Writer's Note- I don't always reply to comments but I read them all so thank you to the verbal few who say they really like the story. It makes me happy. Sorry this chapter is a bit long but it's kind of heavy, lots of emotions.
Alsoâ this is a sweet song, probably how Achilles views Xander in this chapter.
~Xander~
After dinner I became properly aquatinted with a number of Achilles' pack. Most of them were nice if a bit distant, a lot more liberal than I expected. I'm not saying I was ready for homophobic slurs but there was little if any pushback. They seemed more disappointed that I wasn't a wolf.
The full moon happened to be on a Friday and apparently a lot of the shifters stayed in the cabins that were on the grounds over the weekend. Some of the pack members ran some kind of glamping high end wilderness retreat.
After everyone who was leaving for the night had already left, they brought out the alcohol. Achilles drank liberally, quickly growing misty eyed and affectionate. Soon, hewas a bit buzzed as he played with my hair, twirling a strand between his fingers and being endlessly fascinated when it shrank back to a curl after he removed his finger. The alpha's children were playing under the table and growling at one another while she seemed to be still working with the pack executives on something.
The plains of her face were too hard to be called attractive but she definitely had a certain quality to her. One that made her noticed.
Achilles caught me staring and waved a hand in my face, "Hey, Xander. Let's go to bed." He surprised me by an open show of affection by nuzzling my cheek. He hummed while rubbing his cheek against mine and I felt like it was a wolf thing but not quite sure how.
Achilles said goodnight to the few people left in the dining hall and then escorted me to an open office inside the kitchen where there were a few labelled keys left over. Achilles signed a sheet beside the key number and whistled off key. He turned to me, kissing the side of my neck, "I love you."
My heart swelled, but I tried to play off my excitement, "Yeah, same here." It was ridiculous how Achilles could embarrass me with his sometimes random proclamations of love. Drunk Achilles could also be unpredictable, overly affectionate but mostly goofy wursts strange moments of almost clarity.
But, I'd only ever seen him just a bit drunk never completely wasted like the day we first met.
"This is just the key to one of the nightly stay cabins. Let's go to our cabin and you can get ready for bed." Achilles was basically undressing me with his eyes and his desire was palpable. He leaned in to give me a kiss, raising a hand to caress the curls at the back of my neck. The kiss was unexpectedly sweet if a bit uncoordinated and sloppy. But, it was still Achilles and no one could make me melt the way he did.
When he stopped kissing me I couldn't help but blurt out, "I love you, too, Achilles. Like, a lot." Achilles kissing me made my mind fog, my heart pound and my body hot.
He closed the office door, and locked it, lowering himself to his knees. Holy fuck, his eyes were so intense as they sized me up. Crazily, Achilles' fingers squeezed my upper thighs and he started to unzip my pants, licking his lips.
I coughed, realizing what he was doing and unable to stop looking at the door. "Okay, I get it, you're drunk. This is not the kind of place where we do things like that." I helped Achilles off the floor and hurriedly zipped my pants.
He stood up under his own power and changed the subject without a care in the world only slurring slightly. "I'm glad everyone took it so well. I mean all they have to do is look at you, right? One look at your curls and green eyes, how could they not accept you?"
We made our way outside of the building and onto a dark, forest-like path with different cabins alongside the pathway. Achilles pushed the key into my hand. He pointed to a large cabin alongside the path, "That's number eighteen. I'll meet you there I just need to stop by the car." Achilles grinned suddenly, reminding me just how lovely his smile was, "I'll see you soon."
#
When Achilles got back to the room I was pacing uncertainly. I hadn't really eaten before leaving home because I assumed I would be back by now. Instead, I was here.
The room was admittedly nice albeit small.
The room had rustic logs for walls and exposed beams. It was cozy with the few pictures on the wall, fur rugs lining the varnished floors and a queen sized bed taking up the middle of the room. Everything was wonderfully clean and I even took a cursory look around the bathroom which was surprisingly spacious.
Achilles came back with a duffel bag and he was vibrating with excitement. He tossed his bag onto the bed, opening it up and taking out a couple of his shirts. "I know you don't have a change of clothes so you can wear mine. They'll be kind of big on you but they're warm."
I nodded, sitting down on the bed and beginning to take off my clothes.
Achilles' voice was a bit quieter now, "I brought some condoms, too. And lube."
"I don't want to, tonight." I said just as quietly. I did want Achilles but sometimes I said things I didn't mean to see how he'd react. I wasn't even sure why I tested him in that way. It was almost like a small part of me expected Achilles to turn into Corey. Like there was something intrinsically wrong with me and bad things gravitated towards me like moths to a flame.
"Okay." Achilles said in a soft voice, understanding so easily. Nothing at all like how Corey would have reacted.
"Maybe we'll never have sex again." I said, staring at him while taking off my pants and then my shirt. I wasn't sure what reaction I wanted from him. My skin pebbled as a shiver overtook me and I picked up one of Achilles' shirts to put on over my head. It was warm and smelled like him, enveloping me in his scent.
Achilles frowned, and I could tell either time or the conversation was sobering him. He didn't say anything, pulling off his socks, and then the rest of his clothes. I bit my lip, appreciating Achilles' trim waist, and muscled skin. As smooth as I was I could appreciate the dark, fine chest hair covering Achilles' chest and the line of hair leading down.He folded his clothes, and then mine, leaving them on top of his duffel bag before turning off the lights.
Achilles pulled up the sheets and laid down, voice suddenly small. "We don't have to do anything, but..." Achilles' voice trailed off as he mumbled, "nevermind."
I touched his smooth back, rubbing circles there, letting my hand move up to trace out the features of his face. Strong brow, prominent nose, soft lips, stubbled jaw. "Say it." I whispered.
Achilles sat up, "If you're hungry for...You know?"
I laughed, enfolding our fingers together, "For blood?"
"Yeah, you can take what you want from me." The intensity of his words startled me into silence. He sounded...So honest.
But I just had to know something, "Do you think maybe you only like me because we're mates?"
Achilles took some time to reply, fingers grazing lazily against my thigh. "Meeting you has changed everything. And it's been really scary. And I didn't want things in my life to change because I convinced myself I was comfortable where I was. The only time I would even let myself look at guys wasâ when I got trashed. And, if I'm being completely honest, I prefer men. I've never even said that out loud before. I used to think it was humiliating. I mean," Achilles huffed, "I can't say that I'm still not insecure about a lot of things and I'm not always going to know how this will work between us. But, for the first time I want to try. I have all these thoughts, Xander. About me and you, us maybe having kids one day, me building a house for you, going on a honeymoon, getting married." He took a breath, "not in that order obviously. But what I mean to say is, it doesn't matter what initially brought us together because it's not what's keeping us together. You're so much more than my mate. And we're more than just lovers."
I didn't know what to say so I kissed him. The kiss deepened quickly, with Achilles pulling me down onto the bed and quickly beginning to nibble around my chest and collarbone. I'd never had much of a thing for pain but Achilles' bites were only going deeper, his canines pushing against my skin. "Can Iâ" He tried to say, mouth pressed against my neck.
"You can do whatever you want," I interrupted him, drunk on the feel of Achilles.
Faster than I could react, Achilles moved out from under me and pressed me face down into the mattress, now almost sitting on me. His thighs held mine down as he pushed my hair off the nape of my neck and kissed me there, once. His body was intimately sculpted against mine, possessing me fully and pinning me down. Then, he licked the back of my neck before groaning softly, breaths hot against my skin. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." I said, not completely sure what he was asking but wanting to give it to him anyways.
Then, he bit me. Hard. The pain was intense enough that for a single moment all I could do was open my mouth and let out a cut off strangled cry. I fisted my hands in the sheets, almost arching off the bed, but Achilles outweighed me and his thighs were like bonds holding me down. Achilles' canines were still latched onto my neck for a few seconds before he sighed, and licked away what felt like blood. A lot of blood. His tongue had lengthened, roughened and ridged against my skin.
After several seconds, he turned us over onto our sides, still licking away at the bite. But, I was a vampire and I healed even faster than he did. So, the pain went from deafening to a dull but insistent throb.
Eventually, Achilles gave me space, thumbing the back of my neck. "I told you it would hurt." But, his voice was rough and he almost sounded excited. "Fuck, you letting me mark you is so...hot."
I didn't have any words for that but Achilles wasn't finished.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, "Its like the equivalent of you tattooing that you're mine on your body which would actually be really trashy and I would never ask you to do that. Obviously. But this is making me feel unexpectedly possessive. It's a lot." Achilles' hands had gone from my neck to caressing the skin across my back, tracing out the knobs in my spine before settling on my waist. "No one told me it would feel like this."
I turned around and Achilles' eyes were half lidded but glowing gold. He swallowed loudly, "I need you, Xander. Please."
I kissed Achilles letting the kiss turn just as deep as we needed it to be. Achilles' taut muscles pressed into my skin as we became two storm fronts clashing and melding into one another. Where we brushed up against one another was electric and I couldn't tell if the thunder between us was my heart beat or his.
And just like the skies were clearer after a storm, Achilles was different that night. Like coming out, and marking me had cleared something up for him and he was changed after it. That night for the both of us was tender, and vulnerable, and so very lovely.
#
Later on, Achilles played with my hair, fingers twirling, and gentle. He was humming something and looking at me fondly. Somehow we'd ended up with Achilles sitting up, leaning his back against the headboard and I was resting my head on a pillow on his lap. I preferred to lay against Achilles' thighs, but having my head directly in his lap would lead to a round two I was in no way ready for.
"What you're humming sounds familiar." I hummed what I thought the rest of the song was. Pretty, and soft; a lullaby.
Achilles' hands stopped their soothing rhythm in my hair. He was still, "How do you know that song?"
"Hmm, not sure." I frowned, "You're the only one I'll let play with my hair, why'd you stop?"
"That song. It's from the first time we met. When you brought me home. It was inside my head." Achilles voice had an undercurrent of stress to it, "How can we know the same song?"
"Maybe they're just similar." I said, moving off of the pillow and standing up. I moved slowly and carefully, feeling the throbbing in my neck, the soreness in my hips and of course my ass. I could feel Achilles watching me, probably admiring his handiwork. I wasn't naked, but I may as well have been since I was wearing a loose pair of boxers that did little to make me modest.
But, that song...I looked for a pad of paper and a pen, finding one in the end table drawer and turning on the lights.
Achillles sucked in a harsh breath and made an odd noise in the back of his throat.
I sat down at the one desk in the room, tearing off a page from the notepad and drawing out a musical staff. "What's the problem?" I said, drawing out a treble clef.
Achilles' warm fingers trailed up and down my back, "Your back... I think I got a little rough." His fingers traced out the ridges up and down my back.
"I'm not adverse to a little pain." I murmured, beginning to write out the notes, feeling like I knew them even though I didn't.
"I don't want to hurt you," Achilles said softly, still tracing out the lines that had been drawn by his fingernails.
"You worry about hurting me too much. I'm a big boy, Achilles." My hand was flying almost on its own, as the notes trailed out of me. It was a complicated lullaby, going from 3/4 time to 4/4 and back, painfully sweet. Like taffy that already began to melt on your tongue as soon as you popped it between your lips. It was the kind of song I would sing to our children at bed time.
My hand staggered to a stop as that thought struck me. Our Children. I turned around in my seat, examining Achilles. Would he make a good father? Would I even make a good father? I was too young for children. What if they ended up crazy or worse, conservatives? I wasn't equipped to handle that.
I stood up, walking to the doorway and turning off the lights. "Let's go to sleep." I needed to stop having crazy thoughts.
Achilles's voice was puzzled but acceptant, "Alright."
We curled up together on the bed sheets, legs and arms tangled nicely, and Achilles kissing me before turning on his side to sleep.
#
Overall thoughts?
Not sure how many chapters there will be, :(. It's looking like less than thirty (hopefully?)
So, as you can seen Achilles has properly claimed Xander, the bite mark has essentially sealed the deal.