A foot swept out from Rue and the alien was crashing to the ground, falling in a heap that had Halcyon gaping. It shouldn't be easy to trip him, him with his sticky strength, the jellied force of his frame, the goo that was famous for holding strong against battle.
And yet Rue had done it so easily as if he could lose his footing.
His lackeys seemed to know that too, cowering by the corner, inching further. The bully had gasped, whiny sobs, holding on to his leg, ankle twisted. Rue had merely laughed, loud barks with a head thrown back. And that smile was gorgeous, had his body humming.
Rue squatted down; arms folded. "Listen," he'd drawled to the bully. "Don't do that shit again. You've got too much on the line."
The alien had groaned, and blinked with a whimper.
Rue had snarled, lips curled into a smile. "Unlike you, I've got nothing. But I've got clients, expensive ones, powerful ones. They might not care about me, but they care about whether or not their kids get an A."
"Fuck you," the bully croaked, and Rue only smiled.
"I'm a reputable tutor and I've seen your name on my lists. A couple of gift baskets from your parents, they'll treat me seriously, listen to what I've got to say." Rue hooked a thumb in his pocket, a card in his fingers. He dropped it by the bully's head, and it shimmered as it fell into his digital account. "I'll give you a discount, fifty per cent." Rue had nudged her chin to the door. "You can tell Marina and Hector that we met, and this is your get-well-soon present from me."
The bully had sat up then, eyes wide. The names must be familiar to him for he left begrudgingly, limping through the door. The rest followed, shooting glances back at Rue. Halcyon had assumed that Rue would leave.
But he stood at the cubicle and waited as Halcyon crawled to a stand, limping over to the sink to wash his ears. And Rue had smiled, eyes that did not portray the pity he'd seen all his life. Instead within was a sea of something genuine.
"Hal right?" his lips had stretched into a smile. "You're pretty smart, top two. Top three in some of the classes we share. Yeah?" His voice wasn't deep, it was soft, and it was gentle—pretty. Starburst and sweet sour bright.
Halcyon had nodded, heart fluttering.
"Mmm, yeah," his body ghosted closer, and Rue did not flinch away like the rest of the world would to a toilet water-soaked boy. And a chilly sort of thrill seemed to drift through his bones. His heart soared, escaped his mouth and stole his voice. "Stay close."
And now truly, it felt as if he were the protagonist of a crazy hero romance. The fantasy would settle in his head with the memory of those lips, that face, to those fingers, too long, too ready to pump into Halcyon's soft, dusky hole.
And it was too good, too pretty to be in his dirty body, but it was Rue's cock that held Halcyon's interest now. Rue's cock should be ready to fuck him gummy and thick with lazy spit and cum. Or if he'd prefer it, Halcyon would do the fucking. And he'd do it well, even if he'd cum in three seconds flat, knot so deep he'd cry. But Halcyon would suck Rue off so good, till his body melted sloppy and slimy from his suckling mouth that it wouldn't matter.
The rush of lust startled him, but it was enough for his cock to swell, and his body to drip, overwhelmed.
That was the first time Halcyon had felt his cock grow, firm and desperate for touch, pulsing violently at the tip. It was sensitive and he pushed it against the sink, hiding it from Rue. He'd stared and felt, more than just his bunny but the plethora of animals bundled within his soul. And the rush of it all, popping like a premature knot, waiting and ready.
He knew then that he was destined to be an ares.
An ares was the best of all artemis, a being of protection, a being of war. He could transform into any animal, any beast at will, even the legendary ones were within his grasp. It was the Artemis kingdom's most revered role and a symbol of an emperor.
And Halcyon, vulnerable and small had heard the call of his ares with Rue.
He could hear them, bubbling deep within him, waiting to protect his moon, but he wasn't ready yet. And it'd take months of following Rue like a little puppy to coax his Alpha to blossom. It was a coincidence that it was that very same week when he'd met Dante, his fiancée.
It was a union of two rejects. A zeus that killed all, and an artemis that was too weak. He'd smiled then, kind and loving, dimples showing, cheeks like honey. It had made Halcyon's chest clench, heartburn, lovelorn for more. But it didn't hit him just as hard as it had with Rue.
A slip-up, an assassin and Dante had his hands on Halcyon, pressed tight and out of the fire of bullets. Halcyon had not died. And the touch was proof that they were meant to be. They'd say later that his transformation to become an ares was because of Dante. But Halcyon knew better, knew his true moon that had brought about the shift of his predator.
Rue.
And he allowed the change, the burn of his body inside out, the transformation from safety to protector so that he might prove himself worthy. It was not because he wanted to see the horrified look on his family's faces when he'd stepped into the room with dragon wings and phoenix feathers. And it was not because he wanted to sit on the throne of planet 4 and call its legions his own.
It was only so that he could stand by Rue's side. That he could stand proud as his protector, as his provider, as his lover. He went to him then, burning with his need to prove, his mind white and dazzled with the change of thousands of creatures. But he wanted to offer himself to his one.
Instead, he had received a command, as sharp and as angry as it had been in that bathroom.
'You just don't turn me on. I want a little bitty omega that's all sweet cotton candy. So fuck off.'
The rejection came like a burning slap to his cheek, a rage that had him quivering, his Alpha whimpering. Rue's words had been torture, his words had been law—Rue would not fuck Halcyon, Rue did not want to see Halcyon. Rue would take everyone but Halcyon.
And his Alpha had taken that as a rule, had bowed its head to a pack Alpha and submitted like a dog, like a beast. He'd gone back to Valentino sobbing from the order, his entire being screaming for him to return and yet he couldn't. It was torture, and he'd been unable to break that command.
It would be impossible to do so then, not until years later when he'd found loopholes in that command. For his Alpha would not mind it as much if his safety was a problem if Halcyon could play the true role of a protector.
It didn't matter for that was the day of his destruction.
To see Valentino just as smitten, his own eros struggling to reign itself in was proof that Halcyon was not the only one wrecked and destroyed. To fall in love with Valentino and then Altair was his first sign of a pack.
A real pack.
Rue's pack.