Chapter 4: Chapter 4

~Xander ~

I slipped a toe into the scalding water of the bath tub, checking if it was too hot. It was just this side of steaming so I went into the water groaning happily as the water came up to my collarbone. The bubbles made me look halfway decent as I turned up my Bluetooth speakers to listen to Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto. Fuck, he had been a genius. I leaned back into the hot water wondering why baths always calmed me down in a way nothing ever did.

I reached over the side of the tub to pick up my glass of chilled blood. I drank happily, decidedly not thinking of the wolf. Just as the first movement ended my cellphone started ringing to "Who let the dogs out." I swore before picking up and sitting up in the bath tub.

"You've interrupted me...Again." I started off the call.

For whatever reason the wolf sounded emotional, words turning and toppling into one another. "I don't think we should meet up. I'm not out. And, I don't want to be. I just want to be normal, and— I can't. Being around you would just remind me of everything I'm not."

It took me a moment to recognize that I felt disappointed. In fact, I was stunned. "You're...Cancelling on me?"

There was a lengthy pause. "I can't see you. It'll just make things worse." Worse for him, he meant.

"Achilles." I said softly, crossing my legs in the tub as the warm water ebbed and circled around my legs. "There's nothing wrong with being bi, or gay or even curious. It's natural."

"It isn't natural. Don't you get it?" He was breathing erratically enough that I thought he would start panicking. "I hate that I'm like this."

"Where are you? Did you want to come to my place? We can just talk." I downed my glass of blood, trying to swallow quietly.

The line was quiet for so long I thought he'd hung up on me. "I don't know." He whispered.

When he sounded uncertain and scared I wanted to make his fears go away. But I couldn't accomplish that when he was the source of his own fears.

It took a bit of prodding but in the end Achilles agreed to come to my place. We lived in adjacent neighbourhoods and he was about ten minutes away. After we clicked off, I had a moment of panic. I needed to get dressed, get rid of obvious signs of blood and probably give him something to eat.

I got out of the bathtub, towelling off and putting on my robe while I let the bath water drain, and gargled some mouthwash. Blood breath wasn't the least bit attractive.

My apartment was split into two halves where the east wing had my instruments and my recording equipment and the west wing were my living quarters. I dressed quickly, pulling on my silk pyjamas and taking a cursory glance around the living room.  I called down to the lobby with my landline so that security would let Achilles through. Then, I texted Achilles to mention he was here to see Alexander Knight if anyone questioned him. I hadn't had anyone over in a while—Not since Corey. My stomach turned over and it took me a moment to get my breathing under control so I could push thoughts of him away.

By the time I'd emptied my mind, there was a soft but insistent knock at the door. I knew it was Achilles so I took my sweet time in going over to open it.

My body's reaction to him only seemed to intensify with each and every one of our meetings. My heart flew into my throat, lodging itself there while the skin all over my body prickled. My hands—I didn't know what to do with my hands. I strengthened my grip on the doorknob just staring at him.

I'd forgotten just how muscular he was. He was wearing a ribbed red sweater and dark jeans, with a pair of industrial looking boots. It was simple and casual but the way his clothes fit his body was a distraction in itself. I wondered for a moment if I could trick him into taking his shirt off. My small fantasizing made me miss the beginning of whatever he had said.

I gestured for him to come into the apartment and it was as he walked in that I heard him inhale. Achilles stepped closer to me, making a puzzled expression. "You had time to shower?"

I laughed then. "No. I was taking a bath when you called."

Achilles blinked and then slowly looked me up and down, his gaze smouldering. "You called me...Naked?"

I snorted. "Actually, you called me, mister. And what was I supposed to do...Get dressed for a phone call?"

"Still." He argued, staring at me while standing far too close.

Achilles' hair was a little mussed and he smelled like fresh soil along with recently rained on grass. His eyes had a yellow tint to them that made his brown eyes seem like liquid bronze.

"You've shifted." I said with a quirk to my head. "I've always found that fascinating about shifters, what exactly does that feel like?"

Achilles shrugged. "Natural."

"And we're back to the N word." I quipped.

He bristled at that, angrily shuffling off his shoes in the doorway and then taking down his bag. "You sound awfully judgmental for someone who said they wanted to talk."

"Isn't this talking?" I said, guiding him into the living room. My living room had dark comfortable couches and arm chairs interspersed with throw pillows. Everything was kind of mismatched but I kind of like that. Different influences from different decades.

Writer's Note- Xander is a vampire so I would think his tastes are a bit eclectic. He's old so of course he likes retro things and some things that are kind of dated. I like to think Xander's music room and living are the parts of his apartment that he feels most connected to, you can feel the old.

—

"And, what are you even wearing?" He countered.

"Silk pyjamas." I gave him a twirl, hoping he'd notice how perky my ass was. These silk pyjamas were expensive but almost as soft as a lover's caress so definitely money well spent. "I see you've got hand me down chic going on there." I smiled. "You pull it off well."

—

Writer's Note- Xander's silk pyjamas. Ugh,  they're kinda ugly I won't lie.

—

Achilles looked flustered and then he made a small surprised noise. "You're making fun of me." And then he smiled and I got to see those gorgeous dimples of his. Damn, I wished he could smile more.

I couldn't help but slide a finger into one of those indentations. "Your dimples are so deep." I only touched his face for a second but the damage was done.

His smile disappeared instantly. Achilles scowled at me, turning away. "Don't do that!"

I chewed my lip. "Sorry." I mumbled, not feeling very sorry.

Achilles plopped down into an arm chair and I plopped down beside him. "There's something I want to tell you."

He grunted and I took that as confirmation I should continue.

"I've been doing a little research on that funny bracelet you've got. It seems to have been part of a jewelry set from an old sorcerer's family."

"So, like a warlock or a witch?"

I shook my head. "You shifters really don't read up on lore . No, warlocks and witches are child's play compared to sorcerers." Sorcerers were the witches and warlocks of the unhumans. The unhumans being all of us who weren't human. The fae folk lived in obscure villages on remote islands, the dragons lived in settlements either in ice desserts or dry ones and then there were the shifters and us vamps. By nature of who we were we needed to be in cities. Wolves liked the sense of community and for vampires it was more of a food issue. I couldn't live in some backwoods swamp if I didn't want to starve. Sorcerers were unhumans who had extreme magical ability. Witches and warlocks were humans with extreme magical ability. Clearly, completely different things. I didn't feel like explaining this all to Achilles.

"Anyways." I started again. "There was a sorcerer a hundred years ago who enchanted this jewelry set to help people find and pursue their soulmates."  I waited for Achilles to interrupt and when he didn't I continued, toying with the top button on my shirt. "So, the set consisted of earrings, a necklace and two bracelets. You seem to have acquired one."

"How do you even know all this? All my mom told me was that it was a family heirloom, and that it intensifies a mate connection."

"Well, Aya Tanaka's father made that jewelry set." I circled a finger across the top button of my shirt, wanted to mess with Achilles. His eyes were glued to my fingers.

"And who's Aya Tanaka?" Achilles asked absently, watching me unbutton the second button.

"She's the sorcerer appointed to my hearth." The top of my chest was exposed and Achilles was staring, like he was waiting for me to unbutton everything. Damn, he was easy to manipulate.

He sighed, looking away almost bashfully. "You've lost me."

"Wolves have packs. Vampires have hearths. It's how we keep track of everyone over the decades. How we get our new identities when we move to new places. How we maintain our secrecy over the years. So every hearth has a sorcerer to practice magic for us and to teach us ways to disguise ourselves if need be."

"It's that complicated?"

I nodded. "It gets harder every year. Our numbers stay stable but it's not as easy as it used to be. Aya might be able to get rid of the bracelet." I rubbed my jaw, thinking. "If her father was the one who did it she might be able to undo it. "

Achilles sounded so damn hopeful. "Do you really think so?" He exhaled like a weight had fallen off his shoulders. "That would be amazing! This thing has been terrorizing me for days!"

"Oh, the horror." I said sarcastically, getting more and more annoyed.

Achilles slipped out his cellphone. "It's only 1:30am, can we see her tonight?"

I blinked. "And wake her up? She doesn't even live in the New York State, she lives in Connecticut. And someone can't undo an enchantment from afar she has to be in physical contact with you."

Achilles locked eyes with me, twisting on the couch to face me. "So take me there."

"I can buy you a ticket, but it's a small town so it's a bit of a drive from the airport." Last minute tickets would be expensive, but at least something could be done.

But Achilles had latched those bronze pools onto me. "I want you to come with me."

I crossed my legs onto the couch and clutched my knees. "Why would I come with you?"

"How am I supposed to go alone, Xander?" He seemed intense suddenly. "It's a long weekend. We can make a road trip out of it. I don't even know this Aya person." Oh, so he was nervous.

I gave a half-hearted shrug and my shirt slid down exposing one shoulder. "If this is a money issue, then I can pay for your transportation and accommodations."

Achilles squinted at me. "I can afford a plane ticket. I just don't like planes."

I stood up. "Interrupt me if I've misunderstood something. You'd like me to accompany you on an impromptu road trip, with no regard for my personal appointments or what exactly I have planned over the next few days. You want me to convince you that there's nothing between us, you aren't gay and that this is entirely this goddamn family heirloom."

Achilles ground his teeth together, shooting up from his seat. "You make me sound so selfish. But you can't be the person I'm supposed to spend the rest of my life with. It's ridiculous. I don't even know you!"

"Well, you can get to know me. We could've gone on a date. Remember that?" I seethed. "You asked me out. And then you call me, losing your fucking mind because you're insecure."

Achilles scowled at me, his face taking on an animalistic caricature as his features twisted all the wrong ways. He could barely talk over his canines pushing into his lower lip. "You told me I could talk to you. But, instead you just stand there and judge me. Why can't you just accept that this is how I am? This is how I am. I don't even want anything from you. I just need your help over the next few days." He'd calmed down, his face going back to normal and his canines receding.

I thought he was pathetic. But another part of me felt for him. I had always been out, but, I'd been afforded the safety and acceptance of most of my hearth. Clearly, Achilles' pack wasn't nearly as accepting. And of course there was that piece of me that longed for him in an awful way, wanting to brush his hair, make him happy, keep him calm.

I turned away from him, beginning to unbutton my shirt. "Fine." I whispered, knowing he could hear me.

"Listen—" Achilles said, coming around to face me. "Thank you for doing this, Xander."

"Pick me up tomorrow at 8am." I just wanted to sleep, he had thoroughly exhausted me.

He froze. "That's in six hours."

"And." I said, giving him a long look. "What about it?" I was a vampire, I didn't need a lot of sleep. Whatever the wolf had to do to get ready wasn't my problem.

He frowned but I started ushering him to the door. "Don't be late, Mr. Wolf." I said in a cold voice, closing the door in his face. Goddamn, I hated road trips.

#

Overall thoughts?

Oof, I'm sad they didn't go on a date, but Achilles just isn't ready, ykno?

This road trip is gonna be wild, I'll say it.