Battle of the Ages

- f o u r t e e n -

Lukas POV

My fingers tugged through the soft blond strands of hair that belonged to the beautiful boy in my lap.

His face was relaxed and his cheekbones were soft and not as prominent as they were when he was awake. When he was awake he's always tense and stoic. Well, stoic with bursts of anger.

His skin was almost flawless, aside from a long scar that outlined his face. It ran from his temple down the side of his face and around his jawline, stopping right before the middle of his neck.

The scar looked old and faint but it was still noticeable if you looked at him for just a few moments.

Scars like these covered his body in all the places I've seen. The first night I went to his house he answered the door shirtless and the scars where everywhere. Some were faint and hardly even noticeable and some could be seen from a mile away.

Also in the car just a few hours ago, his back was a copy of his front. Scars covering as much skin as they could.

Scars like these didn't just happen from everyday life. Even if I assumed Grayson was a rowdy kid and got hurt a lot playing around, he wouldn't be scared this much and this severely.

Part of me wanted to take a closer look at them, memorize them. I want to know my mate's skin like the back of my hand, trace my fingers along each and every one of the scars.

I want to know if any were intentional.

The thought swarmed my brain because there were so many what if he placed some himself? Maybe the thought is irrational and perhaps I am overthinking but I couldn't help but worry for my boy. I've only known him for a few days but he has already taken over my whole mind.

I refrained from looking though because I want to gain his trust and looking under his crewneck, well my crewneck which he looked adorable in, would not leave a good impression on him. I have to take baby steps with Grayson now that I have pushed him this far out of his comfort zone. I am already making him adjust to a new pack and life I can't push much more onto him in such a short amount of time. Now that everything drastic has happened, I need to take everything slow and let Grayson set the pace and let him get to know me and vice versa.

His breaths tickled lightly against the nape of my neck and I couldn't help but smile at the feeling. He was warm in my arms and subconsciously gripped my shirt as he slept, an action he would never perform on his own due to his stubbornness.

He had fallen asleep only half an hour ago but Goddess knows he needs it. His body is in overdrive with everything happening to him. He won't stay with me long enough for me to heal him so he keeps relapsing back to his illness when if he would just stay, he could've been long healed by now.

After this plane ride and another day or two if he sticks to me like he's supposed to, he'll be healed. That's all I want for him, he looks miserable all the time constantly being sick and unwell. Not to mention his bruised and possibly dislocated back and his maybe concussion.

I want to know so badly what went down at that little party he snuck away too. The sound of his voice when he called me and the look on his face when I picked him up was heart-stopping. He sounded so panicked and scared and let down his whole tough guy act just for the moment and was vulnerable to me.