William didn’t abandon the hall as fast today. He sat and talked with other wolves about things, including the dismantling of my castle. I hated the subject; I didn’t want to hear him speaking about destroying my home, but I had little choice, it seemed. Closing my eyes to help tune him out, I felt comfort wash over me. Without even thinking about it, I leaned against the Alpha for support. He stopped speaking for a moment, but then continued on like I wasn’t there.
I felt him shake me some time later.
“Get up Elias, you can sleep back in the cabin.”
Opening a single eyeball, I looked at William. He stood up, and I fell sideways onto the floor.
“Get up.”
“Ugh, Just leave me here, I don’t want to.” I whined.
I expected him to yank me up onto my feet, but he didn’t. He instead threw me over his bloody shoulder and stomped out of the dining cabin. This whole thing was weird to me, all things considered.
“Put me down, I can—-”
“Sure you can. But this is quicker.”
“It might be, but I don’t like it. You go from angry to decent and then angry again. I don’t know if I want all this.”
“Want? You think you still have a choice still, that’s amusing.”
That comment from him was like a pin to my balloon, and I hated it. He didn’t put me down until he had us all the way inside the cabin and the door closed. Then he set me down. He lit a few candles and put wood in the fireplace, all while I just stood there.
All the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he walked behind me. Since I had fed again, my senses were sharp to his every movement. His footsteps on the wooden floor were noticeable and very hard to ignore. He walked heavily. Shaking my head, I walked lightly on my broken foot back to the chair by the fireplace.
“Next time you need to feed, say something.”
I looked back at him, confused.
“Why?”
“It’s not something we are used to, and some of us don’t wish to see that.”
“I see. I understand, but I need to feed too, and aside from there, I don’t have access to my people to feed.”
“I understand. Next time, just say something and I make sure you can feed privately.”
“Alright. But you should know that I need to feed every few days. If I don’t, I can’t eat or drink regular food without terrible pain.”
He frowned, but nodded nonetheless.
“I’m sorry that I made you and your people uncomfortable. From now on, I will keep that in mind for my actions.” I said politely.
Sitting there, I was quiet and just watched William for a while. He was stitching something with his hands. It looked like fur pelts with leather cording. I wanted to ask him about it, but I didn’t bother. Yawning, I relaxed into the chair even further. But it wasn’t as comfortable as I would have liked.
Getting out of the chair quietly, I laid on the floor by the fireplace. The warmth was comforting. The bear skin underneath me was soft and easy to rest on. I didn’t fall asleep, though. The sound of William moving and tinkering with things was loud enough to keep me awake. Turning sideways, I wanted to watch what he was up to.
Watching him, it took a long while before he stopped and looked at me.
“How long have you been watching me?”
“A while.”
“What for?”
“After feeding, my senses are at a peak height for up to twelve hours. The very movement of your hands brushing your pants is loud enough to distract me. Normally I can ignore it, but the silence in here makes your every sound even louder.” I murmured slightly into the bear rug.
“I’m stitching gloves. I will need them for hunting shortly.”
“Oh. I understand you need them for hunting, but don’t you just hunt in your wolf’s form all the time?” I asked, actually wondering.
“No. We don’t always hunt that way. It’s not the best for all situations.”
I nodded. Stretching out completely on the rug. He stopped what he was doing and sighed. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I didn’t. There was no point. Instead, I spoke about something else.
“I hope that at some point, we can be more than whatever this is. Perhaps we might be friends one day.”
“Perhaps.”
He allowed the silence to flood back in, but it was a comfortable silence. Without thinking too much more about it, I stood up and got closer to watching him as he went back to work on the gloves.
“What are you doing? Why are you walking on that foot?” He said, without taking his eyes off his task.
“I want to watch, but closer so I can see.” I replied.
“No. Sit down. You shouldn’t be walking on that foot at all.” He said, his voice oozing authority, and I didn’t like it.
“It’s fine, I’ve fed. My foot will heal now far faster than before. Two or three days and I’ll—--”
“I told you to sit down.” Annoyance laced his tone, and he turned to me, pinning me with those cold green eyes again.
“But I just want to watch.” I said, softly.
He put the gloves down and picked me up.
“Put me down!”
“No, you are refusing to listen.” He hissed.
Going limp in his arms was a new tactic I was willing to try. He paused and looked down at me.
“Really? Playing dead.”
“Maybe. I thought it might make you put me down.”
“I will. But in the damn chair where you are to remain.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, Elias it is.”
When he set me down, I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“Keep that up and you won’t be allowed to see your people when we go shortly for food.”
“You eat more than once a day?” I asked.
“Normally yes.”
“I see.”
He went back to get his gloves, and he came back, sitting in the other chair. He made sure I could see what he was doing. The man caught me off guard.
“Your father found our people by accident. I was just a boy then. I was a teenager when he finally just disappeared and stopped harming our people. With him went every single one of the people who helped him.”
“My father was poisoned, or that’s what I was told. I know little about his actual death. I just know he was buried quickly after they beheaded him per our traditions so that we can’t be brought back.”
“If that is the case, he deserved everything he got.”
“Knowing what I know now, I agree.”
Looking away from what he was doing, I looked at my hands and felt terrible again. He was treated terribly by my father, and I should have known and did everything to stop him.
“Your father abused me in terrible ways. He held me underwater until I was close to dying, then he would pull me out and whipped me until I cried out.”
“God! I’m so sorry. If I—--”
“Please let me finish. Your father’s crimes don’t end there.”
I nodded.
“He tried to castrate me one night because he felt I had tried to seduce him.”
“Excuse me!”
The sheer shock of his words had me blurting out more words.
“Are you being serious? He tried—--My god.”
“The only reason I still have my lower region intact is because he was worried he wouldn’t make it back to the kingdom in time for your birthday dinner.” William said bitterly, and I felt like I was going to puke.
“God, I’m so—--”
“I’m not finished, Elias.”
“There’s more?”
“There’s a few years of abuse, Elias, not just a few actions.”
The more he spoke about his abuse, and the horrors he suffered at the hands of my father, the more the feeling of numbness settled in. When he finally stopped speaking, I wiped my cheeks of the tears I spilled from the emotional pain I was feeling on his behalf. I had no idea how he could speak about it all without losing his mind.
The largest feeling inside of me was sickness. I was disgusted with my father as a whole person, and his words only made that feeling far more solid than it had been. I had no more words to express to William for any of it. The dryness in my mouth was uncomfortable, but if I dared ask for water, I was worried I would lose my meal from before.
William stood up, wiping his hands on his pants, and looked at me.
“Come along. We should grab one last meal for today.”
Following behind him the entire time, I had no appetite for anything, but I knew he wouldn’t trust me to stay alone in that cabin and not run off. Hell, I didn’t trust myself not to do exactly that.
Inside the hall, while he ate, I looked at my hands, ignoring the food placed in front of me. I felt the eyes of a wolf on me and I made the mistake of looking up. He showed me all his teeth. The scars running down his face and neck horrified me. I was gawking at him.
The male slammed his cup back on the table and the sound was loud and terrible in my ears and I jumped from the sudden noise.
“Alpha William, make the leech stop looking at me before I blind it.”
I tore my eyes off the male. Looking back down at my hands.
“Elias, keep your eyes down.” William said, his tone colder than before.
The male slammed something again and out of instinct; I looked up, and we met eyes. Without so much as a warning, he used the cup in his hand as a weapon. William blocked the second time he tried to hit me.
“Hendry, once was more than enough.” William said, his tone harsh as he yanked the cup from him.
“Not where I am concerned, William. That creature deserves death.” He hissed.
“Elias is not—-”
“Don’t defend me.” I said, my voice echoing in the room’s silence.
“Shut up Elias, this has nothing to do with you directly now.”
“You’re wrong. If you can punish me for my father’s crimes, then he should—---”
“Hendry killed the one who did that to him. His revenge is served. You are mine. As the kin of the one who hurt me, you’re taking the place of your father, and me and only me get to say what the hell happens to you. Hendry, touch Elias like that again without my permission and I’ll break your fucking hands. Do you understand me?” He snarled.
“Yes Alpha.”
“Good. Get the fuck out of my sight!”
Once the male was gone, the room seemed to have conversations again. William reached out and touched the side of my face where the cup hit me.
“Nothing feels broken.”
“I’m not concerned if it is.” I said, softly.
“Elias.”
“You can hit me too. After all, if I am to serve as my father’s stand in, lord knows he deserves it. I would like it if you would. Even if only just—--”
“Stop that fucking shit, right now.” William snapped.
Comments (2)
See all