CHAPTER 16
ALEKS
"Something smells great. What are we eating?" Atlas exclaimed as soon as we came back into the kitchen after I'd helped him put Lenny down for bed. Adrian had also collapsed on his bed after he gave the room an uninterested glance and a nod of silent approval. Atlas had stood at the door of the room while Adrian told me about his day as he got ready for bed and Atlas had smiled fondly as he listened to him. It was insane just how familiar he was. He had Leukas' grey eyes, his straight nose, his sharp jawline and his and his father's ridiculously good looks. His slight tan, his hair, his slightly more muscular frame and his easy smile where the only differences between him and the rest of the Hyades men.
"We?" I asked him drily despite my nerves. I had no idea where he and I stood and I had made it my mandate to figure out who was on my side and who was against me. So far Lanthe was the sweetest, Jason was uninterested and Leukas was firmly against me. His sister, Amethyste, had hated me way before I hurt his brother, I can't imagine she'd become my biggest fan now. With the evident differences between Atlas and his brother, I couldn't help but guiltily hope that he and Leukas didn't get on well. Maybe then I would have one other person who didn't completely loathe me. Maybe I'd actually have some other person on my side, because as much as I liked Lanthe, I was well aware how much she loved her kids. She positively beamed when she spoke about them. I was certain that if push came to shove, she would pick Leukas' side, whatever that side might be. And I wouldn't even blame her if she did.
Atlas smirked at me as if he could read mind. "Relax beautiful, I'm not here to lull you into a false sense of security or to threaten you. I just came to meet the mother of my niece and nephew. I flew in today and I managed to grab some ice cream with them and Leukas, they are such good, well-behaved kids." He assured me as he picked up one of the Salted Buckwheat Chocolate cookies I had made to put in the huge cookie jar I had found. I watched him carefully as he sat back down on the high stool and widened his eyes as he moaned at the taste of the cookie. He grinned at me as he took two more cookies and wolfed them down. That was another difference between him and Leukas, he was apparently a bit flightier.
"These are so good! You should know now that I will forever bug you for more of these in the future. Chocolate is a weakness for the Hyades bloodline. I can't imagine someone who bakes like this is really that evil. I mean, my family won't be facing any sort of problems from you, will we?" He wasn't looking at me but the threat was clear in his voice, and somehow it relaxed me. At least he unlike anyone else had acknowledged what I was. Or what I had been before, a killer who'd posed a problem for a lot of people before. A security risk. The fact that no one was acknowledging it had made me fear that it was something they would use against me later.
"I have no intention to cause any problems. But I will defend myself and my children to my dying breath." I responded, busying myself with removing the pie from the oven and allowing it to rest before checking on the vegetables I was steaming. And I wasn't lying. I might have been outnumbered but if there was any threat towards my children, I would go out screaming.
"Good." Was his simply response. There was silence between us as I made some finishing touches to the dinner while he chowed down on the cookies and made appreciative sounds that made it impossible to be annoyed at him for helping himself. I made a note to bake more after dinner since I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep and I had a feeling he would be back for more just as he'd promised. The sounds of the cutlery and his delight in cookies where the only ones present for a while until he spoke a couple of minutes later.
"Leukas has always been…. detached from his emotions and when he does let himself feel anything, he feels it in spades. I'm not sure what happened between you two and frankly, it's none of my business, but I do know that he looked for you for years and you just recently appeared, that too with his children. I am certain that my brother if feeling quite a lot of things right now, few of them good, and frankly as good as he is in everything else, Leukas is not good at feeling. So you'll have to understand me when I say that he is beyond furious and frankly he cannot stand to look at you right now. My parents thought it would be best if I came over to mediate." I flinched when he told me Leukas' feelings towards me even though I already knew that they were true. It did not make them easier to hear though. I Swallowed hard and blinked away the stinging in my eyes before I brought myself to speak.
"Did you…. Do the kids know about…about your brother? Do they know who Leukas is to them?" Part of me hoped they had, just so I wouldn't have to do it and I didn't have to deal with it. But mostly I hoped not. I hoped that I had been respected enough to make the decision.
"No. But we were hoping they'd know by tomorrow." He responded while looking at me. The message was clear. I had till tomorrow or they'd do it for me.
"So you and Leukas are close? He never mentioned you." I responded changing the subject whilst opening the plate cabinet and removing gorgeous, expensive looking china and laying two plates on the counter for us despite my shrinking appetite. I couldn't afford to miss meals anymore. Not when I had to restart my training as soon as the next day.
If he saw my rather abrupt change of subject, Atlas didn't mention it. "He's the other half of my soul. And Leukas doesn't mention anything. It would be a waste of time to take it personally."
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I was right about Atlas being more like his mother. We ate together while we chatted and he was as open as his mother. He had a wife named Kristin and a two-month old son named Max and they all lived in London. Apparently Lanthe was British herself so they all had citizenships there and once he left Abattohn, he had settled there with his family. He was a licensed neurological surgeon but for a reason he didn't mention, had made a career as a British professional boxer. A very famous one at that, according to my later research. I also discovered that he was very flirty, friendly and he didn't hold a grudge against me.
"I don't understand why you did what you Aleks, but I have grown to understand that the world isn't as black and white as Leukas and I always believed it to be. I really hope he hears you out and realizes the same. As for me, I'm here for you Aleks and I will do everything I can to make sure you leave here unscathed." He said when he stood up, a fleeting look of sadness passing through his expression before he grinned at me and opened up his arms for hug. I couldn't help but laugh as I stepped into his arms and his woodsy scent surrounded me. I couldn't help but relax a bit more. He didn't hate me. I wouldn't be surrounded by people who want me dead, not this time.
I had fully expected him to ruin the moment and he did not disappoint. It had not taken long for me to realize that he wasn't Atlas if he didn't say something outrageous. "Just remember, any baby-mama of Luk's is a baby-mama of mine. So how about a small kiss?" I was laughing as I pushed him out of the door.
As soon as Atlas left, I went to work on the kitchen and some new baking since I had no hope of going to sleep at eight pm and also because I had new worries. Leukas was apparently so furious he couldn't stand my presence. It was a scary thought. Before Atlas said it, I might not have recognized it because I hadn't really looked beyond with Leukas. He was just Luk to me and I had never noticed anything odd about him. But I could see it. I could see what Atlas was saying when he said Leukas wasn't a feeler. I realized that ever since I met him, I had never really seen him react to anything. Maybe that was why I fell for him so quickly. In my world that had been filled with murder, secrets, parties and chaos, Leukas was this constant calm. Even when I was …Uhm…. stalking him, I noticed that he had this quietness that followed him everywhere. Like I had no choice but to be calm in his presence. Like he was this vacuum that just sucked in all my worries. And I realized suddenly that it was exactly because he did not react a lot. I had never seen Leukas being anything but himself. I'd never seen him embarrassed, or angry, or annoyed, or sad, or particularly happy or even proud of all his amazing accomplishments and his dazzling good looks when anyone gushed about him. I knew very well that a furious Leukas was a Leukas that I was going to be very weary of.