previously titled beserk
A young gay witch with deadly powers on the fringe is traveling the U.S. in search of a substitute for suppressing his magic and a way to control his powers. Ezra Pierce was born into a religiously strict family with no one...
"true love with triumph in the end - which may or may not be a lie, but if it is a lie, then it's the most beautiful lie we have." w o r d c o u n t : 1,108
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"Oh, Ezra, it's so wonderful to see you again!" Emily cried excitedly, pulling Ezra into a tight hug. The woman had quite the grip for being so small. "We all missed you so much. Is Niki coming too?"
"Yeah, Emily. She's on her way." Paul said, his grimace turning to a grin at the sight of Ezra. "Hey, long time no see. What's up?" Pads had since warmed up to Paul and leaped from Ezra's pocket, rubbing her head on the man's leg.
"Bella came over to the Cullen's house for the first time. Rosalie crushed a priceless crystal serving bowl and I exploded all the lightbulbs in their kitchen and lit an outlet on fire." Ezra explained as he tugged off his jacket and set it on his bag in the corner.
Paul laughed loudly, contagiously and Ezra couldn't help the fond smile that tugged at his lips. "How is your jedi training going?"
"It's good. I can summon it on will but now the problem is being able to focus on a target and keeping it in check with high emotions." Ezra sat next to Paul, their legs nearly overlapping and their fingers brushing with every movement.
Kim and Jared finally arrived hand in hand with a youngish looking boy behind him. He was maybe a sophomore. Tall with the same dark hair many of those on the reservation sported. He was startlingly muscular much like all the other wolves were and Ezra was starting to wonder if it was really a part of their species or they got discounts on steroids.
"You must be Embry." Ezra waved weakly and smiled at the nervous boy. "I'm Ezra."
Emby smiled back, shifting nervously. "You're Paul's Ezra, right? He never shuts up about you."
"Zip it, Call." Paul hissed as he appeared beside Ezra.
"Oh no no no." Ezra slipped off the couch, throwing an arm around Embry's shoulder. "Tell me more."
"Embry, you'll regret it." Paul warned and Ezra's lips parted in a pout.
"Leave him be, Paul. Someone has to tell me all those secrets." Paul instantly caved, going to help Emily in the kitchen as Ezra turned to the new wolf. "Now Embry. What does he say about me? Does he mention my hair because I personally think it's one of my best features."
Embry grinned, glancing toward the kitchen. "He favors your jawline."
Sam strode in, barking to Embry. "That's enough." Immediately he went to the kitchen, wrapping his arms around his fiance's waist and pressing a tender kiss to her scarred cheek.
To watch such a stoic man become putty in the hands of his lover was startling to say the least yet not totally unexpected. He knew of the imprint bond that a shifter could discover and instantly that person was their entire world. They would do anything, give anything, for that one person.
What scared Ezra was pursuing a relationship was Paul and turning out to not be his imprint. And even if he chose a friendship bond with his imprint, Paul would always place that person above Ezra. It was in his DNA.
And yet it scared Ezra more that he could be Paul's imprint, the one person that he would give his life for without question. And Ezra couldn't accept that.
The life he led was soaked in danger. Training and honing his powers was close to drawing unfortunate attention and if he drew the attention of the Volturi he would absolutely be hunted to the ends of his days. He could never put someone else in that situation. Especially Paul. It was unfair and cruel.
He felt a gentle hand grasp his shoulder. "Are you alright?" Ezra flashed Kim a sweet smile.
"I'm fine."
Kim sat down on the couch beside him, nudging him with her shoulder. "I know it seems hard to love them. To never know if that one goodbye might be the last. It's dangerous. But oh is it worth it." Kim gazed fondly at Jared. "It is so worth it."
"I-I don't love him." Ezra defended quickly and Kim laughed.
"Not yet you don't." She let out a sigh of content. "He'll try to protect you. And by doing that he'll try to lock you away in some sort of tower. Not let you do anything without him. And it'll be infuriating. You need to show him early that you aren't glass. I punched a kid in the face for threatening my sister. You need to find your Benny Urik."
Ezra was going to protest, cut off by the sound of his phone ringing, muffled by his jacket. Pads leaped up from his slumber, bolting into the kitchen away from the abrupt noise as Ezra stood to answer it.
It was Edward on the other end, not even giving him a chance to say hello as he instantly began shouted, nearing hysterics.
"Ezra, Bella's in danger. I made a mistake. I should have never let her into this life. I should have never let her know." Edward broke off into a string of harsh and vulgar curses.
"Slow down, Edward. Explain what happened." Ezra said calmly, holding the phone tightly to his ear.
"We took her with us to play baseball. The thunder masks our hits. The Nomads that have been killing in town circled back and their tracker has his eyes set on Bella." Edward inhaled sharply. "We need to kill him."
"Just tell me what you need." Ezra grabbed his jacket, yanking it on.
"Alice will be there in three minutes. You, her, Bella, and Jasper are going South while the rest of us get him off your scent. Be ready." Edward hung up and Ezra crammed his phone in his pocket, grabbing his coat and bag.
"Emily, can you take care of Pads for a while? I need to go." Ezra asked quickly.
Paul shot up, grabbing Ezra's hand. "What's going on?"
"It's Bella. She's in danger, they need me." Ezra explained simply, heading for the door at the sound of a single sharp honk. "A coven after her. And a dangerous tracker."
"No." He responded immediately and Ezra felt fury began to boil beneath his flesh.
"Do you know how our origin goes? It's much like your own. After the divines created so many monsters so capable of cutting the life of their most precious creation, humans, they needed something to counteract the tipping scales. They needed protectors. Witches were supposed to be those protectors. We're supposed to save them. I need to do this." He released Ezra's hand and the boy stepped to the door. "They've done too much for me to deny them this."
"They shouldn't be able to ask you to put your life on the line for some stupid human!" Paul argued, fists clenched in anger. "Let me come with you."
At this, Ezra smiled, pressing a soft kiss to Paul's cheek before he slipped out the door. "I'll be back before you know it. I promise."
