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I think I bruised my ass.

It's still throbbing as I am standing beside the table, holding onto the top of the chair in front of me while I suck in a breath from the ache I can still feel. My head bent forward, squeezing my eyes shut and tried to breathe out slow.

It didn't do shit.

I glanced in the direction of the dining room entrance where---on the other side of the wall---would be the front door. Where an unpleasant visitor would be waiting.

What was Easton doing here anyway?

I scrunched my nose, narrowing my eyes in the direction of the entrance then rolled my eyes because my dad had walked by---without sparing me a glance---as his voice carried over to say, "He's waiting..."

It felt like a long walk to get to the front door. It really did. The whole way I was running through my brain trying to figure out what could Easton possibly want that he'd have to make his way over here to my house of all places.

The moody Werewolf shouldn't be over here. At least not without the Six. There really was no reason for him to be over here.

Standing in front of my closed front door, I took a deep breath and stared at the wooden surface. I just kept thinking that maybe if I stood there long enough that Easton would just go away. Then I'd be able to go to my room and not have to deal with Mr. Moody.

A muffled "I can hear you breathing, Red," came through the door and I jumped wide eyed.

Blinking repeatedly at the door, I scrunched my nose before groaning and snatched the knob to tug open the door. My eyes immediately landed on the tall Werewolf that was invading my property.

He was leaned against the porch railing with his hands tucked away into his jean jacket pockets, one boot foot crossed over the other. This had become a constant posture for Easton, I noticed. He was always casually standing around with a careless expression on his face. Kind of like now.

I couldn't help notice that the front of Easton's hair had grown a little since the last time I'd seen him. Which was a few weeks ago actually when there was a birthday celebration for Mr. Dennison. Except Easton looked just as miserable then as he did now.

Those blue eyes of his were pinned on me under his furrowed brows and I felt a brow of mine rise slowly as I swallowed hard. I really hated when he looked at me like that. I never understood why he would. Sometimes, it felt like he was saying how much he hated me (and everyone else he looked at) without actually saying anything at all.

I glanced at the way the tip of his ears peered from behind his blond hair and wondered if my hair was in that much of a haircut compared to his. Blinking a few times with a frown, I cleared my throat, and straightened while stepping out onto the porch. With each step I took, the floor boards creaked.

Glancing down at the porch, I mentally noted that maybe I could fix it in order to give me something to do... you know, other than babysitting that God damn fish.

My mouth pursed to the side, sucking in my cheek a little as I awkwardly tucked my hands into the pockets of my pants---though I barely fit my fingers in from how short the pockets actually were---then shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hi."

Laaaaaaame.

I winced at my greeting, but didn't miss the way Easton's eyes narrowed slightly---or the ghost of a grin from my awkwardness.

Asshole.

Swallowing again, I shrugged my shoulder and forced out, "What brings you around here?"

Easton continued to stare for a good minute---I honestly think he did that shit on purpose because he knows how fucking much I hated it---which made me fidget from one foot to the other. I kept finding myself glancing down between us to him and back, and to him again.

When his scrutinizing gaze seemed to satisfy the reaction of a squirming me, Easton frowned, "Food."

My brows shot up, blinking repeatedly at him before leaning my head forward and stammered, "S---Sorry?"

"Food, Red. I said food."

I kinda hate when he calls me that....

"What do you mean?" I sounded almost offended, though in reality I was genuinely confused as to what he was talking about.

The Werewolf raised a brow, tilting his head to the side slightly as his eyes narrowed.

"You're taking care of Maddox's fish... aren't you?"

I blinked a few times, brows furrowing until I nodded. I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of the open doorway behind me.

"He's in my room."

Easton's brow shot up, tilting his head again. "That an invitation, Red?"

Frowning, it was my turn to mirror the head tilt until I understood what he meant and then immediately scowled at the Werewolf.

"No."

Easton stared back, narrowing his eyes before humming slow. I shrugged, questioning him about why it mattered about the fish but instead of getting a verbal response, Easton yanked a hand out of his jacket pocket and tossed something my way. I yelped, stumbling back a bit to struggle with catching what was arcing into the air in my direction.

When I caught the small yellow object, I stared down at the small container of fish food. My brows furrowed, blinking repeatedly then lifted my gaze up to Easton's who looked bored (as usual). He gave a small nod in the direction of the container I was holding, muttering that he was requested of to purchase the food and deliver it.

I nodded slow, muttering, "Oh..." then I frowned, "Why are you bringing it?"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Well... Yeah. I mean..." I scrunched my nose a little before forcing out, "Why are you the one bringing the food? My cousin mentioned that Dennison would be stopping by to drop it off later on tonight."

Easton blinked slow, bored again, and rolled his eyes a little that something came up and was asked to go to the closest pet store in town to get the food. He shrugged a shoulder that there was supposed to be a small get together at Alpha Brown's pack tonight that Auric and his family were attending as well.

"The trip down here wouldn't give Auric a chance to stop at the store," Easton explained, "So I was put up for the fuckin' task."

"Oh," I answered lamely before Easton and I shared another moment of a long, uncomfortable silence. Shifting from one foot to the other again, I was thinking maybe I should say something else but the Were suddenly shrugged and sighed, "Welp! Later." and began turning away to hop down the porch steps.

"Well, hey!"

God, Kale! He was almost gone! What the hell were you thinking!?

Easton paused at the bottom of the porch steps, looking over his shoulder with a lowered brow as he stared back at me. Me who was a dumbass and now standing with no words.

"Uh... I mean..." Jesus fucking Christ! "Was that it?"

Turning around to face me, the Were raised his brows enough that they disappeared under his long fringe.

"Were you expecting something else, Red?"

Swallowing, I hesitated before shaking my head and winced. I then raised the container of food I was holding and muttered my thanks before lowering it to my side. The guy just stared at me for a good full minute before that grin of his---a rarity indeed for a few years now---barely tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Hmph... I'll catch you later, Red," he replied, turning away with his hands tucked into his pockets again.

And there I stood, with that googly-eyed little shit's food, and staring after Easton who was making his way down the dirt road before disappearing into the treeline of the woods. My brow lowered, blinking repeatedly as I pondered on how that conversation wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Okay. It was still bad. But at least I managed to get a full sentence out without feeling too awkward. Though I still felt awkward (if that makes any sense).

"Well that was painful to eavesdrop."

I whipped around, scowling at my dad who was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. His eyes with a glint of amusement while grinning back at me.

I rolled my eyes, muttering, "You're so weird, Dad." as I started forward to walk past him to get inside. I didn't look at him as he followed me back into the dining area and was chuckling that he wasn't sure I was going to be able to get a word out with how squirmy I was.

"I was not!"

"Okay," Dad huffed, raising a brow as he walked past me.

"Look!" I whipped around, frowning at my dad as I told him that I didn't need him breathing down my neck about what happened outside. "I don't know where you are getting this little fantasy of yours, Dad, but I'm not interested in Easton like that! I'm not interested in Easton at all! The guy's a damn brick wall for crying out loud! Has been for years!"

I motioned a hand in the direction of the front door and huffed, "I just react like any other normal person who feels uncomfortable around someone who takes out his anger on everyone! That's what Easton does! He is pissed at the world and makes the rest of us feel shitty about it!"

My dad lowered a brow as I was talking and then just stared by the time I was finished. He pursed his lips a little, that contemplating look on his face again.

"I don't get that vibe when he's around you."

My eyes bulged as I leaned my head forward. "Excuse me?"

Dad shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly, nodding to the side in the same direction.

"I said that I don't get that vibe when he's around you." He then waved in my direction, "With the close distance I got---and get around him for the past years---that boy's aura is quite calm... clear, even... when you're near."

I scrunched my nose, eyes widening under my furrowed brows. Blinking a few times, I even felt my eye twitch before hearing my voice rise up an octave when I snapped back, "What!?"

My dad just shrugged, "It's true. You know this, Kale, that I feel people's auras. But I also have the capability to feel their emotions when they are near. I don't have to know why they are feeling the way they do. But..."

His eyes stared back at me. "But... With Easton it's different. He's got half an aura, Kale."

"Half...?"

"Half."

I frowned, looking down as I thought this over and then lifted my gaze upward to my dad when he sighed, "His half."

Then it clicked.

My shoulders slumped a little when I realized what "half" meant. Easton was a twin. He had a twin sister once. Three years ago to be exact, before she was killed in battle with my good friend Maddox. I felt a little down thinking of that smug asshole.

Maddox was always the conscience for Thea and I. He was the voice of reason when it came to my cousin and I being more impulsive. For the longest time, Maddox had been in love with Thea. He'd even acted on it for a short time before Auric Dennison came back into my cousin's life and took away Maddox's chance of being loved back.

That's where Langley came in.

That she-wolf, from the short time I knew of her, had been smitten the moment she laid eyes on Maddox. She was a total school girl when it came to the guy who was so fuckin' clueless to notice a hot girl eyeing him. Though I couldn't blame him since he was still mending his broken heart from pining after my cousin.

And then came that day when Langley made it known of her affections for Maddox and though my friend was surprised, I could tell he was intrigued, albeit the over-protective twin brother of Langley's.

Anyone could see the growing attraction between the pair, but Easton had been against it for whatever reason that would be.

But when both Maddox and Langley were killed that day years ago... Easton lost it.

I'll never forget the look in his eyes when seeing his lifeless sister only feet from Maddox's just as lifeless body. It really was painful to watch Easton hold Langley to him as he cried out so angrily while rocking her back and forth; begging her to wake up.

Since then... Easton slowly lost that twinkle that I was so used to seeing since my first meeting with him. Although I wasn't fucking overjoyed with the way he was eyeing me that day of Aunt Penny's wedding, it was sad to say that someone who was so full of life... could make a complete one-eighty... for the worse.

"He's incomplete, Kale," Dad interrupted my thoughts, bringing me back to the present.

Dad paused, crossing his arms over his chest and shrugged his shoulders that he could feel Easton's emotions---just like everyone else's---and sometimes hear them. He explained how Easton's anger always resembled the sound of buzzing bees; angry ones. It was a constant sound for the blond until he was anywhere near me, and then---only then---did the bees relax. That the bees didn't really sound like bees at all.

"His emotion sounds more like a soft hum. Calm."

I lowered a brow, shrugging a shoulder as I questioned why that was.

My dad shrugged that he didn't know. That perhaps it had to do with my coy personality that distracted Easton from that difficult part of his world. When I threw my dad a look that I was not coy, he rolled his eyes and corrected himself with a muttered, "Fine. Awkward then."

"That's not any better, Dad..."

He shrugged, grinning that it didn't matter. That all that mattered was that I was a good distraction for Easton.

Frowning, i scrunched my nose and mumbled that that didn't sound very comforting.

"Only because he likes you, Kale."

I growled, narrowing my eyes, "No he doesn't!"

I pointed at my dad, raising a brow to halt him from speaking further when he opened his mouth.

"No." I told him, then waved away whatever he wanted to say as I turned my back and began to walk to my room. "I'll be in my room. Forgetting that this conversation ever happened."

"Kale..."

"Nope!" I shouted loud enough as I stormed down the hallway leading to my room and then slammed my bedroom door behind me for good measure.

Huffing out an annoyed breath, I glanced across the room where Dad had placed the fish bowl with that little shit swimming around in circles again. Apparently I startled him. Which I have a feeling that can pretty much kill him sooner than before he gets a chance to meet Maddox in a few days.

I looked down at the container of food, frowning down at it for a moment then sighed heavily. I sulked as I walked over to the fish bowl and twisted the cap of the container. Leaning forward at eye level with the fish, I tipped the edge of it until a large amount of food poured into the watery surface.

The thin leafy food drifted down in various directions, making the fish bowl look more like a snow-globe now. It also was having the fish go haywire as he was swimming like he was on fire around the bowl.

Frowning, I glanced down at the directions on the back of the container then raised my brows when I read that I was supposed to put only a pinch of the food into the bowl. I looked up at the panicking fish and grinned weakly.

"Sorry, Little Shit. My bad."

It took me about fifteen minutes to look up on my phone how to clean a fish bowl, and eventually had to ask my dad for help because I knew I'd just end up killing the little thing. Dad, luckily, refrained from saying anything anymore about Easton and his... feelings... which I was glad about.

By the end of cleaning the fish bowl and placing everything back to where it should be before transferring the fish back into the bowl too, Dad stepped back to look down at the fish swimming excitedly. Its fins fluttering at a mighty speed to catch up to the rest of him until he decided on disappearing into the little house that was adjusted in a lopsided position.

"So..." Dad frowned, crossing his arms again.

I glanced at him, then went back to staring at the fish. "So...?"

"Are you still going with me to the gathering tonight?"

I shrugged a shoulder, frowning that I wasn't sure since it was going to be kind of boring to hang out alone. My hands tucked into my pockets again, sighing heavily as I contemplated on the fact that I didn't have a lot of friends apart from Thea and Dennison. Although... I wouldn't consider Dennison a friend since he's technically just my cousin now. And Thea... well, she's my cousin anyway.

So she doesn't count.

And no, before you get ahead of yourselves, the Six were not my friends either. They were a bunch that weren't the kindest at first conversation---other than Jonah, I guess---but still. And it didn't fucking help that one of the Six in particular would be there. I wasn't sure if I wanted to deal with that awkwardness again.

I never knew what to say to him. It was weird.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and dropped my arm to my side. I lazily turned to my dad who was already looking at me expectantly.

"Sigh... fine. I'll go."

Dad nodded, "Good." then made his way out of my room as he tossed over his shoulder, "Make sure to look nice, Son. I'm sure the extra effort will make Easton appreciate it."

"Dad!"

But that damn man just laughed. Asshole.