Beastly novel Chapter 57

"Mommy, look what I painted!" his hands clutched the ends of the paper and raised excitedly to get her attention "It's you, me and daddy."

"Not now Alexander. Go meet your nanny." she replied, not even turning to look in his direction. Her hands carefully manoeuvered the scissors she held, snipping the dead leaves of her plants.

"But mommy-!"

"I said, not now. Can't you see I'm busy?"

His heart ached as tears rose to his eyes. There was nothing important about him. Is it because he couldn't be green like these plants? Is it because he talked too much? Why couldn't she just look at him once? A sudden rage hit him and he turned, accidentally knocking over one giant plant and falling over in the process. Through his blurry eyes, he stood up on wobbly feet, whimpering at the pain in his knee.

What hurt him the most was his painting was now smeared with muddy water. His mommy had just watered that plant and it soaked through the flimsy paper faster than he liked. He looked back at her and froze.

She was looking at him now, her blue eyes that he had inherited, glared at him with malice. Before he could speak, her hands were around his small neck and he found it hard to breathe.

"Momm-" he choked on air, his head getting lighter as he found it harder to scream. Tears rolled down his cheeks without any inhibition, as she scowled at him

"You little monster." she said, sounding like she was beside herself "You're just like him. You destroy everything I love!"

Her face got closer as she lifted him a little.

"Shouldn't mommy kill you?" she asked, sweetly "That way, you won't have to cause any more trouble for anyone. You won't end up like daddy."

Although she smiled at him, he could see tears fill up her eyes as well. She suddenly dropped him to the ground, and he took greedy gulps of air. As much as his little lungs could take.

"When your eyes beg for life, it annoys me..." she mumbled "As long as you have that look in your eyes, they'll always look like mine. I hate it."

Her calm demeanour returned and she returned to snipping her plant leaves.

"Get out."

........

Xander's eyes met darkness when he opened them. His heart beat wildly against his chest as he sat up, groaning. He was still in his office in the packhouse and had fallen asleep on the chair he had been sitting on for the past few hours. Glancing at the clock, he saw that it was 2:34 am. It was a good thing he had woken up. He had to get home.

Thinking about his dream, he rubbed at his temples, feeling a headache coming. It had been a long time since he had dreamt about his mother. The fear he had felt as a child had been stored away and been gradually overcome by the years of training and hardship he had endured. Xander found it strange how he was able to see his mother again and that memory had come back to haunt him in his dream. It was possibly because Ava had recently asked him about the woman that gave him life.

He felt sick a little and heard Nixon stir a little in his mind as he got up to leave. Picking his things and his coat, he left the office, locking it behind him and beginning his journey home. Very few pack members were awake and looked visibly shocked to see him. He ignored them and wore his coat, his body pushing out into the cold night air. Opening the car door, he quickly started up the car and backed out of the driveway, in record time. He was tired but his mind opened up to get reports on the activity of the night. Various guards were at their duty posts, some scouting different regions of the territory. It was peaceful and quiet and he hoped it stayed this way so he would be able to catch a good amount of sleep. Although, he felt too on the edge at the moment to even fall asleep.

It wasn't long before he was pulling up in front of his house, the agitation he felt, lessening the closer he got. The scent of his mate had become part of his home, and it settled everywhere like it always belonged. He quietly climbed out of the car and walked in, not surprised to see the lights off. Sighing heavily, he took off his coat and his shoes and climbed upstairs. Even though his mind was on going to take a shower, his feet somehow led him to the place that his mate now called hers.

It was the only place that had this amount of concentration of her scent.

He hesitated.

She would definitely be asleep. Her training had begun about 4 days ago and every day, she got back, she would look about to pass out. Still, these past few days, he had rarely gotten to see her as much because of their tight schedules. Marcus was taking up most of her time and pack duties were taking up most of his.

A scowl briefly crossed his face as her brother's smile popped up in his mind.

Her brother was such a hindrance. Xander wasn't comfortable around him. It was the most logical thing to be. Marcus was a threat to his authority. Any Alpha would be uncomfortable with having someone like him moving around freely within the pack. Despite this, Xander couldn't deny that he had some amount of respect for the man. He would never admit it and he still disliked Marcus for taking Ava away from him, but it wouldn't change nor diminish his respect.

Taking the chance, he twisted the handle gently and walked in. Dropping his shoes and his coat, he rolled up his sleeves as he walked closer to where she laid. The lighting in the room wasn't enough but his sharp eyes could see every bit of her. She was laying on her back, her hair a terrifying halo all over her pillow and her mouth slightly ajar as soft snores escaped her.

His mate was cute. All he wanted to do was bury himself inside her.

His hand found the closest loc of hair and twirled it around his fingers as he stared at her. It had become a custom for him to watch her sleep before retiring to bed. Now that he thought of it, it made him sound like a creep. There was no way to stop himself though. This woman made him do the strangest things. Sometimes he found himself wondering just what it was that he loved so much about her. Why couldn't he think straight when it came to her?

Maybe it was her eyes. Her eyes pulled him in so quickly, he wasn't able to look away. Maybe it was the way she smiled or told a joke with a straight face. Maybe it was the fact that she was stubborn and strong. Back then, if someone had asked him, he wouldn't have been able to give them reasons. What he felt was past what the mate bond allowed. One thing that he loved the most was the way...

"Alexander?" his cool eyes stared into her drowsy ones, her face flushing slightly as she took a deep breath

Yes. There it was. The way she said his name. He always hated being called his full name yet she had completely changed how he thought about it, washing away the bad memories without even trying.

"It's creepy yknow; coming to my room in the middle of the night and watching me sleep?" her voice was deep with slumber as she changed her position to lie on her side, her face snuggling into the pillow

"How..." he started, "How did you know I was here?"

"Your presence has become too hard to ignore, even when I'm asleep." she replied, peeking up at him through her lashes "Dis you just get home?"

"Yes."

"And you wanted to see me first before you hit the hay? How romantic." of course she was being sarcastic, but a small smile made its way to his face anyways

"I'm sorry for waking you."

"It's okay." letting out a small yawn, her nose scrunched up in a way he thought was most adorable "How was work?"

Since their dinner date, they had been on a platonic ground. Although she knew about his feelings, they went unrequited and now they were more like friends. She didn't flinch or scowl when she looked at him, neither did she back away when he was near. Their conversations were light and not awkward the few times they got to see each other. Even though he wasn't fully satisfied, he would take whatever she was giving him and treat it with utmost respect and importance.

"Fine." he finally replied "Tiring."

"It's so irritating when you reply to me like this." her hand swatted his away and his smile grew larger as he looked down at her, taking the opportunity to pinch her cheek "Make no mistake. I will murder you where you sit."

"You'd have done that a long time ago with all the chances you've gotten."

"Maybe." her hands pulled the covers over her head, obscuring his view of her "Let me sleep. Go away."

He stood up and stretched.

"Move over, I'm sleeping next to you tonight." he said, watching in amusement as her head popped out

"No, the fuck not. This is my bed."

"Sharing is caring."

"I don't give a-hey! Don't climb in!"

Contrary to her request, he climbed in anyways, chuckling at how much distance she tried to put between them as she moved away.

"Don't be shy. I can be a teddy bear if you want?"

She groaned slightly before answering "Even if I say no, you'd still bug me till I gave in."

"Maybe." she obviously wasn't fooled by the innocent expression on his face "I'll be good. I promise."

"An Alpha as scary as you telling me he'll be a good boy. I must be stuck in a dream."

"Does that mean-?"

"Good night Alexander."

Yeah, he should have known not to push his luck but he was happy enough that he got to tease her and settled in as he closed his eyes, his whole body feeling lighter than it was earlier.

"Goodnight Ava."

He could count many reasons why he loved this woman. The fact that she purposely grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze before falling asleep again was one of them. Xander knew more than anyone else, his reasons would continue to pile up as days passed.

.................

"Head up! Don't try to anticipate where I'm going to hit. Read my movements and think of my pattern!" The loud command did nothing but make her more tired as she charged at him again. Easily, he took her down and she was flat on her back

Huffing, she looked up at his face as she tried to catch her breath, her lungs begging for even the least bit of air.

"What the hell Marcus?" She asked, shaking her head "Are you trying to kill me?"

"You said you had experience princess. I'd appreciate it if you put in more effort and try to push me off my feet." he replied, stretching his hand for her to stand up. She pouted as she took it, standing up from the ground

"I need a break. I think my legs are just about to give way." Literally, if she thought about it too much, she was afraid that she would collapse where she stood.

Her training had started early this morning. It was almost dawn when Marcus had come to get her from Xander's place, her mood not too welcoming as she wasn't really a morning person, especially for something like physical exercise. Snow had been falling, the temperature had dropped to below zero and ice now hung off the trees, the sunlight doing very little to warm the air. Decked out in her thick coat and the training kit she had been provided with by Sterling the previous day, she stalked out to their pack facility and Marcus had proceeded to drill her more times than she had ever been drilled in her life.

It was much tougher than the self-defence training she had got during her time with her family. almost 5 hours, with no single break later, she was just about to give up on this altogether and go back to her bed, to never return.

"You seem distracted." he said, as he passed her a bottle of water

Opening the cap, she took a greedy gulp before sighing in contentment "Distracted? Why would I be?"

"Your punches don't carry enough weight. Your mind isn't fully here, if it was, with your heightened senses, you'd have been able to block some of my attacks. You're not thinking about the right things and you're analytical enough to deduce things. I mean we've been at this-"

"Fine! I get it! I get it!" Ava scowled at him, the scowl getting deeper as he grinned at her "Let's go one more round. I'll be able to take you down this time."

"You just said you wanted a break."

"Break's over. Come at me as hard as you can."

She got into a fighting stance, her expression steeling but Marcus could read her like an open book. Hopefully, her growing relationship with the Alpha wouldn't cause her mind wandering to increase more.