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Enchanting Cover by HavenStiel

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Acacia/Ciarán - Age 18

It was after my parents left, all of us heading into the pack lodge, Mandy the final one before shutting the door...that Lailoken's voice echoes through the silence, "Upstairs."

I turn around, the anger has left me and my body shaking slightly with how much tension finally had left my muscles. When I say, "I-"

"Ekáti," he cuts me right off and I release a steady breath as those from his pack eye the two of us. They'd all defended me...

...though I feel like I already know I crossed a line with Lailoken.

Without another word, I turn my back on Lailoken and release a short breath of air before climbing the stairs. I can hear him following me, but my gaze stays forward. When we reach his bedroom door, I open it and step inside, hearing him close it just behind the two of us.

"Sit," his word is short, though not harsh in tone. Walking to the edge of the bed, I turn around and sit on it, my gaze flickering down to my hands as they are shaking slightly.

Am I afraid of him?

Or am I afraid that what I did wasn't within my control?

Lailoken stands in front of me and asks, "Why did you defy my order?"

"I..." my voice trails off for a moment, picking at the seam on my pant leg and stating, "...I wanted to see my parents."

"You believed that was a good enough reason in itself to disregard my command?" I'm slightly confused when he questions me this way.

Shaking my head, I tell him, "I don't understand what you mean."

"You didn't go with them. In fact, you didn't put up any fight whatsoever in regards to leaving my pack," Lailoken continues. After he pauses for a few moments he then states, "You wanted them to know they have no say in what you do any longer."

My eyes widen the second he claims this.

"Ekáti, look at me," his voice isn't harsh at all, and I release a small exhale before bringing my eyes to meet with his. His eyes hold mine as he says, "I understand the statement you wanted to make, but you need to listen to me. That situation could have gone very wrong and with your emotions unstable, your power waivers uncontrollably."

Lailoken knows what I can do...

...perhaps I shouldn't have been so hasty, anger fueling all what's left of me...

"I'm sorry..." my voice is so quiet as it trails off.

"Trust is something hard for you..." he brings to light everything, "...I will earn your trust, Ekáti, but please try to understand that I want nothing more than to protect and keep you safe while helping you understand your full potential."

I have been to lied and deceive before...

There are a few tears that form in my eyes and as I release a shaky breath, Lailoken releases a sigh of his own, "Now, you're going to sit here and think about everything while I go finish making breakfast."

"Excuse me?" I let the words slip quickly from my lips.

Lailoken arches a brow when I slide off the edge of the bed and stand up slowly. He nods at the bed and states, "If you're going to act like a child, I'm going to treat you like one."

"You can't be serious?" My eyes widen and my jaw slacks.

"Says the little girl who likes her hot chocolate with marshmallows," he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

I gasp and snap back, "I am not a little girl!"

"But you are," Lailoken shakes his head and replies, "you're still a child and apparently, I'm old."

Glaring at him angrily, my hands ball up into fists as I retort, "You are not my dad!"

"No, I'm not," he shrugs his shoulders, "because if I was, I actually would have protected you."

The blood in my veins runs ice cold at his words.

The tension becomes slack in my fists and I release a defeated sigh. He nods at the bed and my eyes avert from his when he reiterates, "You need a timeout to calm down and think. I'll be back up in just a bit with breakfast."

"Yes, dad," I mutter in a snarky tone.

My gaze remains on the floor when I sit back on the edge of the bed, Lailoken holding a tone of amusement when he chuckles, "That's a good girl..." his voice trails off as I hear him walk away and back toward the bedroom door. He stops only for a moment to state, "...and I prefer daddy."

A shiver travels down my spine with the inflection of his tone with that one word. When I lift my gaze, the door to the bedroom closes as Lailoken leaves the room. My hands grasp my thighs briefly before I release the tension, bringing my eyes down to the palms of my hands when I rest the backs of my hands against my thighs. I stare down, envisioning the second I'd done...

...I did that.

I don't know how...

Lailoken is right.

This power that I have, I can't control and I don't even know how it works. Drawing on it from my anger and hurt...that's the only thing I'm sure of. He told me before though, that I've relied so much on using the darkness to take away the pain when he said I don't have to any longer...

...I want to believe in him. I truly do, I've just been hurt and let down at every turn...each time I've given my heart away, I've had it shatter, shredding the remaining pieces thinner with each occurrence.

I don't think there's anything left...

Exhaling slowly, I lay back against the covers of the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I rest my palms against my stomach, allowing my eyelids to flutter shut for longer and longer periods of time. Relaxing, I'm only disturbed by a knock on the door before it opens, hearing it shut once more before I see Lailoken out of the corner of my eye. He sets down the breakfast he's prepared for me on the small table, his eyes briefly scanning over my facial features before he glances away.

He turns away from me and I slowly sit up, glancing down at the scrambled eggs first. His movements catch my eye, seeing him remove his shirt and toss it into the clothes hamper. Lailoken's back is a defined wall of muscle, my eyes quickly avert back to my breakfast just as he turns around.

I still don't dare look back up when he says, "I'm going to take a shower. If you'd like to go for a walk later, I can show you around my territory?"

I nod my head up and down, not allowing for a single word to slip past my lips. After he closes the door to the bathroom, the water starting, I release the air I'd been holding in my lungs. I pick up the plate Lailoken had set down on the small table, taking it with me outside onto the balcony, I sit down with my back to the wall.

It's becoming much cooler out with the way we are at the brink of autumn. I'm just finishing the last piece of toast when the glass door opens up onto the balcony and I glance to my side and upward to see Lailoken.

He tilts his head to the side and asks, "Did I say you could come out of time out?"

"You're joking..." my voice trails off after I swallow my mouthful of toast.

Lailoken leans against the door frame with his arms crossed and asks, "Does it look like I'm joking?"

Shaking my head in disbelief, I gather myself to my feet. He's still leaning against the door frame as I move past him, setting the plate down on the small table while I sit on the edge of the bed. Crossing my arms just beneath my chest, I look away from him as he walks closer.

"Can we stop acting like a child now?" Lailoken asks, staring down at me.

I bring my eyes to meet with his and retort, "Can we stop acting like an old man?"

"Ekáti..." his tone holds an edge to it and I release a sigh of annoyance and bite my tongue from saying anything further. He asks me gently this time, "Are you going to listen to me?"

"Yes..." my voice trails off while it remains soft and quiet.

"Alright then," he nods and offers me his hand asking, "are you ready to go for a walk?"

"I guess," I reply back, slowly outstretching my arm until I take his hand. His touch is welcoming, that scalding heat raking through me as his reddish-orange eyes hold mine. Lailoken offers me a light zip-up sweater, which I put on while he opens the door for me to the hallway. We pass a few of his pack members when we reach the lower level, noticing that some are no longer here, while others have returned; such as Glofish and Samami.

When we step out onto the porch, Lailoken touches a hand to my lower back, guiding me down the steps and in the direction we are going to begin our walk. His touch is gentle and I see the way he's being cautious and understanding.

Our conversation starts out light when he asks, "How was it growing up in Castle Valentine?"

"I'd rather have lived with my grandpa," I reply, avoiding everything in regards to how I'd grown up.

"Your...dads and mom weren't always there for you?" He questions me.

"Of course not..." my voice trails off, "...well, dad tried as much as he could, but mom and Dante were never close to me," I pause a moment when I feel the way his touch becomes slightly stronger at Dante's name. Furrowing my brows, I resume with, "They were always too busy preparing Ciarán for the day he'd become king and take the throne."

Lailoken snorts with a laugh and I glance at him. He chuckles and states, "Oh, don't mind me. After I was brought to haul your brother off to Elysium for a much-needed attitude adjustment, I knew they'd never choose him as a successor. The Code of Conduct should never surface, those ideals old and buried."

"So you think..." I mutter under my breath while I release a sigh.

"What was that?" He asks right back, the two of us walking closer to the border of where I can just make out Elysium in the distance.

Shaking my head, I reply, "Nothing."

"Ekáti-"

"I'd rather not talk about it," I cut him off and when I see the way his features alter, I add in, "please."

"Alright," he doesn't press me for information any further. Instead, he tells me, "I'd rather see a human ruling then the sorry excuse for a true born hybrid my cousin is."

Wait.

What?

"What?" I immediately halt, turning to Lailoken as a look crosses his features. He knows he has my attention now.

"Dante is my uncle," he arches a brow before continuing, "Richard Matz was my father. Though I never knew him personally, I'd been told a lot about him and the history of the Matz family through my mother, Tansy Mercer."

"So...you..." shaking my head in complete disbelief, he just holds an amused look on his face.

Lailoken continues my question, "Took my mother's last name? Yes. I never knew my father, so why would I represent my actions and life choices...who I have become under a surname that I hold no ties to except for coming into existence?"

Etain was right...

...mom should have represented the Wood surname...

"Where is your mother?" I ask him and then quickly shake my head and look away before saying, "If you don't mind me asking that is..."

Lailoken nods and replies, "I don't mind at all, Ekáti." He pauses as we continue walking for a bit more, replying with, "My mother is currently helping with the Mercy Matrons, a p-"

"So she's with your sister?" I cut him off with wide eyes and an open mouth.

Lailoken stops walking and stares at me hard while questioning, "My sister?"

"Etain Matz-"

"Hold on..." Lailoken rubs his forehead and then releases an exasperated sigh, "...you can't be serious...Alpha Etain as in, the exact same line as..."

Is it a common last name?

Or had he even not thought about it for a moment?

After all...

...she never associated herself with Dante, so she easily could have never even given her surname to anyone or given a false one.

"My mother never had another child aside from me," Lailoken informs me.

"Well...your dad was a hybrid, so...he had other mates. It's not far-fetched...she easily could be your sister," I shrug my shoulders and watch the way Lailoken is processing this information.

It's a few minutes of us walking in silence, heading back toward the pack lodge before he releases a sigh and says, "I need to make a call when we get back," it's much later in the evening then I realize as we'd been out for a long walk. He pauses and says, "If you want, we can watch a movie after if you'd like?"

That isn't a bad idea...

...I just want to relax and take everything off my mind right now.

Nodding, I reply, "Yes."

It's not a few minutes later that we cross back into the pack lodge threshold, Lailoken dispersing up the stairs while I remain standing near the door. I hear something from my right, "Pst!" I realize it's Brilite's voice and I slowly turn to see her looking from side to side around the living room.

"Uh...hi?" I ask and she moves closer to me.

Brilite whispers, "We're going to go out for a late night prowl of the territory tonight..." her voice trails off and she motions for me to come as close as I can to her. She then says, "Our wolves wanna meet you properly, you up for a little sneaky sneak out?"

"Lailoken-"

"Psh, Alpha Loki sleeps like a dead rock," Brilite shrugs and then smirks, "it'll be fuuuuun."

"Uh..." I can't even form words into a sentence.

Instead, I just nod back silently, because I hear Lailoken calling from the stairs, "Ekáti."

"I'm coming," I reply back, seeing the mischievous glint in Brilite's eyes while I assume she's letting the others know through their mind link, excluding their alpha. Hesitantly, I turn away and head up the stairs, Lailoken stepping away and heading back toward his bedroom.

He opens the door for me and when we get inside, he asks me, "What would you like to watch?"

Lailoken motions to the bottom shelf of the bookcase where I see his selection of movies. I walk away from him to take a look, glancing through the titles. Most of what he has is serious crime, action, and documentaries. Shrugging my shoulders, I stand to my feet and reply, "Whatever you want."

"Is there something you'd like to watch that I don't have?" Lailoken asks me when I come away from the bookcase empty-handed.

"I...well, my comfort movie is-" I cut myself short, Lailoken giving me this funny look.

He really is going to think I'm a child...

"Is?" He asks while encouraging me.

Shaking my head I mutter out, "Ice Age," I wince slightly when I tell him this.

I'm not met with any remarks about how childish that sounds. Instead, when I bring my gaze back to meet with his, his eyes are darkened and I know very well he's mind linking with his pack. It's not a few seconds later that there is a knock on the door before Brilite pops her head between the small space she makes available.

She waves in her hand, the movie case...

...Ice Age.

"Yo, I still have my copy," she grins, feeling a sense of pride when her alpha regards her with a gracing look.

"Thank you, Brilite," Lailoken nods and she quickly crosses the room before outstretching her hands and holding out the movie case to him.

Brilite quickly smirks, "No adult films tonight?"

"Brilite..." that same tone leaves Lailoken's lips and she quickly laughs nervously before seeing herself out the door. He quickly releases a sigh before setting the movie up. I crawl onto one side of the bed, wrapping my arms around myself as I rest my back against the headboard with the pillow behind me.

Lailoken starts up the movie, turning back around before he causes the bed to drip slightly. He sets himself up next to me, the two of us watching as I can't help but giggle and smile at the parts that remind me of happier times when I was little. It's comforting, feeling at ease and relaxing a bit next to him.

When he holds his hand out, palm facing upward, I glance at him for a quick moment. There is a half-hearted smile on his lips while I hesitantly reach my hand out. When our fingers interlace, I'm overwhelmed by the warmth, falling into it and allowing it to be the reasoning behind why I can relax entirely. He brushes the pad of his thumb against the back of my hand, a small exhale leaving my lips as the movie plays halfway through.

"Come here kitten," his voice is deeper as he releases my hand, wrapping an arm behind me as I slowly scoot closer to his side. I'm still uneasy, my eyes flickering over him as I discern his features and intentions. When my muscles tense, the second I lean into him, his voice is soft and quiet as he says, "I won't hurt you."

I nod with slight reassurance, eventually leaning my head against his chest. Lailoken's chin gently rests on the top of my head, holding me close to him while the movie is coming to an end. Even after it stops, the credits have finished, he holds me and I really don't want to pull away...

My heart beats evenly, my breathing at ease. His aura calms me, his touch welcoming and soothing. When he lifts his chin from the top of my head, his voice entrances me when he says, "Ekáti."

I tilt my chin up, seeing into his eyes the flicker of golden in the center of his irises. His wolf warms my heart as well, reassuring me as I haven't felt to even being close to this safe before. His free hand cups my cheek, his eyes searching mine before he asks me, "May I kiss you?"

That same shiver travels down my spine, goosebumps breaking out across the top layer of my skin. I'm hesitant at first before I finally whisper, "Yes."

Lailoken lowers his lips closer to mine, inhaling sharply when he's just a mere inch away. It's very soft and gentle, the way his lips move against mine. It's a natural and reassuring pull, the way I slowly exhale the air that had caught in my lungs as my eyelids flutter shut. I kiss him back, the electric tingles that spark between our lips only causes Lailoken to ever so slowly deepen the kiss.

A soft moan leaves my lips when his tongue lightly flicks across my bottom lip, my heart rate accelerating exponentially. I know he must feel and hear it too because he shifts his arm around my upper back as we slide gently down onto the bed. Lailoken's lips move against mine, while his tongue dips between my parted lips, rubbing against my own...

...this only causes tight knots to form in my abdomen, a growing heat radiating from my core.

The heated kisses between the two of us grow much more passionate, my head spinning with the way I feel with him...

...it truly is unlike anything I've ever felt before.

Quiet moans escape my lips, a drawled out gasp when his lips trail down my neck. I feel almost like I'm suffocating in this warmth, his lips planting kisses on my collarbone...though, the second I feel one of his hands trace the outline of my body, feeling his hand at my hip and the way his hardness presses against my side...

...I yelp, my voice almost caught in my throat when I plead, "No...stop, please."

It's so quiet, Lailoken hardly hears it...but he halts his actions. His lips lift away from my collarbone, his eyes meeting with

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