Zeke

"Stop hitting me!" I hissed, swatting Valerie's hands away from me. I heard her huff. I threw my blanket over my head before she started poking me again. "What?" I groaned, peeling the fabric away from my face.

I kept my arm over my eyes to block out the sunlight- her first attempt at getting me out of bed. "I'm hungry" she informed me.

Groaning, I pulled the blanket back up to my face. "You know where the kitchen is" I stated. This time, she didn't try an annoying way to wake me up.

She gently moved my blanket to look at me. "I don't want people to see" she muttered. I mentally swore at myself for forgetting. Opening my eyes for the first time, I took in the sight of her battered face. It was bruised, but already healing. It might take a few more hours. "Can you just get me a Poptart?" she asked softly.

A small smile made it's way onto my face. "Poptart" I laughed at my sister's nickname that her mate had given her. "Yeah. I'll get you something" I said, standing up from the floorbed. I cracked my back before making my way to the door.

"Zeke" Valerie grabbed my hand, halting my actions. I turned and raised an eyebrow at her. "You're not wearing pants" she pointed out. I sighed before getting a pair of sweatpants out of one of the boxes. "Wait. Let me check the stabs" she offered. I sat on the bed as she carefully pulled away the bandage on my thigh. She grabbed a wet towel and wiped away the dry blood. "That's all healed" she informed me. "Turn around. I'll check your back too"

I laid on the bed with my back up. "It can't be any worse than last night. Right?" I asked in a jokingly manner. Valerie smacked her lips together and hit my arm. "You can't hit a crippled guy" I said appallingly.

I could practically feel her rolling her eyes at me. "Everything is healed except for the spot where the stick was. You bled through the bandage. I should've checked it during the night" she stated, talking more to herself than to me. "I'll put some more gauze on it" Valerie got up and walked to the bathroom before returning with the medical kit. "It doesn't hurt, right?" she asked softly.

Shaking my head, I attempted to look at her; but was only able to see part of her face. "I'm not that sensitive to pain. I guess I've grown tolerance for it" I said honestly as she finished up the gauze. I sat up and got a better look at her. She looked sympathetic. "I'll go get you breakfast" I said, creating an excuse to leave.

I heard her begin to say something, but I just closed the door behind me- acting like I didn't hear anything. She probably knew about my father- or at least some of the story. I could tell by the way she would look at me sometimes. Her expression turns pitiful and she would talk to me in a softer voice, like I was a scared little kid. It was the same expression that Caleb's pack had given me when they found out about my father. I hated that look.

It made me feel small. As if I was the same kid that hid in his bedroom while he let his sister get beat by two fully grown men. As if I was the frightened kid that couldn't handle anything. I was nowhere near being that person now.

Going downstairs, I passed by several pack members who all bowed their heads at me. I even passed by Three from last night. He stuck his hand out for me to shake. "What's your name?" I asked, shaking his hand.

"Max. I'm grateful to have a Beta as brave and strong as you, Beta Kingsley" I couldn't tell if this guy was kissing my ass or if he was serious. I simply nodded before continuing my journey to the kitchen.

Nick, Caroline, Joey, and a few others were inside the kitchen. "Don't forget. I need that report about Collin" Nick stated. A couple pack members stopped moving out of the kitchen so they could eavesdrop. "He's still in the cellar if you wanna question him" he informed me.

I nodded as I put a couple Poptarts into the toaster. "What happened with Collin?" Caroline inquired.

Shrugging, I leaned against the counter. "He attacked a pack member. I taught him a lesson" I answered vaguely. She didn't question me any further. "I'll be upstairs finishing that report. I would prefer not to be bothered" I informed them.

They all nodded in understanding. Nick looked at me skeptically, but didn't speak his thoughts. I grabbed the Poptarts and a carton of orange juice before going upstairs. "I come bearing gifts" I said dramatically as I entered my room. Valerie came up to me, snatched the items out of my hands, and plopped onto my bed. "You're welcome"

She waved me off, but I could see her smile. I began to walk to the bathroom, but her voice stopped me. "Thank you, Zeke" Valerie said gratefully before she began to eat again. I turned and shot her a small smile. "Is this sanitary?" she questioned as she stopped herself from drinking out of the carton.

I shrugged. "I have shot glasses in that box" I informed her, pointing at the box in the corner. Valerie got up and began rummaging through my stuff, while I went to the bathroom. I took a shower and brushed my teeth.

When I got out the shower, I looked at my back in the mirror. It was fully healed. I walked into my bedroom with my towel around my waist. "Dammit! Give a girl some warning before you walk into a room naked!" Valerie screeched.

I laughed and walked closer to her. She was covering her face with her hands. I chuckled and pulled her hands away. "First of all, I have a towel. Second of all, you've probably seen more than this before" I stated.

Her eyes were glued on my stomach. "But none of them were this fucking ripped" she said in awe. "Can I touch it?" Without my permission, her hand darted out and moved along my abs. "Are you related to the freaking Hulk? Damn" she muttered.

Laughing, I pushed her hand away from me. "My back is fully healed. Thank you, Dr. Valerie" I informed her. She shrugged nonchalantly. "Is your back fine? Your face is healing up" I pointed out. Valerie carefully took off my shirt that I had given her last night. I examined her back, not seeing any protrusions or marks on her skin. "All healed" I announced.

"Why; thank you, Dr. Zeke" she mocked me. I rolled my eyes at her. "Go put on clothes now. That's distracting" she admitted, motioning to my abs. Smirking, I flexed to make my pecs bounce. Valerie laughed, pushing me away. "You're distracting me!" she exclaimed.

I took a step closer to her. "You do realize that you didn't put a shirt back on, right?" I questioned. She turned red and slipped on the shirt. "It's inside out" I chuckled. She groaned before taking it off and putting it back on. I laughed at her. "It's backwards"

She smacked her lips together and narrowed my eyes at me. "I would do it right if you weren't so-"

"Insanely sexy" I finished her sentence. She glared at me even harder. I held my hands up in surrender and walked over to my suitcase of clothes. "I guess I'll change in my bathroom" I sighed dramatically.

Valerie didn't respond as I trudged off to the bathroom. I quickly changed before drying off my hair with a towel. "Are you planning on just camping out in my bedroom all day?" I asked Valerie as I walked back into the room.

She was laying on my bed, typing away on her phone. "Not all day. Just until this goes away" she informed me, motioning to her face. "I can go to a different room though. I don't even know why I stayed in this one" she said awkwardly.

I shook my head. "It's fine. I have to write a report on that Collin guy" I stated, grabbing the paperwork that I left in here. Valerie threw me a pen and I began to write down what happened. "You do know I have to put your name in here, right? And everything that happened before the attack?" I asked.

She nodded her head. "It's confidential shit anyway. The only people seeing it are you and Nick. And I know Nick won't tell anyone" she said with a shrug. I nodded and continued to write. "Hey, Zeke?" I hummed in response. "What did Collin mean when he said 'like father like son'?" she asked hesitantly.

I stiffened, but finished up the report before answering her. Turning around, I saw that she was staring at me the whole time. "Well, what do you know?" I retorted.

She shrugged. "Rumors- I don't know what to believe. So I'm asking you. And I hope that you actually tell me the truth" she mumbled.

Valerie continued to look at me and our eyes locked together. She was genuinely curious. I could tell that she had no alternative motives. She just wanted to know why Collin said that. "My father was the Beta of this pack. You were younger when he was Beta. You lived with your parents in their house. You weren't exposed to the same things that we were" I informed her.

"I don't understand" she said slowly.

Rubbing my hand down my face, I sighed. "My father was violent" I said simply. She stayed silent, wanting to hear more. "After my mother died, Nick's father and my father created these rules for my older sister, Piper. They were crazy, harsh- just horrible. If she did a single thing wrong- and they found something that was wrong every single day- they would punish her. I was about eight. I didn't help her. I hid in my bedroom while they beat her and I would have to hear every single sound of it as well as see the aftermath"

Valerie chewed on her lip, reluctant to ask me a questioned. I motioned for her to go ahead and ask. "People said that you killed Nick's father" I nodded, confirming the statement. "And you killed another guy before that. And you didn't even have your first shift" Once again, I nodded my head. "Does that affect you?" she asked.

I shrugged and nodded. "I think it has something to do with my anger issues. But it's not like that could be tested. I have some pills that a doctor created. It contains wolfsbane to weaken me, but not injure me" I explained.

"That's what Ashlyn gave you at the mall" she guessed. I nodded. "This one might offend you. So fair warning" Valerie stated. I shrugged, waiting for her to ask her questions. "Someone said that you killed your mate"

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. People have the audacity to talk about me hurting my family. Family is the one weakness I have. And my family isn't just Piper. To me, family is everyone I care or have cared about. "I've never met my mate. And I don't plan on it" I muttered.

Valerie quickly nodded. "Forget I asked the last question. It was stupid anyway" she babbled. I turned back to the report and read it over, trying to distract myself. "I'm sorry about-"

"Don't" I cut her off. There was that feeling again. I wasn't small. I wasn't a kid. I wasn't scared. It irked me how people still think of me like that when they learn about my past. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know. Don't apologize because you pity me" I snapped. I grabbed the report and fled the room.

Or at least I attempted to flee. Nick was standing outside my door. "Bad time?" he questioned. I pushed the papers into his chest. "Where are you going?!" he shouted at me as I jogged down the stairs.

I didn't look back, but I responded. "Out of this damn house!" I ran out the backdoor and just kept running. I wasn't even paying attention to direction, I just let my legs lead me where they wanted.

Eventually, I came to a house. "Zeke. Come in" Stephanie ushered me into the house. "Ashlyn is upstairs with Leia. Wait down here and I'll go get her" she offered.

I quickly shook her head. "No. Is her purse down here?" I questioned. She thought about it before motioning for me to follow her. We went into the kitchen. "Good morning, Mr. Peters" I greeted Roger, who was sitting at the dining table. I stayed standing with my fists clenched at my sides. I needed to move around or I needed to calm down.

"Beta Kingsley" he nodded at me. Stephanie didn't look happy about our formal language, but she didn't scold us since we were being civil. "What are you doing with Ashlyn's bag?" he asked his mate.

Stephanie held the bag out for me. I wanted to grab it, but I shook my head. The pills have some side effects. Addiction being one of them. It is a drug afterall. "Ashlyn is keeping a bottle of pills in there. It's for me, but I'm not allowed to keep them for myself. Just give me one of them" I blurted. After her shock wore off, Stephanie rummaged through the bag and retrieved the pills. She placed one in my hand and watched me swallow it. I placed my forehead against the cool wall and took deep breaths.

"Don't touch him, Steph" Roger snapped.

I heard the woman beginning to scold her mate. "No. He's right. Just give me a few moments" I pleaded. I kept my eyes closed and focused on the feeling of the wall. The interesting bumpy texture and it's cold temperature. "Thank you" I mumbled, feeling better.

Turning around, I saw both adults with their arms crossed over their chests. "Explain. Now"

__________

"People have always wanted to be recognized, and that's human nature. But people used to want to be recognized for their accomplishments, and now they simply want to be visible"
-Diablo Cody

You are all beautiful/handsome, amazing people. I know that I'm just some stranger writing some books on some website, and that I don't even know you personally. But everyone is beautiful in their own way- whether it be the way they speak, their appearance, their thoughts, their personality. There is something that makes everyone beautiful.

So pass on the message. Compliment someone. Tell someone that they're important to you. Bring a little light into someone's life.

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.