Klepto POV
The scent of bleach wafts up in the air, burning my eyes and nostrils. My nose wrinkles in distaste, trying to ignore the feeling that's building in the back of my throat.
My Aunt's words replay in my head over and over, breaking down my tough exterior more and more, convincing me that my mother isn't so bad.
It definitely shows me that you can't judge someone when you don't know their circumstances.
I'm back at it cleaning the pack house, my thick rubber gloves slick with cleaner as I wipe down the toys in the nursery. Whenever I think I'm done with one toy, I would imagine the amount of drool the pups in the pack leave behind and I scrub even harder.
After a few hours of non-stop cleaning, I am ready to take a nap, despite the fact that it isn't even past 8:00 AM yet.
Cleaning starts early.
I hate everything about the pack house, I've always hated it, but more so now with all the dark memories it harbors. Every now and then I'll have flashes of the events from that horrible day.
Ezra's harsh words, the haunting laughter of Nathan and his friends as they beat me to a bloody pulp.
Good times.
My injuries have healed over time from the ordeal, my broken nose slower than the others. Of course, my time in the wonderful pack prison hindered the healing process a little.
Werewolves are exceptionally fast healers, unless there is silver involved.
Silver. The mere thought of the word sends an involuntary shiver down my spine. The white bandages from my wrists and ankles were removed a few days ago.
The wounds are as good as they're going to get, the skin isn't raw and oozing anymore, but angry pink scars remain.
I polish the huge grandfather clock, wiping it with a small cloth, avoiding letting the cleaner touch my exposed skin. Huffing in annoyance, I lick my cracked, parched lips.
My mate has only been here a month and I have acquired more injuries in that short time than throughout my whole existence.
It has to be some sort of sign, right?
On the bright side, tonight is the full moon.
Despite popular myths passed around by humans, werewolves don't lose control during the full moon like wild animals on the prowl, but it's tradition to go on a pack run.
It's always something to look forward to.
Another dumb pack rule, no wolf in the pack can shift without getting permission from the Alpha first.
The egotistical psycho himself is so controlling that we need his okay to be our wolves. It's almost blasphemy, but no one dares to go against the boss man.
And considering his deep hatred for me, I know for a fact he would never let me shift unattended.
A smile appears on my face. I can't wait to run in the woods in my fur covered body. My pitch black coat would leave me invisible if it weren't for the warm light from the moon.
Compared to my siblings, all of whom are varying shades of blonde, I am quite literally the black sheep of the family.
After finishing up all my grueling chores, I wander through the too quiet house, glancing around cautiously over my shoulder everywhere I go.
I carry my bucket of cleaning supplies as if it's trying to drag me down to hell. My arms are shaky and unsure, unreliable to the extreme.
I'm sleep deprived, sweaty, and paranoid. It's not a great combination.
Just before I make it to the door, a rush of warm air cripples across my skin. I freeze right where I stand, stopping to lean against the staircase railing for some support.
Taking a deep breathe, I slowly turn my head around to spot the sunshine eyes that haunt me day and night.
"What do you want?" I question in a small voice, hoping to get this over with quickly. I'm having an awful case of déjà vu from that fateful day when he told me he didn't want me.
His hand runs through his thick hair in a clear sign of frustration.
"I just..." He breathes, "I just need to make sure you're alright."
"Oh, so you care now?" I ask with a humorless laugh.
"You won't even look at me Klepto." He says. I wait a beat before observing him closely, staring at the dark circles under his eyes, the deep lines by his mouth. I promptly ignore what he said.
"You haven't been sleeping." It's a statement, not a question.
"Oh, so you care now?" He throws my words back at me, "I know you put up this tough exterior, Kelpto, but I know you feel it too." He demands, and I narrow my eyes at him.
"Yeah, you bimbo. It's called the mate pull. That stupid link the Moon Goddess cursed me with so I'm not allowed to fully hate you." I spit, turning to pick up my cleaning supplies so I can get the hell out of here.
Before I can lift the bucket, a tight grip snatches my arm away, spinning me around to stare at an infuriated lycan.
I despise the warm tingle making its way up my shoulder, I hate it because I adore it.
"You hide behind this mask, pretending you're not hurting. Trust me, I know the feeling." He says through clenched teeth, he's obviously trying to keep his cool.
He's a lycan, he can be moments away from an atomic outburst with me as the victim. And yet, due to the mate bond, my whole body feels calm and safe in his presence.
Curse you Moon Goddess!
"You don't know what you're talking about." I reply sweetly, trying and failing to rip my arm from his grasp. He doesn't even flinch.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't play dumb. All of the cruel words you hear everyday have to get to you sometimes, and you're just lying to yourself if you think otherwise."
I look away, hoping he won't catch a glimpse at my reaction to his words. He's wrong, I don't care what all of those jerks have to say about me.
"I hate it for you. I hate every single one of them." He seethes, and I'm shocked.
Maybe he does genuinely care about me... even if it is just a little bit.
"Hey there, omega." I hear abruptly behind me, and I try hard not to let the fear show when I spot Nathan strolling into the room with enough confidence to blow the ceiling.
Ezra notices me stiffen however, and his eyes go black as he slowly turns to face the monster.
I can barely see past his shoulder that Nathan Green stands several feet away, two of his friends look sheepish at his side. Anyone could feel the power radiating off of my mate.
A lycan's energy alone can make someone piss themselves.
"I see you're doing better, still cleaning up after the pack. It's too bad you can't clean up your own messes, huh?" He chuckles with a proud smirk, like he's the wittiest son of a bitch on the planet.
Ezra presses gently on my arm in reassurance, and though I can't actually see his face, I know he's absolutely fuming. He's stiff, his expansive back tensed. He's not happy.
"Who exactly are you?" Ezra asks, standing as still as marble, which is fitting with his appearance, he can pass for a Greek God.
It's completely obvious that he knows who Nathaniel is, but Ezra's words work out perfectly.
Nathan's ego deflates a bit, his mouth twitching in irritation at the comment. He ignores my mate and continues his monologue.
"My lesson apparently wasn't enough to teach you anything, you still managed to land yourself in the pack prison, huh? Maybe you need another physical reminder of your place in this pack." The words are sneered, and the way he says them display his abnormally sharp teeth.
I feel the moment that Ezra's demeanour shifts, and I wonder if he figured out what exactly Nathan is talking about.
My lycan mate goes from furiously calm and collected to shaking with the sheer force of his anger. Waves of power fly off of him like lighting crackling in the wind.
One moment he's beside me and the next he's on top of Nathan. The Alpha's precious son is being beaten senseless, blood already coating the ground in a slick river of ruby red.
Nathaniel's friends jump away as if they've almost been touched by a live wire, which isn't too far off. The amount of energy and dominance flooding the room is suffocating.
It makes Alpha Green's aura seem comparable to a newborn kitten.
I can't move as I watch the events unraveling. Ezra's skin starts to sprout hair, his face distorting into a monstrous mug of terror.
He's halfway shifted, like he's somehow stuck between man and lycan. Claws slowly ease out of his fingers, which are still clenched tight as they destroy Nathan's face.
"You hurt her, it was you all along! I'm going to destroy you, you pathetic little bastard!" He roars, his silky smooth voice deepening so low my stomach sinks.
"Stop him! Somebody stop him!" I hear a shrill scream erupt, a commotion of feet hitting the floor and squeaking against the marble tile, but it's all I can do to stare at the one sided fight. I'm in a trance, as I can't tell what's going on around me.
I gasp when someone grabs me, pushing me against the wall so fast my head gets smacked into the plaster.
"What have you done? What did you do?" A voice asked breathlessly, it's one of the girls who hands around Nathan, her pretty face is scrunched in sheer terror.
"I.. I didn't do anything! Let me go!" I squirm in her grip, lifting a knee quickly to hit her gut. I knock the wind out of her, and I use my arms to push her away.
I try to get away to see what Ezra is doing when she grabs me again.
"This is all your fault! He's going to die because of you!" She screams, and before she can hit me a dizzying movement shoves her away, and before I know it I'm staring up at a very angry lycan.
Ezra.
The contact of his hands to my shoulders makes me jump, his enormous claws accidentally dig into my skin and I bite my lip to stop a yelp of pain from escaping. I involuntarily step away from him, but he pulls me to his expansive, warm chest.
That amazing feeling of skin to skin contact with my mate fills me once more and I huff in contentment.
His breathing finally slows, his body stops quivering and after a few minutes I reluctantly shift my head to peer up at him.
Ezra's face is back to normal, though his eyes are still pitch black. His angry gaze fixes on my face.
"I should've known it was him." He says, and he sounds like he's in pain. "I'm such an idiot." He hisses.
Well I guess that answers that question, he definitely put two and two together concerning the whole Nathan attacking me situation.
I can't help but glance past Ezra's arm at the mayhem that was sure to be left behind.
Spotting the Alpha's son and heir on the ground is startling. His face is smeared in blood, his nose twisted at a sickening angle. Not to mention the trail of claw marks on his neck and face.
A sudden feeling overcomes me from the combination of Ezra holding me to spotting my enemy in a bloody heap on the ground.
The day of the attack drifts into my mind. Everything today is the complete opposite today.
Instead of being rejected, my mate defended me and held me close, and then instead of me being beaten up it's my attacker that has been defeated.
It slowly dawns on me that the whole thing has come full circle.
"We're leaving." Ezra demands, turning on his heels and rushing towards the door with my wrist securely clasped in his hand.
I don't have time to process what's happening until we're halfway across the front lawn.
"Wait, what are you doing?" I try to sink my feet into the grass to stop him, but he continues to march relentlessly and I almost trip so I stop struggling. I have to go along with this if I want to come out unscathed.
We walk silently for a while, his grasp never faltering, his pace never slowing. I heave a sigh and follow after him since I don't have a choice.
As we walk, I hear a bit of chatter and look up to see my pack mates gathering in groups to stare and point as Ezra makes a fool of me. I try to brush it off, try to look away like I couldn't care less, but I find my gaze drifting up.
Eventually I spot one of my many evil sisters. Tressa stares at me in shock, and I can feel her eyes on where Ezra holds my wrist. Her over-lined lips drop open in horror.
Satisfaction fills me like a sickness, and I want to stop so I can rub it in her perfect face.
Once we're in the woods, Ezra pulls me closer to him.
"Hurry up." He grumbles. I roll my eyes. He's acting like a pouty child.
"Maybe I would be more inclined to if I knew exactly where you were taking me." I blow a piece of hair out of my face, "For all I know, you could be taking me out into the woods to murder me."
"Yeah, because I would definitely do that right after I saved you from that spoiled brat." He says, and I shrug even though he still has his back turned to me and can't see a thing I do.
"Well, how should I know? Your behavior is always so back and forth, it gives me whiplash." He chuckles and I smile, because it's the first time Ive ever made him laugh, and it feels pretty damned good.
My mind drifts back to Nathan, and that girl that had tried to hurt me. Would the Alpha think it was me who did that to his son?
I shake my head. Don't be ridiculous, of course not. There is no way I could've done that to someone, and Alpha Green believes me to be a weakling so he would never suspect little old me. At least I hope.
Ezra comes to a sudden stop, and I haven't been paying attention so I run right into his muscular back that resembles a brick wall.
"Hey! I'm walking here." I grumble, and I notice that Ezra is looking into the woods with a good dose of suspicion.
He stares for a long time, and I can't help but wonder if he sees something... or someone. I remember the blonde rogue I ran into in the woods and I shudder.
Not all rogues are evil, but not all of them are nice either.
After what feels like forever, I wave my hand in front of Ezra's face to get his attention.
"You okay?" I ask, and finally his lemon drop eyes snap to me, breaking his trance.
"Yes, we're almost there, come on." He tugs me along and I sigh in defeat.
I have a feeling that whatever is about to happen will definitely be interesting.
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