The Will to protect

...

"Later." William said as they approached the entrance to the Waverley Substation. He turned around; however, he didn't get a couple steps until he felt soft arms around him. He opened his mouth in surprise. Here he was expecting to head home and Alex hugged him of all things.

Still, it felt nice. Whether he wanted to admit it or not Alex was the closest person in his life, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you." She said softly.

After a few moments Alex pulled away and he walked away.

...

'What's this I'm feeling? With Alex...every time she's near my heartbeat accelerates and I have the urge to do anything she says, to see that smile on her face.' William had a frustrated look on his face. 'Damn it! What is this?!' He thought as he continued his walk home.

He quickly realized that just talking to himself wasn't going to give him the answers he was looking for, so he decided to think of ways to keep Alex safe and stop all the tragedy in the city.

He didn't have any ideas where these people could be located so for now, he'd look into it and see if he could find out about their whereabouts. The only way to keep her safe was to take these guys down.

'I'll keep her safe, no matter what,' He thought.

...

The next day-Tribeca Prep

William looked at Alex as she walked up to him, and he immediately knew she wanted to talk about the night prior. 'Why does one girl mean so much to me?' He thought, his lips pursed into a thin line.

"What do you plan on doing now that you'll be targeted?" She asked which caused him to come out of his thoughts.

"I have to find a way to take them down." William said before scratching the side of his way. "How I'm going to locate them is an entirely different story. For now, I have no leads."

"I don't understand. Why would you go after them directly, observing your fight last night proved that you could stand a chance but..." Alex just didn't understand. Why would he go against them all by himself?

"It's not like I'm going to charge straight in without a plan. These people are clearly acting on orders though according to the enemy he wasn't even supposed to be there yesterday." William's eyes narrowed. "Most likely that guy was ordered not to approach me."

Alex looked confused. "Why would such an order be given out?"

"I think I have an idea."

"Oh yeah?" Alex looked at him expectantly.

"Back when I was younger, I was called a Prodigy. Come to think of it most Elemental's should know who I am."

"Why would they know that?"

"Because I'm the son of the Dragon Hunter. I suppose people must have heard how my training went as a child and they worried if I'd get involved. That guy disobeyed his leader's orders though." William said.

Alex could see what he meant. If he was indeed the son of the Dragon Hunter that mean most Elementals if not all would know who he was. No wonder they would be worried and from what she saw yesterday she should be worried. She also remembered the words of his mother.

"William swore to never use his powers a few months after his father began to beat him."

"He claimed he didn't have a reason to get stronger anymore. He didn't have anyone he wanted to protect, I Wasn't there for him and his father sure the hell wasn't either."

'If all that is true…. why did you decide to use your abilities after all these years? What are you fighting for, William?' She thought to herself. 'I'm amazed someone so amazing is so repulsive, though I suppose it would explain that strength of his.'

"Now that they know I'm onto them they'll undoubtedly send someone to eliminate me." William said. "Because I'm a threat to their plans."

Alex stared at him. She couldn't deny that was probably the best option going forward. It wasn't like they could bother the police with this, they weren't a match for a magical being especially a being as powerful as an Elemental. Revealing the magical world was also risky.

"You're not alone in this. I have your back." She said with a small grin.

William stared back at her, and he wasn't sure what to think of that. He watched as a look of curiosity appeared on her face.

"I spoke with your mom briefly. She told me that when you were younger you swore off your powers saying you didn't have anything to fight for. I was wondering what made you decide to use your abilities again." Alex said.

William crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "All I know is I just had to protect you. The thought of you dying scared me...it made me furious."

Alex looked at him with surprise. 'He's come a long way, hasn't he?' She thought.

"it's very confusing. I've never had such a strong urge to protect someone a day in my life but when it comes to you i can't help but come to your rescue."

Alex watched him as she allowed him to tell her what he was feeling.

"Whenever you're around I have this odd urge to please you and when you're really close, my heartrate accelerates almost to the point that it feels like it might leap out of my chest. Alex, what is this feeling?" He asked.

The wizard widened her eyes. "What your explaining is..." Honestly, she couldn't believe what she was hearing right now. 'William, he...he's in love with me!' Alex didn't know how to feel about that. he was becoming one of her closest friends, but she wasn't sure about dating him. What she was most worried about was Harper's reaction. She'd be devasted if she found out the two of them were together. Despite all of that she knew she couldn't reject him; he had been through so much she didn't have it in her to break his heart. 'And it doesn't hurt that he isn't the worst choice for a boyfriend. It's going to take a lot of work, but William's worth it.'

to be continued