it's over, i'm through

I saw you standing there and I knew I'm done for

It hadn't occurred to Tetradore how bizarre it might be to be seen with an Aivazovsky tucked under his arm. Though he knew the artist's was nothing short of renowned for his seascapes, the were-King's own consideration of the artwork was quite restricted to his own selfish wants of it. It was only natural that such a work of art would be found within the home of some wealthy billionaire within the Northern neighborhoods. It was quite a walk from the perceived slums of his Western borders and yet, for this painting, Tetradore was willing to walk. The very suggestion of that walk required of them, however, prompted a sort of sly comment of the shoes Malia had worn, prompting his own emerald eyes to glance down at her bare feet. A soft snort left his nose and yet, he hardly commented on her choice of going barefoot. Unlike her, the were-King hardly trusted the streets of Sacrosanct enough to allow the tender flesh of his feet to touch that hot asphalt. Just wait till summer hit in full swing! Such thoughts of summer and bare feet, however, were immediately destroyed by that innocent inquiry of exactly what he'd been up to of late. Although Tetradore knew well it was a rather innocent question, the truth of his answer was not something he wished to dwell on.

He was hardly aware of how attentively Malia seemed to watch him in those precious moments, much less the ease in which she picked up on his efforts to close himself off from those stressors that lingered upon his mind, much less those memories of what his evenings had consisted of lately. Instead, it was that trip to France he decided to speak, much less the park's recent departure from one another as a whole. His emerald eyes turned briefly towards the girl, almost surprised that she even knew of the country in the first place, given how little she had known of the world at large only a year prior. His head shook ever so slightly. "It's not gibberish, it's French. Just like....wolves bark and...cats meow I guess." He was fairly certain his effort to explain the other language would fall flat but...he tried, all the same. "Not all of it are tall buildings though. There's a whole country side with rolling hills and green fields and massive forests. You might like it." The were-King offered, a small hint of a simper tugged at the corner of his features. "I have family there I went to stay with for a bit. I believe he called it a 'vacation'." A shrug crossed his shoulders, that 'vacation', as Matteo had called it, was a first for the man. It had been so....calm and peaceful that he had almost considered, more than once, simply not returning at all. He might have, had he not known full and well what the consequences of staying would be.

Tetradore's attention deviated at the mention of Tobias and Raven. His eyebrow rose ever so slightly at Malia's mention of the wolf. Frankly, he was surprised the two had met to begin with. The she-wolf had never once mentioned Malia - though perhaps their relationship had not yet become particularly friendly? Even so, his head bobbed ever so slightly at the suggestion that it was Tobias Malia had smelled upon the wolf. "He's a leopard." Tetradore responded, easily enough, hardly realizing she was making some effort to get to know his own pack. Rather, the were-King quite purposefully turned that conversation back upon her, only to inquire what had kept her preoccupied of late. He hardly expected that Malia had become quite the social butterfly, the man almost taken back by the multitude of stores in which she had to offer him - from the destruction of his own boat to meeting handsome men and....Henry. His eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly at the mention of Henry and Sterling and.....her. He knew, to some degree, what Malia and Henry had been up to of late. After all, he had heard them through the walls of that boat. Tetradore had heard the muffled sounds that had left Malia's lips, those very tones filled with ecstasy. Now, however, the were-King purposefully refused to allow his thoughts to linger there, assisted surely by Malia's announcement that she intended to take Henry to dinner with Frost.

Admittedly, the were-King was hardly as reassured by Malia's promise. There was a certain protectiveness within him over his Vector and yet....he had promised Frost that he would have Henry in the event of his death. Perhaps it was good to allow the man to get to know the Alpha he would surely have next. Tetradore allowed his teeth to run against his bottom lip in thought, only to nod ever so slightly. "I hope you all have a lovely dinner." He returned, granting the pair his permission. "It sounds like you've been busy lately." Tetradore stated, pausing a moment to allow all of what she had informed him of to turn in his thoughts - like that ceiling, for example. The were-King had been less than pleased to discover the destruction of his ship, not to mention the cost of repairing it. It had left him grumbly for days and yet, he suspected it was not his place to tell her off for it. Rather, it was the easiest of that whole story that Tetradore decided to inquire after instead. "Do you intend to introduce Ashton to your pack too?" After all, if she had found a handsome were she intended to take home, Tetradore would hardly be surprised if the pair were mated in no time at all. Malia was a pretty girl. Any man would be a fool to not pursue her.

Tetradore hardly expected that playful poke within the shoulder, that pout upon her bottom lip was more adorable than he expected she knew. His head tilted to the side ever so slightly, those emerald eyes simply watched her for a moment before that soft sigh left his lips. It was sweet really, that she wanted to know those very stressors that bogged down his broad shoulders. How could he tell her that the only woman he'd ever loved was getting married? That he had been forced to terrify her with those very affinities for fear? How did he speak of those vampiric fangs that had found his now pristine caramel skin and ravaged his flesh for that Alpha blood that ran through his veins. Tetradore remembered with such painful clarity that look of pity and disgust that had crossed his sister's features at the discovery of that dark life he kept secret, as if he had somehow fallen beneath her. He never wanted to see Malia look at him like that, the mere idea of it was almost painful to even consider with her sweet fair features and kissable sweetheart lips.

That moment was altogether fleeting as the were-King shifted, tossing that blanket over his shoulder to leave his arms free. "I met a new wolf named Mira. You might like her, she's feisty like you. There's a new car show rolling into town next month. They specialize in concept cars and the like to show off the armored vehicles they make for the military. Tobias and I were going to go check it out....see if there's anything interesting out there." It was, perhaps, not the truth that she was unintentionally searching for but Tetradore was hardly willing to completely lie to her either. It was best, he decided, to show her only those happy, carefree sort of aspects of his shady life, few and fleeting though they were.

aiden tetradore

you bring out the worst in me