Adriana
After a largely restless night, it would seem that someone - that someone being a brainless excuse for a prince - decided that I needed a rather rude awakening only minutes after I finally managed to doze off.
In short, I ended up soaking wet, very cheesed off and may or may not have attacked his big head with a vase.
He then decided to hide in the only available bathroom, that coincidentally, I now need. Badly. Which explains my current predicament. Stood outside the room, dressed in dripping wet clothes, performing what is known to a great many children as 'the wee wee dance'. This guy is treading a very fine line.
"What are you shouting for?" Kellen asks, leaning his back on the wall and yawning.
I cross my arms, glaring at the ground. "I'm soaking wet and need to pee and that idiot won't let me in the loo."
He grimaces. "What'd you go getting wet for? And why are you sulking so much?"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" I yell, causing him to flinch. "And I don't sulk." I like to believe I'm much too mature to sulk. I'm merely frowning.
"You know, there are plenty of trees outside. You have my permission to use them if it would make you feel better."
My brows furrow. What...? "You're giving me permission to pee on a tree?"
"Well yeah. I already marked them all but if you really need to go I'll let you."
Disgust sets in as I find myself completely lost for words. Of course wolf boy marks his territory; I'm not entirely sure what pushed me to believe that any of these people are at all civilised. And to make matters worse, yesterday, while Becca and I were practicing using my chakram, it got lodged in a tree. And it cut my hand. Twice.
This is why I don't own a dog.
I have to say, from all the books and films, I really didn't expect to meet a werewolf like this one. So far he seems more primal than I expected. I wonder if that is just in a wolf's nature or whether it's because he lives in the middle of nowhere. In case I end up meeting more wolves, I hope it's the latter. Kellen strikes me as the kind of person the world only needs one of, in both the good and the bad way.
"You just going to wait here then?" He cocks his head to the side, clearly not understanding my issue with pissing up a tree. I mean, even if I could, I still wouldn't.
I sigh. "Yes. I wouldn't be able to do what you suggested anyway."
He nods his head, looking defeated and... Confused? He does know how women work, right? However, in a matter of seconds, his face acquires an overly joyful smile, his eyes glinting with what appears to be hope. "Has Eros told you what we're doing today?"
"No. He chucked water on my everything and legged it," I say, chuckling humourlessly.
"Well that's rude. He's normally a gentleman."
That does not sound like the Prince Eros I've met. Not at all. "You sure about that?"
"Well yes! It's actually quite weird that he treats you like that. You should see how polite he is with Becca, you might even think he's a different guy."
Huh. Interesting.
"Anyway, If we're not doing anything important, do you wanna play with my tennis ball with me? Prince Eros gave me a cool new one yesterday. It squeaks!"
Oh hell. He is far too innocent for his own good.
"Kellen, how old are you?"
"17. I'm a big boy."
I force myself not to smirk. Good lord. "How old is an adult werewolf thereabouts?"
"Technically? About 50, give or take. Dog years don't really apply to us since we live for ages."
My mouth falls open. If this is true, I am talking to what is basically an overgrown child.
That explains a hell of a lot.
"So you're like a werewolf puppy then?"
His smile turns sour, almost like a pout. "No."
"But you're quite a way off being an adult. Which must mean that technically you're a puppy," I say, genuinely curious. Does his vampire side mean that he's an adult earlier than a wolf?
He crosses his arms stubbornly over his chest, sulking at me. "You don't know anything."
Nevermind. He's definitely a child.
At just that moment, the bathroom door cracks open, revealing the royal pain in the arse peering through the gap. When he sees me, he sends me a sheepish grin. "You calm yet?"
My lips press together. "Why are you such a prat?"
The comment causes him to scowl unattractively as he steps out from behind the door. "I'll forgive you for throwing a vase at me since you were clearly stressed, but now that you know who and what I am, you should have figured out that you can't address me like that," he explains patronisingly. Smirking, he steps around me, but not before I grab his arm.
"I'm sorry, allow me to try something more fitting. I believe that that may have been inappropriate of me," I smile, hand on heart, feigning innocence.
"Of course," he smiles proudly, waiting.
I bow down, grinning. "Your royal Highness," his smirk grows as I rise.
"Why are you such a prat?"
I shut the door in his scowling face, leaving him with Kellen, who is now cackling indiscreetly.
What a tosser.
*****
"You, my friend, have a death wish," Becca huffs, stirring a pot of soup on a small stove.
"That's nothing. Just wait till he goes to sleep later. I'll get my payback."
She turns to me, eyes wide. Although the expression strikes me as far from fearful. "Ria, you can't! He's a prince, remember!"
"Yeah. And?"
She sighs. "You just need to be careful. You can't predict how he will react. He needs to be respected, you know."
Rolling my eyes, I stare at my nails. What gives him the right to drench me if I can't do the same back?
"She's not wrong, Ria," Alec steps through the doorway, clearly having tuned in to the conversation. "You haven't even seen him at his worst. And with the way you two talk, I'd say that was a miracle and a half."
"Oh yeah? He's an elf, for God's sake! What's he gonna do? Put me on the naughty list?"
Alec snorted loudly, covering his mouth to hide his grin. His sister, however, was not so impressed, wearing a look of displeasure. Lips pressed together, she shook her head. "You really need to start taking this situation more seriously. You're sister is missing! You can't keep hiding behind sarcasm. Especially when it involves someone like him."
My brows furrow. It's not the first time I've made jokes about him and as far as I could tell she's never had a problem with it before. Why the sudden change? I stare at her, dumbfounded as she turns back to the pot, stirring it with a newfound vigour. Alec must be thinking the same as I am; his eyes burn holes into her back. He noticed my gaze on him, shrugging in response to my unspoken question.
Squinting at her for one last time, Alec tilts his head towards the door, indicating for me to follow him out. I hesitate at first, not wishing to leave without clarifying what's wrong with Becca - I would hate to spend the whole time we search for Emily stepping around glass, especially where Eros is concerned. Seeing my hesitation, Alec takes hold of my hand, tugging me along gently. With one last glance, I leave her to the cooking and follow him out.
He leads me to the quaint bedroom I had slept in, which actually appears to be the only one here, causing me to silently question where everyone else was all night. Did they even sleep? If not, I guess it would explain Becca's sudden mood swing.
"So..." He runs a hand through his hair, his nose wrinkling.
"You don't know what that was either I'm guessing?"
He chuckles. "Not a clue."
"Great." Looking at the ground, the corners of my mouth turn down. I have every right to be mad at these people for lying to me, and yet... I just aren't. I understand why they had to, after all I was never meant to be a part of their world anyway. It isn't as if they didn't trust me, they just couldn't tell me everything. So as always with them, I don't like it if we aren't on good terms. Especially when I have so much other crap on my mind.
Noticing my expression, Alec steps towards me, touching my arms. "You know, it's not the end of the world. She's probably just in a mood. She'll get over it."
"We'll see," I say, barely above a whisper.
"She might not have been right to act like that, but she was right about one thing. Prince won't make as many exceptions now that you know everything. It's just how he is."
I nod, not wanting to talk, but the question on my mind pushes itself out. "Why do you still call him Prince if his name is Eros?"
"He tells everyone his name is Prince - I don't really know why. I'm just used to it. The only one who knew his true name before he told you was Kellen."
Chuckling, I look up at his smiling face, suddenly becoming hyper aware of his thumbs rubbing my sides. Clearing my throat, I attempt to act normal, but the heat on my face may already have given me away. "Really? Alec, I thought you were smarter than that. A prince called Prince? Really?"
"Hey, it's been that way for decades. After so much time, you start to accept it. Becca and I aren't as young as you think, you know."
Of course they aren't. Another lie. How much of what I know about them is true? And how the hell didn't I notice?
Frowning sympathetically, Alec closes the space between us and engulfs me in his arms, rubbing my back gently. We stay like this for a few seconds, but it feels much longer than that, my eyes closing instinctively. He rests his chin on my shoulder, sighing as my arms wrap around him, my face buried in his neck.
Too soon, he draws back, hands barely touching my sides as a shy smile creeps it's way onto his face, his kind eyes meeting mine. That smile always reminds me of why I've always liked him so much - he has a calm, supportive nature when I need someone.
"You have every right to be mad at us. But you should know that none of us, not even the prince, would betray your trust now. You can trust us."
My heart practically drops out of my ass, any relaxation I had felt now gone. Hearing him say this should make me happy. It should relieve the pressure. But it only adds to the guilt. At some point, I'll have to betray their trust in order to get Emily back home. I can't let them keep her. But they'll understand, right?
"Alec we have a... Uh..." My arms detach themselves from Alec at the sound of the door. He is just as fast at pulling away, looking toward a flustered Kellen who seems unable to meet his somewhat guilt-filled gaze. "Sorry guys. Becca said Alec was the only other one here."
My brows meet in the middle. Did she think I'd gone outside? I would've had to walk straight past her to do that.
"Kellen, what's taking so long!" Eros almost growls the words out, shoving past the fidgeting hybrid.
Just one look at Kellen and my heart goes out to him; as his head lifts to watch Eros, I notice a thin trail running down his cheek, one that he wipes away discretely before staring back down to the ground. Did Eros hurt him?
"What is this all about?"
Ignoring my presence completely, he turns to Alec, a pissed off but frantic glint in his eyes. "That fucking bird is here."
Author's note
*Doo doo doo it's doneeeee
Finaaaalyyyyyy*
Idek guys. I'm going mad.
★Please send help😉★