Blood of The Beast: Revelations

Mated

Pierce The Veil- Bulletproof Love

Naloc: 

    "I don't understand any of this," Riley complained. 

    I looked over at her paper to see she's working on the same thing I am. Our parents really think I should stop doing her homework for her. She does fine in the classes. I just don't see why it leaves her mind when she's home. She just stares at the paper as if the answers were going to magically appear on them and it annoys me. 

    "I can try to explain it to you," Astra offered. 

    "You're a freshman," Riley tried to wave her off. 

    "Yeah, and I'm taking classes six terms ahead of what you don't understand," Astra smiled and came over to sit next to her. 

    I had to ask Astra to help me with not doing Riley's homework for her. Oddly, Astra supports anyone trying to learn more so that she can potentially befriend smarter people and have real conversations. Those were her exact words when I asked. She's actually a really good teacher. 

    "Fine," she motioned the laptop in front of her. 

    I zoned them both out and continued to work on my biology paper. Some of Astra's new friends walked into the library and tried to catch her attention. She waved at them and motioned Riley and me. They didn't ask questions, they just went and sat at the table my sister usually sits at, alone. Before Riley and I got together, Astra and I were always surrounded by pack members. With her here, everyone kind of pulled away from us. 

    "I'll just go home," Riley sighed. 

    "Maybe you should take classes on your own. You know so that Naloc doesn't distract you. I hear that mates do that," Astra suggested. 

    "What is that supposed to mean?" Riley asked defensively. 

    "That may be the amount of time you guys always spend together really dampens your attention span," Astra explained. "I'm not trying to be rude. I'm just saying-" 

    "Maybe," Riley cut her off. "You should mind your own business. My mate actually likes who I am," 

    "What the hell is your problem?" I asked when Astra shrunk away from her. I can feel the electric charge coming off my sister. One wrong move and she can everyone in this room on accident. 

    "My problem is that your sister is a freak," she shut her laptop, picked it up, and began to walk away. I looked at Astra who is looking down at her things, completely thrown off. 

    "Astra, don't-" 

    "It's fine," she shook her head. "She's not wrong," 

    "Astra," I called after her as she walked away. I put my things back into my backpack. Everyone is watching. "Sorry about that. Midterms," I chuckled nervously. Some people smiled and waved the whole thing off as a joke. "f**k,"

    When I got to my car, I saw my sister's things in the front seat. I looked around and didn't see her. I got in and drove home. My mom is standing in the doorway. I got my things and Astra's then made my way over to the house. I hate full moons. 

    "I don't know how to fix this," I admitted. 

    "Fix what, son?" she asked. 

    "I don't know how to make Riley and Astra happy," 

    "Are you happy?" she asked. 

    "No," 

    "What do you want?" she asked. 

    "It's not about what I want. It's about what I don't," I answered honestly. 

    "What don't you want, Naloc?" she placed her hand on my shoulder. I looked over at her. She knows the answer. She's always known the answer. "Riley is just having difficulties with the adjustment," 

    "We've been together four years now. I don't want her to adjust," I blurted out. "I don't want her here. No one does, mom. She doesn't fit. No matter how I try to make things different or ask her to not do things, I just end up making s**t worse. This isn't like Astra or you. This isn't about what she is. This is about who she is. She's just a shitty f*****g person. 

    "All she does is aggravate me and Astra who at the moment is f*****g ticking time bomb. Do you want to know what she just called her in front of our entire student body? A freak. What the f**k does she think I am? Astra and I literally the same beings and we're not that different. The only difference is that I have a d**k and she likes to spend quality time with a f*****g duck,"

    "Chicken," she corrected. "Why are you drawing this out, Naloc?" 

    "Because you have the perfect f*****g mating. So do her parents. Walking away feels a lot like spitting your face or Lady Ripley's face and that's the last thing I want to do," I can feel my i***t frustrating tears streaming down my face. Yeah, the full moon is tomorrow. 

    "Baby, if you don't want this. I'm on your side," I looked up at her to see that she's serious. "I will feel more insulted if you continued on this path and I'm pretty sure her parents don't like seeing her go home the way she does night after night. I don't like seeing you like this. You have a choice to make. No one else can make the choice for you. You just have to be sure that this is what you want," 

    "I just want things to stop hurting all the time," I admitted. 

    "Ask yourself this then," she sighed. "Will you be okay if you saw her in the arms of another?" 

    "I don't care," I answered honestly. "I know it's wrong, but I don't care what she does. She's a really pretty girl and she's-" that's it. That's all I can come up with. "She likes cats. Her favorite color is magenta. She likes her tea sweetened with honey. Her eyes are gray, but when the sun hits them directly, they turn a soft powder blue. Her left eye twitches when she lies. When she melts into the shadows, her heart skips a beat. The only time she's at peace is when she's painting. 

    "I can go on and on, mom. Ask her what my favorite color is. Ask her how I like my tea. f**k, ask her what my birthday is and if she gives you the right answer, I'll stay with her and I will never complain about anything concerning her again. I swear to you," 

    "What happened?" she asked. "Was Astra being rude to her?" 

    "No," I laughed. "Astra has never been rude to her, mom. I mean sure, Astra can be a little blunt but she really wasn't this time. We were doing homework and then Astra tried to help her because you're right. I shouldn't be doing her homework. Then Astra suggested we take different classes so that I wouldn't distract her. She said that mates are often a distraction to one another and Riley just went off. She told her to mind her own business and then called her a freak indirectly when I asked her what the problem was and to put the cherry on top of it all. She tossed in Hunter hating vampires into the whole thing because Astra going through it isn't enough of a f*****g reminder," 

    "What's going on?" my dad walked out. "Astra locked herself in her room," 

    "Riley and Astra had a bit of a misunderstanding," mom tried to simplify. 

    "Was Astra being rude?" my dad asked. 

    "No, dad. Astra didn't do anything wrong," I waved him off. 

    "Have you tried asking Riley if something is wrong? Maybe she's going through something at home," he suggested. "I hear that mates living in separate households often find it difficult to communicate," 

    "Really?" I asked looking up at him. So this is where she gets her weird facts from. Talking to dad. 

    "Yes, there is plenty of space for Riley here," 

    "That's not-" my mom laughed. "I'll catch you up once I'm done here," 

    "Alright," my dad nodded. "Whatever you decide, make sure you're going to be happy as well, Naloc. It's not fair if it's one-sided," 

    "Do you want to fight?" mom asked once dad walked away. "I'm up for some sparing if you are. We can go down to the North and aggravate the Lycans. They love to fight," 

    "Yeah," I nodded. She smiled and motioned me inside. 

    "Go change. This is a cute outfit," she motioned my clothes. 

    "Astra has been picking out my clothes,"     

    "Your dad does that," she laughed. "Says my style is too-" 

    "Plain," we both said in unison before laughing. 

    "They spend way too much time together," I shook my head. 

    "Yeah, she's really changed him. I'm really proud," she smiled. "You don't like tea," she added. I looked over at her. "You like coffee. Black. You put flavored creamer in it when Riley tries to make cookies to cover up the burnt flavor. You used to smile more. The house was always full," she sighed. "I should have seen this sooner. I'm sorry I looked the other way this long," 

    I didn't answer her. I went up to my room and began to change out of my clothes and into something a little more flexible. I remember the first time I met Riley. I was nine. She was eight. Her dad was knelt down in front of her, scolding her for making one of her brothers cry. She was wearing plaid shorts, a black t-shirt that had a dead fish outline printed on it. Her long dark hair was pulled back into two pigtails that curled at the end into one big ringlet. She turned her angry eyes at me before looking back at her dad. 

    "Boys are stupid," she bit out and then crossed her arms over her chest. 

    "I'm a boy," her dad reminded her. 

    "No, daddy. You're not a boy. You're a man. You should be smart by now," she then turned away and walked over to her mom who looked back at her dad and shrugged. 

    "She's not wrong," her mom chuckled. 

    I'd see her all the time. Lady Ripley would come and go as she pleased. She's my mom's friend. I never really had a particular fascination with her, but I did try to include her in everything when she came over so that my mom and her's would work out whatever they were working on without interruptions. 

    The night I found out she was my mate, she had been here two nights. Lilith had been babysitting all of us. Nothing really changed for me. She was part of our family and I feel the need to protect her. I care about her and as our bond continued, I wanted to feel what everyone says this is supposed to feel like, I've studied her. I felt the bond between us. I feel it when we touch when I kiss her but that's it. There's nothing else tethering me to her. 

    "Hey," I looked over at the door as I pulled my shirt over my body to see Astra standing there. 

    "Astra, I'm really sorry about what Riley said to you. She had no right. There's nothing wrong with you. She shouldn't have said that," 

    "It's fine," she shrugged. "I shouldn't have suggested anything. It's none of my business. I don't want you guys fighting because of me. So, tell her I said sorry when you see her. Maybe, find someone else to help you with the thing," 

    "I'm not going to do that. You didn't do anything wrong," 

    "Naloc, she's your mate," 

    "I don't want her to be," I admitted. She shoved me. I stumbled a bit, but she pushed me again making me fall back on my bed. 

    "Don't you ever say that," she shouted. 

    "Astra-"

    "No," she shook her head. "Naloc, she's-she's your mate," 

    "I know that, but we aren't compatible,"

    "The moon wouldn't have paired the two of you if you weren't," 

    "Astra, I know that you really believe that, but I'm not happy," 

    "Not everything is about you. What about Riley? Does she not matter?" 

    "Of course she does. When is the last time you were around us and saw her happy?" I asked. 

    "She doesn't like me. A lot of people don't like me. That's a thing. There's a Twitter page named AstraSucks27 and people post on it more than you post on Sh!tMyS!sterSays," 

    "Astra, I don't want this anymore," 

    "What if you want this in the future and she doesn't want you?" she asked. "What if you want to be friends now and something more in the future and she hates you?" 

    "What if I stay and she hates me for it?" I asked. "What if I stay and I hate her for it?" she down next to me and started crying. "Hey," 

    "Werewolf puberty f*****g sucks," she cried. 

    "What's wrong?" I asked her. 

    "Hunter asked if we could be friends and I told him to go f**k himself and to feed my chicken," she sobbed. 

    "Your mating is different from mine. Hunter doesn't know who you are yet and you don't know who he is. It's too early to call it," 

    "He was psychologically programmed to hate what we are. What I am. I can see him trying to fight it, but it's like asking you to stop caring about your narcissistic sister or mom. He instinctively believes that we're the bad guys and that him killing vampires is his only purpose in life, Naloc," 

    "You're into neuroscience, Astra. You're literally studying how the brain works and why. If there's anyone who can reverse that and make him better. It's you. Now give me something valid because I'm about to make up my mind,"

    "You spoil Riley a lot. Instead of dealing with your actual problems, you just fix everything for her. It's been that way since we were kids. No one lets her make her own mistakes. She's never had to work for anything. Asking her to do this so far into your relationship is like asking me to be bad at playing the cello. It's never going to happen because this is part of who we are," she stood up. "Naloc, your mating isn't failing because she's not trying. It's failing because you never let her try," 

    "That hurts," I admitted. 

    "Don't reject her," she picked her backpack up from the place I had set our things down by the doorway. "I'm not telling you to go over there and apologize. She's not a mind reader, brother. You have to tell her what you want. I don't know if you've noticed, but she's a painter. She's not very smart," 

    "That's rude, Astra," I called after her as she made herself to her room down the hall. 

    "f**k her. She called me a freak. f*****g b***h," 

    "Language," dad shouted from somewhere in the house.

    "Sorry, daddy," she called out to him. 

    "Can I take a rain check?" I asked mom when I reached the bottom of the staircase. 

    "Sure," she nodded. "Don't come home too late. We're on a curfew," 

    "Right," I nodded. 

    I headed east on foot. By the time I reached the east gate, it was a little past noon. I went up to the main house and knocked. Her dad opened the door and I think we both know what I'm about to do because his eyes stayed on mine a little too long. I growled at him. 

    "Where is she?" I asked. 

    "I'm right here," she answered. "Dad, go away," 

    "Keep it brief," he ordered before walking away. 

    "What do you want?" she asked. "Are you here to apologize?" 

    "Apologize? You can't be that shallow, Riley," 

    "Shallow? You sister-"

    "My sister is right. You're a distraction. Riley, I put all of my energy into this," 

    "You think I don't," 

    "I know you don't. Do you want to know why your brothers don't get their f*****g skulls crushed? Because they're your brothers. Do you want to know why I don't come here? To avoid confrontation with them and your dad and you can't even look at my little sister and attempt to say a single nice thing to her. She was trying to help you. Do you think that everyone knowing that her mate is completely f*****g broken inside doesn't hurt her? Do you honestly think that you throwing it in her face is okay, just because you were annoyed?" 

    "What do you want me to do? I can't be something I'm not," 

    "Right, but changing who I am is okay?" 

    "I didn't ask you to go out of your way to fit me," she crossed her arms over her chest. 

    "Riley," her mother shouted. 

    "Rip," her dad pulled her away. 

    "You're right. No one asked me to do that," I stepped away. "Astra begged me not to reject you," her eyes shot to mine. "I made my mom a promise and I intend to keep it. Riley, what's my birthday?" 

    "What?" she asked looking me over. "You're not serious. Over an argument?" 

    "Answer me. When is my birthday?" 

    "Do you know mine?" 

    "You're birthday is September eleventh. Your astrological sign is Virgo. Your birthstone is Sapphire. That's why I got you those blue earrings last year. You try," I motioned her. She looked away. "I'm tired of this being like this. I love you, Riley. But I'm not in love with you. I never was. and you never made it easy for me to even try to love you. I have a lot of obligations and this shouldn't be one of them," 

    "I don't know what to say to you," she shrugged. "I don't know what you want," 

    "I want to know that you want this. I want to know that my efforts aren't wasted on you," this feels a lot like begging. She rolled her eyes at me. I reached for her. My hand wrapped around her neck perfectly. She seems completely unbothered by my reaction. She's not doing this to hurt me because she's hurting. She genuinely doesn't care. "I, Naloc Felipe Malacoda, reject you, Riley Hemingway," 

    "I accept," she pulled away from me and I let her go. A cold flash washed through me and I shivered. 

    "You don't know what you're saying," Ripley cried out. She grabbed Riley by her arm and pulled her away from me. "Do you know what you just did? This boy just poured his heart out to you and you don't care," 

    "I don't," she pulled her arm away from her. She turned to face me. She's steady. This isn't a lie. "This was the best thing he's ever done for me and he used to do my homework," 

    "Riley," her mom called after her as she walked up the staircase. 

    "Naloc," Reggie looked over at me. "She's-" 

    "It fine," I waved him off. "It's over. I suggest you and your sons stay the f**k out of my way. If either of you ever disrespects me or anyone in my family ever again. I'll make you all with the former werewolf king would have killed you all." 

    "Naloc, she's just going through a cold phase. It's part of being a shadow,"  Ripley tried. 

    "What about the rest of the time? Before this phase. The f****d up part is this is my fault. I let her become like this. I never made her work for anything and now, she doesn't care as long as she gets her way. That's not a good quality for a Luna much less a Queen. My mother would kill us both before she let me take the throne with that by my side," 

    "Rip," 

    "Stop it, Reg," she growled. "I told you not to f*****g let her get away with whatever she wanted. You were always so hard on the boys and shut down any kind of discipline when it came to Riley. This isn't his fault. It's yours and mine for letting it happen. Go home, Naloc. I'm really sorry about this. One day, she will be too. I just hope it's not too late then," 

    "It's already too late," I turned away from them and shifted. 

    It came so easily this time. No pain, no struggle. Just the sweet relief of the ache I feel in knowing that everything I had done didn't mean s**t to her. I was her f*****g errand boy. I don't know how far or how long I ran for. I looked up once my wolf retreated to see Hunter standing over my head with a pair of basketball shorts in his hand. 

    "You are one big ass silverback," he tossed the shorts at my junk. I pulled them on and tried to sit up. "My old man is a silverback," 

    "Yeah?" I asked. "Same motherfucker that branded you?" 

    "The very same one," he nodded. 

    "I think I can go for wolf snacks right now," I fell back feeling sore. 

    "What's wrong with you?" he asked. 

    "I suppressed my wolf until just recently. It really takes it out of me when I shift for long periods of time," 

    "She doesn't have that problem does she?" he asked. 

    "No, Astra's been training since she was eleven,"

    "Why didn't you train since you were eleven?" 

    "I can control the entire electrical element as well as change the weather, I specialize in different combat techniques, and I had a mate. I wanted to hide what I was so she didn't think I was some kind of freak," 

    "Ship sailed at electrical whatever," he smirked. "What do you mean had? Did you accidentally eat her?" 

    "I rejected her," I glared at him. 

    "That the full moon talking?" he asked. 

    "No, I just don't want her and she doesn't want me," 

    "Hm," he sighed. "I'm sorry man. That has to be rough. Given it's your sister, I'll make things as proper as possible," 

    "Thanks," I scoffed. 

    "I want her. She's gorgeous. She's smart and she's funny in a C3PO kind of way. She taught a f*****g chicken how to be a lapdog. A chicken," he laughed. "I was raised a certain way. Being here with all of you. It scares the s**t out of me. It's like an itch I need to scratch and the harder I scratch even when I've broken every layer of my skin and I'm bleeding. I need to hunt. She's so small and innocent. I'm going to break her, man, and from the looks of it. She's going to let me," his voice is tight now. 

    "The thing about Astra is that people always underestimate her. She does and says s**t that backs up that she's different. It takes a special view to look at Astra and say she's small and innocent, Hunter. She''s not fragile. She has feelings just like the rest of us, but she's a really strong kid," I was finally able to sit up. My spine cracked all the way up to my neck. 

    "Ouch," he looked me over. 

    "Mhm," I agreed. "She's not going to give up on you," 

    "She should," 

    "As f****d up as this seems, I wish I was in your place. You have something worth saving. My mate looked me dead in the eyes and told me that rejecting her was the best thing I've ever done for her. Then she added and you used to do my homework for me," 

    "f**k," he stood up and offered me his hand. He lifted me up when I took it. "I'd like to help you back but touching you makes me want to stab you," 

    "I got it," Aeneas came over to us. 

    "How long have you been there?" Hunter asked him. 

    "Scares the s**t out of you. Cracks. Stuck up rich b***h," he shrugged. 

    "Sums it all up," I laughed I groaned my body protested. 

    "You can crash in the chicken's room. I'll call the princess and let her know we found one of her other pets. She should put a tag on you too," 

    "f**k you," I chuckled. 

    "Being mated sounds difficult, difficult. I am alright with being single dingle," 

    "Single dingle? You're related to this guy?" I asked Hunter. 

    "I question it too," he shook his head.