Prompt 095

Title: Lycan Tales
Genre: Drama, suspense
Characters: Dom, Julius, Ethan
Prompt: 095~Pride
Word Count: 2,272~ish
Rating: PG-13
Type: Series
Summary: That thing that comes before the fall.
Warnings: Language, violence


“You’re getting better Julius,” Dom murmured as her son butchered Chopin. At least she knew he was trying to play Chopin. That was an improvement.
He laughed as he banged on the keys. “Yeah right mom! I hate this thing. Why couldn’t I play a cool instrument? Like the drums? Or the guitar? Instead I gotta sit here and play the piano!”
She laughed when he wrinkled his noise and then in impulse reached down and ran her hands over the keys before playing a few notes of Piano Concerto No. One by Tchaikovsky. The hunting strains hung in the air for a moment as her hands fell back into her lap.
“That was pretty mom,” Julius said in a whisper.
Dom shrugged then ran her fingers through his hair. “Back in the day the piano was a very manly instrument.”
“Uh huh,” he said, unconvinced.
Laughing, she got up from the bench. “Are you hungry?”
“I could eat!” he said as he shoved away from the piano.

“What are you hungry for?” she asked as they walked toward the kitchen.
Julius looked up at her before threading his fingers through hers. “I don’t know. What can you cook?”
“Not a lot. How about a lunch meat sandwich? Something light before your father gets home.”
“’kay. How come dad let Mary go?”
Dom gnawed on her lip as she tried to figure out the best way to explain to her son that his father was becoming paranoid. She had made a vow when Julius was born that she would never lie to him. She might have omitted some truths that she felt was too harsh for him but she never lied. There was enough of that going on in this house.
“Your father thinks that someone is out to get him and until he feels safe he won’t allow anyone in the house.”
“That’s silly,” Julius said with a skip to his steps. “Mary’s been with the family since I was little. She’s part of the pack. Why would she hurt dad?”
“She wouldn’t Julius…but your father-”
“Is a nutcase.”
“What?”

Julius nodded sagely as he climbed up on the chair to sit at the island while she went about fixing him a sandwich.
“Where did you hear that?”
“Around. Everyone’s talking about it mom. They say that he’s went off his rocker, that he’s gone around the bend, that-”
Dom smothered a laugh as she slathered mustard on his sandwich. Julius loved mustard. “I get it Julius. Just don’t let your father hear you say that alright? He’s not himself.” Or maybe he’s more himself now than he ever was, she thought sadly.
“If I was alpha I think that I’d be a better one than dad. I wouldn't hurt my mate. Never.”
She froze. “W-what are you talking about Julius?”

“I heard you and dad through the wall last night. There was a sound and then you started to cry. And you’re wearing those shades again. You only wear those after you and dad get into a big fight. I would never make my mate cry. And I would respect every one in the pack. From my beta down to the omega. We’re all family right mom?”
She placed the top slice of bread on his sandwich and slid it onto a plate. “Yes, we’re all family but sometimes families hurt each other Julius. They don’t mean to but they do.”
She handed him his sandwich then trailed after him as he walked into the dining room.
“Dad don’t like me to eat at the island. He says that I need to learn proper etiquette.” He stumbled over the last word as he carefully placed the plate down and climbed into his seat.

“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Is it okay if I love you more than dad?”
He tapped his fingers against the edge of his plate as he waited for her to respond. She opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.
“Cause I do love you more than him. You’re way nicer and you tuck me in at night. And if I get a cut you tell me it’s okay to cry even though dad says only babies cry. I don’t think he likes me much. He always says that I’m letting him down. That everyone lets him down. I…I just want to be a kid for a little while. All the other kids get to play and stuff but I’m always stuck in the house.”
He knocked his feet against the chair before straightening and taking a bite from his sandwich. Dom blinked back tears. She didn’t know what to say. On one hand it was great that Julius felt comfortable enough to discuss things with her. On the other hand she was sad because Ethan was losing out on really knowing his son. But did he even care?
“Julius, it’s okay if you love me more. I’m better looking,” she said with a small smile.

“Mom?”
“Yes?”
He looked away from her and stared down at his sandwich. “Me and you…we should run away. Go some place where no one knows us. He couldn’t hurt you anymore and maybe you’d smile more again. We could do it. We could run away. I’ve been studying really hard in history and did you know that there are some places that are still undiscovered? We could search for one of those. We would be happy. Would you like that?”
She looked down at the table as he continued to talk with his mouth full. Was he that miserable that at the tender age of ten he wanted to run away from home? And not just home. He wanted to run away from Ethan.
“We can’t run away Julius,” she said softly, cutting into his babble.
“How come?” he demanded.
“Because we both have obligations to the pack.”
“No I don’t. He’s not even the real alpha. I looked it up. He did do all those things that everyone says he did. I don’t want to be nothing like him.”
His face twisted in anger and he shoved the rest of his sandwich in his mouth.

Standing up Dom looked at her watch and was surprised to see so much time had passed. “Julius, hurry and get back to your piano. Your father should be home in any minute and we don’t want him to start complaining do we?”
“He ALWAYS complains,” he muttered as he shoved back from the table. He stopped in front of her. “If you do run away, don’t forget me mom. Please?”
“I would never forget about you, my darling boy.”
He stared up into her face, as if trying to peer beyond her shades before he threw his arms around her and gave her a tight squeeze.
“When I get big I’m going to fight him. I promise I’ll win mom. I promise that you’ll smile again.”
She bit her lip. “You always make me smile,” she said as she hugged him back. “Now hurry back.”

He raced toward the piano just as she heard the door slam downstairs. Grabbing the empty plate she walked over to the dishwasher and hurriedly stuffed it in. Ethan was almost militant on the times Julius could eat and he hated for him to have snacks in between meals. Something about a fat pup was no more than a meal for hungry wolves. She had just kicked the dishwasher door closed with her heel when she heard his footsteps coming up the stairs. Spotting crumbs on the counter she spun around and grabbed the dish towel laying over the faucet. She absently wondered when she had become the poster child for Susie homemaker. A brief smile crossed her lips.

Ethan walked slowly up the stairs, making sure that each footstep could be heard upstairs. If he left it up to those two the house would be a mess, his son would be a pansy and his mate…well, she was nearly a complete waste of his time. She did have her uses though. Besides in the bedroom , he thought with a smirk. Dom was one of the toughest bitches he had ever come across. One of the reasons why he kept her around. If she was crossed not only did she get even, she made sure the person who crossed her didn’t do it to another person. They couldn’t…they were died.

“What is that god-awful racket?” he demanded as he made it upstairs. He spared Dom a glance, she was busy scrubbing at something in the kitchen and instead glared at his son who was hammering away at the piano keys as if his life depended on it.
“Julius! For god’s sake boy! How long have you been practicing the piano?”
“Four years, sir,” his son said without looking away from the piano.
“And you still sound as if you just started. Add on another hour on top of what you’re already doing. A Vanderwall doesn’t do anything half assed. Look at me. My family was content to be side kicks to the alpha but I took him down and now I am the alpha. What do you think about that? Huh son?”

Dom whipped around when the music suddenly stopped. Julius had turned to look his father. She quickly stepped to the side and shook her head. Julius’ eyes met her and for a moment her heart stopped. It just as quickly stared again when he ducked his head.
“That if you put your mind to it you can be whatever you want to be…sir.”
“Exactly! Dom, my office. Now.”
Turning off the water Dom wiped her hands on a towel before following after Ethan. Like a dog at the heels of its master, she thought bitterly. There used to be a time when she had thought they were equals but apparently she had been fooling herself. Now she could barely stand the sight of him.

“You rang?” she asked with a frown as she walked into the office.
He laughed as he walked over to the windows. “That’s one of the things I love about you Dom. No matter how many fucking times I knock you down you always pop right back up. I like that. I really do. What I don’t like,” he said placing his hands on his hips as a snarl entered his voice, “Is to be made a fool of. “ I haven’t heard from Greg since the last time he called.”
“It was only a day and a half ago Ethan. Give the man some time. He had to go through all that rubble remember? For all we know Alana could be dead.”
“She’s not dead. She can’t be dead. She would have made a great bargaining chip with the other alpha’s. Much like my daughter would have…if I would have had a daughter,” he snapped then heaved a sigh as he rolled his neck on his shoulders.
“That’s old news Ethan. Why am I here?”

His hands slowly fell from his waist and she could see his scowl reflecting back at her in the panes from the window before she turned and looked away.
“There are have been some…rumors circulating about me. Even more so now because of Caine’s escape. They’re mocking me Dom and I want them crushed. I don’t want it to seem as if I discourage freedom of speech but you, however, can do it for me.”
“Ethan,” she said on a sigh. “People are going to talk. Especially seeing as how you’ve closed yourself in the house. I can’t go around and-”
“You can and you will. Now get out of my office. I have more important things to do than listen to you whine all day.”
Dom snapped her mouth closed and without another word turned on her heel and left.

Ethan waited for the door to shut behind her before he walked around his desk and sat down.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!! I have to find him. I have to! Why hasn’t Greg called me back? I have to know where he is.”
Running his fingers through his hair Ethan’s hands then dropped to his knees as he stared at the floor.
“When I find him I have to kill him.”

Dom placed her shades on the bathroom sink as she inspected the bruising around her eye. She winced when she poked gently at it and the whole side of her face began to throb. She might like bad but the scratches and bite marks that Ethan carried underneath of his suit were ten times worse. The bastard was just lucky he had knocked her away before she could go for his face. She scowled at the thought then blinked as tears came to her eyes.
When had her life spiraled out of control? When had she became the woman who let a man walk all over her? When did she become the woman who was ashamed to face her own son? She swallowed a sob then before she knew it her vision was blurry. For once she let the tears come as she buried her face in her hands.

Julius stood in the doorway and stared in horror as his mom buried her face in her hands and began to cry. He slowly backed away from the door before racing down the hall to his room. Grabbing his Batman book bag he shoved in a spare set of clothes, empty out his piggy bank, then quickly scrawled out a note for his mom before creeping down the stairs.
He guessed it was up to him to find the alpha of the pack. He just wanted his mom to smile again.