Fool me once

Women were crazy. That was as clear to him as the sky was blue or grass was green. First a woman who he hardly considered a friend screamed at him in the café, then the woman he cared about was throwing his flowers on the ground. Yet as any other stupid man smitten by a woman, Arian stood his ground and was prepared to take the lashing.

The wolf could only do what he was best at. He listened. Standing still with an empathetic expression he watched her with a tight jaw as she spoke, and let her finish without interruption. “I’m not your sire. I’m not some sick man with ulterior motives, Eliza. I wouldn’t have risked my life for you and still be prepared to do it again.”

He took one of her hands in both of his and stepped down closer to her. “I’m not saying I’m a good man. I’m not saying I won’t fuck up. All I want you to hear is that you can trust me.” Arian reached to gently touch her cheek incase the vampire let her tears fall. “Just give me a chance to prove that to you, Eliza. Please.”

It was crushing the wolf how one moment could turn the tables on what could have been. One brief encounter changed the way she looked at him, the way she felt when she heard his name. His stern face was only growing weaker by the moment. “I’m not like that. I wouldn’t ever treat you like that. You’re too important to me.” And just as he was about to grovel some more she uttered the words that crushed the wolf’s heart.

All he could do for the next few seconds was stare at her. His blue eyes only showed a fraction of how hurt he was by the short sentence. Arian swallowed hard and didn’t follow her as she took at step back. His hands dropped to his sides and he searched her face as if looking for a reason why, but she was already mulling it over to him though he hardly heard her.

“And you were giving me a hard time,” He started, his voice low and his eyes still so hurt. “For something I had done in the past, yet you sleep with someone else a day after you’re done with me?” He stepped down closer to her again. “Did you even give it twenty four hours, Elizabetia?” That didn’t matter. “You’ve got some nerve, kid. Trying to make me feel guilty when you don’t even know the story at all, then you go and fuck someone else right away without taking a breath.”

The anger that was bubbling up inside the wolf had Francesca on edge. She had lingered closely enough to listen, and as soon as she smelled the irritation she was moving up the stairs. “It’s about time you take your leave, dog.”

The younger vampire halted on the stairs and glared at the old wolf. He glanced to her, and in his gaze Francesca knew she wouldn’t stand much of a chance but she wasn’t going to let him hurt or upset Eliza. For a moment she stood still, staring at the fight then turned around and went back downstairs to stay out of the way. She wrapped her arm around Niles’ and frowned to him as they left the stairway. “I liked him.” The ex-assassin admitted the rarity.

Arian did everything in his power not to show how hurt he was. His face was stoic and angry, but nothing about him was sad except for his eyes. They were the storybook to what he was feeling, and they sang a sad tune to Eliza. “I didn’t hide anything from you either. I would have told you, but you chose to listen to her story and take from it what you wanted. You didn’t even give me a chance.”

In reality he hadn’t had a chance in any of it. She had already made up her mind the moment she heard Mia. Why had the vampire even let him in? To rub his nose in what she’d done? The wolf sneered at the thought, but then swallowed slowly and shook his head. “Goodbye, Elizabetia.” Instead of switching into asshole mode, much like he felt like doing, he kept courteous. He picked up Eliza’s hand and kissed her knuckles softly before heading down the stairs and to the door.