Ace frowned as he stared at her patiently waiting gaze. She folded her knees to her chest as she stared wide eyed at him, wanting to hear his troubled story. He sighed out in annoyance and licked his dry lips as he glance towards the water, reluctantly giving in to the suggestion.
“Well, um…..” he cleared his throat and glanced down at her, unsure of where he should even begin. “I don’t know where to start.”
“Start with when you were young, the things you liked, how your parents were.” She said and he shifted his gaze to the water once more.
“My parents have always been… really quiet most of the time. They always nodded their heads to everything I did. They loved seeing me happy, even if I was doing something bad. They had a rough time having children, so you could get why they kind of spoiled me a little.” He chuckled as he clenched the grass beneath his palm and let out a deep heavy sigh. “But they didn’t get to take that much time spoiling me when they died in a bloody war before I was seven. I was all alone after that and felt abandoned, not knowing where to go, but the pack came together to raise me, that way I could always feel at home, even if my parents were long gone. As more time passed by, I ended up getting used to it and accepting they were never going to come back, and that I was okay with it.”
“Your pack sounds caring.” Penelope smiled as she rested her chin onto her knees and stared up at his small smile.
“If you see it that way.” He nodded and frowned slightly. “Anyway, after a while as we got older, I began friends with the alpha’s son and some girl along the way. They were my closest friends and we would stand by each other through thick and thin. They were the only family I had ever known. I loved them.” He nodded to his own words and swayed his feet in the water a bit, mixing up the cool temperature about, feeling it glide against his skin. “For a while, things were great. Then we heard that the alpha was planning to retire, and like the tradition says, ‘the strongest leads the pack’. I and the alpha’s son made a bet about it, that whomever is the strongest will become alpha and the second strongest will become the beta. Though I was clearly the strongest, he still insisted on competing for the alpha seat. I liked that about him. He never gave up. A little more time flies and I started falling for the girl I mentioned. She and I clicked after a while and we began hanging out a lot more often, getting to know each other. But one day she grew distant for no reason. She began blaming my behavior and I simply accepted it, then we broke up. A few weeks later and the selection ceremony began and I came out as I expected to. I was the strongest in the tribe and everyone praised me for it. They knew it would be me. I was destined to become alpha, it was just in my blood. But then…. After I won’t against my friend, his father announce him as alpha and not me. He claimed that tradition no longer holds water to it and that his son will simply inherit the position. I got insanely angry at that and demanded they be fair, after all, I trained tirelessly to become alpha.”
Penelope rose her brows high as she stared at him, noticing his furrowed brows and clenched jaw as he glared at the water and the fish.
“I expected my friend to actually talk against his father and appoint me as alpha, like it was supposed to be. But he didn’t say a word and gladly walked up to the platform and sit where I was supposed to be sitting. Wore the bear skin robe that I was supposed to be wearing. Wore the bear’s skull crown that I was supposed to be wearing. He took what was supposed to be mine in the beginning and didn’t think twice about it, or even apologized.” He clenched the grass underneath his palm as tightly as his breath became loud and suppressed from the anger boiling up his skin. “I wanted an explanation, but he didn’t give it to me so I remained at the bottom of the stairs as his father announced me as his son’s beta. They told me to just walk up the stairs and accept that I’m the beta, something as a credit for fighting and competing. I was ticked off and wanted to strangle him to death for betraying me. But I had to wait for an explanation somehow. I wanted one. But when he stood up from the alpha’s throne and called the same girl I was with, announcing that she was his bride I snapped.” He quietened at the end as he bit onto his lower lip while his eyes turned a bright shade of yellow.
“You ran away?” Penelope asked as she straightened her legs and tilted her head to catch a better glimpse of his face.
“No.” he shook his head and glanced at her, only to have her gasp internally at his half transformation and wide grin. “I left him a gift he would never forget me by. I tried to bite his face off in my werewolf transformation but lucky for the bastard, my teeth missed his eyes and his neck entirely, he managed to take a step back, but that didn’t save him from my teeth digging right through his skin. That devil deserved it.” He laughed out menacingly as he returned his gaze to the water and quietened. “He passed out from the pain and shock and when he recovered he wanted me killed. They took me out into the forest to kill me when I managed to kill his soldiers first before fleeing. After a few months I met the rogues and became one. Then I ended up here.” He sighed out, relaxing his body and returning his eyes back to normal before glancing down at her, only to notice her horrified gaze. “I told the same story to your sister, but I didn’t tell it entirely this way. I lied on some parts and made myself look like the evil one, because I wanted to be feared by even the alpha herself, yet she didn’t care after a while, that’s why I fell in love with her…”
“I’m not on your side on this one.” Penelope pointed out as she furrowed her brows at him. “You have a bad temper, even if they were unfair, it’s not an excuse to try and kill a friend.” Ace rolled his eyes in annoyance as he glanced from her.
“It’s not like I expected you to justify my actions.” He sighed out and pressed his lips together.
“I’m not done.” She rolled her eyes and moved a bit until she was just beside him. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, getting him to glance at her. “You felt betrayed, to you acted how you would and that’s not something to blame you for. You shouldn’t pretend to feel in a certain way to make someone else happy. You’ll end up hurting yourself. But even though you were mad about not being alpha, what hurt you the most was being betrayed and you always feel betrayed, even if there are good reasons for it. I get that. You’re surrounded with people who hurt you accidentally. Just don’t worry, that’s why I want to help you. I won’t betray you without a good reason. Just like everyone else, you can also feel connected to someone who would die for you. People like that exist. I’ll help you find her, or him, either way. You’re not alone in this. Okay?” she smiled softly as he stared at her wide eyed. For the first time had someone said something what has flattered him and made him feel important.
Penelope was just like Hope, except, there are no strings attached and she is being completely true.
“Fine.” He sighed shakily as he glanced from her eyes ad shut his eyes. “Thanks by the way… For coming.” He whispered and she chuckled out softly, reaching to his hair and patting it gently.
“Sure.” She nodded as she watched his shoulders ease from all the tension he had been holding within him. “Anytime, Ace.”