Achilles Morgan
"You're avoiding me." A voice rasped behind me. It was deep and rough and it still had the capability to send shivers down my spine.
I remained silent. My back as straight and as stiff as a board, my arms rigid and my legs stringent. I was a living, breathing statue. Tension rolling off me in robust waves.
The only part of me that moved was my eyes as they tracked the sky with abundant misery. There was no fairness in the dome that encased our existence, no responsibility. Some days were dark, angry and bitter, spitting rain like they were bullets. Others calm, serene with light fluffy clouds that hung there suspended without a single care in the world.
Today is as more of a mixture of the two. It was late afternoon and the sky was slowly and gradually getting darker, the sun setting calmly in the west, the earth preparing to repeat its circulation of the sun before it rose the next morning.
The sky was a somber grey that more accurately reflected my mood save for the strip of salmon pink that hovered just above the canopy, the dark green tips adding the effect that the sky abruptly ended in jagged points whereas the clouds tried to sooth it with their charcoal swirls.
"Achilles." The voice tried again but I still didn't answer, unable to find the words. "Ace-"
"I'm sorry," I whispered my voice barely audible in the deathly silent room.
"Achilles look at me." He said softly, his breath brushing the back of my neck. I hadn't noticed him move closer and that was another sign of just how lost I was.
Still, I did not move unable to look him in the eye after these hectic few months. I was terrified about what I might see.
So many things.
So many thoughts.
So many words.
Only so many times you could get hurt before you broke into millions of pieces. Unfixable.
A face appeared in my line of vision effectively blocking my attempts to remain distant. I all but crumbled as I saw those black eyes so open, so wide, so bright and filled with such light.
Awake.
Alive.
Okay.
"Achilles." Tears welled in my eyes again but I wiped them away before they fell. Not again. I was so fucking done with crying.
He was right. I had been avoiding him. I was by his side from the very second he opened his eyes again, through every talk with the doctor to every disbelieving conversation I never even for a second left his side. Until he was discharged from the hospital two weeks later.
I couldn't exactly explain why but everything felt different when he was free and able to move again. The surgery, fortunately, had not caused paralysis to his legs although he would have to have intensive physio to gain full movement of everything, similar to me with my arm and leg.
I always found convenient ways to avoid him whether that be my own physio or catching up on school work. It was just so much easier than having to talk to him because really what could I possibly say?
"Oh hey, I'm so sorry that coming to rescue me caused you to get stabbed with a silver dagger which almost killed you. I'm sorry I was too weak to protect you."
Pathetic.
There were no words that could make what happened okay and I didn't know how to deal with that. Goddesses I couldn't even bring myself to look into his eyes.
Two hands tenderly reached up and captured my face, forcing me to look at the olive skin stretched over fine bone structure. I slammed my eyes shut much to Logan's dismay as he let out an annoyed huff.
"You always did enjoy being difficult didn't you?"
Keeping my mouth shut was something new for me but it was all I could do to keep my real feelings at bay. With my eyes closed, I could feel Logan's warm breath on my face and his rough fingertips slowly and surely stoking over my cheeks and under my eyes. I could feel the heat seeping from his skin into my bones and feel the occasional brush of fabric over my fingers from where they were hanging by my side.
I didn't move. I didn't even breath in fear that if I did anything the feelings, the heat, Logan would all disappear in seconds.
"Achilles look at me." The voice was rough from what I could only assume was shouting as I had listened to Logan scream and shout at people who tried to baby him and treat him like glass. His parents wouldn't even let him out of bed when he returned and could barely leave his section of the palace without seven armed guards, I was surprised he was here alone at all.
Sucking in a deep breath I allowed my eyes to flutter open and my knees almost buckled when the finally registered the soft curl of a smile on his pink lips or the complete devotion behind those eyes.
I tried to step back but logan shifted his hands so they were planted firmly on my waist not letting me move even an inch away from him.
"Can you see now? I'm fine. You can stop worrying about me. " He pressed and instead of comforting me it only further angered me.
Maneuvering from his grasp I spun and started pacing, running my hands wildly through my hair. "You weren't though Logan! You almost fucking died!" My feet came to a halt as the knowledge hit me once again. "You did die. Your...your heart...stopped-it stopped Logan." I lifted a hand and pressed it firmly in the center of my chest where I could feel our bond thrum with energy. "You disappeared and l-left me. You were just gone. I-I can't...I can't..." Shaking my head I pressed my palms into my eyes to stop tears.
"I'm sorry okay? I'm sorry I worry, I'm sorry I care. I'm sorry that every time you walk away from me or say goodbye all I can think about is that maybe the next time I'll see you you'll be back in that fucking hospital. I'm sorry I can't look at you without thinking you hate me for everything I've put our family through, for everything I put you through-"
Lightening fast Logan snagged my arm and halted my pacing, pulling my body so there wasn't even a breath between us. "Say that again."
I narrowed my eyes and repeated myself. "I'm sorry-"
"No not that part."
I shook my head confusion clouding my expression. "I don't understand."
Logan reached up and gripped my chin, a small grin on his lips. "You said our family."
My mouth opened and closed a few times. "S-sorry. Must have slipped out."
The smile on Logans face on broadened and it did strange things to my chest, I had stopped trying to understand a long time ago. "I don't think I've ever heard you use that word so much in the entire time I've known you."
Glowering at my mate he smiled again, pressing a small kiss to my nose. "Will you come somewhere with me? Please."
Reluctantly I nodded. "Can you even go anywhere without a bodyguard? How did you even get here?"
"I escaped when they weren't looking."
My lips twitched upwards. Lacing his fingers with mine, he dragged me out of my bedroom wincing slightly as his arm twisted behind him when I didn't move for a second. His free hand grasped his side where the doctors had to cut him open and I flinched, going to his side quickly so he wouldn't have to hurt himself anymore. Logan shot me a grateful smile. "And about the bodyguard thing I have you don't I?"
I snorted. "I don't think anyone trusts me to protect you anymore...I don't even trust me." I said quietly, more to myself than Logan but with his heightened sense, he heard every word.
"I trust you and that's enough." He admitted easily, pressing another kiss to my cheek as we ducked through the long hallways to avoid anyone that would potentially report the Prince's whereabouts to the Royal Family.
We escaped out of the back kitchen door and trekked about a mile along the back of the territory, my leg was throbbing with a dull ache from my injury that had only just finished healing and I could see that Logan was getting tired too as his chest was heaving a lot quicker than usual and his hands were shaking.
Noticing my stare Logan offered me a strained smile. "We're almost there."
Deciding to trust him I nodded and allowed him to direct me to wherever we were going.
When we finally reached our destination a small gasp escaped me. A lone house sat in between all of the trees which hid the property unless you were only a few yards away from it. The house was similar to a cabin except it was much larger with wood paneling stretching on every inch of the wall and roof, looking strong enough to protect its inhabitants from even the worst of storms. There was a small patio at the front where there was a single porch swing that had been painted white and sat there unused for a while.
Pulling me up the gravel path Logan released my hand to unlock the door with a set of keys he had and swung the door open. The house was warm when we stepped in, chasing the winter chill from my bones.
The inside looked just as good as outside. It was a very open planned space with a fireplace that had been lit up with a large tv station on the wall above and two small couches in front of it. The kitchen was a few feet away from that and on the wall beside it was a small alcove where there was a long floor to ceiling window with a window seat which looked like the perfect place to sit and read for hours.
The door in the back corner I guessed was the bedroom and the other was for the bathroom. The house was strongly homely. Pictures of Logan and his family and friends line the wall in were put on cabinets stocked with DVDs and books. There was a lingering scent that was all Logan which was only enhanced while the man himself was stood watching me with curious eyes.
"What do you think?" He eventually asked, perching himself on the couch and rubbing his side tenderly.
I quickly moved beside him. "This place is beautiful but are you okay? Do you need anything? I can-"
I was cut off with Logan's joyful laugh. "Careful there Morgan, you might start to give the impression that you actually care."
My hand lifted to reach for him but I hesitated wondering if it was still okay. Logan pouted at my frozen hand and grabbed it to put it on his cheek.
We were months past the shy touches and questioning eyes but I couldn't help but doubt myself for just a moment.
We'd been jumping on rocks in the still ponds that were our hearts- breaking the rigidness into waves of passion that washed over both of us leaving us hot, flushed and breathless for weeks.
"I do care. I-I think I've always cared, I've just never been very good at showing it." I admitted weakly, trying to commit every single feature of Logan's features into memory in case he really did disappear.
"Shut up and kiss me Ace," Logan said, tugging the front of his shirt until our lips were barely a millimeter away.
"Are you sure?"
Confusion and irritation remained firm behind Logan's eyes but there was no uncertainty, no doubt which made my shoulders.
"Of course I'm sure, why wouldn't I be?"
I didn't answer instead surging forward to press my lips to Logan's. The heat hit me quickly and the pair of us let out a loud groan. After not being able to kiss him for weeks every emotion rushed back to me and sent a jolt down my spine.
Our lips moved in a sensual dance. My hands flying to Logan's hips as he shifted to straddle me. I was cornered he'd strain himself at the quick movement but he made no other sound that his moans of pleasure.
My tongue forced its way into his mouth and he let me in willingly as I tasted every single corner I could reach. Warm fingers flew under my shirt tracing my scars with unnerving precision and I wasn't as nervous as I thought I'd be when he touched me.
No instead there was simply fire blazing across my soul that tormented my mind with images of my mates own smooth skin, that was until I was stuck with a picture of Logan's lifeless body on that hospital bed.
Jerking back I ended up hitting my head on the back of the couch and cursed obscenely.
"Are you okay?" Logan asked replacing my hand with his.
"Fine."
"Consider that word removed from your vocabulary forever." The Prince in my lap declared as he ran his fingers through my hair.
I looked up at him beneath my lashes and just sat and watched as he kept his entire focus on my hair.
The black-haired boy, with matching dark eyes and a beautiful soul had flipped my world on its axis and pushed me to my limits in more ways than one.
He had rearranged my broken pieces into a puzzle that only he knew the answer to and even now my heart would do acrobatics in my chest just simply thinking about him.
I'd never admitted it out loud but I liked it.
I liked the power he had over me despite how terrifying it was. Never before had I ever wanted to give someone every single piece of me but Logan took them all without question and with that gorgeous smile of his, not for a second doubting me.
He was just so easy to love.
Love.
That four-lettered little word that could both destroy you and heal you. A word that had been carved in my head, my heart, and my soul for a while now, not making itself known until I was truly ready to admit it.
My mouth had never admitted those words, it didn't know how but as Logan was sat with his bottom lip between his teeth and his hands in my hair, I think that I'd like to start learning.
I hate you.
Is what I'd once said to the Prince. Words that had been so easy to say as the word 'hate' meant so little to me because I'd felt it for such a long time that it lost its intensity. I'd been angry and spiteful and cruel for long enough that my feelings had molded into an intricate facade of nothingness. Impassivity. An imperturbable tranquility.
Until Logan.
I hate you.
Once they were useless words that now morphed into three blank spots I could place my real truths in.
I want you.
I trust you.
I love you.
A sudden gasp above me had me shaking from my reprieve. Logan stared down at me wide-eyed, his mouth slightly agape, his hands still in my hair. "What did you just say?"
"Nothing," I replied instinctively. In reality, I didn't actually know what words had slipped passed my lips.
"No, no, no. You can't do that to me now Achilles Patrick Morgan."
"That's not my middle name," I said in a jocular tone. "I didn't even have a middle name."
Narrowing his eyes Logan tugged at my hair until I was looking at him again. "When I was in the hospital," I flinched but Logan carried on regardless. "you came to see me."
"Of course I did," I said on a shaky breath.
Logan shook his head. "No not like that. It was like a dream. I was in this forest and...and you were there. I didn't really recognize you but you were beautiful and there."
I watched him with furrowed brows, not completely understanding what he was telling me. "You asked me to come back to you." I had a vivid memory of me asking him to do a lot more than that while he was unconscious. I believe begging was a more appropriate word.
I nodded, silently telling him I was still listening. He paused choosing his words with fastidious care. "You told me to come back because there was something important you needed to tell me that you couldn't tell me while I was there." Logan cupped my cheeks his gaze scorching a hole through my head. "What did you need to tell me?"
My mouth suddenly became very dry and my throat felt like it had a large stone stuck in it. I didn't know how to say it.
After everything, I did to him and told him, after everything that had happened how could I be certain enough that he felt the same way. I could almost guarantee he wouldn't.
Not after all the pain, I'd caused him.
Seeming to sense which direction my thoughts were going in Logan sighed as he relaxed back on my legs, his hands gripping my shoulders as mine remained firmly on his waist. The Crowned Prince looked up and his eyes scanned across the house. "This place...it's mine." My brows shot up. "It was a birthday gift from my parents a couple of years ago although back then it was just empty land that they said I could do anything with. The second I saw it I knew exactly what I wanted this place to be."Logan's eyes connected with mine. "A home. For me and for...for my mate."
My heart began to thunder so hard in my chest I struggled to hear logan over the staccato rhythm. "This could be ours Ace. Just you and me. Forever and always, all you have to do is say yes. All you have to do is stay."
I remained to stare at the Prince in front of me unable to do even so much as a breath. He was asking me to stay to be here with him. To have a family and plant roots that I figured I'd never have.
To stay and love him to my full capacity and beyond.
He wanted me here. In his house, in his life, in his arms and I could have it all I had to do is say yes.
Still, none of this changed the fact that I had done some terrible things and the news of the slaughter of the Palecrest pack would soon reach the other packs if it hadn't already and the reason why would surface too.
I had made a lot of enemies and I couldn't list the number of people that would do anything to tear my throat out on both my hands.
Would I really risk putting Logan back in that position, putting his family in that position after what I'd already done to him?
"Stop it," Logan said firmly. "Stop thinking about all the bad. Pessimism never looked good on you anyway." Dropping his forehead to mine he signed. "Please Ace, you have to trust me that we can make this work, there's problems in every relationship we just have to fight through them. So please, please just say it."
"I want to but-"
"No. No buts just please." His eyes were glowing now. Those dark irises swallowed by the amber light that lit up the room that was once covered in shadows. I wasn't quite sure he even realized but it was made clear how strongly he wanted this, how much he wanted me to want this.
I lifted my hand and brushed his hair from his forehead. Slipping that hand to the nape of his neck I pulled him forward until his lips pressed to mine in a tender kiss. Our eyes fell shut for just a moment and when we pulled away I had an answer and Logan's eyes were back to there onyx color.
"I love you Princey."
The smile that lit up Logans face all but made me glow. "I love you too Achilles."
Smiling, I wrapped my arms around the Prince and hugged him, not tight enough to make anything hurt but tight enough to remind him I was there and had no plans of releasing him anytime soon.
"If I'm staying we really have to change the color of those curtains." I murmured shifting to glare at the ugly green drapes Logan had chosen.
The Prince through his head back and laughed. "My house, my rules."
I tugged his face back towards mine and kissed him. "Our house."
Logan smiled. It was a smile that reminded me that I had finally found a home.