7- Not my type

(ELYN)

Ares glared at me as he stood there like a fucking statue. I inhaled loudly, watching him, as shadows danced against his body, making a mesmerizing effect. He fisted his palms, and I knew I had once again offended him. The Alpha must be itching for a fight, but he said nothing as he stood there, his body rigid and his jaw stern.

He looked like he wanted to punish me. I wanted him to. My brain cells died when he was with me. 

"Do you need anything more?" I said, and he growled at me in response. "Don't growl at me, you know... you don't scare me!"

"Why are you- so- so frustrating?" he huffed as he took a step towards me and stopped halfway. For someone with terrible impulse control, his self restraint was admirable.

"Well, because I don't act the way you want me to act!" I blinked at him innocently. "Because you fear me."

"Scared? Of you? That is laughable," he said with a sarcastic smile as his eyes narrowed. "I am a Lycan wolf and an Alpha at that, and you- you have nothing. Why would I be scared of you?" he said it like it was the most pitiable thing, to not have a wolf, and I hated that. I had never liked it when anyone mentioned my status without a wolf. It was not the fucking end of the world. They should understand that.

I leered. "Because..." I took a step towards him until we were so close, until I could almost feel the warmth radiating off of him. "I distract you."

He grunted under his breath, but he didn't move away even as I moved closer. "You don't distract me. You aren't- you aren't even my type."

I chuckled. He wasn't mine, either. 

One heartbreak was enough for a lifetime. My heart still pricked whenever I thought of Liam... and that was more than anything I could take. 

"Well, you are not my type either and... also, I don't want to be your type!" I said to him with a cheeky smile that made his breath shudder and his body tremble. Not his type, hah! "And still... I affect you. You have always had people obeying your every order, don't you? You know what I think, Alpha?" I said as I touched his cheek. 

"What?" he spat the word out.

"Nothing." I smirked. He was the enemy, wasn't he, and yet why was I so affected? He tried to kidnap my sister, and who knew what he would have done to her had he actually kidnapped her?

I was here, unharmed, because he didn't know that I too, was actually a daughter of the Alpha.

A preposterously hot enemy, my sub-conscious said with a sigh. And I had to agree to it. Despite everything, he was the kind of man a woman could fall easily for. 

"You- what is wrong with you?" He looked rattled as his hot breath teased my hair.

"Nothing," I said as I pulled away from him. "Do you want some juice to cool you down? You look hot and bothered... and here I thought I was not your type." I looked at the evident bulge in his trousers, and his breath hissed and he choked on air as I slammed the juice bottle on the table.

"See you tomorrow, Alpha." I winked and walked away, my heart bounding in my chest. I knew I might have played myself more than I played him, but I felt a small dose of victory.

He was still standing there, staring at nothing...

I slammed the door shut as I jumped on the bed and breathed out.

"This is going to be hard," I said to myself with a sigh. "Life is too hard, Grandpa. I wish you were still here with me," I mumbled as I stared at the twinkling stars.

My grandfather was a great Alpha, but more than that, he was an amazing man. There was just no one like him in the world. When he was alive, I was treated like a princess, despite everything. Nobody dared say a word against me.

And then he died when I was seven, and everything changed. And then it became even more of a shit show than it already was when I didn't get a wolf. Everything in my life shifted at that point.

Sometimes I wondered why he had to go away. He was the only one who chose me, who protected me. Why did the goddess of death have to take him away?

I looked at the stars forming constellations, stars burning and falling... a small tear leaked down my cheek.

"What is my destiny, grandpa? Where am I going? Why am I here? Who is coming for me? I wish I know."

My eyes felt heavy, and I blinked as sleep took me in.

***

(MELI)

"So? How is everything back there?" I looked at my brother and he shrugged. "You are not telling me something!" I frowned at him, and Kai shrugged again. I dreaded the thought of seeing Ares, but I was still excited to go back home.

I had been away for a long time, but now that college was over, I didn't have any excuse and my parents were pestering me to go back. "What are you hiding, Kai?" I said as my stomach twisted nervously. I wondered if it was about Ares' mate and whether he had found it, but... I pushed the thought away. Kai would have told me if that was the case.

"You are here. You will find out soon enough!" Kai said with a nervous titter that made me suspicious.

"I don't like how weird you look and sound. Is this about Ares? You know we are over it, right? It is okay if he found his mate..."

"Yeah, he is over it, but are you?" my brother looked at me with a sigh, and I hated how perceptive he was. I took in a deep breath. "We have found out we were not fated mates, and that is all there to it," I said, trying so hard not to let it affect me.

I had grown up with Ares and loved him until the day he turned eighteen. He was only a year older than me. His birthday celebration was grand, as his brother, Alpha Brian, always gave him only the best.

I waited for him to growl MATE, but when he looked at me, he looked at me with the same kind of love. Not the overwhelming one that a mate was supposed to feel.

My heart broke. And then he went back. And I ran to Zarique when I turned eighteen. 

"And then you have run away for a long time, just to avoid him," Kai said with a sigh. "You know... it was hard for him and you should've been there. He was your best friend before anything else."

"And I loved him all my life. I needed to be away, Kai. I thought you understood that."

"I do, Meli, I do understand that, but still..."

"How is Brian?" I asked, my heart twisting in pain for the previous Alpha. His mate's death had broken him beyond anything.

Kai's face twisted. "Worse than before. Ares is hurting so bad... and-"

"And what? What did he do?"

"You could not blame him. He was so angry when Brian's condition worsened."

"No..."

Kai braked the car and stopped it before he walked outside. I knew he was doing it only to escape from my interrogation. I took in a deep breath as I readied myself for everything that was waiting for me.

What I didn't expect was seeing a girl in Ares' t-shirt, walking out, holding hands with Azlea, smiling.

"You didn't- how could you hide this from me? Ares found his mate?"

Everything in me burned. The pain was intense. I knew this would happen, but I thought Kai would tell me when that happened. I could have prepared myself for this if he had just told me. Now, it was like a rock hitting directly on my chest. I thought I had gotten over Ares... I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down.

"What? No. That is not his mate. She doesn't even have a wolf," Kai replied as he scratched his chin.

"Who is she then?" Now, I was even more afraid to find out who she was.

"Um... she is- her name is Elyn."

"Is she someone famous? I don't remember her name from anywhere," I squinted my eyes and the look on Kai's eyes made me squirm. "What the hell, Kai? What did you guys do?"

"She is not the daughter of the Turquoise Falls' Alpha, but we thought she was."

"You guys," I squeaked. "Did you... kidnap her or something?"

"Well..."

"Kai freaking Jenkins!" I shouted, and the door banged open as Ares walked out. He smiled when he saw me. "And you, Ares Kincaid, what the hell were you thinking? Kidnap?"

Kai cleared his throat. "The wrong woman!" I snorted. I couldn't help it.

"Fuck. I don't know whether to hit you or boo you!"

"The problem is, Meli, she refuses to go away!" Ares's face darkened as he mentioned her. I could see his heterochromatic eyes shifting and changing and the dark look in his eyes... I had never seen him so emotional.

After the Luna's death, and after his brother, he was like a walking, talking zombie, the few times I met him in the past two years. But now... I bit my lips as I felt a pang in my chest.

"Oh, here you are!" The woman.. Elyn walked towards us with Azlea. Azlea had her pet Djorn, Rubik, on her shoulder. The creature cooed softly as I touched him with a finger. Sending a shy smile my way, she hid behind Elyn, and that was stranger still. 

Elyn looked at me with a smile before she turned to Ares. She was tall, and she had tattoos. That was my first thought. She was also beautiful with big gray eyes...

"What do you want?" Ares hissed. She didn't even look bothered by the way he snapped at her.

"I want you," she said in a voice that was heavy with meaning, and Ares flushed. I had never seen him flush. Kai threw a surreptitious look at my direction.

"Wh-what?"

I had never seen him stutter, either. Or looked that lost. 

"To come with us. Azlea need crayons, and I need some art supplies too. Also, dresses. I can't keep borrowing your shirt."

"Steal!" Ares huffed. "Come on, then."

They left, leaving me and Kai alone. I blinked at Kai.

"Yes, I know..." Kai sighed, a weird look in his eyes.

"He looked-" It hurt me to even think that, but... "He looked whipped."

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