Avice's cheeks ached. Badly.
What would one expect? Taking a nice stroll with a man that wanted nothing but your life and all you had to do was pretend to enjoy every single shit he was spewing.
"Oh! Missed this pack so much". Crane sniffed in the air, a wide grin spreading on his face.
"I bet you smell victory". Avice said with a strained smile while looking into his eyes. She had agreed with herself that she wouldn't show any weakness in front of him. She wanted to face him head on. She wanted to show him that she was as crazy as he was.
Rex had told her he'd handle it and Adeline had told her to just play along with everything. People in the pack weren't aware of her memory loss and they planned to keep it away from Crane as well.
Adeline definitely got mad at her for not telling her about her relationship progress with Rex so she spent the night filling her in. She skipped the part where he figured out who she really was. She only told her Rex was starting to see her for who she was.
Adeline wasn't quite convinced, she said she'd still be on the look out. It was understandable, she didn't trust Rex and his change in feelings might be a trap.
Honestly, Avice also tried to consider it, that his feelings weren't real but her adamant heart and the ache he left in between her legs last night wouldn't let it.
She had to throw on a turtle neck cardigan to cover the hickeys on her neck and morning cold that Crane had forced her to walk in.
The man spared her a brief look before bursting into laughter. Avice laughed also, clenching her fists behind her.
"What do you mean victory? Are you admitting defeat already?" That was supposed to be a simple funny question but the tone he used was no where near playful. It was filled with hatred, jealousy, rage and an open confession about what he wanted; her blood.
"Do you think I can win?" She asked, returning his smile.
"Well, we can't say". He turned to his shoes. "We all know you're stronger". He grinded out, like it pained him to say it.
Avice laughed a little. "That was a long time ago. And it'd be very rude to challenge you". She said, hoping he'd get his mind off the fight.
"I'm the one drawing the challenge". He corrected.
"Yes but—it's very unnecessary. We know who's going to win anyway". She pushed.
He frowned, a smile quickly taking over before she ruled it out as a win. "Like you said, it was a long time ago. We can't be so sure".
"So you think you'll win?" She asked, intentionally pissing him off now.
"We can only hope". He stopped walking and turned clockwise. He lifted his arm and pointed at a small field from afar. "Do you remember that day?"
"What day?"
"The day your wolf was covered in blood over there". He replied, inspecting her face.
Avice clenched her teeth, her fingers digging a deep grave in her palm. He had been reminiscing about the past since he came, asking her if she remembered what Eliana did and it was getting too much. Way too much.
Maybe she should have said yes when Rex asked her if she wanted him out of the pack.
"You don't remember?" He asked and Avice swallowed the curse dancing at the tip of her tongue.
"It's been long. My memory's foggy". She replied, summoning all the calmness Eliana had kept in her body. She wanted to get the hell out of his sight and heaven knew she'd do anything to achieve that.
"Oh, that's sad. That means..." He trailed off as he brought up his left hand, wiggling his four fingers. "You don't remember this?"
Avice gulped down what seemed like an ice before forcing a smile. "I do. I can't forget that". She said, lifting her gaze from his four fingers to the field behind her, her smile stretching.
"Are you sure?" He asked, stealing Avice's gaze from the field. With his head cocked to a side and a smile on his face, he added. "Because you don't look like you do".
Son of a bitch!
"What do you mean?" She asked, a nervous laugh bubbling in her throat.
He took in a deep breath, his fake smile fading as he brought up his left hand, placing it on top of her head. "You see, little one—"
Avice tried to slip her head away from his four fingers but he tugged her back, his fingers pressing into her head like his mission was to crush it. Avice wanted to yelp but she dug her nails into her palm instead, and this time, blood seemed to be seeping out.
"What are you doing?" She glared up at him, anger coursing through every veins and tendons in her.
"Are you pretending you can't handle a little pain anymore?" He leaned closer, his fingers pressing harder. "Or it's just who you are?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Instead of their usual cheek-aching smiling competition, they were both glaring at his eachother.
"Fuck?" He forced out a laugh. "Exactly what I thought".
Avice hissed a breath through her nose as she listened to the war in her head. Eliana's personality was battling with hers and she hoped by the time they were done, hers would be the one to take the motherfucking glory. She wanted to slap him across his face so hard.
"Wow, the look in your eyes. Exactly what I want to see". He murmured as he leveled his head with hers, his fingers still digging his grave in her head. "Is this another part of you or you're just a different person?" He said as his lips started to draw back, merriment glowing in his eyes.
Avice's stomach dropped, her heart taking its place. Her semi-wide eyes zoned from his left to right eyes, looking to see if he was just playing around with his words or he was really serious.
He tilted his head, waiting for her to speak up and when she noticed she had been staring at him without replying, she quickly opened her mouth before he took her silence for an answer.
"You must be insane". She reached up and grabbed his arm, yanking it off her head only for him to put another one on her right shoulder, crushing it so hard a whimper escaped her lips.
"Are you forgetting your manners? Or you were never brought up with one". He squeezed harder.
"Crane!" A familiar voice growled from behind but before they could raise their heads to see, crane's body was already flying away, his back hitting a nearby wall.
Avice gasped, tripping on her feet a little as she staggered back from the force. An arm circled around her waist immediately, a body pressing against her shoulder before she could lose her balance. Avice didn't know if her brain was the slow one or Rex was just fast because she almost didn't catch him pushing Crane away from her.
After making sure she could stand on her own, he charged towards his uncle and grabbed the neckline of his shirt before pushing him back to the wall.
"What the fuck was that Crane?" He demanded.
A smile crawled up his lips. "When did you start giving a damn about her? Last I checked, you wanted her out of your life".
"Shut the fuck up". Rex growled out and pulled his shirt harder. "If you lay your hands on her again, I'll be sure to cut off your remaining fingers".
"You wouldn't do that".
"Oh, why don't you try me first".
The two men exchanged glares for what seemed like forever before Crane pushed Rex's hands away, adjusting his shirt afterwards.
"I'll consider that as my welcome gift, kid". He dusted off his shirt, his gaze hardening with every stroke. "Don't try that shit with me again".
Rex smiled. "I'll do it over and over again until you learn how to keep your hands to yourself".
"Oh, that can't happen. The battle is in six days and it requires physical contact". His eyes twinkled as he said, his creepy smile back on his face. Hell, she couldn't imagine how deep and rotten this man must be.
Avice frowned at his words, her body moving closer to them before her brain could send the command. She gazed at Rex and realised he was just as surprised as she was.
"What the hell do you mean? There is no battle anywhere. Eliana won't be accepting your challenge. Will you grow up and stop playing around?" Rex told him, beating her to it.
"Oh, sorry". He laughed. "I didn't tell you the part where you have no say in this?"
"This is my pack and she's my mate. I decide what goes on here and what she wants. And your childish play isn't what she's interested in so back off".
"You should tell that to your five superiors coming. Gosh, they're so eager to see how strong your mate is". He squealed like a little kid and it only made Avice frown harder.
"What?" The word slid off her tongue.
"I boasted on your behalf. Told them about your skills and strength and how you can knock fifteen wolves down without batting an eye. Made you sound so cool and guess what, they want to see you fight in person". He explained in a way that a deaf person could have easily assumed he was talking about his holiday in a billion dollar suite, surrounded with big ass sluts.
Rex's jaw tightened as he crowded him. "That's a lie. The Alphas would never come for your shit show".
Crane stepped back, feeling intimidated by Rex's gaze and stature. "Of course they didn't want to". His eyes slid to Avice. "Until I mentioned whose daughter she is. Your father-in-law wasn't just an ordinary werewolf, remember?" Crane taunted, his upper teeth in full display.
Avice was about to calculate the amount of teeth she'd punch out of his mouth when she noticed Rex's clenched fists and burning glare at the mention of Eliana's father. His anger seemed to multiply when he heard the name and it made Avice wonder if he hated Eliana's father too. What the hell did those two do to him?
"You cannot duel with my mate without my approval".
"Says who?" Crane finally got rid of his smile, leaning closer and staring like a serious man. "You have no say in this, kid. It has been decided. I went a little too far with making this happen without your consent because I knew your stubborn ass wouldn't agree with it. It may be a silly pack game to you but it's bigger than you think now and the five people who decided your fate twenty nine years ago will be here for a fun time and there's no fucking thing you can do to stop it".
"Son of a—"
Avice ran in between them, holding Rex back. He was going to punch his uncle and she wouldn't let that. It'd only worsen the whole situation. Besides, there were people passing by and even if they were pretending like the three of them didn't exist, Crane's fat pride would be bruised.
Rex fred himself from her grasp and turned to run his hands into his hair. Making sure, he wouldn't come near Crane again, she turned to him.
"Why the hell are you doing this, Crane? You know I used to kick your ass and if this is perhaps a revenge then you're just as immature as I imagined. You're only going to embarrass yourself. Beaten up by a woman, how does that sound?"
He shrugged, not a bit fazed by her words. "Don't you think you're underestimating me too much? You used to kick my ass years ago but can you still do that? I'm not the same weak Crane, princess". He paused to smirk. "And you're surely not the same Eliana too.....right?"
Avice's brows pinched at his words, not knowing if she should take them as a riddle or just mere words flying out of his coward mouth. He had been speaking and smiling like he knew something. Something he shouldn't know.
Like her secret. That she wasn't Eliana.
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A/N: I know, I know, but I hate Crane as much as y'all do now!
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