Shielding the Beast (discontinued)

Twenty-Eight | Name

Inside the top of the tower it's but a large circular room. Various things fill the space, decorations, trinkets, furniture, all of it having been stolen by me or Cole over the years. The stone floor is carpeted by colorful rugs laid down, and against the wall is a pile of numerous pillows. In the middle stands a heavy wooden table, laden with random items mindlessly placed on it.

"I want an explanation," Asher repeats, more slowly this time and through gritted teeth.

My attempt to avert his gaze is pointless. Whether my eyes meet his or not doesn't stop the weight of his stare from pressing down on me.

Lying isn't an option. There's no where left to run, and there's no more convenient distractions. Just me and my Lifeblood whom I've hid so much from.

It's time for him to know.

He crossed an entire sea to get to me after I ran from him. After I disappeared in the dark without a reason. He left his pack to track me down, potentially leaving them in his father's command and risking losing everything he's worked to change. I've been blind to think him so typical, and in result I've hidden from the one I can trust the most. His loyalty was proven the second his roar shook Italy to its core.

A deep breath is inhaled into my lungs.

"Do you wanna know my name?" I speak quietly, calmly. Innocently despite how untrue that is.

He looks up, brow furrowed in agitated confusion. "What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?!"

"Do you want to know my name?" I repeat, a hint of a growl following this time.

"Yes," he let his tense shoulders slump, taking a calmer demeanor, "Of course I do."

Finally ready to say it, and it feels as if the words won't come out. It's been so long since my own name came off my tongue. It's been so long forgotten that speaking it sounds wrong.

"My name... is Amber Salen."

A chill runs through me, a thick sense of anticipation for his reaction wrapping itself around my throat.

Asher's face is pale. His blue eyes are wide with something far beyond shock, and his entire body is frozen in place as he's staring-- staring at me.

The silence is thick. Suffocating. My breathing sounds like thunder in my ears.

"Asher say something," my voice is weak, pleading, "Please."

He slowly sits down on the floor, running his hands through his hair. His elbow rests on a bent knee, his head leaning against his palm.

"You're alive," he finally speaks, disbelief in his tone as he stares at the floor. "You're... a Lycan."

I stand in place, my feet cemented down. Watching him.

So many things to say, yet none of them turn themselves to words.

"The only surviving Lycan and I get to call her mine..."

At this point he seems to be talking to himself rather than to me, his thoughts leaking out through his mouth.

His head then snaps up, meeting my eyes as he asks a simple question whose answer shouldn't be so complicated.

"How?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

He returns his gaze to the floor, leaving the conversation to the quiet. What feels like hours pass until, tired of the tense silence, I break it.