Pierce's P.O.V
I eye Gabriel carefully as I see him trying to keep some of the men here in line while throwing glances at Lily in the process. I found this to be unbelievably amusing and sad at the same time. Anyone with eyes can see how hopelessly in love he is with that girl. He goes on and does exaggerated motions with his hands and legs making me smirk. He's just trying to be cool in front of her. It's almost cute.
So it's like this Gabriel. . .?
I hope he is able to snap out out of this before the end of next month arrives. A love like that with this pack can only lead to one or two things: His life ending or Her life ending. There is not much gray area in the matter. Our Alpha has made it clear that he would not accept any mixed breeds or fraternization of any kind with any other pack. So I really just don't understand why he is putting himself through all this.
As I draw my attention away from the spawning love birds I see the men staring at me taking me by complete surprise. I registered nothing but lust and need in their eyes making me fill with uneasiness. Never have I thought men of all people would be attracted to me to this degree. What really shocks me is that fact that they don't care about showing it outwardly.
Gabriel smacks one of them in the head playfully. "Get back to work. There is no time for gawking and I'm one hundred percent sure he doesn't want any one of your asses so you mine as well give up." They start laughing at the first part but the laughter dies down just as quickly as it started when he says something about them as well.
I advert my eyes away from him as I try to hold in a smile of complete and utter humor. Never would I have thought I would be looked at as a piece of meat. My how the tables turn...
"Pierce you're nothing but a distraction to them," He says dryly as he comes over towards me making me sigh and shrug my shoulders.
"I'm not use to attention like this. But I could get use to it." He nudges me making me laugh.
"Over here, no matter if you're a man or woman, they recognize beauty when they see it and I suppose they see a tremendous amount of it in you. Maybe it's the color of your eyes, you know how they change colors and all or maybe the darkness of your hair. They're use to light eyes and light hair. You may be seen as something exotic." He wiggles his eyebrows causing me to roll my eyes.
However, I nod my head at this explanation. "Figures. Well either way, I'm not getting involved with any of them."
He scoffs trying to hold in a laugh. "Well, of course." He says with so much amusement he takes me by surprise again.
"What?"
"Nothing, just that Cassius would string them by their necks even if they tried anything." My eyes narrow at the sound of his name. Every time it's uttered I feel a lightness in my chest which relaxes me to an extent for some unknown reason.
"...He doesn't seem like the type to do that."
This causes both Lily and Gabe to break out into pure fits of laughter.
"Oh God Pierce you're so funny." He says while hitting me as he laughed. Lily joins him in his laughter before focusing back on the men and their forms.
"...I was being serious."
"You only seen the. . .well. . .nice side of him. I don't even think I should even call it that." He scoffs while diverting eye contact from me.
"You seem to know him well. Who is he?" I ask bluntly.
"...a good friend." His voice comes off soft as some sense of nostalgia runs through it. " He was one of the first people to open up to me, an outsider. Because of this, a lot more people became much more accepting of the fact of me staying here. I wasn't ostracized and treated badly because of him. I owe a lot to him."
"And Lily?"
" Ah, Lily..."
"You like her right?" His eyes widen as he looks at me making me smile lightly. He's like a love-struck puppy. I cannot possibly tell him about the waste of his efforts. He can be in love, even if only for a little while. I would hate to be the one to deny him that. I see Cassius coming through the corner of my eye and my heart instantly picks up its pacing.
I blink as he I notice how he stops in front of the men and talk to them, not bothering to approach us. I continue to stare at him waiting for is timely walk over here, but it never comes. A feeling of disappointment consumes as I look away from him and stare at the grass.
"Cassius has many admirers." Gabe says pulling me out of my thoughts.
"He has many admirers you know, yet he's never been with either one of them. Heck, even I was a die-hard admirer for a while."
I look from Gabe and back to Cassius. "So why didn't you tell him?"
"Tell him? Hahaha. He's the- He just isn't anybody Pierce. Plus he...well umm I just knew he wouldn't see me that way. You see, it would be hard for someone like me to be with him without being his rightful mate. They take mates very seriously here. "
"...mates huh?"
"You seem to be very curious of him all of a sudden. I wonder what triggered all of this curiosity."
"Nothing," I say blandly. "He has just been staying away from me lately and I just began to have some thoughts. That's all."
"Well, you seemed like you didn't want him around the last couple times he visited. You even went as far as to ignore him. I would want to stay away from you too."
I cut my eyes to him in a matter of seconds. "I wasn't ignoring him. He can be overbearing sometimes. He's very pushy and sometimes I would just like my space."
"Pushy?"
"He would just like for everything to go his way. Maybe he's use that type of thing, but it isn't happening with me."
"Oh? Sounds like a start of a relationship," He says teasingly only causing my face to heat up.
"It's nothing like that. You know who I am Gabriel. I cannot afford such luxuries as a relationship. I'm going to be Beta soon. I will be serving the next Alpha. My life belongs to Isaac. You know that. "
He tightens his lips as he nods. "I know. But this happened. That was then and this is now. You know... you don't have to go back. We both don't have to go."
"I have to."
"You have to what?" I hear his voice close to my ear sending a shudder down my body.
"I'm curious. He leans over me so he can make eye contact with me while draping his hands around my neck. A fluttery feeling begins to nestle in my stomach.
"Nothing of importance," I say brushing him off but relishing in the feeling of his touch on my skin.
"I beg to differ." I can feel the smile and sensuousness coming from him. He looks to the side of me eyeing Gabe like he was being a pest.
"You're far too close together. Move." That's the first time I heard it, his rumored domineering and aggressive nature. I look at his eyes and notice how they are narrowing into little slits because of how slow moving Gabe is.
As soon as he is at a far enough distance to his liking he smiles a genuine smile at me taking me aback. "I thought you might just want a little more space to yourself. You should speak up more."
I look at him with pure amusement as I shake my head. He has got to be one of the most easily jealous people I have ever had the chance of knowing. To make things even better he used my comfortability as an excuse to make him move. He's pretty clever.
"You're interesting," I say at a loss of words for what just happened.
He sits down right where he made Gabriel move from and smirks while looking up at the sky. "Yeah? Care to elaborate? I love compliments. "
I laugh at this as my head shakes. Nonetheless vain...but he does have a reason to be. "I obviously don't like it when people are too close to you. If you know that you should pay it some mind."
"I actually did not know. Not until today anyway..." He's really lecturing me about being too close to people when he hasn't been around in more than a week. I find that so ironic. He even sent me to stay with Gabe. I really just don't understand this man.
I watch him stare up at the sky until he finally locks eyes with me. "Do you...want to take a walk with me?" He asks so softly I begin to question if he's the same person that practically reprimanded Gabe just for sitting too close to me.
I stare into his light brown eyes already getting lost in the beauty of them. He continues to look at me waiting for an answer to his question. I couldn't possibly say no to him. Not when he looks at me like that.
"Sure." I can feel a smile coming on and I quickly suppress it. What is really going on with me? I really am beginning to warm up to him and I don't like it.
He is the first to get up as he coolly places both of his hands in his pockets. "Come on, before I see someone I don't feel like talking to."
I get up and continue to follow him out of the arena and onto a dirt path leading into some dense forestry. I don't feel uneasy about going but more for the reason why we're going. Maybe I'm just thinking too much into things. His expression though says otherwise.
When he thinks I'm not looking he sneaks glances at me and even slows down to my pacing to walk by my side. I hate to admit it, but I really like it. I'm glad he is giving me my space and keeping himself at a distance but not too far to where I feel like he's completely uninterested in me. In short, I like his subtle shows of affection.
Though I hate to acknowledge it, It's cute. Not much people try to get me to warm up to them after being so rude and blunt towards them. He's different...I can definitely tell by that much.
We walk in complete silence neither one of us showing that we minded much. Honestly, I am just happy to be around him without any foreign pressures weighing against me. Being around him makes me feel so relaxed and calm. It's an intoxicating feeling that I'm not use to experiencing. I'll never tell him any of this though. Why would I?
"Pierce...about what I said a while ago...I take it back. I was being rash and not taking into account of how you felt about the whole thing, so I apologize."
I stop walking and stare at him.
"You're not mine or anyone else's...I completely understand that. As for staying here...well as for that...you don't have to."
Is he being serious right now? He just made a complete turn around from the first time I met him until now.
"Hmm. You really are just full of surprises." He stops walking and turns around.
"I just don't want you or Gabe to feel like I'm forcing you to stay. That's all. This is a new place, a new environment and I admit I was being quite pushy."
"Oh? Honestly, from what people say about you and the you right now are completely different. I really just don't understand why people get that kind of vibe from you."
His eyes widen and a small smile tugs on his lips. " I'm not a very nice person most of the time, but I am considerate. I do respect people's boundaries..." He says while trailing off.
"Who was saying things about me anyway?"
"Mmm... just people," I say teasingly.
"What did they say?"
I laugh a little at the concern leaking from his voice. " Why do you want to know? It was nothing bad."
His eyes fall away from my face as he sighs and walks a little closer to me. " I don't want you to get the wrong idea about me. I don't exactly have the best reputation here," He says while huffing out.
"..."
He's a kind person he just has an interesting way of showing his affections to people. It could be misinterpreted as being controlling or domineering, but after observing him he seems like he worries about others a lot, maybe a little too much for my liking. Honestly I really can't speak much of it...
"I know first impressions are the most lasting and mine wasn't a really good one." I see the worry in his eyes as he talks lower and lower making me completely smile at this.
This guy really cares about how I think about him. I grab his arm and tug him a little closer to me getting his full attention entirely. Another quirk I like about him.
"...I definitely do not have the wrong idea about you."
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Cassius' P.O.V
I look up at my mate's face trying not to let the happiness that came from that sentence bubble out of me. Just the warmth that came from his voice makes me want to hug him. Even the smallest of things he does makes me overly happy in comparison to everyone else. I'm "nice" to him only because I like to see him smile and I would also like to be the cause of that smile. I'm head-over-heels infatuated with this man, but he just can't seem to see this.
This place is foreign and new to him. He belongs to a different pack and he honestly has no real obligation to be here other than to pay a debt. A debt that he truly doesn't owe. He more than likely doesn't even know that I am his mate or even what a mate is. What it's supposed to mean...
In the beginning I failed to realize this and constantly egged him to acknowledge me. I want him to get use to it here, get use to me, before he goes back. But...I want him to stay on his own accord.
"Ah, I believe you do."
"Hah? Ok what do you think I think about you?"
"Controlling, domineering, ill-tempered, not friendly, not compassionate, you know the works," I say dryly while looking at his hand on my arm. I can't help but feel a shudder run through me as the sparks pump through my veins like blood and adrenaline.
"I just think you care a lot."
I blink at this.
"Whether it's about this pack or me in particular, you care a lot and that's not necessarily a bad thing. . . I'm glad that you care so much about my comfortability even though I don't belong to this pack. I admit I had a very bad disposition of you once before and I apologize for my rude words. I was wrong."
He manages to hold my eyes for longer than what is necessary and I cannot help but feel the heat swelling up inside of me. He's not saying anything out of the ordinary, but my wolf is basking in all of its glory. She loves it.
He quickly lets go of my hands as he realizes what he had just done and runs his fingers through his hair absently. "Sorry I didn't mean to-"
" It's fine..." I touch where his hands left and rub it delicately not bothering to make proper eye contact with him. It's hard suppressing all this aggression and jealous tendencies I've been beginning to feel more and more often since his arrival.
I'm by no means this compassionate person he is making me out to be. I'm only like this right now because of him. But...I'm willing to take a compliment when it's given especially from him.
Him wanting to touch me, him actually touching me really shows how well my Mother's advice worked. He really did need some space, autonomy, and reassurance of his own feelings on things. He's beginning to open up maybe not as fast as I want him to, but fast enough to where he doesn't hate me.
I finally decide to look up at him after a long silence passes between us. "Cassius." I feel like my heart is starting to pound out of my chest as I hear my name uttered from his husky voice that held so much raw power and dominance. I know just by the way he carries himself and his voice alone, he is no regular member of his pack.
"I cannot accept your kindness." My eyebrows furrow together as my eyes narrow into little slits completely confused at this point.
"I cannot willingly accept it knowing the repercussions behind it...as you may well already noticed I am not just a normal member of my pack. I hold an important rank." I see him searching my eyes for an emotion he thought would be there and settles with a small smile once he figures it will never show.
"Yes, but that means little to m-"
"I am the future Beta of the Eastern Lands. I will succeed my father and become the next Alpha's right-hand man," He says with some sarcasm.
I shake my head at this and continue to walk further into the forest not being completely phased, but phased nonetheless. Beta? He's a Beta's son? That...ugh. I ruffle my hair as I shoot a glance at him.
He continues walking idly by me not saying another word. He is probably waiting on my response. I don't have a response for him. He's my mate. I'm Alpha of this pack. I can't possibly tell him that. He will want nothing to do with me.
The stalemate between our packs is beginning to crack.
"...Do you still want to show me the kindness you think I deserve?" I can make out subtle hint of concern in his voice. My eyes fall for a second and I look at him with a smile. He was worried about the same thing...so maybe...if I do tell him...
"It's not just kindness Pierce. You and I, we're-" My wolf whines for me not to tell him. She wants him to know on his own. I'm caught in between the loyalty of my pack and the loyalty I owe to him. The conflicting ideals are making my head hurt and I honestly cannot tell what I am supposed to do.
"We're..."
"We're strangers. Let's just keep it at that."
My eyes widen with hurt traveling to my heart like raging bulls. I blink my eyes a couple times before realizing how much of an effect those words had on me. Did he really just...
"I truly appreciate every last thing you have done for me, but soon I'll be going back to my pack. I'd like to continue on as if I never have met you, or any of you for the matter." I grip the side of my shirt as a stinging pain begins to circulate through me, making my eyes become slightly blurry.
"That..."
"As promised, I will pay the debt I owe to you in whatever way you want it to be received in."
I bite down on my lip madly trying to control the anger emerging from those words. They hurt beyond belief and he does not even feel an inkling of remorse for saying them. As I thought, he cares little about me.
Nothing has changed. If he feels this way then fine. I'll let him go back. I'll let him go through life without me. I'm through with this.
"I try and I try again. but you just don't seem to get it." I spit madly at him. "You think we can be strangers? You think we can be enemies?"
"You were better of killing me as I said before. It would have been more beneficial to you and your pack if you had done so...if you would have followed appropriate protocol."
I shake my head madly. "What is appropriate protocol when you!-" I stop myself from saying it as I try to reign in my anger.
"Don't lecture me on appropriate protocol," I say dripping with irritation. " If you were anyone else then I would have, but you're different. The sooner you realize that the better. Right now you really are starting to anger me and I'm tired of-"
He smacks his hand onto my mouth silencing me as he brought on the pleasure that I so loved to feel. "...Cassius. Simmer down." He says soothingly in my ear. My eyes soften and my righteous indignation begins to boil down to a sizzle.
"In the meantime...I'd like to know more about you...whether it's your favorite color or the thing that really riles you up, which may happen to be me. I'm curious about you...so would you let me?"
"...You want to remain as strangers," I say after removing his hand away from my mouth.
"My need overpowers my wants..." I see the glimmer in his green eyes as he smiles softly at me.
"And in exchange?"
"In exchange...I'll do whatever you want." His smile, his eyes, and just his body language hinted at something much more sexual then I would have guessed for him to feel. I look at him dumbfounded at this point.
He made me so angry just a couple minutes ago and now I'm fawning over him again! He's attracted to me as well as I am to him...maybe I can take a little advantage of this.
He really can't help himself for much longer. I smirk at this. Pierce. Pierce. Pierce. You're mine. You belong to me, no matter what you think...and I'll show you...just how much you are.
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[A/N] SO Cassius' true personality is soon about to make its appearance.( For Pierce anyway) How do you think he's gunna take it? And what's with his wishy-washy attitude huh? Thanks for reading!