Leon walked stiffly beside Ethan, lost in his turbulent thoughts.
He deserved this, didn't he?
What did he think? That he would go scot free?
Ironic that his retribution would come from the very person that saved him.
He was too numb to register the panic pounding on the doors of his mind, the same mind numbing dread that had settled deep within his very bones after Ethan left town, creeping slowly over him.
It was cold, it felt like he wouldn't feel his skin if he tried to touch himself, he didn't...
Less than a week after Ethan left, he had gotten his first piercing and then a tattoo, he went all out after that.
Ethan looked Leon over properly for the first time since they met again.
Honestly, he had been more shocked by Leon's appearance, he had just hidden it well, like everything else he felt.
He didn't think that obsessing over a person could get any worse but a grown, pierced and inked Leon proved him wrong.
They got to the car where Darian was already seated in the backseat, bent over his phone.
The ride back was reasonably silent considering that Leon was in no mood to pay attention to the outside world and Ethan was too caught up in his bubble of happiness.
Darian just stayed out of the picture much like he had done during the drive out.
He glanced occasionally at Leon though, worry evident in his dark blue eyes.
What the fuck had gone down in that private dressing room?
He had enough of it though by the time they got to the Pack House and it was taking every bit of his patience to not confront Ethan.
It would just be a repeat of the other time though, actually this time Leon might just stay true to his words and break his fingers.
Ethan parked the car and Darian was the first out, waiting patiently for Leon, something he would never do at any other time, but there was no fighting instincts.
At this point, he just wanted Leon back in the apartment, he cared little what happened to him after that but he just wanted him away from Ethan.
Ethan raised a brow at this, looking expectantly at Leon.
"You don't have to wait for me." Leon said to Darian. "I'll meet up with you."
Darian clenched a fist but lifted his shoulders anyway, turning around and disappearing inside the Pack House.
"Don't." Leon said firmly when he caught Ethan's eyes on him.
Ethan glanced at him with a little smirk. "Don't worry about that, he's useful, to comfort Cherry." He said the name with barely concealed disgust.
Hopefully, he remained useful because if he kept making himself a nuisance then Ethan would have to do something.
Leon went quiet, looking away from Ethan, he only had to spend a couple seconds with the real Ethan to know that the werewolf was completely unhinged.
Leon was the one with the dark past that tied him to this psychopath, not Jaxon or Darian.
He didn't want them to get caught up in this.
Ethan reached out to bring Leon's face to him, he wasn't surprised at how docile Leon had become, it was the sole reason he managed to keep it all together for all these years.
The thought of getting to see utter despair in his eyes again.
He was well aware that it wasn't going to last for long, it was like trying to cage a wild animal, impossible unless someone got hurt, the wild animal that is.
A vein ticked on Leon's jaw. "What exactly do you want?"
Ethan grinned, the expression reaching his eyes for the first time, it was a terrifying sight. His grin had a touch of mania, lightning his eyes up with madness.
"You."
Leon had to grit his teeth to stop himself from lashing out, that wouldn't end well. "And you think that by waltzing into my life and ruining it will get you that?"
Ethan leaned closer. "It's been working so far, hasn't it?" He stole another kiss.
Leon kept his lips clamped, staring him down with cold eyes.
Ethan only grinned wider, Leon had had enough of being petted and was showing claws...
Breaking him would be so much fun.
"Same time tomorrow?" He offered, leaning back entirely from Leon.
Leon glared at him. "I don't think I've ever wanted to reject an offer so much in my life."
Ethan was smiling really wide at this point, his eyes puffing up from happiness. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow-"
Leon was already out of the car before he could get all of his words out, putting as much distance as he could between himself and the car.
He headed straight for the apartment like his past on his tail, and it was.
Thankfully, the living room was empty and he didn't have to confront either of them. He could easily guess where they both were.
He wasn't ready to face them just yet, especially not Darian.
He had no answers for the questions that would definitely come from him or more like he did have answers but they were better left unsaid.
A lot of things were better left unsaid to be honest, he would rather lose the ones he loved with what they knew about him than open up, ruin their picture of him and still lose them.
He made for his room instead, locking the door just to be safe.
Although it was his room and he had been there a couple days already, it felt like this was his first time in the room.
He needed some time alone, to think, to come to terms with reality.
He slowly sat on the perfectly made bed, undoing the leather strap around his wrist and throwing it across the room.
His entire day brought new meaning to the phrase "...what the fuck..."
He needed to pick apart everything and think deeply about each bit to plan his next course of actions.
Although he decided to do some thinking, for the longest time he just sat there staring at his bruised wrists, his mind blank.
Maybe he needed to get more tattoos...
Was there a tattoo parlour around here somewhere?
He could feel the nostalgic numbness settling over him again, he thought he had seen the last of that after Jaxon came back.
He fell back on his bed.
Or a piercing even...
He wasn't picky with fixes.