Achilles
We walked side by side in silence after that. The only sound in the long halls were our footsteps and the returning hum that Elliot seemed to be obsessed with. As we neared what I thought was the kitchen there was a bunch of loud chattering. A cacophony of voices flooded the small hall.
Elliot walked in without hesitation grinning and yelling random stuff at some people. There was a synchronized chorus of good morning and hellos as Elliot took a seat around the huge dining table in the middle of the even bigger kitchen.
It was a grand space, to say the least. The huge mahogany table took up most of the vast space. Marble worktops outlined one entire wall and there appeared to be various things cooking on top of the large amount of food that already sat on the table. The aroma of croissants, toast, hash browns and all the other confectioneries you could possibly imagine for breakfast on a Sunday morning made my mouth water and my stomach ache.
"Good morning darling!" A woman said spinning around from where she had been placing more toasted bagels in the center of the table. I recognized her as Queen Lily, except she looked completely different now. Instead of a beautiful gown, she had on plain jeans and a simple blouse. Gone was the jeweled tiara and instead her dark hair was tied up into a messy bun. She looked...normal. Like any other stay at home mom.
Queen Lily sauntered over to me and wrapped her small arms around my larger frame, planting a soft kiss on my cheek. My eyes widened, I'm sure comically. It had been years since I had received any type of affection and I forgot what it felt like. "I thought you'd never come down. The boys were starting to make bets whether or not you'd killed off poor Eli."
Elliot snorted from where he was stuffing himself with food at the table. "He wouldn't be able to take me!"
"Tell that to your black eye dear." Queen Lily laughed.
There were various laughs and yells from down the table which caused Elliot to growl and flip them the bird. This earned him a slap around the back of the head from the Queen. "Ow!"
"Come join everyone sweetheart."
I looked at her, biting the inside of my lip. "Can't I just stay here and judge from afar?"
She smiled as she grabbed my hand, dragging me to the table.
The Queen turned back to me with a sweet smile. "Sit down honey, eat something. Are you hungry?" My stomach rumbled in response.
She giggled before pushing me into an empty chair near the head of the table. On one end I could see the King laughing with a couple older pack members, he too looked like an ordinary father with a button-down shirt and tie that hung loosely at the base of his throat. He noticed my stare and tipped his glass of orange juice at me. I turned away quickly.
"Hey," Someone said from beside me. I turned and met the eyes of the one and only Prince Hetero. He didn't smile but he looked a lot more relaxed than he did yesterday. With a certain warmth in his dark eyes which made him look a lot younger. I nodded in acknowledgment.
A steaming plate was placed in front of me piled high with eggs, bacon, sausage, pastries, and toast. I looked up and met the eyes of the queen. "Thank you, your majesty," I said.
"Just call me Lily darling. Titles mean nothing to me,"
I smiled at her. "Well then thank you, Lily."
She patted my cheek fondly. "It's a pleasure." Lily turned to her son and glared at him. "Come on Logan your mate just sat down with your pack for the first time and you haven't even moved to make introductions."
I grumbled about how he wasn't my mate around a mouthful of eggs.
"Yeah introduce us, man!" Another call came from further down the table.
Logan sighed heavily before pointing out who was who. "That's Kyle, Malik, Elliot, Alison, Demi, Jenny, Marcus, Katie, and Daniel." He said nodding to each person, starting from the top of the table to the bottom. "The people talking with my dad are his and my mom's friends and fellow pack members, and most of them are these guys' parents. The others flocking around are their spouses or family."
I nodded, scanning my eyes across each of their faces, trying to recall as much information about them I could. A couple of them were lower pack members and mates of pack members, Malik was Mcscowlys third, and from the looks of the dark-haired beauty that looked exactly like Logan, I assumed that she was his twin.
The girl Logan had called Demi had dyed the ends of her black hair blue and wore a heavy amount of eyeliner. Alison, the girl from last night, was leaning her head against Demi's shoulder.
The girl in question turned and met my eyes. Her own widened and she squealed in delight. Scaring Alison, Demi jumped up and walked over to me with a devilish grin.
"Hello!"
"Hi," I replied dryly.
"I'm a huge fan of your violence and cruelty." She said, jumping up and down excitedly. It was almost as if there was a ton of energy inside her that was waiting to explode. Her joyous mood completely opposed her clothing style. She looked gothic and grumpy but apparently, she was quite the opposite.
I smirked. "How sweet."
"I can't believe you, the Wraith, is my dickhead brothers mate. This is the best thing ever, you need to teach me everything you know." She says.
"No, he doesn't" Prince Hetero interrupted scowling at his sister before he turned it on me. "You don't teach her anything."
"Oh hush Lo."
"Demi just go back to your seat and plan your next shopping trip. You do know throwing money at your problems does nothing to help solve them?"
I snorted, taken another bite of toast, I almost moaned aloud, since when does toast taste this good? "Wrong. Coins can make excellent projectile weapons."
"It's gonna be great having you around," Demi said before walking back to her seat.
"So what do we get to call you huh?" Elliot asked, dragging my attention to him.
Just as I opened my mouth to give a fake name I was rudely interrupted by the Prince sat beside me. "And don't say, Charles Dickens, Nick Carraman, Winston Smith, Hindley Earnshaw, or any other names you've pulled out from books."
I looked at him and smirked. He was already looking pretty pleased with himself and I would have loved to smack that look of his pretty face. "What can I say? I read too much and others don't read enough. Not my fault America's population doesn't know who the characters from classic novels are."
Logan rolled his eyes, gulping down some orange juice. I watched as his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed before I slapped myself and reminded myself just exactly who I was looking at. He didn't seem to notice which I was grateful for.
"So your name?" Elliot pressed. By now most of the table had its eyes on me and I felt strangely uncomfortable. I didn't like being the center of attention I liked blending into the background and being invisible. It was much easier watching than being watched.
"Just call me Ace," I said finally, pushing up the sleeves of my hoodie to my elbows. There a few scars the lined my forearms but I ignored them.
"Is that your actual name?" Logan said.
"It's as close as your gonna get to it."
He nodded, frowning into the table.
"What's your last name?" Lily said suddenly appearing from nowhere.
I shrugged. "I don't have one."
The table's attention was back on me. "You don't have a last name?"
"If I do, I don't remember it." Most people were looking at me weirdly now and I rolled my eyes.
"First your birthday now your names, jeez," I heard muttered beside me.
I didn't understand why not having the last name was a big deal. It was true I didn't remember my last name. Years of having gone through hundreds of aliases had caused me to forget. I had held on to my first names, not that it was hard as Achilles wasn't a common name but my last name had slowly faded, just like my birthday and anything else I didn't really feel were important. Why did I want to remember the day that would mark another year of being alone and on the run?
"Look if it's a big deal just pretend my last name is..." I thought for a moment. "Morgan? Sure, Ace Morgan." It had been one of my more memorable aliases from a couple of years ago. I had always liked that name, there were even a few good memories attached to it too.
"Okay," The Queen said, smiling softly. "Ace Morgan it is."
Everyone went back to there own conversation after that some people sending me nervous looks and asking questions that I either completely ignored or replied in clipped sentences.
There were a lot of people staring at my face which I didn't even have to guess what they were looking at there. The scar that spanned through my right eye wasn't pretty to look at but it wasn't too bad either. It stood out pink against my tanned skin and slashed down the side of my face so it was hard not to look at it but I had grown used to the states having had it from when I was a young child.
However, after a good twenty minutes of stares and whispers, I reached my limit and growled. "Is there something you find interesting about my face?"
The three-pack members who I had already forgotten the names of looked away quickly. I grunted, pushing my hair in front of my right eyes so it covered it. I guess my hair length did come in handy a little.
"Wanna come for a walk?" Logan murmured from beside me and I agreed only because I had had enough socialization for one day and if I stayed under anyone else critical gaze for any longer I might have committed mass murder.
I stood, grabbing my bag off the back of the chair and followed Logan out of the kitchen. We walked silently through a couple of rooms before finally reaching the front door and going outside.
I sucked the fresh air into my lungs, closing my eyes and felt the breeze against my skin. I felt a little better, the outside always did have a calming effect on me. Logan started walking and I followed, my eyes darting around the trees looking for anything that could be a potential threat. It was instinct at this point.
"I'm sorry about them." The Prince said quietly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. Such a cliche.
"It's fine. I overreacted." I replied the wind carrying away my voice. We wandered around in silence for half an hour or so and I actually enjoyed it. My wolf was less agitated and I felt more comfortable now that I wasn't being scrutinized. I also wasn't forced to take part in pointless conversation either. Until I was.
"I half expected you to bolt by now," Logan admitted from beside me.
I didn't look at him as I said, "Well you may have a very low opinion of me Hetero but if I make a deal I stick to my end of it and If that means being surrounded by pack animals then I'll cope."
Logan growled. "Logan. My name is Logan, not Hetero, or anything else you wanna call me."
"And I'm not guilty of murder but that doesn't stop people from calling me a murderer now, does it Mister Mcscowly?" I mocked. The Princes' feet came to a halt and I stopped too, waiting for what he'd do or say next. I was hoping he'd hit me, at least then I'd have a viable reason to hit him back.
"I don't know who you think you are but I'm a Prince and an Alpha at that. I'm also your mate whether you like it or not. You should respect me Omega,"
It was my turn to growl. I stepped into his space until we were barely inches apart. I could feel the heat radiating from his body and I also felt his body stiffen. "Let's get one thing straight Alpha, I will respect you when you earn my respect and I know you and your father both expect me to just lie down, roll over and offer you my throat but I won't. I don't know if you've realized that although I may be an Omega I don't have a single submissive atom in my body and if you bite me I won't hesitate to bite you back."
I leaned in allowing my nose to gently scrape across his cheek. He shuddered under my touch. His scent surrounded my entire being. "Not only am I faster and stronger than you, Prince, but I'm also smarter and that means I don't even have to touch you to hurt you. Never underestimate my ability to get what I want."
I pulled back abruptly, Logan's face was flushed and his pupils were dilated ever so slightly, His hands shook but not due to fear I realized. I smirked at the alpha. "We're not mates. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't want a mate and you don't want me. You're straight. Just accept it and you can find a nice pretty girl to be your princess,"
I turned and walked away. I really didn't want to go back to that house but I didn't want to stay near Logan for a moment longer either. There was just something about him that infuriated me. He drove me more insane than I already was and whenever he was around I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to fuck him or kill him. Either seemed like a good idea at this point, although I figured he would greatly object.
I wasn't naturally a bad guy. Sure I was a little mean at times and was inappropriately sarcastic but wasn't everyone? I understood that most people hated me as if my presence alone caused unreasonable hatred. I'd come to accept that and if i could accept that then everyone else could accept my personality.
"If you don't want a mate, then reject me." Logan's voice was barely audible over the slight wind. I froze in my tracks. "If you reject me then you'll be free regardless. The deal will still be there and you won't have to deal with anyone at all. If your so desperate not to have a mate then do it."
I hung my head. Just the mention of rejection made my own heart hurt and the fact that Logan was offering it up as an actual offer must hurt him more. I was slightly shocked that he would even consider it. He knew what being rejected meant and I had witnessed it.
The knowledge that your mate doesn't want you and after it's been verbally said that they reject you is devastating to a lycanthrope. It forms a hole in your heart that can never be mended and the loss slowly drives you mad. Some wolves can go crazy with grief within a few weeks some are just depressed and self-loathing for years. It's a horrific and sad thing to watch, never mind go through.
Some people may think I'm a monster and in some ways I am. I've killed and stole and not been the best person but I would never ever willingly put someone through that. I didn't want a mate but I also couldn't handle the guilt of rejecting him either.
Why would Logan even suggest that?
I turned to face him. Logan had his hands still shoved in his pockets and his head hung low. His eyes were dead and his usual olive skin had gone pale. I didn't think I'd ever see the alpha look so lost. "Why would you even suggest that? Don't you know what being rejected will do to you?"
He looked up, seeming to be surprised I was still there. His face still remained expressionless but there was a sadness to his eyes. Despite his attempts at hiding his emotions, Logan's eyes gave him away. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before just shrugging, moving his stare towards the trees.
"I don't know. You were...I wanted..." He sighed heavily, "When my father said he'd declare you innocent of all crimes your eyes lit up in a way that made your face brighten too. You looked happy and if being free and away from me means that you get to have that constant look of happiness on your face then that's a price I'm willing to pay."
I stared at the Alpha in front of me. Logan really was a mystery to me. One minute he was saying things that make me want to kill him and then the next the sweetest things. How could he even say that? He only met me less than twenty-four hours ago and he was willing to be in unbearable emotional pain for me. I couldn't even fathom that.
I walked back to where the Prince was still standing. He looked up at me as I approached. We stood face to face and with this proximity I could see just how beautiful his brown eyes were. They were a deep, earthy brown - the color of the earth after torrential rains. But there was something else in them, something glistening. Glistening like an old copper penny being examined in the warmth next to powerful flames that were licking the safety glass door of an old fireplace.
Before I could stop myself I leaned in and kissed his cheek. It was barely even a kiss, just the brush of my lips against his skin but the effect remained the same. A type of pleasing electricity-powered through me and I had to pull away quickly.
His eyes met mine again. "I would never reject you. You or anybody else who may have been my mate. I've seen what being rejected can do to someone and I wouldn't ever wish that upon anyone."
I took another step back and bowed at the waist with a grin. "Thank you for the walk your highness. It was as bad as I thought it'd be but I still appreciate it."
Logan rolled his eyes but the corner of his mouth tilted up. "You're an ass."
"I know and you also get the pleasure of watching it while I walk away." With a wink over my shoulder I stalked back into the packhouse, feeling a little better about my stay here for the next two months.
1 day down, 61 to go.