everything.

• Grandpa, I don’t understand why you say no to everything – Carolina’s mother takes the girl from his arms – let Grandpa come.
• Daughter, babies are speaking to you in their strange language, we don't understand, so if you say yes and they climb on a chair and make a mess, we scold them, but in their little heads it's like, "But you said yes," did I explain myself well? That's why you should say no.
• Tito, Tito, Atutito!
• Maria, would you let me take the baby with me to Mexico?
• Being in the hospital hurt you, grandpa.
• Why do you say that? I'm qualified to take care of a two-year-old baby—with the baby in my arms—I'll ask Gabriel for permission.
• Okay, for how long?
• Five days. I'm leaving tomorrow night and returning on the 18th. This way, we'll both sleep the whole trip. We'll arrive directly to Hermosillo in the morning.
• He promises to take good care of her.
• With my life. If you'll excuse me, I'm starving, and I can smell that Estrella made ham in plum sauce. Come on, typhoon, there's a kitchen to raid.

Elian's passion

The time to leave arrives, already at the airport María does not stop giving instructions to her grandfather, as well as the diaper bag, the plane has not yet taken off and Elián was dizzy, he places his index finger on the girl's lips, he looks at her seriously.

• I'm almost five thousand years old, have five children, nine grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren. Believe me, I have experience changing diapers (they used to be cloth), bottle-feeding, and feeding.—she kisses him on the forehead and boards the private plane—finally alone. Your mother had me stunned.

The flight went off without a hitch, landing at Hermosillo's General Ignacio Pesqueira García International Airport at nine in the morning. At eleven in the morning, they arrived at Darío's house, where he put the baby down and didn't waste any time exploring the house, which, while not very big, wasn't small either. He threw down his suitcases and diaper bags, sank into the chair, grabbed his cell phone, and started making calls. One of those calls was to Fernando, asking for some information. He grabbed his laptop and went down to the basement with the baby. He made another call. A few minutes later, some cleaning crew arrived. He left them at the house while he and his great-granddaughter left the house heading for the municipal cemetery. He took the baby by the hand and walked for several minutes until they found the grave. The baby sat on it. He just smiled, didn't move it, and placed the flowers he bought her, Chinese lilies, as she called him, "poor and with expensive tastes." He also sat on the grave, leaned his head against the stone, and closed his eyes.

• I will never tire of apologizing for what I did to you. If I had listened to you, even if we weren't together, you would still be alive. I find myself somewhere between knowing I should let you go and wanting you back. I honestly don't know what's stopping me from bringing you back to life. Perhaps it's the fact that you'll lose your soul, that you'll be an empty vessel incapable of giving or receiving love. My dear Alpha, I miss you so much. We both miss you.

He was still deep in thought, the baby resting on his back, a light autumn wind blows, Elian stands up with the girl in his arms, says something in her ear, she clings to him with all her strength, some grunts are heard, Elian's eyes change tone slightly, he is not prepared for a fight, he brings his right hand to his chest over his shirt he feels the scar, between his eyes he inhales and exhales defeated before starting to fight, the perceived aroma is familiar to him, quite familiar in fact it is the aroma of his deceased wife's family that is where he lets his guard down. Despite walking on land the Greek could hear the footsteps he begins to count them, one hundred in total until the figure of Ulysses comes into sight.

• Nephew – greets solemnly.
• Man, it's been a while since I heard from you. What are you doing here?
• Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing. Did you know her? – he pointed at the grave.
• Yes, she was my new Alpha, she was going to be my new Alpha.
• You say it very confidently.
• We both marked each other, although she didn't know what I was.
• And yet she still called you?
• Yes – he points to the blow she gave him, Ulysses sees her cheek and laughs – what courage of a woman.
• Rather, his fear mistook me for a thief. Ulysses, what are you doing here in Hermosillo?
• Months ago I was passing through, the truth is I was looking for a safe place for myself, I'm not up to fighting anymore, I'm too old - the girl sees, she hides her face in her great-grandfather's chest - I sniffed you out, I did a little research so I decided to stay here and wait for the results.
• Tito, meme.
• I have to go, come with us. By the way, this is Carolina, and she's Calix's granddaughter.