Alicia doesn't make a peep as they head back to Isan's room. The silence is interrupted by Isan's breathing, and monitors.
He looks at both of them with a calmness, like a man who has already accepted his fate.
"I understand your resentment towards you, really I do Eddie." Isan starts, but Eddie cuts him off, motioning him to stop talking.
"How did you even know about me?" Eddie asks, Isan looking surprised, but smiling up at him.
"Your friend David, or how you knew him, Terry was a big help in that. Says you were a good man with a strong head on your shoulders. I wanted to see for myself, so I invited you to my fighting ring. I watched you for months, and yes even at one point stalked you a little. Outside or in the ring, I saw a fighter, and when I saw you with your Abuelita, I knew I found the one that I wanted to take my place." he looked away for a moment, thinking about his next words in silently. "I know you may think my decision was rash, and it was. I never got to talk to you about it, but I'm running low on time. I had invested too much into you, to try to start all over again. That night you went to get the cilantro, I followed you. I acted without thinking, and turned you."
"Which in hindsight, was also very dangerous, because I crashed my car." Eddie responded, and Isan chuckled.
"I am asking you as a dying man; will you accept the title alpha, and accept the pack as one of your own, to form a bond of family, and protect those that need it?" he asked, his shaking hand reaching out for Eddie.
Something in him changed in that moment, and Eddie didn't know what it was. One moment, he was resenting the man that had changed his life forever. And the next he was thinking about how he had wanted to be someone different the from the norm. It was why he had agreed into the doing the heist, and agreed to the fighting ring.
Eddie wanted to be something more, and now he had a chance to.
He clapsed the old man's hand, and shook on it, Isan smiling and rejoicing in Spanish.
"I knew you would see reason after all." Alicia huffed, and Eddie glanced at her then back at Isan.
"I can replace her, right?" Eddie asked, Alicia giving an audible gasp.
"I mean, you are the alpha, so if you wanted to, yes." Isan replied, chuckling a bit.
Eddie smirked, causing Alicia to blush, as she huffed, and crossed her arms over her chest.
So there were perks after all.
Once Eddie finished signing all the documents Isan needed him to sign, he headed off in separate areas of the house, Eddie wanting to sleep.
There was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach; all those papers just meant that when Isan would die, everything he owned would go to Eddie, since Isan had no kids or relatives to leave them to.
Eddie didn't understand how Isan had literally no family when his walls were litered with pictures of family. Had they just died out? Shunned him because he wasn't fully human.
"If you stay couple of days, I will tell you." Isan had said instead of answering. And Eddie agreed, because he was curious.
A nurse and a maid had entered the room then, and Eddie took it as his cue to head off and get sleep. Alicia had stayed behind, holding Isan's hand as they began to switch the I.V bags.
The doors closed behind Eddie, and he wandered off, taking his time as he walked down the halls of the pictures Isan had.
He stopped when he saw the picture of what looked like a young Isan having his arm wrapped around a young woman. Eddie squinted his eyes, as the woman looked quite familiar.
Eddie stepped closer, freezing in place as it hit him; the girl in the picture is Alicia. The same mole that was above her top lip was the same as Alicia's, the only thing different being the length of her hair, and the clothes she had worn in that era.
Eddie glanced back, a bit in shock, and decided that that was enough surprises for one day.
He went for the first available room and collapsed into the bed, his eyes shut as his head made contact with the pillow.
The next morning, Eddie was being shaken awake. He blinked his eyes confused, but as he looked up, he saw Alicia, tears dropping down her face.
He didn't even need to ask what had happened; he simply got up, and hugged her. After a couple of seconds, Eddie let go, and went to the restroom, washing his face, and using the new toothbrush there. He had combed through his hair, deciding to take a shower instead.
When he was done, he had a towel wrapped around his waist, and was scrubbing the excess water out of his hair. A stack of neat clothes were placed on the bed, Alicia nowhere in sight.
Eddie unfolded the clothes, realizing that it was black pants, a light blue button up with a black vest over it.
Clothes for a funeral.
The heavy feeling came back to Eddie and he got dressed, smoothing out the tangles of his hair. He had to look presentable for this funeral, and though he had only known Isan for a day or two, death was always a sombering fact of life.
When he was dressed, he walked out of his room, some of the maids cleaning and wiping tears away from their eyes. He heard a lot of voices in the living room, and figured it was Alicia planning the funeral for Isan.
Eddie decided to head over to the kitchen, where he could smell food being cooked. A long table filled with a lot of food stacked all over caught his attention, and he filled his plate up, feeling famished.
Some of the cooks nodded, and acknowledged him, probably thinking Eddie was one of the worker or one of Isan's many partners. He decided not to correct them or their line of thinking; he wanted a sense of normalcy to last until it couldn't.
As Eddie began to devour the eggs and bacon, he heard running footsteps, stiffening when a hand was placed on his shoulder.
Looking up, he saw Alicia wearing the same outfit as the one in the photo with the young Isan, pulling on him a little.
"What are you doing? Come on, you are needed elsewhere." she said impatiently, tugging some more on him.
"Why, what's the matter?" Eddie asked, getting back on his feet.
"The pack is ready to meet their new alpha."
Eddie stares blankly at Alicia, his mouth stuffed with food. He looks a sight, fork raised up with food on it as he's readying for another bite. He clearly isn't ready to meet them, but Alicia is looking past that. After all, he is the new alpha that she must respect. Eddie chugs his juice, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he stares at her. "Don't you think it's a little early to meet the pack?" "Not at all. In fact, it's taken too long for you to meet them. You were supposed to take charge before Isan passed so he could show you the ropes." Alicia fumed, tapping her foot against the floor as her annoyance grew. Eddie says naught, just shoveling more food into his mouth, and Alicia reaches out, grabbing him by the ear as she forces him on his feet. Eddie grabs his plate, as Alicia leads him into the living room. All conversation stops as they look from Alicia to Eddie, and Eddie pulls back, his face going a light red. There's two guys, and two girls,
Eddie is wandering down the halls, when he notices Alicia standing in front of the portrait, her shoulders shaking a bit. She must be crying, Eddie thinks, and he really wants to let her grieve in peace, but she turns to him at the same time he steps into the hallway ligh, two extra eyes staring at him wary. Eddie freaks out, a loud growl coming from him as he feels his teeth sharpen. Alicia blinks, startled, as her extra eyes mend back into her skin, looking more like herself with two eyes. "I'm sorry!" she says, holding up her hands as she surrenders. "I didn't mean to scare you." "What are you?" Eddie says instead, taking a step back from her. Alicia sighs, as she stares down at her hands. In a way, Eddie does feel bad for asking like that. But at the same time, what did she expect? She had two extra eyes that were just under her skin. So he waited, as Alicia gathered her thoughts. When she looked back up at him, her face looked more composed and r
Eddie doesn't know why he's still here. Really he should be at home, tending to his Abuelita, his job, hell, his friend. But he is here in front of the mansion, ready to prove to his newly aquired pack that he has what it takes to be the alpha. Maybe the reason why was because he was trying hard not to face reality just yet. The reality that he was a murderer, and he was the reason Lucas was missing. These thoughts wore on him, not so much on him, but for the loss of Lucas. He was only eighteen, he thought to himself, as he raised his fists. David and Brayden stood straight on the other side of him, in the makeshift ring, Addie and Tric staring on as they continued to drink their orange juice, discussing quietly about something. But Eddie couldn't get himself distracted; he had two opponents to take care of. They stood there for what felt like hours, Brayden standing there relaxed, whereas David matched Eddie's stance. And then they took off. They were
Eddie is in his room, taking care of packing his things away. He takes one glance over at the room, making sure that he has everything he needs. None of this stuff is his; it is, and isn't. All the new clothes were gifted by Isan, and Alicia even pulled out some shoes that she had picked out when she went to the mall. They were nice, and Eddie tested them out, running a little, and then hopping in them. Super light, and easy to move in, he noted, pulling the luggage behind him. There was an RV already in the front of the house, and Alicia was watching from the doorway, the others already packing their stuff in there. Eddie would admit that being alpha was strange; he had already made his first command, and no one was challenging him over it, or trying to talk him out of it. They simply did what they were told, and Eddie honestly had mixed feelings about this. On one hand, it was nice that his choices and say were final, and there wasn't anything really left t
The moment the tires of the RV crossed into town, Eddie felt something prickle under his skin. Faint alarm bells went off in his head, and they got stronger as they made way to their new home. Beside hime, Addie had stopped talking, noticing the way he had stiffened. "Is something the matter?" she asked, which brought Brayden's attention. David, who had traded places with Brayden driving the RV, looked up as well. Only Tric said nothing, as she turned on her side, and slept, the blankets up to her ears. "It's probably nothing." Eddie tried to assure, but there was something there. Something he couldn't pinpoint, and if he was in his wolf form, his hairs would be standing on end. David hit the brakes then, causing everyone to lurch forward, and Tric fell off the bed, swearing as she landed on her back. "What the fuck David?" Tric yelled, rubbing the back of her head, as she got up. "We have a problem." David said in a tight voice, and Eddie got up then,
The swelling has gone down in Eddie's jaw, and they have settled into their new home in the countryside. Eddie will go over to his Abuelita's in the morning, but for now, he mopes about the cheap shot that Joseph took. Him, and his pack disappeared once they saw that Eddie was on the ground. And though the hit hurt, Eddie was more stunned at seeing Lucas alive. Stunned and relieved. After talking it over with his pack, Eddie concluded that the blood found on his clothes was in fact the blood of a deer. "Werewolves don't usually eat humans. I mean if you shift too close to them the first time, damage will be caused but to eat them? Not likely." Tric had said, as she bounded down the stairs, David in front. Eddie stared after her, not noticing the couch dip as Addie sat next to him. "Are you okay Eddie?" Addie asked, and Eddie dropped the ice pack he was using for the swelling on his face. "Don't really know how to feel. I mean, Lucas is alive but he's w
Eddie slipped back into town, telling his pack to stay back to better get familiar with the new town they were staying at.They seemed reluctant but agreed to his orders and watched him leave.To be honest, Eddie didn't want the other pack to feel threatened by bringing his whole pack. And all he wanted to do was see his Abuelita.Eddie still sent over money to her accounts, and when she had called him and asked how he was getting the money, Eddie had lied and said he was back to doing odd jobs.Abuelita had accepted this answer, saying to praise God for the blessings. Eddie nodded, ensuring that he was placing a good chunk of his estate into his Abuelita's savings. He had borrowed a car, a simple black one that didn't really catch too much attention, and slipped inside, starting it.Once on the road, he sped off in the familiar path to his home, noticing that most of the people weren't out on the yards nor sidewalks.The town seemed emptier, and he couldn't see anyone running around
Litzy went into the kitchen, and began to cook, the smell of bacon, and then onions drifting through the air. Eddie could feel his stomach rumble with hunger, but he decided to stay back. Abuelita began to tell Eddie everything that had happened since he up and disappeared three weeks ago. How these new cholos had seem more different, and animal like. Senora Lorena had even placed a rosary out, and said her prayers to them. They had laughed, but Abuelita explained that the only reason that had been done was because of how non-humans they were. Surely, there was something paranormal about them, demons or diablos pretending to be humans. Eddie didn't want to brush her worries off-she was spot on, but also he felt like revealing their true nature was a breach of something. He held his grandmother's hands, trying to comfort her. There was a knock then, and everyone froze, before a clatter was heard in the kitchen. Litzy strode over again with the shotgun, loading it