Hypnosis: the ability to put someone in a submissive trance.
this chapter is hella long!!! also you'll find out what happened between Harry and the 3rd Supreme ☺️☺️
Enjoy xx
t.m.
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Harry Styles // 6 Man
"Max," I growled lowly under my breath, absolutely furious about the fact that he didn't listen to me and was roaming around New Orleans. I was even more upset with the fact that he fucking got a job in the same university as I did.
"Harry," he grinned back, before clasping my shoulder with one hand. "I'm also offended you didn't tell me you started dating again, especially after what happened with that girl," he rambled, me pulling a face when he mentioned the 3rd Supreme.
"Oh umm we're not dating," Sage spoke up, eyes flickering to mine before she frowned to herself, unsure of what we actually were.
"We're just friends," I mumbled lowly, unclenching my fists.
"Right, friends, how stupid of me to assume you two were more than that. Obviously if you were, you, Sage, would've known I existed," Maximus ranted a little, finding all of this quite amusing as his damned smirk never left his face. He was the most sarcastic person I've ever known.
"Well now she knows you do exist, much to my displeasure," I mumbled, rolling my eyes at Maximus' words before I remembered we had lunch to get to. "We're leaving for lunch, and no you can't join," I told him firmly, ignoring the look of confusion at my rudeness towards my stepbrother. Sage opened her mouth, probably feeling the need to apologize for my rude behavior, but Maximus spoke first.
"It's okay, love. My little brother isn't the most courteous person, but oh well, you two enjoy yourselves," and with that Maximus walked away.
⍟
"You two look completely different," Sage spoke up after a few moments of silence while we had lunch at a small café near the university.
"Yeah he looks more like his mom," I muttered under my breath, clearly uncomfortable with this topic but talking about it nevertheless. It helped as in indication to her that I was opening up, even though deep down inside I didn't want to.
"Oh," she responded quietly, pursing her lips. "You two don't seem like you're on good terms," she said hesitantly, only stating what she had observed, which was understandable.
"Oh we're not. He's a dick," I said immediately, before I bit into my Panini and chewed hardly, still vexed about Max randomly showing up like that.
"He must've done something awful to give you that impression," Sage murmured.
"He's done a lot of things to give me that impression," I scoffed, before I noticed her gazing at me with pitiful eyes. Pity? Most probably for having a bad relationship with my brother, the only family I had left. "But he is after all my family, as much as I want to strangle him, I love him."
Sage smiled lightly at my words, asking no further questions about him much to my pleasure and instead conversing with me lightly about whatever came to mind first. I wasn't paying much attention to her words, too distracted by her beauty and the way her gorgeous eyes lit up as she spoke about her desire to travel the world and explore new places.
"I wanna go to Germany," she sighed dreamily. "My mother was from Cologne and I apparently have a lot of family there, plus that country is filled with tons of history."
"I could take you," I told her, causing her eyes to widen at my words, a sad smile etching onto her lips. "I'm serious, I'll pay too! We could tour around Europe and visit all these countries, perhaps during Christmas." I knew was going overboard with the offer, she barely knew me but here I was offering to pay for flights and accommodations, just to take her to wherever she desired.
"I can't Harry, I would never let anyone spend money like that on me," she said apologetically, parting her lips again to say something else but she held herself back.
"I guess we're not close enough for me to even suggest that," I laughed sheepishly, feeling utterly stupid for making this stupid move. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's sweet of you to offer," she immediately said, hand darting out over the table to grab mine, squeezing it reassuringly. I tried to ignore the way my heart battered against my ribcage at the action. "Thank you though."
"Anything for you," I murmured back with a soft smile. "You said your mother's from Germany, so where's your dad from then?" I asked, deciding to change the subject.
"My dad is actually from Haiti, while my mom is a mix of many places, German, Norwegian, Dutch and English," she grinned when my lips parted in awe.
"That's so cool. And then there's me on the other hand, 100% white meat straight from England," I said, faking a proud smile as she burst out laughing.
"You say that with such pride, it's very admirable."
"It's called sarcasm, love. I could give you a few lessons on mastering it," I smirked cockily as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm aware of what sarcasm is and how to use it, thank you very much. I'd like to steer as far away from attending your 'lessons'," she said, faking a grimace as I dropped my jaw dramatically.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Don't pretend you didn't yell at that poor student to go eat shit just because she defended her painting," she pointed out with a playful glare. I rolled my eyes, leaning back against my chair as I folded my arms over my chest.
"I didn't mean that, I was just utterly vexed by the fact that she said she was the female version of Leonardo Da Vinci," I retaliated, making her chuckle, shaking her head.
"You were so loud! I heard you while I was walking past the art studio!" she exclaimed, while I shook my head.
"Says you, I'm pretty sure your aunt heard us today in the morning," I immediately smirked, watching as her cheeks flushed a rosy color while she pouted her lips and pulled her brows low.
"Shut up," she pouted even harder as I started to tease her about how loud her moaning gets when I hit her in the right spots. She was ready to strangle me over the table, shushing me as her eyes darted around frantically to see if anyone was hearing over conversation.
"You're so cute when you're angry," I teased again, my lips pulling back over my teeth to display a cheeky grin. I reached over the table to pinch her cheek, causing her to yelp, slapping my hand away.
"You're going to spoil my highlight!" she huffed in annoyance, as she folded her arms over her chest. "My aunt did not hear us, my walls are soundproof.
"Hmm I wonder why," I frowned mockingly while she let out a frustrated groan.
"You're so annoying," she broke out into a soft smile when I stopped faking confusion and grinned at her playfully.
"That's not the first time someone's told me that," I chuckled, sipping on my lemonade after I had finished my Panini.
"Hmm I wonder why," Sage said, repeating my words with a smirk as I narrowed my eyes at her, rolling my lips inwards to conceal a smile.
I couldn't help but admit I enjoyed this, her company. She could talk about the most random things in the world and I'd still be listening with interest to every word she has to say. Our playful insulting soon morphed into a conversation about controversial topics. It was nice to talk about these things with her; it was something I found refreshing after spending all my life surrounded by The Saviors and their uneducated asses. All they seem to want to talk about is how many witches they killed and why hate witches.
After fifteen more minutes or so, we returned to the university, parting ways to our own classes. Once I had sought to my class, letting them do their own thing with their art projects. I left the room momentarily, only one thing on my mind. Maximus. After asking for directions to his classroom, I moved quickly, feeling the anger rise inside of me as I stormed through his door, causing him to look up from the novel he was reading.
"Harry! How d'you like my new classroom?" he grinned widely when he saw me enter, waving his hands around his enormous classroom.
"Why, the fuck, are you here?" I questioned loudly, ignoring what he said as I slammed the palms of my hands down on the mahogany desk loudly. To my annoyance he started chuckling, finding my vexed expression amusing.
"Just keeping an eye on my little brother, is that a crime?" He arched his eyebrows at me questioningly as I flared my nostrils and clenched my jaw.
"I told you to stay away from her," I snarled, making him narrow his eyes immediately, standing up.
"Oh please, Harry it's not like I'm hovering around her, breathing down her neck. Calm the fuck down. I'm only here to keep a closer eye on you, making sure you're not straying away from your real goal," he snapped at me.
"No, what you're supposed to do is stay home and lay low. You're supposed to hear me out on whatever I have to say and advice me when I need it. Not babysit me while I'm on my fucking mission," I retaliated, causing him to squint in anger.
"Well you're too late! I start work tomorrow so there's nothing you can do about it, whether you like it or not!" he responded, throwing his arms dramatically in the air before plopping down in his seat.
"Just please, don't start getting friendly with her and share secrets about me. The last thing I need is for her to find out about our parents," I grumbled, folding my arms over my chest as he suddenly smirked at me.
"You're gonna have to tell her anyways, you realize that?"
"What?" I furrowed my brows, making him chuckle lightly under his breath due to how clueless I was.
"You're supposed to open up to her, then she'll see that you trust her and will do the same to you," Maximus explained, his words causing my lips to form a small 'O'.
"For fuck's sake," I huffed. "I can make all this shit up though! I don't have to tell her exactly what happened between our parents."
"I mean if you think about it, it seems normal anyways. Our father got extra horny, betrayed my mother and slept with yours. End of story," Maximus shrugged like what he just said didn't bother him the slightest bit. "Just leave out the part where our father gets killed because of your mother."
"Don't blame her for that," I hissed, defending my deceased mother as Maximus looked up at me with cold eyes again.
"Don't fucking defend her then," he snarled back, his icy blue eyes glaring, almost as if challenging me to keep on defending my mother.
I just scoffed, shaking my head before turning to leave. Our relationship was so complicated even I myself didn't understand it sometimes. There were times he resented me, but then there were also times he would go through drastic measures to protect me and defend me.
He was big on family, utterly devoted to keeping the Styles/Maniatis bloodline alive. We didn't have any other family, at least not any that we knew of. We only had each other, so sometimes when I'd see Maximus trying to interfere with my work, it's usually just to watch over me like the protective older brother he was.
⍟
A yawn escaped my lips as I rummaged through all the documents Colton had given me regarding Sage. My eyes ran over the list of powers she had, reading the definitions next to them as well. She had a vast range of powers, starting from the most common ones such as Pyrokinesis and telekinesis to ones like conjuring the elements, or power absorption.
After 15 more minutes I got bored of the work I was doing and pushed myself off the bed, walking over to my easel where I had set up a blank canvas. I pursed my lips, wondering what to paint or draw before I spotted Zeus entering my room out of the corner of my eye. An idea popped into my head, a smile curling onto my lips when I decided to paint Nymeria, a gift for Sage. I was surprised with myself when I realized this was something I genuinely wanted to do for her, and not something I was trying to do just to win her over for my mission.
I spent a few minutes searching up pictures of husky/wolf hybrids, trying to look for one that replicated Nymeria. Once I was successful, I took the canvas off the easel and started sketching the outline of the wolf and other details. Hours passed by as I worked hard on completing the painting. Halfway through the painting, I removed my shirt and opened the window, feeling it was stuffy and smelt too much like paint. I gathered my hair up in a bun, and continued to work.
At around 10 p.m. I heard a knock on my bedroom door. The words 'come in' left my lips as I continued to focus on my painting, flicking my paintbrush ever so lightly onto the canvas. Whomever entered my room, spoke up quietly, the familiarity of the voice making me freeze.
"Whoa." It was Sage.
I turned around with a frown etched onto my face, wondering why she was here. But she was soon caught up with the paintings that were set up to the side of room where my art was hung up, empty paint buckets and dirty brushes scattered here and there. My blood froze in my veins when I remembered the files that were strewn across my bed, the files with her name and pictures. While she was too distracted with the paintings, I moved behind her quickly to gather them up and tossing them under my bed before she spoke up again.
"Harry, is this Nymeria?" she asked quietly, her gaze flickering back to meet mine as I sighed and nodded.
"Yeah, but you weren't supposed to see that until I finish it," I said in a genuine disappointed tone, annoyed that she saw the painting I was working on before I even finished it.
"You were painting it for me?"
"Yes," I said, biting my cheek awkwardly, looking at my feet. I heard footsteps before I felt her soft hands cup my cheek and lift my head up to meet her soft gaze.
"It's beautiful so far, thank you Harry. That's very sweet of you," she told me, her gorgeous smile automatically triggering mine without my permission as I leaned into her touch.
"You're welcome, love," I murmured, grasping her hips and ducking down to press a soft kiss to her lips. "So, what brings you here?" I questioned once I pulled away and went back to my painting.
"I was just thinking about something your brother said to me today," she spoke lowly, her voice hesitant as she gazed at the rest of my paintings. Her words immediately made me clench my jaw, my nostrils flaring as I thought of immediately consulting my brother about this, but I held my ground, and waited for what she had to say.
"When did he talk to you?" I questioned sharply.
"After my last class today, I ran into him on the way out of the building," she told me.
"Well? What did he say?" I snapped impatiently, making her turn around to face me with a tight frown on her face.
"Some things about a past lover. He still assumed we were already dating. He said things like it's good that you found someone again after what happened with your last girlfriend," Sage said, averting her gaze to the ground as she pressed her lips together.
Obviously she must've felt uncomfortable when Maximus told her those things, as we weren't actually together. What Sage and I had was a bit confusing. At the start it was physical, a one-night stand that wasn't supposed to mean anything to either of us. But luckily I managed to make that night a night to remember and she was willing to mess around once again. However, after that 'hang-out' we had, we both got a glimpse of something we had together that could be more than just a physical relationship. Everything was falling perfectly into place for my mission and I couldn't be happier about that.
But a part of me was also worried about what was going to come. I was genuinely starting to feel for her and that wasn't good at all. What if my feelings grow even deeper to the point where I won't be able to bring myself to the point where I have to kill her? I immediately pushed the thought away, finding it too overwhelming to think about at the moment. I needed to talk to Max about this, he was the only person I could trust who wouldn't tell Colton if I told him about how I've been feeling lately.
"That must've felt awkward," I murmured, keeping my gaze fixated on the painting of Nymeria as I raised my paintbrush and continued to paint.
"It did," she admitted sheepishly, walking over to my bed and sitting on it. "What happened between your ex and you? If you don't mind me asking."
I paused my actions momentarily, sucking in a short breath as I felt a flood of memories hit me from the time I visited Toledo, Spain. The 3rd Supreme was situated there, along with her coven of witches. Many things went wrong during that time of my life when I was 20 years old, young and naïve but utterly vindictive.
I looked behind me, my gaze meeting Sage's soft one as her eyes held sympathy. I set my paintbrush down, moving to pull my shirt over my head before I walked over to her and sat down on the bed next to her. My elbows rested on my knees as my back hunched, a heavy breath leaving my lips. Now whenever I thought of that time, I only felt rage and disappointment, as well as the sting of heartbreak. I hated speaking of that time, but since I was trying to gain Sage's trust, I had to show that I trusted her too by telling her of my past.
"When I was around 19, I took a gap year, travelling all around the world to the most beautiful and unseen countries. It was when I turned 20; I arrived at Toledo, Spain. A beautiful city where I fell in love with the culture, the people, and this one girl," I said, my tone growing heavy with emotion as I tried to make myself sound pained instead of vexed.
"Valentina," I uttered her name, swallowing thickly as my eyes darted to Sage who was listening attentively. "I was such a lovesick puppy at that time, falling for her the moment I laid eyes on her. She had captured my heart so effortlessly. I was willing to do anything and everything for her after being with her for just those few months," I continued to say, carrying on with my story.
All of this was true. Valentina the Vixen, as I would call her, was the most beautiful woman I had set eyes on during the time I was in Spain. I was utterly spellbound by her beauty and her personality, loving how feisty and confident she was. I fell in love with her, if love is what you call it. But in all honesty, it wasn't love; it was infatuation. I was obsessed with her, even though all she wanted from me was my body to use, nothing more.
"She only wanted you for sex?" Sage whispered, pausing me half way. I nodded slowly, pressing my lips together.
"Only sex. Nothing more. She didn't want my love, my affection, my care. Only my body. She lied to me, manipulated me, told me that I was the only man in her life. The only one she loved. You have no idea how happy I was when she told me she loved me back Sage," I whispered quietly, trying my hardest to pour all my emotions into my words. "You have no idea how much it hurt when I realized that it was all just a lie."
"Like I said before, she lied to me, said I was her one and only. Obviously that turned out to be untrue when I walked in on her fucking another man," I muttered bitterly, my tone holding anger as I saw Sage's jaw drop out of the corner of my eye.
"She cheated on you?" she gaped, her eyebrows shot up as I swallowed thickly.
"Yeah, apparently it was one of her exes," I mumbled, biting my lip when I almost told her what really happened.
Maximus travelled with me at the time, aiding me during my missions but that was only up till the 3rd Supreme. Valentina had always taken an interest in my brother but I was too blind to see it. She was using me to get to him this entire time, and when she did try to get him to sleep with her; he refused. So she casted some sort of spell on him with the help of a voodoo practitioner to get him to practically be her pet.
"Oh Harry," she whispered, her eyes blown wide with sympathy swirling in them. "What happened next?"
"I left her. As much as I felt vengeful, I forced myself to leave. There wasn't much I can do. I was angry more than hurt, that she did such a horrible thing, cheating on me," I spat, feeling enraged just by thinking about that bitch.
What really happened was, once I caught Maximus and Valentina in bed. I flipped, almost taking off Maximus' head off until a part of me sensed that he wasn't himself. It was like a part of me knew that he had a spell casted over him, plus I saw that his ring was off so it made sense if he was under a spell. So, I made myself seem hurt, heartbroken, and livid that Valentina would do such a thing, and I truly was feeling those things.
But what I saw opened my eyes to a lot of things. One: witches are bad. It was as simple as that. I should have never allowed Valentina to get into my head and seize my heart like it was nothing. Two: I wasn't in love with her, only infatuated by her. After I saw the two together, I left immediately with murderous intentions, as she still didn't know that I was 2 Man at the time. I analyzed everything in detail and saw that I was simply obsessed with her and what I felt wasn't real love.
So while Valentina thought she'd never see me again after what I saw, I prepared myself for the biggest massacre I had ever conducted. As I had protection over me from the ring, I was unstoppable. I slaughtered every single witch in Toledo, including every single person Valentino ever loved, her family and friends, regardless of them being innocent human beings. I was livid. I wanted to hurt her, I wanted to make her feel pain; the pain I felt when I walked in on her fucking my brother.
I can't help but admit; I felt like a sadist when I finally came for Valentina herself. The look in her eyes when I told her I was 2 Man gave me such joy, it sounded deranged. Back then, I was ruthless, vicious and barbarous, and I still am. I will stop at nothing to take down witches, and the Supremes. I sure as hell won't stop at anything when it comes to taking down Sage.
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-what do you guys think of Harry's backstory hmmm? 🤔🤔
- I have a feeling this book might be pretty long, maybe as much as K&R which is about 76 chapters so LETS SEE! There's so much I have planned in store for this, with the plot twists and whatnot ☺️☺️😉😉
SO EXCITED
Until we meet again...
t.m.