Lockwood City: The Tale of Eloise

Thirteen

Tech N9ne- Red Kingdom

Eloise:

I step down from the jeep. Elias quickly comes around. He looks me over and I think about his last rule. I'm not ready to reach out to take his hand but I will, soon. Maybe. I can't stop looking at him.

He's dressed so casually right now. Dark-fitted jeans cover his powerful legs. His black t-shirt is fitted to his body showing the outlines of his toned arms and his abdomen. He's wearing an L.C. baseball cap with the visor facing back. He has a tattoo on the back of his neck. The edges of a wolf tribe tattoo. I wonder how much of his back it covers.

On his left arm, he has a bouquet of flowers and in the center, there's a black dagger. It's a gang-affiliated tattoo. L.C.C. Lockwood City Chaos. The word Mayhem is tattooed over his knuckles. I reach out to touch the letters but he grabs my hand instead. A bolt shoots through me for the second time today and takes my breath away. I don't say anything as I try to get a hold of myself.

"You're going to do as I say, Jackson. Get this f*****g b***h off the f*****g guard roster,"

Maxwell Lockwood is everything people say he is. He standing in the middle of the lobby dressed in a black suit. He has two other guys with him. From a distance, he looks a little like Blitz. Not as tall or big but he does look like my father or rather, my father's brother.

"You have no say in who enters the guard, Max. The alpha in charge of the guard has that say. She was accepted and as long as she meets the requirement she will be staying," Jackson looks frustrated. I'm sure he's said those same exact words to him more than once.

"Who the f**k let her in?" he growls.

"Hey," I wave at Jackson. His eyes meet mine and he smiles. Tiffany stiffens and looks away when her eyes land on my hand in Elias's. I pull away from him and step forward. Max and his buddies look me over with contempt.

"Hey," Jackson greets me. "Look at you, huh?"

"I'm f*****g talking to you, Jack," Max growls. I put my hand up when Elias tries to step up to him. He looks down at me and takes a step back. "Oh, what the f**k are you doing here, Graeson?"

"He's here with me," I say.

"Who the f**k are you?" he demands pointing his finger at my face. I take a step back, looking him over with disgust. This man thinks he's going to be running my pack. I don't think so.

"I was just going to ask you the same thing. You're speaking to my guard as if he owes you something. You're standing here in my building like you matter somehow,"

"f**k," Jackson's son, Jax laughs.

"How can I help you?" I ask Max.

"Who are you?" he looks me over.

"Don't f*****g look at me like that," I growl taking my glasses off. He steps back recognizing me.

"Ellie," he mouths my name.

"Alpha," I correct him. "What are you doing here, Max? You know, other than causing a scene?"

"Alpha?" he scoffs. "What are you doing down here, Eloise? Aren't you up there all scared in your tower, Rapunzel?"

"Do you want to see how scared I am right now?" I grin, stepping into him. A low growl vibrates out of my chest as coldness sweeps my body. His little smirk fades and he swallows hard.

"Easy," Elias whispers behind me. Max is slightly taller than my five-eleven build. He's maybe six feet.

"I'm not going to ask you again,"

"I don't want this b***h on the guard," he looks over at Tiffany.

"Getting into the guard program isn't an easy feat," I say looking back at Jackson. He holds up a file for me. I take it and open it up to see that she's got really good test scores. Almost as good as my brother's. Almost if you round by ten. "Why not?"

"Personal reasons," he grinds his teeth together and takes a step back.

I hold the file out to her. She takes it without question. I step into him taking in his scent. He's startled by the action but doesn't move away. He smells woodsy. Fresh rain over hardened wood. There's also something stronger just over the surface. Earthy and smokey. It's a scent I've caught on my brother before. m*******a perhaps. Strong tobacco, maybe. But by the looks of him, I doubt it.

"She's perfect for the guard. You don't have a say in who gets in or who doesn't. Personal or not. Don't you have more important s**t to do? Why are you here harassing her? Is it because she's beta Elias's girlfriend?" I ask looking him in the eyes. They're dark brown like my father's only his have little hues of blue in them giving them a grayish tone.

"You're not up to date in a lot of things, Eloise," he says lowering his gaze. Yeah, no way this guy is the runner-up to the alpha position. Over my dead body.

"I can say the same thing to you, cousin. Do you want to know why she applied? Do you want to know who approved her application?" I ask. His eyes scan my face and remain on my scar. I want to claw his eyes out for looking at it. It's not his to look at.

"Sure," he humors me.

"My dad did because she's not with Elias anymore. In fact, Elias is no longer a beta. He's your superior. As my mate," his buddies move away from him as Blitz comes out of the elevator behind them. The one that leads up to the penthouse.

"What?" he looks over at him. "No, you're f*****g joking,"

"I am the funniest person I know but I don't joke about serious s**t. Isn't that right, brother?"

"It sure is," Blitz steps up behind him. Max jumps when my brother slaps his hand down on his right shoulder. "What's up, Max? Staying out of trouble, Cousin?"

"What kind of car do you have, Max?" I ask.

"I-uh. I drive a G-Wagon," he answers nervously. I hold my hand out. He sighs digging his hand into his pocket. He pulls out a key fob and holds it out.

"Not anymore," I reach out to take it between my index finger and thumb so I don't touch him. "Tiffany, right?"

"Yes, Alpha Eloise," she answers. I toss the fob at her.

"I'm sorry about him. He's not going to bug you anymore. This isn't how Lockwoods should act. It makes us look weak. I hope this compensates for the way he treated you today,"

"I-" she looks down at the fob and then over at Max. He's standing there straight-faced but his eyes are on fire. He's pissed. "Thank you," she smiles. He closed his eyes tightly shaking his head. "I've always wanted one of these,"

"I have no idea what a G-Wagon is but it sounds nice," I smile looking at my cousin. "You can just toss whatever you find in there out or keep it. It's up to you. It's your car now,"

"My dad gave me that car," Max growls.

"Did he? I'm sure it's going to upset him when he finds out you let me give it away," I laugh. "I'm dead serious, Max. f**k with her again and I will do much worse than take your stupid car. How is your father, by the way? Still grieving the loss of Wolf Tech?"

"How do you know about that?" he looks me over momentarily forgetting his car.

"Oh, because Wolf Tech is mine now. I have a meeting with them next month. I'm really excited to meet Josh Wolfe," I look back at Jackson. "Are we done here? Everything settled?"

"Yes," Tiffany answers.

"Yes, Alpha," Jackson grins.

"Max? We good?" Blitz asks him. He moves away from my brother and looks back over at me.

"Yeah, we're good," he bites his tongue.

"Perfect. Let's not meet like this again, Max. It's not a good impression. We're going to be working together soon. I want us to be friends,"

"What the f**k is that supposed to mean?" he glares at me.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. Have a good day. You deserve it," I smirk. His lip curls up into a snarl before he storms off. He stops in front of the huge black mark on the floor before he continues to walk out of the building. "So, that's Max,"

"That's Max," Elias says behind me.

I can hear the delight in his voice. I even feel the warmth inside of him. He loves that I just turned the guy that's been in his face for years into a little b***h. I'd be happier if I got to see him do something like that too. It would be funny and cute even. I bet he's scary when he wants to be.

"Hmm, I thought he'd be taller. If I had kept my boots on I think we'd be the same size,"

"He is a little short," Blitz laughs. "What are you doing back here, Ellie?"

"Elias was showing me around the city," I step back from all of them. I feel a little crowded.

"I'm sorry I interrupted your date," Jax steps forward. "Alpha Eloise, I'm Jax,"

"You're the one that smells like peppermint," I catch his scent from here.

Elias smells like him sometimes. He did the day we met and when he came to check on me yesterday. Probably because they're always together. He's handsome. Just like his father. He has Victoria's demeanor. Her tanned skin tone. Pretty chocolate brown hair.

"I'm sorry?" he asks.

"I caught your scent in Elias's car. It's nice to officially meet you. Your mom talks about you all the time. I feel like I know you," I look over at Jackson. His face flushes. They look like father and son right now.

"Eloise," my dad's voice cuts through the sentiment. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I nod looking around the group gathered. "Just trying to make our new guard recruit more comfortable. Max was being a dill hole,"

"He does that," my dad rolls his eyes. I put my glasses back on. I need to get out of here soon.

"We should go. I'm kind of hungry," I look up at Elias. He smiles and motions me to lead the way.

"Gentlemen," he gives them a farewell nod "Tiff,"

"Alpha," they all bow formally.

I sneeze as I turn around and catch a familiar scent. It burns my nose and my chest. My heart starts beating rapidly. Like it's pounding against my chest trying to escape. A rogue is standing at the entrance. His forest-green eyes meet mine for a brief second before he turns away. I pull my hands out of my pockets and sprint after him.

"Hey," I call after him. "Hey, wait," he stops. I almost slam into him when he spins around. "It's you,"

"Eloise," Elias and my Dad call from behind me.

"It's you," I repeat reaching for him. He doesn't move as I cup his face. The scent of burnt popcorn envelops me. It's so strong my eyes sting. He's a real rogue. Not the half-ass crap I am. It's why his scent is so strong.

"You really are alive," he says putting his hand over mine gently. He looks down at my wrist to see the scarring under my bangles. "I caught your scent yesterday," he reaches for my glasses and takes them off. His finger grazes the scar on my cheek. "I'm glad you made it out of there,"

"What's your name?"

"Xander," he answers. "My name is Xander King,"

"How do I get in touch with you,?" I ask. He rubs the back of my hand with his thumb and lowers it. I drop it to my side.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You're a princess. I've always known you were," he smirks. He's a pretty boy. Dark auburn hair. Tanned but fair skin. He's wearing a black hat to hide. His dark clothes say as much. He puts my glasses on and I let him take them. "Besides, I don't think you mate would like that,"

"Please," I reach for his hand when he steps back. His touch doesn't burn me. In fact, it's warm. The familiarity between us is unreal. "I can't lose you again,"

"You never lost me. I'm right here," he taps my head.

I laugh. "That was cheap,"

"It made you smile didn't it?" he chuckles. I jump back when a card appears in his hand.

"Magic tricks?" I snatch it away before he changes his mind.

"Lots of them," he nods. "I'll see you around, Princess. Stay safe,"

He walks away leaving me here with the card in my hand. I look down to see there's a silver rose engraved on it and a number underneath it. I look up again to find he's gone. Like he was never here. Even his scent is gone.

"Who the f**k was that?" Blitz breaks the silence. I reach up to feel warm tears slide down my face.

"That's Xander King," Elias answers.

"That's the boy that was in the cell next to mine," I whisper. "He would sing Uneasy Hearts Weigh The Most after-" I swallow hard feeling everything spin. Elias catches me when my knees hit the concrete. "He was real. I didn't make him up,"

"Ellie," he whispers looking down at me. His expression is complicated.

"I used to think he was you," my voice trembles. "He used to sound like you but he's real,"

"Yeah, he is. Xander King is the leader of the L.C.C. He's on Lockwood City's most-wanted list. Right at the top. His dad was the man who took you from the old Pack House, Ellie. We can't touch him because he has a massive rogue alliance behind him,"

"And?" I know there's more. He has that tattoo on his arm.

"He's my little bother on my mom's side," he adds.

"But your mom died. She couldn't-"

"She didn't die, Ellie. She left. It was just always easier to say she died,"

"Can I get up now?" I ask. He nods and takes a step back. I lift myself using the metal rail. My dad and brother are watching me.

"You can't be friends with that boy," my dad shakes his head. "He's bad news. I have his file on my desk. It's bigger than your coding book this year. I'm going to kill him one day,"

"No, you're not," I shake my head. "It doesn't matter what he did. I'm not letting you hurt him,"

"Eloise-"

"Enough dad," I growl. "I want to go home. I've had enough for today,"

"Okay," Elias says without hesitation.

He walks over to his jeep and opens it for me. I look up in the direction Xander went. Today has got to be the second most epic day I've ever had in my entire existence. The first was my twenty-seventh birthday when I met my best friend for the second time. Things are spinning out of control but I feel better. It's thrilling, isn't it? To be seen, to be recognized. To have a semblance of power over the crushing weight of the past. I've been the only one standing in my way all this time. Maybe my dad was there too but he's my dad. He has to be overbearing.

"I'm sorry," I find myself saying.

"For what?" he asks. He even sounds annoyed. It's really cute. Kind of like when Elena gets frustrated with me.

"I feel your anger," I place my hand on my chest. "It's hot,"

"I'm not mad at you,"

"But you are mad,"

"I'm mad at nothing really," he sighs. "I feel like I was cheated. Like we were cheated out of something perfect. Not just us but Xander as well,"

"How did you two meet?"

"He taught me how to boost cars," he smiles. "We used to be really close,"

"What happened?"

"Tiffany," he looks over at me. His eyes are shiny. I think there's regret in his gaze. "He was the reason why she was in trouble and I betrayed him to get her out of it,"