Chapter Four

Would it be silly of me to say I was getting cold feet?

I hated myself for it too. I don't know why, but my emotions were tangling into a knot in the pit of my stomach the further down the sidewalk we walked. I could only describe it as a twisted sensation of giddiness and fear, and both of those were rare feelings for me.

I found myself asking ridiculous questions. What if he didn't like me? What if he hated me like everyone else? What if he saw that I wasn't a person like everyone else? What if he saw me as a science experiment? A nuisance? What if he didn't come back home? What if he did?

God, why did I even care? Most people who ran into me hated me anyway and I dealt with it just fine, and yet, the thought of one of my siblings hating me terrified me. Family was hardwired into my genetic makeup, and if family rejected me, what would happen? Would my head explode? Would I malfunction and just explode or lose all purpose? I had no idea. Why was I overthinking this so much? I was just going to bring my brother back home. My other siblings, particularly Raven, had dealt with so much more than this, and yet... this felt so big. Like an internal war with no ending.

I swallowed tightly at that sensation, clenching my fists and shoving them into the pockets of my leather jacket. I felt eyes on me and glanced out the corner of my eye briefly to see Stanton staring at me with a bit of concern, but I quickly avoided his eyes and looked over at Kristoff, who walked with long confident strides. People instantly got out of his way, like they'd rather be squished elbow-to-elbow on the side of the street than to get in Kristoff's way. Part of me wished I had that kind of confidence, but maybe that too wasn't part of my genetic makeup. I was what Lucifer made me.

I just wanted to know who that was.

We made our way down the street, closer and closer to a large luxerious apartment building. It was sleek and modern, like it just crawled out of one of those futuristic shows. It stood at least six stories high, one of the tallest buildings in Styx, and over looked a small park down below with a cute little pond surrounded by colorful trees and park benches. A few couples were wandering around there.

We entered through the front and Kristoff when to the call box beside the front door and hit a blue button on it before leaning in to it.

"A, it's Kris. Open up. I have some... uh, guys who want to talk to you. If that's all right." He said, then lifted his finger off the button, and the speakers crackled in response before a man's cheery deep voice responded.

"Kris! That's fine. You guys are just in time! I ordered pizza."

There was a beep and a golden gate across the room in front of the stairs rattled open. Kristoff led the way inside and up the stairs to a platform that opened up to an elevator. We stepped inside and Kristoff hit the last number to take us to the top floor.

"Was that Akin?" I asked. Kristoff cast me a curious stare.

"You've really never met him." It was more of a question than a statement. I glared at him impatiently.

"No, I haven't. He's been in Hades all this time. Why do you think I want to meet him so badly? I already put up with all my other siblings and know them well enough to fill out their military forms no problem. But it's Akin I don't know anything about." I replied. Kristoff studied me, then looked away as the elevator doors clicked open and we walked out into a long narrow hallway, passing by two other penthouse rooms before we reached the one at the far end of the hall on the left side. Kristoff knocked only once before the door opened.

On the other side was an angel. Or at least, that's what he looked like. I don't know if it was just me or him or what, but it almost looked like he was glowing from how happy he looked. His white-blonde hair was long and twisted up into a neon blue hairclip, his eyes glowing almost as much as the hairclip was, and just as blue too. He wore a long sleeved gray v-neck with blue stars scattered across it and black sweatpants.

"Kristoff, glad you could stop by!" Akin exclaimed. I knew the moment I saw him he was Akin. He looked almost exactly like Lucifer. The same facial features, the same shade of blonde, the same shade of blue eyes, everything. Good lord, how could no one have known he was a son of Lucifer?

"My pleasure." Kristoff replied, then glanced at Stanton and I as we both just stared at Akin in stunned silence. Even Stanton appeared baffled by Akin's appearance. Akin gave Kristoff another smile, then looked at me. His eyes flickered for a moment curiously before they widened and his smile faded. He poked his head out of the room, looked around quickly, then waved us into his penthouse. We moved inside into a short hallway before walking out into a gigantic living room slash dining room slash everything else. The main living room was to the left, an open space that was one step below the rest of the room with a long leather sofa, a matching coffee table littered with magazines and a purple leather dog collar, and across from that was a large flat screen television. Further to the side of that was a staircase that led upstairs to a loft. On the other side of the television were two doors, one opened to a bathroom and the other closed, probably another bedroom.

Upon entering the living room, to the right was a large black and silver designed kitchen. It was modern and sleek with a bar and an island counter.

And standing right next to the bar was the biggest man I'd ever seen. He actually froze me in place beside Stanton, who appeared to dismiss him, but how could he? This man was gigantic! He had to be well over six foot five. His olive skin was severely scarred all along his arms, up to the sleeves of his tight black tank top. His face was devastatingly gorgeous, even with the scar that cut through his left milky white eye. His other eye was a vibrant shade of deep blue, like the ocean when the lightening reflected off of it in the summer. He wore a pair of long tight leather pants, and shockingly, a leather dog collar around his throat.

"All right," Akin said, making us turn to look at him as he approached us warily, "I don't typically let strangers into my house for Hannibal's safety, but considering one of you is my brother, I'll let it slide as long as I get some details." I stared at him. Jesus, even his voice sounded almost the same as Lucifer's. Again, how did he get away for so long? And, wait, brother? That meant he knew he was Lucifer's son.

"Alaric," I said, but my voice sounded so far away, "My name's Alaric." Akin blinked, then looked at me.

"Alaric? And who's your," Akin hesitated to scan Stanton from head to toe, "Friend?"

"Death," Stanton replied casually, making Akin openly stare at him in alarm, "But I go by Stanton nowadays." Akin nibbled at his bottom lip and looked at Kristoff, who held his hands up in surrender.

"I tried to get them to buzz off, but your kid brother is really insistent. Looks like he's an artificial and you know how one-track their kind is. You're friends with Cerberus." He explained. Akin frowned at that and looked at me.

"You're an artificial?" He asked. I felt heat creeping into my face. God, this was embarrassing. Was everyone racist? Was I even a race? Should I even be offended since it was the truth? It still bothered me. I wasn't used to so many people pointing it out at once. I just managed a nod and Akin sighed, reaching up to brush his bangs out of his face, only for them to fall back into place.

"Pet, I think I'm gonna need some drinks." Akin said, and I turned to see Hannibal nod and obediently go to the fridge to fetch the drinks and some glasses. I looked back at Akin, only for Stanton to speak this time.

"We're staying in a hotel across town." He told Akin, who stiffened.

"Not a good idea," Akin advised, "You guys'll have to stay here for the night. Hades is even more dangerous at night than during the day. And if anyone finds out that a prince of Hell is visiting, they'll do anything in their power to hunt him down." I scowled in confusion.

"Why? And what about you?" I asked. Akin pinned me with a scolding stare that reminded me a lot of Jaques's and Lucifer's. God, even their bitching looks the same. Again, how did this slide under so many peoples' noses?

"We just ended a war with Hell no more than a few weeks ago, Alaric. People here are still bitter about your kind and if they see a prince of Hell, they'll want to take out their bitter feelings on you anyway possible. And I won't see that happen again," Akin snapped impatiently, making me look at him in confusion before he hurried to continue, "And nobody knows I'm a son of Lucifer. Christ, I just found out myself halfway through the war when Thorn contacted me to explain everything. As if things weren't hard enough with everyone in this city being born of the darkest depths of Tartarus, now I have more crap to deal with. Is it really too much to ask to be left alone?" I frowned at that, confused by his rant. Hannibal came over and handed Akin a glass of wine. Akin took it and gave Hannibal a grateful look before kissing him on the cheek. Hannibal accepted it with the most stoic face I'd ever seen as he handed out the rest of the glasses of wine.

I took a sip of it and resisted the urge to hiss in distaste at the flavor. Good lord, it burned! How was this considered wine? It tasted almost like pure alcohol. It burned my throat and sloshed into my stomach like lava. I pursed my lips tightly to keep from making any noises as the other guys just drank it like it was no problem.

Assholes. Jesus Christ. As if I didn't look stupid already.

The door bell rang and Akin moved to get it, but Hannibal went instead and Akin watched him go with a sad smile before he looked back at me, switching his expression to one of sternness.

"All right, you sit on the sofa," He ordered, then he looked at Stanton, who arched a brow, "And you grab your stuff from the hotel and come back here. Kristoff, make sure the pizza guy doesn't harass my baby. I'm grabbing another bottle." Kristoff nodded and went after Hannibal while Stanton flashed out of the room and Akin made a face.

"Right. Death. He bypasses barrier laws. There goes my privacy too." He went to the kitchen and I watched him go. When he realized I was watching him, he cast me another stern glare.

"Sit." He commanded. The authority in his voice stunned me. Before I knew it, I was on the sofa, sitting cross-legged and staring down at the magazines on the coffee table. My cheeks flamed as I realized the magazines were all BDSM magazines. On the cover of one, there was a man bound and gagged laying back on a bed with his legs spread open and some other guy leaning over top of him. Another magazine was advertising a variety of collars, one of which Hannibal was currently wearing and the other was the purple one laying on the corner of the table. I swallowed and sat back against the sofa, setting my glass down on the magazines as I listened to Akin working in the kitchen and Kristoff talking to the pizza delivery man.

Something about this felt so weird.

Akin knew everything. He knew he was a son of Lucifer, and he knew I was his brother the moment he saw me, even though he'd never met me. Worse, he was doing exactly the same thing my older siblings did to me. He was scolding me and getting angry, and oddly enough, I felt a twinge of pain in my chest. I wasn't sure why, and it bothered me. I reached up to rub the heel of my palm against my chest, trying to ease the pain away to no avail.

Kristoff and Hannibal eventually came in with the pizza. Hannibal picked up the magazines and collar off the table and set the pizza down while Kristoff leaned on the wall near the television with a slice and his drink. Akin came back and sat on the sofa, snapping his fingers in the process. Hannibal was by his side in an instant, but instead of sitting on the sofa, Hannibal sat at Akin's feet like a dutiful puppy. I don't know why, but that made me uncomfortable. What would it be like to be in that kind of relationship? I don't think I could love anyone enough to do what they said. I hated being told what to do, because I was always being told what to do.

"Okay," Akin said as he settled back on the sofa with a slice of pizza and a whole bottle of the toxic wine, "I want to know why you're here and why Death is your companion." I shifted a bit uncomfortably, watching him feed Hannibal a bite of pizza before he looked at me, arching a brow and waiting impatiently for me to answer.

"I came to get you back," I said at last, making Akin's eyes widen in surprise, "You don't belong here. Hades is terrible, both the person and the place. You don't belong in a place this dirty and crowded. You're my brother, aren't you? You belong in Hell with the rest of our family. I don't like the idea of you staying here with these people." Maybe my last choice of words wasn't great because Kristoff's eyes glowed threateningly. Hannibal remained absolutely rigid on the floor, his eyes studying the coffee table, but his expression blank. Akin scowled.

"These people?" He asked. I blushed, even though I didn't want to. I hated it when that happened. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I shouldn't be embarrassed. A sliver of agony went through me as I remembered the day Raven had come back from Hades. Even though he smiled and hugged me, something felt wrong. He didn't feel like my brother anymore. He felt like a broken stranger and it hurt so much. Raven was my brother, the brother who didn't abandon me like everyone else. The brother I always looked up to and wanted to impress, but now he was shattered and struggling to pick up the pieces.

And it never would have happened if he hadn't of gone to Hades.

With renewed anger, I shot to my feet and glared at Akin, who seemed surprised by my rage.

"I'm not going to apologize! This place is worse than any pit of Hell! It destroyed my brother and I don't want it to destroy another one! I won't take no for an answer. You're coming back home!" I shouted angrily. Akin appeared baffled for a moment, but then realization flitted across his face. Even Hannibal appeared to twitch in recognition, as did Kristoff. I hesitated, looking at them as all their eyes dropped to the floor and they sat in contemplative silence. My anger was only ignited as I realized what had disturbed them.

"You know Raven." I stated. Akin grimaced, looking up at me.

"Alaric, Hades didn't destroy Raven. Some selfish prick did. No one here even liked Julius. What happened to Raven--"

"Never would have happened if he hadn't of come here! It's this place! It's dark and it's dreary and it's horrible! Raven was the best of the best! He had no problem shaking hands with generals and hugging my sisters and sparring with the Sins! Now, even though we know what happened, he won't let us anywhere near him! Every time he smiles, it's fake! Everything he does is fake! He's not Raven anymore, he's just pieces pathetically glued back together! I don't want you to end up like that. I may not know you and you may not know me, but that doesn't make me care any less about you. You're my brother. It's our job to protect each other and that's what I'm trying to do. I couldn't protect Raven, but I have a chance to protect you." I explained angrily. Akin set his food and drink down, reaching up to rake his nails through his hair, taking it down from the hairclip, only to put it back up. Hannibal tilted his head to look at Akin, who gave him a forced smile and pet Hannibal on the head like a dog.

Kristoff just shifted uncomfortably, as if this conversation was too much for him. He set his things down on the coffee table and looked at Akin.

"I should probably head home. Bella's been stuck with the kids all day." He said. Akin nodded, standing up. Hannibal started to move, but Akin put a finger on his nose.

"Stay, pet." He commanded. Hannibal obeyed. Akin showed Kristoff out of the apartment and I watched him go, frustrated. Did anything I say even reach him? Was he even listening to me? This wasn't fair. This was supposed to be easier. What was so hard about it anyway? Hades was obviously a dark pit of misery and woe. Why would anyone want to stay here?

I looked at Hannibal, who just frowned down at the ground, like he was thinking really hard about something. I was tempted to ask him if he could convince Akin to come back, but I wasn't willing to risk it. I'd heard Hannibal would defend Akin at all costs, and he might just punch me in the face for it.

A moment later, Akin returned with a heavy sigh and flopped on the sofa, sinking his hand into Hannibal's hair to ruffle and play with it. Hannibal let him do it without complaint, and even seemed to lean into the touch. I clenched my teeth impatiently. He wasn't saying anything, neither of them were. They just sat in silence, thinking. It was frustrating. Didn't Akin realize how dangerous it was here?

"You shouldn't have come," Akin said after a while, sitting up to look at me wearily, "At least, not now. God, does Raven even know you're here?"

"That doesn't matter," I insisted, "I came here for you. Not Raven. Raven's at home."

"How's he doing, by the way?" Akin asked. I frowned. He was trying to change the subject. I wanted to argue and convince him to come back home, but I suppose dealing with him the same way as my other siblings wasn't going to work, which just made my job so much harder. I sighed in frustration, raking a hand through my hair before plopping down on the sofa in irritation, folding one leg over the other, my arms over my chest.

"He's fine, I guess. As good as he could be. He's dating Devereaux. Don't know if he told you about him." I added dryly. Akin beamed from ear-to-ear, answering my question of whether or not Raven had told him about Devereaux. And a strange sensation passed through me at that. Why did Raven tell Akin everything and not me? I was hard to deal with, yeah, but that didn't mean I didn't want to listen to what he was up to.

"That's great. I'm so glad he's all right. I was a little worried after I heard about Julius's death. Did he...?" His voice trailed in question. I nodded. Akin sighed in relief. Of course, Raven killed Julius. He was so intent on it that he refused to let Devereaux come with him to back him up. He wanted to take Julius down himself-- and he did. By the time my family and I had arrived, Julius was dead and Raven was sitting against the balcony wall, his knees drawn to his chest and his eyes locked on Julius's corpse. For a second, I thought he'd shattered all over again, but when I went to help him up, he looked up at me and gave me a weary smile.

And even now, my chest ached with an emotion I couldn't really describe. Relief that Raven had finally freed himself from the asshole, but pain that Raven would never be the same again.

"Well, I'm proud of him," Akin decided, then flashed Hannibal a smile, "I've always wanted to be a big brother. This is so cool." I looked at him curiously.

"How old are you?" I asked. Akin scowled.

"You don't ask someone their age," He scolded, making me roll my eyes before he smirked, "I'm as old as Thorn is. Jaques was born before me. I was born maybe a month or two before Thorn was."

"How do you know that?"

"Thorn and I did some digging."

"Am I the only one who didn't know about you?" I demanded, offended. Akin offered me a smile.

"Bali and Wednesday still don't know. Dania suspects. But everyone else knows."

"Great. That's just great," I snapped, frustrated, "What happened? Where have you been all this time? Why have we never met you?" Akin picked up a slice of pizza and bit into it, licking his lips before he spoke.

"Well, I grew up with my mom. She was a succubus. I wasn't raised in a fancy palace or anything. Apparently my mother took off because she was afraid of what might follow Lucifer since he's not exactly everyone's best friend. I grew up in Hell, but eventually we had to move because we couldn't afford the rent for our tiny condo. We moved to Styx after I reached puberty and I hung out there for a while. My mom eventually passed away and left me a note telling me that my father would support me and there was no need to worry. She told me to never turn down a good offer, so I just accepted it and went on with my life. It wasn't until Hades mentioned something about me having a connection to Lucifer was when I started to suspect there was more to my past than I thought."

"Hades knew?"

"Hades knows everything," Akin assured me, then wrinkled his nose, "That's the unfortunate part. But I won't complain. Being Lucifer's kid is what saved Hannibal from Hades taking him out, so I'm good with that."

I wasn't sure what to make of this. Lucifer still knew about Akin, even Hades did, while the rest of us hadn't. Why hadn't he told us about Akin? Why hadn't he brought Akin home? Was there something wrong with him? He seemed normal to me. Er, setting aside all the weird toys and magazines and the way he treated Hannibal. I was mostly concerned as to what kind of mindset Hannibal had that he enjoyed being treated like that... or maybe he didn't? I wasn't sure. That was none of my business.

"Well," I said after a moment, finally able to rein in my temper again, "Now you can come home with us." Akin shifted a bit uncomfortably, picking at his pizza crust and giving a few pieces to Hannibal, who just popped them into his mouth and they were gone.

"Sweetie, I get your intentions are good and all, and it'd be cool to actually know I have family out there, but I have family here too." He explained gently, making me scowl in confusion.

"What family?"

"Well, Hannibal for one," Akin said, giving Hannibal a smile and tilting his head back so he could kiss his forehead before he looked at me, "And Kristoff and Bella. Cerberus, Abel, Charon. The list goes on. I can't just leave them all behind. God knows their lives would be boring without me."

"But you belong with your real family. Why hasn't Lucifer ever come to get you before?"

"Because he knows I like it here," Akin said, but there was a flicker deep in his eyes that signified othewise, making me wonder what was scaring him into staying, "I'm an adult, Alaric. You move away from your parents when you're an adult."

"I don't." I snapped. Akin offered me a sad smile.

"Because you were made to stay home."

"And so was the rest of our family."

"That's not what I mean, Alaric."

"I know what you fucking mean," I snarled suddenly, getting to my feet and making Akin sit up while Hannibal visibly tensed, "Just because I'm an artificial doesn't mean I don't have a mind of my own!" Right? Right? I could think on my own. I had my favorite movies. I loved Taco Bell and nobody else in my family did. I liked Marvel comics and Muse. I liked hanging out on the beach in the summer and hiding under the blankets in the winter. I liked training just because I liked being up on my feet and doing things. Those were all personal things I developed on my own, right?

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I tried so hard not to think about those things. They were so confusing and enraging, but they flooded my mind anyway and having Akin point them out just made it worse. Even he believed that artificials couldn't think for themselves. All my thoughts stemmed from things Lucifer gave me. A normal person wouldn't be this desperate to be around his family, right? That's another thing that made me a freak. Without my family, I felt empty and ill.

"Alaric, I didn't mean it that way," Akin said, cutting into my thoughts and making me look at him warily, "I meant that you liked staying home. You like being around Lucifer and whoever else is there. I'm so used to not having a family that I don't think I'd be very good at being around them now." I frowned, confused.

"If they can put up with me, they can put up with you." I offered. Akin laughed, then patted the sofa beside him, urging me to sit down. I sat on the sofa and Akin handed me a slice of pizza. I took it and nibbled on the side of it, watching Akin arch a brow.

"You eat your pizza from the sides?"

"Don't you?"

"Heh," Akin just smiled and rested his hand in his hair, elbow on the back of the sofa as he faced me, studying me in a way that made me uncomfortable, so I averted my eyes and he chuckled, "This is so weird. I never expected to meet you like this."

"Did you ever expect to meet me?" I asked. Akin's smiled faded and he nibbled his bottom lip. I sighed, looking away as I took a mouthful of pizza into my mouth.

"Alaric, this place is too dangerous for you."

"And you too."

"That may be so, but no one knows it yet."

"Yet," I stressed, watching him grimace, "They will find out and when they do, then what?" Akin didn't answer. He seemed distressed now and he pulled Hannibal to sit between his knees on the floor and he rested his cheek on his head. Hannibal reached up and laid his hands over Akin's on his shoulders and Akin sighed, burying his nose against his hair. I suddenly felt like I was intruding. Like I didn't belong in the same room with these two and their... affection? It was interesting, but it was disconcerting at the same time. Love always seemed like a complicated emotion to me, and dangerous.

It's why I didn't want to tell Stanton that, whenever he wasn't around, I physically ached for him to come back. I had dreams where we spent entire days together and he never left me to go back to his job. I actually woke up crying a couple of times. Maybe that was one of the reasons I couldn't sleep normally.

I didn't like love. It hurt and it confused me. Part of me wanted to be comfortable enough with Stanton to be open about a relationship like Akin and Hannibal, to have that kind of immense trust... But I didn't have it. Trust wasn't in my nature. Suspicion, anger, loyalty. Those I understood.

"Uhm," I said after a moment, rubbing the back of my neck and making Akin look up, "It's kind of late and I haven't slept well." Akin nodded as he stood up and moved around Hannibal, who was on his feet and at Akin's heels in an instant as Akin led me to one of the living room doors and opened it up to a nice comfortable spare room with a door that went off into a small bathroom.

"This is the guest room," He told me, "You can help yourself to anything you want. We'll talk more in the morning. If you need anything, let me or Hannibal know." I glanced at Hannibal, who was giving me another vacant stare that made me nervous. Yeah, like Hell I'll ask him for help. But I just nodded in silence and they left me aloone in the room. I breathed a sigh of relief and went to the queen sized four-poster mahogany bed with blue and white bedding. I grabbed a blue silk pillow as I rolled onto my back, then smashed the pilow against my face and made a noise of frustration.

I wanted to just come here, grab Akin, and go back home.

It looks like it'd take some convincing if I wanted Akin to come back. Surely he could still visit his weirdo friends in Hades, but live here? Not a chance! I didn't even like being here. How could he stand living here?

"Well, that's suggestive." I blinked and shot up into a sitting position, hugging the pillow to my chest as Stanton walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. I scowled, tossing the pillow aside as he dropped two duffel bags on the floor.

"Why didn't you teleport? Or knock." I added sourly. Stanton shrugged, stripping his jacket off and tossing it onto one of the bedposts before he walked over to take me by the legs, pulling me to the edge of the bed so he could hug me close. I held my breath, my heart pounding hard against my breastbone as I swallowed tightly.

"I'm respecting their barrier by using the front door instead of teleporting in. And why should I knock? If you were naked, the better." He smirked. I rolled my eyes and pushed him away from me, scooting back along the bed until I made my back to the wall on the other side of the bed.

"I don't want to do it tonight." I replied. Stanton scowled.

"I've had to deal with your whiny ass. I deserve something for it."

"You wanna treat, boy? I bet Akin has some." I added under my breath. Stanton snorted.

"Probably," He agreed after a moment and I grimaced as he sat on the bed and kicked his boots off so they fell beneath the bed and he pulled his shirt off over his head, "Look, it's probably totally new to you, but not me. Respect their lifestyle."

"I am," I insisted, then frowned as I flopped down on my side on the bed, using my feet to kick my boots off onto the floor over the edge of the bed, "But I don't understand it. It makes me uncomfortable. I'd never trust anyone enough to tie me up like that. It looks painful." Stanton laughed, balling up his shirt and tossing it onto one of the duffel bags, the one I assumed was his. I took a moment to bite my lip and admire the deep planes of his muscular back. His muscles were a symphony of movement, bunching and bulging as he stood up and wiggled out of his pants. My breath left me in a silent gasp of sudden sexual appetite at the sight of his bare butt. A very nice well-formed bare butt that was begging to be nibbled on.

"You went commando?" I managed to say without my voice trembling, unlike a certain part of my anatomy that was desperate to be freed from the tight confines of my pants. Stanton shrugged, tossing his jeans on the floor and pushing the blankets back to get beneath them.

"I figured it'd make it easier to have sex, but fine, whatever. Goodnight." He rolled over so his back was to me. I clenched my teeth and wriggled out of my clothes, shoving them off the bed before I crawled across to Stanton, who didn't move as I pressed against his back beneath the blankets now. I savored the heat of his body, my breathing ragged with hunger as I ran my hand across his shoulder blade. I leaned in and touched it with my lips, but Stanton didn't react. I bit my lip and scooted closer so I could press my throbbing groin up against his backside and I felt him go rigid.

"I lied," I said, skimming my teeth along his shoulder, feeling his muscles quiver beneath his smooth tawny skin, "We can do it tonight."

"Yeah, sure," Stanton said with a bitterness that made me hesitate, "We can do it when you want to."

"Because now we both want to."

"Well, maybe I don't want to anymore."

"What," I snapped impatiently and sat up, but Stanton didn't turn to face me, which only pissed me off further, "That's not fair."

"Now you know how I feel." Stanton grunted, not budging from his place. Fed up with him, I pushed the blankets back off him. He went to grab them and pull them back, but I pushed them even further from his reach and pushed him onto his back. He narrowed his eyes, watching me as I straddled his waist. I waited for him to tell me to fuck off, but he never did. He just watched me, like he was mentally killing me over and over. I glared at him, then sat back.

"I can't do this if you're going to look at me like that."

"Then don't do it. Go to bed." Stanton said stonily. I clenched my teeth, and suddenly ice shot out across the wall and climbed the ceiling over our heads. I cursed and snatched myself away from Stanton, moving across the bed as he sat up and stared at the ice, then at me.

"Did you do that?" He asked. I grabbed my clothes quickly off the floor, jerking my pants on with trembling fingers. More ice crept across the floor and climbed the wall to the ceiling where it spread out and began to twist and turn into an eerie sort of design that was probably pretty on a Disney movie, but it was horrifying in real life, especially with the temperature in the room dropping drastically.

"Alaric, stop." Stanton commanded as he slide out of bed, grabbing his pants. I backed away from him when he advanced towards me while still zipping up his jeans.

"Get away from me." I snarled. The ice shot across the floor and clutched Stanton's leg. Stanton hissed and went still as the ice climbed his leg. Panic rose in my throat.

"Stop," I managed, unsure of who I was speaking to exactly, "Stop!" Stanton flung his hand out at the ice creeping up his leg and melted it off with a blast of fire. Pain exploded in my skull and I choked on a cry of agony, sinking to my knees and clasping the sides of my head. Stanton cursed and dropped to his knees in front of me.

"Alaric? Alaric, can you hear me?"

"M-my head." I choked, unable to form a proper sentence. Pain burst in my skull like fireworks going off. Sounds steadily became muffled to the point where I could only see through a thick haze that Stanton's mouth was moving right in my face, like he was trying to speak to me, but I couldn't hear him and I was slowly losing sight of him as I panted for breath against the white hot pain searing through my skull like a bolt of lightening.

Unable to take it anymore, I let myself slip into unconsciousness.

And I was relieved that the last thing I felt was Stanton's arms going around me tightly.