Eli
People don't stay.
It was a harsh lesson that I'd come to learn at a young age. People weren't stationary objects but constantly moving—constantly leaving. Growing up, that was the reason it had been so hard for me to make friends. What was the point of getting close to someone when you knew that, eventually, either you or them would disappear? That was the life of moving from foster home to foster home.
Then they found out I was a werewolf, and suddenly the constant switch came to a stop. A wolf couldn't stay with human families, so Maria, my case worker, made call after call in an attempt to try and find someone to hand me off to. Those people ended up being my Dads.
At first, I was hesitant. Sure, they said I wouldn't be moving again, but what if it was a lie? What if I got comfortable just to be sent off to a new family and ended up having to start all over? Those thoughts scared me. The fear of losing everything around me kept me frozen in one spot and made it hard to make friends. But as time went on, I slowly began to realize that maybe they were telling the truth. Maybe they weren't going to just send me away again.
When I asked my dads why they had chosen to adopt me when they technically could've had biological children of their own, they just smiled and said that there was no need to bring another child into the world when there were already so many without families. That was the first time I realized that they actually cared about me—they wanted me.
And I wanted to be with them. I wanted to be a family. I wanted to make friends. So I tried to step out of my comfort zone. I tried to be friendly and connect with those around me.
However, it proved to be more challenging than I thought to do so. Most people already had friendships that went back years and weren't looking to add anyone new to the group. I tried not to let that stop me, though, and continued to meet new people; everywhere I went, I tried to make new friends, and everywhere I went, there was one person who kept popping up: Nixon.
I was told by my dads that he was the Alpha's son; however, he was always alone. Nobody tried to talk to him, and he didn't speak to anyone else either. At first, I tried to avoid him, but the more I began to see him, the more I began to realize that maybe he wasn't that bad.
To say forming a friendship with him was hard would be an understatement. It was rocky at first, but slowly he began to open up, and we did become friends—no, we were closer than friends. He was like a brother to me.
So when the Isaiah situation broke out, and Nixon told me he was leaving, devastated wouldn't be a strong enough word to describe my feelings. By now, I did have other friends in the pack, but they weren't Nixon, and not to mention, a group of them were avoiding me too out of fear that I'd helped him in killing Isaiah.
I stopped talking to people for a while after that. I didn't want to listen to them shit-talk Nixon. I was okay with being by myself.
Then Fen came.
Though he was born in the pack, Fen didn't actually live in pack lands. He lived with his grandparents and visited his parents on holidays due to their busy schedules. I'd been sitting outside of my home when his parents stopped by, and my dads introduced us to each other.
That was the start of a friendship.
Afterward, Fen began to show up much more, and we began to start hanging out a lot more too. Though he was quiet, I enjoyed his company. It was nice having someone else around who wasn't so absorbed in pack drama.
When Nixon told me he was coming back, I was excited to introduce him to Fen. However, the meeting went nothing like I was expecting. It became clear to me that the two wouldn't get along, but they were both my friends, so I tried to make it work.
And it seemed to. Now that Nixon was back and Fen was living with me, it was a little harder to stop them from fighting, but they tried, and that was more than enough for me.
"Are you alright?" Fen asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
"I'm fine; I'm just thinking," I responded with a smile.
"About what?"
"You, Nixon, just the past in general," I admitted.
"Me?" Fen's mouth raised slightly to form a small smile. "What about me, Eli?"
"I was thinking about how we met and became friends. How we still are friends today, it makes me happy."
Fen's smile dropped slightly, but he quickly covered it. "You're one of my favorite people, Eli."
His words made me smile. Despite the cold exterior that seemed to surround him, underneath it all, Fen was a nice guy. It wasn't unusual for him to say things like that, but it always made me feel better after hearing it.
"You're one of my best friends too, Fen. You've always been there, especially in light of new...circumstances."
I didn't have to elaborate for him to know what I meant. After my mate had rejected me, Fen was one of the first people I called, and I was a mess. He was the first one I'd called when I found them, so he knew how happy I was. When he heard me break down, he was quick to come back home for my sake.
There was a silence that fell over us, and I turned to focus on him. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression.
"That's not what I meant, Eli," he said. "I enjoy being around you—not just as a friend. I like seeing you smile, seeing the way your face lights up over the smallest things; I like seeing you happy."
I paused and stared at him with wide eyes. "Fen—"
He didn't give me a chance to finish talking before he closed the gap between us. His lips were on mine. My body froze, and I stared at the man with a million-and-one thoughts running through my mind. A few seconds passed before I pushed him away from me.
"Fen, I-I—" I paused and shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I don't see you like that." No words left his mouth as he stared at me. "You're my friend, Fen, and don't get me wrong, I love you, but not in that way. You're like family to me—"
I could see the way his eyes changed, and his jaw clenched. "Did Nixon say something to you?"
"What?" My brows furrowed.
"Why the fuck is it so hard for him to mind his own damn business? His life is falling apart, and the only thing he can worry about is fucking up mine."
I frowned. "Don't say that. Nixon had nothing to do with this. I'm the one sitting here telling you this. I'm the one saying that I don't like you in that way. Not him, me. Eli."
Fen's frown mirrored my own. "Why?"
The question was small, but it carried some weight behind it.
"Fen—"
"Why, Eli?" He growled out, his hand running through his hair.
"I have a mate out there, Fen, and so do you—"
"Your mate rejected you, Eli!" He boomed. "Reuben fucking rejected you. He didn't want you while I do."
He didn't want you.
The words felt like a punch to the heart. I could feel my own emotions rising and the tears threatening to start falling all over again. I opened my mouth to respond but closed it, and my brows furrowed.
"I never told you his name," I said to Fen. "How do you know that?"
I made sure not to tell anyone besides Nolan after making him promise me not to share it. My parents didn't even know. I didn't want anyone to cause him grief, even if he had rejected me. Fen turned away from me, or he tried, but I stood up and walked around to his other side.
"Fen," my voice dropped.
"I called around after you told me he rejected you," he said.
He was lying. I knew Fen, and I knew his habits. There was a shift in his position, and his leg bounced slightly.
"You're lying to me," I said to Fen. "What did you do."
"Eli—"
"What did you do?!"
By now, I was yelling, and he wasn't meeting my eyes.
"After you called me saying that you met your mate, I...I did some digging and went to go see him."
He went to go see him? He didn't appear to be lying, but it didn't make sense.
"I would've known if you were there. I would've felt you."
"I never crossed into pack lands, I saw him on a run, and we talked."
"You 'talked'?" I repeated. "When was this?"
He didn't respond, and I let out a growl that forced him to look at me. By now, the tears were falling, but there was also a glare clear on my face. Fen's eyes softened, and he reached for me, but I yanked my hand back before he could touch me.
"The rejection came out of nowhere," I said quietly. "Are you the reason he rejected me, Fen?"
I wanted him to say no. I wanted it to all be some misunderstanding, but he didn't deny it. He just stared at me.
And before I knew it, I lunged at him. The two of us tumbled to the floor, and my hand connected with his jaw. Punch after punch followed, but he didn't fight back or attempt to get away.
He just stared up at me with that same cold look in his eyes.