Rejection and Rogues

Rejection and Rogues - Chapter 39: Hugs

Hi! Yeah, I know I'm horrible at updating frequently, but I'm in that point in life were exams are dominating my life...well, I'm preparing for them anyway. :P Plus, my playstation is just TOO distracting. Anyway, I apologise for my tardiness. Don't forget to vote (if you want to - not like I'm going to hunt you down if you don't :) Although don't rule out the possibility...) SO yeah, ENJOY!

THIS HAS NOT BEEN EDITED!

Rejection and Rogues - Chapter 39: Hugs

We stood in silence and I gulped. This intimidating man was my cousin. It was pretty hard to believe. I mean, sure, we had a lot of features in common, but I just couldn't digest the fact that I had a member of my real family right in front of me.

Paxton raised an eyebrow, sliding his tongue out and swiping it across his bottom lip. That was when I noticed the shiny lip ring that wrapped around the corner of his lip. It was gold and I wondered how I hadn't seen it earlier.

"What? Speechless?" His dark voice lifted me from my stupor and I frowned. I didn't know if this man was friend or foe, but I was itching to give him a hug. The sense of familiarity I got from him was strong and my wolf kept whining.

Axel's arm tightened around me and Blake sighed, placing his hands on his desk. I shot him a panicked look and he shrugged.

'I won't hurt him. We don't have solid proof that your old family is out to get you, so go ahead and do whatever. It will take time to figure out his motives.' He mind-linked, tilting his head towards Paxton, who looked relaxed.

Furrowing my eyebrows, I stared at my cousin. He must have seen the uneasiness on my face because he smirked.

"How do I know you're not lying?" I asked, suspiciously.

He scoffed and gestured towards his face, "do you really need more proof?"

I had to admit, we had a lot of features in common. Even though our parents weren't identical twins, it was pretty impressive how much alike we looked. 

Biting my lip, I shook my head.

He sighed before striding over to me. A low growl escaped Axel's chest as he glared at Paxton, who stood directly in front of me. He was maybe an inch taller than Axel, although their builds were around the same.

"Relax," Paxton rolled his eyes, "It's not like I'll do anything to her with all of you here."

Axel remained rigid, but he pushed me behind him when Paxton reached out for my hand. Paxton clicked his tongue, completely unaffected by Axel's glare. He side stepped Axel and grabbed my hand. Axel went to take my hand away, but I shot him a look. He glared back, but retracted his hand. 

Paxton flipped my hand over, revealing my birthmark that was, oddly, in the shape of a crescent moon.

"You see that?" He says, pointing at my birthmark, "only members of the Moon pack's Alpha family have that mark. See?"

He turned his hand over and there, on the inner part of his wrist, was a mark identical to mine. My eyes widened. The proof was there, Paxton was related to me by blood. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, so I nodded my head slowly.

"Alright..." I trailed off, furrowing my eyebrows. What do you say to your cousin that you have never met before?

Paxton dropped my wrist and took a step back, giving me space. The tension in the air was thick and I wanted to flee, but I knew that would be cowardly.

"Why are you," I gulped, "why are you here?"

Lifting his eyebrows, Paxton feigned shock. 

"What? I can't come visit my cousin for the first time?" He asked.

I shook my head, "why now?"

At my question, he dropped his act and buried his hands in his back pockets.

"You see," He began, tongue darting out to moisten his lips again, "I would've come earlier, my darling cousin, if I had known you existed earlier. It just so happens that a few months ago, a little birdie told me that a Moon offspring was residing in this pack."

His eyes met mine and I gulped. They were dark and dangerous. I didn't think that just because I was related to him, he wouldn't hurt me because, to be honest, if need be, he'd snap my neck in a heartbeat. My mouth went dry. Someone had taken the time and effort to actually find my mom's old pack and tell them about me. I was actually kind of creeped out. Axel growled, eyes a mix between blue and gold. I sighed, he could lose his temper so easily.

"Who exactly is this 'little birdie'?" He seethed, muscles tensing up. I glanced at Blake, who remained calm and watching.

Paxton smirked, "Oh, I can't tell you that."

Axel glared at him and I was waiting for smoke to come out of his ears.

"What do you want with me?" I asked, placing a hand on Axel's arm and hushing him.

Biting his lip, Paxton looked thoughtful.

"I don't know," he said, "I guess I just wanted to see if you were real. After telling my pack about you, they went...berserk."

I gulped at his choice of wording.

"I guess they were happy to have a piece of Evangeline still existing. After she left, well, that's a story for another day." He said, shrugging.

My wolf surged forward and I had to force her down. Cautiously, I approached Paxton. He watched me, humor dancing in his hazel eyes. I stopped in front of him and bit my lip. It was weird. For so long, I had only known my father, but now, I had another living and breathing family member right in front of me.

"Can I hug you?" I asked, unsure. His face morphed into one of shock.

"Can you what?" He questioned, eyebrows furrowing.

"Can I hug you?" I repeated.

His mouth twitched into a smile and he opened his arms wide, "go ahead."

Slowly, I walked into him and wrapped my arms around his waist. It may seem weird, but I felt the same way I used to when I hugged my mom, warm and at home. Paxton smelled of cologne with an underlying scent of the forest.

I could hear people leaving the room and as the door shut, I pulled away. I don't know why I wanted to hug Paxton, I kind of just wanted to.

"Well, I was expecting you to scream at me or hit me, but not this." He grinned, gesturing towards himself.

I bit my lip and nodded my head, embarrassed that I practically just hugged a stranger.

"Oh!" He exclaimed and I jumped, surprised by the sudden outburst.

His grin fell off his face and a serious look replaced it. He looked at me intensely and I shifted uncomfortably.

"I forgot to tell you," he said, "you're going to have to return to the pack with me."