Edit- May 8th Song of the chapter -Like to be you (Shawn Mendes & Julia Michaels)
Writer's Note- April 25
It's been a while since I posted, :( apologies.
As you all know this was an entry into the open novella contest where I made it into the third round, but no further. Thanks for all the reads, though.
I think I was supposed to finish this story before the contest period ended but if you won't tell then I won't. ;)
The story may be a little longer (1 or 2 chaps) than I originally planned for. It just be like that sometimes.
I promised a demographic update, but I guess I lied, it'll materialize in chapter 19.
Between this chapter and the last we got to over 1k reads (Wowza) and we're at around 1.73k. I never expected this story to be that well received. Thank you all for the comments, votes and especially the reads. I'll do my best to finish this story on a strong note.
~Xander~
"Really? A vampire?!" Achilles' asshole brother basically yelled.
I talked through clenched teeth, "Is there a problem with my being a vampire?"
Seeing Achilles' entire family together made me realize why he felt like an outcast. Achilles was gorgeous to me with his earnest brown eyes, slightly browned skin and his dark brown hair. He looked mostly white, but the shape of his face leant itself towards more Middle Eastern if you paid attention. He only looked less White if he was surrounded by a lot of White people.
But, Jim, Anders, and Harrison looked like they were out out of a Scandinavian story book. Anders was a blinding blond with sharp blue eyes and an aristocratic nose, complete with a thin-lipped sneer. He looked like a meaner version of Jim, who had more peaceable blue eyes, and was beginning to grey around his temples.
Harrison looked like a cross between Jim and Lily with the calm hazel eyes of his mother, and that almost white blond hair of his father. But, he and Achilles shared the slight sharpness in features of their mom.
It was hard to picture them all together because the way Achilles looked, it wasn't quite like any of them. He had his mom's brown hair and a similar face shape, but that was really it.
And, this whole disaster with Anders being so intolerant was only further highlighting the differences.
Anders was nearly snarling, lips pulled back in a way no human mouth could, "It isn't right. I bet you're just manipulating him. My brother's mate would never be some black, male, vampire." He said each of those things like they were equally as ugly as one another and I was completely taken aback that my blackness would be a problem. The fact I was a vampire and a man? Sure, I expected an issue.
But, "Does the colour of my skin offend you?" I shot back.
"Everything about you offends me." Anders stood up so fast his chair fell from behind him. "I don't care if other people are gay but my brother isn't. He's just..." Anders scrunched up his face, violently pushing his hands through his hair, "confused. He was confused when he was a kid. And, he is now. That's what it is."
Lily's voice was venomous, "I'd suggest you sit down Anders unless you want to continue making a fool out of yourself."
"Mom!" He yelled, glaring down at her.
"Sit. Down." Once Anders sat, Lily spoke quickly and sharply. "What your brother did, and is doing, takes a lot of courage." Achilles shifted uncomfortably, staring down at his hands. "Lee's— ah...boyfriend is important to him so we need to accept it. And there have been same-sex mates before, they've just never stayed in the Ashborne pack.."
Silence swept through the table as Achilles quietly chewing his lip, "As much as I want all of you to accept this, I know it's a lot to ask of you. But, Xander is my mate." He took my hand and squeezed it on top of the table. "It's normal to announce when a shifter has found their mate. I won't go against tradition just because he's a man."
"Oh, Lee." Lily's voice softened, "I'll be there for you."
"So will I." Jim said with slight hesitation.
"You're my brother, Lee." Harrison said, "And if your mate's a vampire, I don't care." He made a point to glare at Anders. "We'll get used to it. At least he seems cool."
Anders looked more and more uncomfortable as it went on, clearly not understanding why no one was as upset as him. "None of you get it. The rest of the pack is going to look at us like we're okay with this."
"Dude," Harrison sounded exasperated, "We are okay with it. One of my brother's is bi and the other is a bigot, I get it."
Achilles stood up suddenly, "I'll see the rest of you in a couple of hours." He touched the back of my neck, squeezing slightly, "Xander?"
I stood up to join Achilles, looking around at everyone at the table. "It was nice to meet most of you."
"You, too, dear." Lily said kindly.
Then, we left the table but I didn't need shifter ears to tell that they were discussing us as we left.
#
I hadn't realized it was raining until we got outside and I became drenched in seconds. The sun was lost beneath an overcast sky and dark angry clouds pulsated with flashing veins of lightening.
All I could hear was the sound of distant thunder and beneath that Achilles' heart thundering just as loudly. The rain was wet and slick on my skin and turning Achilles' hair darker, making it stick to his scalp.
He stopped before we even reached the car, body locked in tension. Slowly, Achilles raised his palms to the side window of the passenger seat and pressed his forehead against the window. Shoulders slumped, he let one broken sounding sob out before breathing harshly and then standing up straight and putting his hands by his side like nothing was bothering him at all. He turned and walked over to me, taking my hands and holding them tight. His face was contorted into an expression of pain.
"Thank you." He said in a thick voice, "I love you." Achilles said before wrapping me up in his arms and hugging me so hard it almost hurt. The rain was falling hard on both of us making our clothes squelch together as we embraced.
After a few seconds I cupped his cheeks, holding his face. He had closed his eyes, "I'm sorry they talked to you like that, especially Anders." I couldn't tell if he was crying or if it was the rain.
"It's okay," I whispered just stroking Achilles' cheeks. "Don't—Don't be sad."
I unlocked the car and opened the back doors
,sliding in and letting Achilles follow after me. As soon as he closed the door, I turned towards him, and filed my fingers through his hair, pushing the wet strands out of his face. "It'll be okay." Seeing Achilles like this hurt me.
Achilles was quiet but his eyes were a brilliant gold and shining in the dark, "That went terribly. How can I show my face at pack after that? Everyone will look at me differently."
I put my hands in my lap, looking out the window as the rain drummed against the pane. "Would you rather they look at the version of you they don't know? Or," I swallowed, "the one that's more honest?"
"It's easy for you to say that because you're out!" Achilles' voice was surprisingly harsh.
I pushed my fingers into my thighs, "I'm not forcing you to do any of this. Don't act like this is what I want."
"But, isn't it?" Achilles' voice turned dark, "Isn't this what you want, Xander?"
I whipped my head to look at him, but he was staring back at me with narrowed eyes. I waited for him to say something to somehow rectify that. But, he didn't.
My vision tunnelled as my hand shot to the door handle. I pushed it open and got out of the car, slamming the door behind me and walking down the sidewalk. What. The. Fuck.
It didn't take long for Achilles to come after me. "Xander!" He said gripping my shoulder and trying to turn me, "Where are you going?"
I slapped his hand, jerking away. "If you're doing this because of me...I don't want to be the reason." I turned my necklace around, unclasping it with shaking fingers. "Take this back."
Achilles froze, "What?"
I took off the necklace and held it in my hands. "I can't keep this if it means that you resent me for wanting the best for you." I held my hands out to him, "Or, if you blame me if your family starts hating you for being bi. Or if you think everything going wrong in your life has to do with your meeting me." Achilles was still staring at me like he didn't recognize me, eyes flashing brown, and then gold and some odd mix in between. "Take it!" I said, pushing the necklace into his hands.
He looked stricken, face wet and pale in the rain. "I don't blame you, Xander. Stop acting like this. Don't give this back to me!" His voice broke, "Don't do this to me."
I took a step back, "I won't be with someone who blames me for things. Come out or don't but don't base your decisions on me, Achilles."
"I don't want us to break up." He whispered.
I hesitated, reaching for his hand and opening it, taking the necklace chain but leaving the charm with him. "I would do anything for you Achilles." I said, stroking his hair out of his eyes. "Anything except be with you when you hate me."
Achilles pushed the charm back into my hand, "I could never hate you."
"You resent me for how I've changed things and—" My voice was raw, "that's the same thing. Just because we're mates doesn't mean we're perfectly compatible."
"Xander!" Achilles said, standing very still, clasping his hands together, "I didn't mean it. It's just—" his eyes darted back and forth. He looked up at the sky, clearly frustrated, "I don't blame you. It's just, if not for you then no one would know. And I feel pressured, because I feel like you want me to be out. I'm just trying to make you happy. How can you turn this around and say I'm the problem?"
I shook my head, "Are you honestly trying to tell me you don't resent me? I don't believe that. You can't come out for me. We should have had this conversation earlier."
"In the vision—"
"Forget about the vision. In fact, forget about me. All of this, it's about you, Achilles. I just want you to be comfortable in your own skin." He was looking so lost and I didn't know what to do. "Let's get in the car."
Once I was behind the drivers seat, I stared out at the rain for several long moments. Eventually, I turned to Achilles in the passenger seat. "I came out to my parents when I was fifteen."
His voice was soft, "That's really young."
I nodded, "But my mother always knew somehow. I think she has a good eye for things like that. I'm not very effeminate, small or scrawny or whatever it is my father thought being gay was. But, he didn't like it." I drummed my fingers against my collar bone missing the light weight of the necklace. "My parents are both part of the oldest African and European vampire lines respectively. It was an arranged marriage and I don't think either of them really saw one another as more than colleagues. But, at the very least my father knew what he wanted in his children. He did not want a son who looks more Black than White. He didn't want a gay child." I closed my eyes, "I've always known I was a disappointment to my father but it didn't bother me because I knew I would always have my mother's love. And when I came out, I knew I was okay with whatever the repercussions would be. I've always been content with knowing that I care more about being who I am than being who other people want me to be." I paused, "If you can't say the same then I really don't know."
He gave me an odd look then, still turning the charm around between his fingers. His voice was hard, "Maybe it makes me weak if you're one of my biggest motivators to come out but I don't think that makes it a bad reason. Part of coming out is being proud to be with my mate. I won't hide myself and I certainly won't hide you." Achilles reached for my hand and squeezed, "Okay?"
I tried to be okay with that answer, "Okay."
#
Overall thoughts?
Not sure why these chapters are so hard for me to write :/