Chapter 24
I could hear voices in the background. My body felt at ease, but something was different. Slowly, I tried to open my eyes. I wanted to know what was happening.
When I took the plunge and opened my eyes, I ended up closed them again. The bright light in the room hurt my eyes, and I couldn’t stand to keep them open.
“She’s awake!” I heard someone yell.
When I finally opened my eyes, I realized I was in my room.
Layton, Zev, Micah, and Jared were in the room with me. The guys quickly approached me when they noticed I was awake.
“How do you feel?” Zev asked me softly.
“Tired and thirsty,” I answered, my voice sounding very hoarse.
“You worried me so much. What happened?” Layton held my hand.
There were bags under his eyes. He looked really tired, and that must’ve been my fault.
I hurriedly drank the two cups of water that Micah offered. When I looked up, I found four pairs of eyes gazing at me expectantly.
It seemed like there was nothing I could do. I needed to test my lying skills or confess everything about me.
“Where’s Liam?”
“He has been here since we brought you two days ago. Right now he’s with his parents. Liam and my father cleared things up. Liam decided to return to the pack,” Zev answered.
“What about the other Rogues?”
“They have been taken care of. Six of them went against us, and we had to take different measures. A few of them decided to leave, and the rest are joining my pack,” Zev replied, taking on a different expression.
“Cassidy, you’re avoiding the question. What happened? You’ve been unconscious for two days and the fever has been over 105 degrees the entire time,” Layton questioned me.
“Well, a douche bag insulted the human race and I got really angry. I started feeling sick and apparently fell unconscious for two days with a very high fever,” I answered, proud of what I replied.
“Liam hasn’t said anything, but I know he knows something,” Zev added.
“I don’t know what he knows,” I snappily replied.
“It’s not like we can ignore how you took down two strong Rogues and the wings that sprung out of your back,” Layton suspiciously said.
The other guys added their own agreements along with him.
“What are you talking about?” I innocently asked.
“When you were feeling sick, Liam asked if it was because of ‘you know what’,” Zev said, adding his input.
“If there is anything at all to say, I’m not talking. So, just give up right now,” I told them.
“I didn’t mean what I said to Liam. I only said that because he acted like if he didn’t owe our pack an apology. I talked to my dad. He’s still mad at Liam, but we’re trying to mend everything with Marcus. Now we know it wasn’t his fault,” Layton admitted.
“You still said those words to him. It was because of comments like the one you made that Liam hated both packs. But I still don’t forgive you. What you said was very hurtful, even if it wasn’t directed at me,” I responded.
It literally wasn’t directed at me either way. I wasn’t a human, but my parents, friends, and family were. Layton should not have belittled people who were weaker than him physically. To me, humans were more than sacred.
“I know. I hurt you and I promise I’ll fix it. I’m sorry.”
I blushed at his words, and the guys around us smirked or laughed at our conversation. They either thought it was funny to see Layton acting that way, or found my blush funny.
Liam walked through the door then. When he did, I pointed in his direction, ready to give him a good scolding.
The moment I pointed my hand at Liam, a ball of fire flew from it and hit Liam straight in the chest. The guys around me froze, while Liam jumped around yelling bloody murder.
I covered my hand under my legs and looked around at the guys. I chuckled nervously trying to diffuse the attention from what I had just done.
“Are you serious? Why are you attacking me?” Liam asked, while taking off his burnt shirt.
“Uh, sorry?” I offered, not knowing what else to say.
“Cass, how did you do that?” Zev asked when he found his voice.
Layton was still staring at me with shock, and so were Micah and Jared.
“Magic?” I offered, knowing that was a lame response.
I had it under control, until doofus had to show up and I pointed at him, throwing fire in the process.
“How did you do that?” Layton asked when everyone else remained quiet.
“Where are my parents? Do they know what happened?” I asked them, remembering that they must’ve been worried out of their minds.
“They know. They have been by your side these past two day. Right now they left to buy some food for the load of guys waiting for you to wake up, but they will be home soon.”
Zev was the one who replied, but his voice showed more curiosity than anything else.
The four guys looked at me expectantly and Liam just stood there with a goofy grin, because he was in on the ‘secret’.
“It doesn’t matter what you say to distract us. Seeing fire shoot from your hands is a little hard to forget,” Zev said after a while.
“Let’s not forget you took on two Rogues,” Jared added.
“Or that you did grow wings from your back and turned invisible for a good ten seconds,” Micah continued.
“You might as well tell them. Sooner or later they are prone to find out,” Liam told me.
Layton frowned at him and narrowed his eyes, his expression growing dark.
“How the hell do you know?” Layton snapped.
Liam looked at me, asking for my permission to tell him. I reluctantly nodded my head and he started grinning like crazy.
“Right before the lot of you got there this little girl threw me into a tree and knocked me out.”
Liam looked proud when he said that. I couldn’t help but wonder why. It wasn’t like it was a good thing for a girl to beat him up.
“What? How did she do that?” Layton asked, confused.
I sighed frustrated.
I put my hands in the air and thrust them forward, concentrating my power on Liam. Liam crashed into the wall roughly, looking dazed for a second. When he finally got himself in order, he turned to glare at me.
“What the hell, Cass! That hurt!” He yelled, scowling at me.
“How did you, what just, did he, with your hands?” Jared incoherently asked.
The rest of the guys looked stunned.
“I knew you hadn’t touched Danny or those Rogues when they shot through the air. No one believed me when I said you pushed them… without actually… pushing them?” Micah added, sounding confused toward the end of his sentence.
“That was fucking awesome!” Zev excitedly stated, grinning at me.
I turned to look at him and gave him a high five. He seemed to be the only one in more control and not as shocked as the rest of the guys. His reaction reminded me a lot of the way Liam had acted when he found out about my gifts. They really were cousins, it showed.
“You’re not human?” Layton quietly asked.
“Dude, she has wings. How less human can she get,” Liam told Layton, with a disapproving look.
I rolled my eyes at the pair. I was still really amused with how easy Liam and Zev were taking it.
“I’m a Legen,” I simply stated.
The room fell silent after my words. The guys all looked at me, each wearing different expressions.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself to tell them my story— about my gifts, how I got them, and what they did.
They had never heard of Legens. They were amazed and surprised that another creature existed. Until then, there had only been Werewolves. I shared my own surprise about finding Werewolves were actually real.
I had never encountered another supernatural species, only to be told by all of them that no other real supernatural species existed. While Liam and Zev and Layton had encountered many phonies claiming to be something they clearly were not, they had never found anyone even close to what I was.
By the end, I had showed them each of my gifts.
Liam enjoyed cutting my hand with a pocket knife in order to watch it heal. Layton and Zev had almost gone crazy and shifted when Liam hurt me. It had taken a lot of reassuring from me to calm them down.
They were all surprised when I healed much faster than Werewolves did.
They had encountered first hand my telekinesis, something which none of them had wanted to test out. The same thing went with the fire, even though they were all impressed by it.
I left my wings for last.
“I’m going to show you my wings, but I don’t want you guys to get freaked out,” I said, nervously.
Despite how much I worried that it would freak them out, I found myself searching Layton’s eyes. I was looking for something in them, but I didn’t know what it was until I saw it.
When Layton and I stared at each other deeply, I only saw acceptance and love in them. He wasn’t scared and he wasn’t disgusted.
Layton smiled at me. In that moment I knew that he was with me, no matter what.
I got up from the bed, still feeling a bit lightheaded. Layton took my hand in his and helped me steady myself. At his touch, I could feel the tingles forming where our hands came into contact.
I smiled up at him and allowed him to lead me towards the center of the room.
I took a few deep breaths, preparing myself to show them the biggest secret I had kept concealed since I was thirteen years old. I felt calm, but nervous at the same time.
“Are we supposed to see them yet?” Jared asked.
I was facing the door and giving them my back. I chuckled at his comment, and shook my head. They probably didn’t know what to expect.
When I picked up my shirt and my back was in display, Layton growled loudly and tried covering me up. He stood behind me, and growled once again right by my ear, resting his head on my shoulders.
“What are you doing?” He hissed.
“You’ll see,” I replied.
I breathed in one last time, before allowing my white wings to unfold and flutter from my back. It was a slow process, since I wanted them to see the full effect of my wings. When they slit through my skin, in order to retract from my back, I felt the pain send shudders through my body.
My wings rarely hurt when they came out, but they did in that moment. I swallowed the pain, not wanting to worry any of the guys more than they already were about me.
My shirt was safely covering my front, only leaving my back exposed. The wings however, took care of blocking any part of skin from showing.
When they saw my wings, again they had different reactions. My eyes landed briefly on each of them, and I couldn’t help but smile.
Liam inhaled loudly, even though he had known to expect the wings. Micah just looked at me with wide eyes and smiled goofily, while shaking his head. Jared looked about to pass out. Zev was grinning like crazy, with a teasing look in his eyes.
The one I mainly cared about was Layton. He looked at me and then at my wings without saying a word. Surprise and shock were running through his eyes, but he wasn’t saying anything.
I didn’t make a move when Layton reached out to me. I was scared of what he would do or what his reaction would be. He surprised me by running his hand over my right wing, caressing it. I felt his touch on my wing. The little shocks I felt whenever he touched me were more than present.
“They’re beautiful,” Layton finally spoke.
I wanted to cry and throw myself at him, but I was too shocked to even move.
Zev got my attention when he cleared his throat and motioned the other guys.
“Uh, we’re just going to leave you two alone to talk,” he said.
Zev smirked and winked at me as he was passing by.
I blushed at his suggestion and drifted my eyes towards Layton. He was still looking at me with an expression I couldn’t even begin to describe.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Layton asked me when we were alone in my room.
“I was scared. I also didn’t know how you would take it,” I answered honestly.
If Layton and I had stayed together, I knew I would’ve told him at some point.
“Did I take it well?” Layton asked me with a playful expression.
“You took it better than I thought. But you’re a Werewolf. I’m not sure how much can actually surprise you,” I admitted, grinning widely.
Layton laughed at my words, and swiftly wrapped his arms around my waist. I pressed myself even closer to his chest, snuggling into his arms.
My wings were still out and I noticed Layton would stare at them any chance he could.
“I would never deny our love, whether you were human, Wolf, or Legen,” Layton confessed.
“I know. But it doesn’t make your words hurt any less,” I told him, as I pressed my head to his chest.
I still felt bad about the way he had referred to humans when he was arguing with Liam. Despite the fact that I was the only Legen I knew about, I had grown with the principles of Legens from centuries ago. I felt it within me, the instinct to care and protect other human beings.
Hearing and seeing Layton undermine them— it was something that really hurt me.
“I’m an idiot. Sometimes I say things I don’t mean. But that comment was never directed at you. I have loved you since the moment I saw you. Nothing could ever change that,” Layton said.
I noticed how difficult it was for him to express himself. He was usually so tough and reserved. I had learned since day one that being emotional was not his thing.
Layton had no idea how much it meant for him to be telling me that though. I beamed at his words.
“I know you love me. If you didn’t, I would’ve dumped your butt long ago,” I told him.
“I still can’t believe you’re something else,” he said, as he ran a hand through my wings.
The white in them would illuminate in little sparks of light wherever he touched them.
“I feel small shocks where I touch them,” Layton told me, a huge grin plastered on his face.
“Do you mind? The wings, I mean,” I awkwardly asked.
“Are you serious?” He asked incredulously.
I gave him a sheepish nod, and waited for him to reply
“Do you mind that I’m a Werewolf?”
“Huh?” I asked, confused that he’d thrown that question in the air.
“Do you mind that I’m not human, that I’m a Wolf?” Layton repeated.
“Except for how easily you get mad, Werewolves kick-ass,” I excitedly replied. “Except mine, of course. I could totally take a Werewolf.”
“You think you can take me?” Layton asked, playfully but with a challenge in his words.
I didn’t give him an answer. Instead, I wrapped my hands around his neck and brought him down to me. Layton responded to my kiss as soon as our lips came into contact. I allowed myself to enjoy the kiss, while letting Layton take full control.
He usually liked that, to lead. While he was kissing me, I began wrapping my wings and retracting them into my back. Layton didn’t even notice, since he was too entranced by dominating our kiss.
His lips were moving against mine hungrily, his hands digging into my waist, which had been left exposed.
Layton raised me from the ground, and I noticed he was trying to carry me towards the bed.
Before he got the chance, I shoved him away. The push came as a surprise to Layton, and he released me. I laughed at the shocked expression on his face, and made a dash for the door.
Layton looked at his arms, where I’d been just seconds before, and then to the door where I was at.
I shook my head at him, and ran away laughing.
“I could totally take you!” I shouted at him on my way down the stairs.
When I got downstairs, I noticed the guys had left. A note was posted in the table next to the front door. I grabbed it, already recognizing Zev’s handwriting in the paper.
‘I’ll call you later. I’m glad you’re well now, princess. Love you, Zev.’
I smiled as I held the note to my chest. He was always the charmer. Layton caught up to me and gave me a strange look.
He tried taking the note away from me, but I put it out of his reach before he read it. If Zev and Layton’s packs were trying to mend things, I didn’t want them fighting about me.
“What did my dad say when you guys brought me home?” I asked him, changing the subject.
I knew that as soon as my parents arrived, I would have a lot of questions to answer.
“They were worried, and they didn’t know who to blame. Liam and Zeverus did a better job at explaining what happened. I think your dad hates me,” Layton said, scrunching up his nose.
I chuckled at his expression, knowing that Layton was probably right.
Layton was not the type of guy who went around pleasing people. He said what he thought and did what he wanted, even if others didn’t like it. I was sure my father was not too keen of that.
“Did he tell you anything?” I kept on questioning as we headed to the game room.
“No, but he insisted on not going to the hospital. A doctor came to check you and he said you were fine. He had you on medication for the two days you were out.”
“That’s not too bad,” I commented.
“I had Peter, our pack doctor, come and take a look at you. The dumbass had no explanation on what was wrong,” Layton replied, sounding upset.
“It was because of your mark,” I told Layton softly.
“What?”
“Did you guys tell my parents you were Werewolves?”
“No. I decided it was best not to. He didn’t exactly trust us with the information of you being a Legen,” Layton replied, harshly.
“My dad didn’t want anybody to know. Since you already do, I guess I can explain. I’m pretty sure my element kicked in before I turned seventeen because you bit me,” I confessed.
“How did that happen? What does my claim have to do with what you are?” Layton asked.
He seemed confused and it looked like that bothered him.
“I’m not exactly sure why, but I felt that it was your mark that triggered it. Before I passed out, the mark on my neck felt like it was burning me alive. It was horrible and it was all starting from there,” I confessed.
Layton looked apologetic. Somehow, through the bond, I could feel how sorry he felt.
“That was my fault,” Layton said.
“It was because you bit me, but I’m not saying it was bad. I’m fine now, and that’s all that counts,” I replied to him with a cheerful voice.
I really did feel great. My body shut down for two days, but it recovered. It could’ve been worse. I was thankful that nothing worse had happened.
“You’re parents are coming home soon,” Layton told me.
We were sitting side by side in one of the couches in the game room.
“I know. I’m sort of nervous.”
I was trying to imagine how they would react. My dad had surely assumed my body shutting down had something to do with being a Legen, but I hadn’t told him yet. He was the one who usually got excited every time a gift appeared. Shooting fire definitely was a big change.
“Why are you nervous?”
“First I was at your house for the night and then I was passed out for two more days. I also have to update them on my new element.”
“It’s going to take me a while to get use to that,” Layton suddenly said.
My head had been resting on his shoulder. When he made that comment, I sat up straight and looked down at him.
“Why? You don’t like it?” I asked Layton.
“The first day I met you, I thought you were weaker than me. I have been thinking that all this time. Now, I know that you’re probably a lot stronger than me, gift wise,” Layton replied
“So you feel emasculated?” I teased him.
“Maybe a little, but it’s not that. I’m proud that you are what you are. I feel honored that you were chosen to be my mate,” Layton said, looking at me proudly.
I gave him a shy smile and felt myself blushing at his words. I never really imagined myself confessing what I was to anyone else. The reaction that Layton gave me when he found out, it was more than I could have asked for.
“Your beautiful rosy cheeks,” Layton said as he caressed my cheek.
He left a trail of electricity with his touch.
“Your nice, long silky hair,” he continued, as he tangled his hands through my hair, inhaling my scent deeply.
I could feeling myself getting breathless, and my cheeks were starting to warm up.
“Your emerald green eyes,” Layton continued, as he ran his thumbs on the area under my eyes.
His grayish blue eyes were staring into mine intently, yet lovingly.
“And your soft pink lips,” he whispered, brushing his lips against mine teasingly.
He was looking at me hungrily, yet his touch was very soft. I found myself inching closer to him, wanting him to embrace me in his arms.
“Are some of the things that make you perfect,” Layton finished.
His lips landed on mine just after he spoke those words. The kiss we shared was soft. Layton was barely brushing his lips against mine. He was holding me gently, like if he wasn’t careful enough with me I would break.
We’d only been kissing for a minute when I felt my lips moving against his feverishly, wanting him to kiss me with the aggressiveness I was used to from him. I wanted more. Layton chuckled against my lips when I deepened the kiss.
He knew what I wanted, and responded by running his hands down on my back. He cupped my behind, and roughly brought me onto his lap. I yelped at the sudden movement, but Layton didn’t allow me to pull away. I was straddling his waist, with his arms wrapped tightly and possessively around me.
Our kiss grew intense, his teeth grazing my lower lip. He was teasing me and oh was I enjoying it. I responded by pulling away, only to have him crash me against his chest and growl at me.
I loved the way he was being. I giggled when his fingers dug into my lower back. Layton’s lips didn’t move away from mine at any moment.
We were pressed together in a fervent kiss that was turning me on to the core. I moaned in complain when he pulled away from me. Layton smiled against my skin, and began trailing kisses down to my neck.
I noticed he was paying more attention to the area where the bite of his claim was at. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on the feelings running through me as Layton playfully bit my skin, over the bite that was already there.
Another moan unintentionally left my lips when Layton began sucking on my skin. It took only a second for Layton to reclaim my lips after that.
His lips were moving rougher than they had been before. His hands were pushing me impossibly closer to him, and I could feel his claws digging the skin of my waist. There was some pain, but it was overshadowed by how good it felt to be in his arms.
I was lost in his touch and in our kiss, which had turned hotter than any other time we’d been together. I was running my hands through his hair, tugging on it when the pleasure of his touch felt like too much.
I’d been too focused on what Layton and I were doing— I didn’t hear anyone else around. It wasn’t until someone cleared their throat loudly and turned on the lights, that I realized Layton and I were no longer alone in the house.
While Layton growled angrily at the interruption, I found myself going red with embarrassment.
I was still straddling Layton’s lap, and both of his hands were cupping my behind and pressing me to him. It didn’t take a genius to realize we had been up to something.
My parents were standing at the threshold at the door, both wearing different expressions. My mom seemed amused by the situation, but my dad looked beyond furious. His face had gone red and he was staring at Layton and me with disapproval.