05. At least I have one

Asshole? No, William didn't think he was the asshole here. “Want a mirror?”

Elijah's response was a low growl. The kind that rumbled in his chest. He stormed towards his car, eyes dark with anger as he fumbled for his keys, “Take your own fucking car.”

“And let you run away like a fucking princess? I don't think so.”

Princess? What exactly about him looked ladylike! Sure he was a little smaller than the rest of them and that was only because he was a regular Alpha. Even Amy looked more macho than he did but that didn't mean he could cause less damage.

He wasn't some fragile thing. He wasn't even close to being weak. He was every opponent's worst nightmare.

But Elijah was different. Despite spending the last ten years of his life trying to live up to his father's impossible expectations-- to become the dominant Alpha his lineage demanded-- all his efforts proved futile. His body refused to comply, even his genes had betrayed him. He had his family to blame but no, his old man would rather rub it in his face and call him a disgrace.

How could he not? In over a hundred years his family had only produced strong dominant Alpha's yet somehow, lady luck decided to tamper with his fate.

Yet she favoured this one standing before him. Did someone switch out their destiny or what? How could a family of only regular Alpha's produce one dominant alpha and a family of dominant Alpha's produce one regular Alpha?

Seeing that he wasn't going to win the argument, Elijah unlocked the door and William was quick to get in like he owned the damned sports car.

The two of them in one space looked like a place the grim reaper would love to be. The space between them was suffocating, air thick with unresolved conflict and hate. It was a funeral for what they once used to be.

“Put your damn pheromones away,” Elijah grumbled as he started the car. He reached for an air freshener and literally sprayed it in Williams face.

His groans and coughs brought him too much satisfaction.

William knocked the bottle out of his hands, sneezing a few times as his throat tightened from the irritation. If Elijah wasn't driving, he'd have punched him right in the guts.

“Do that again and our next stop is a hospital," William threatened, his jaw and teeth clenched.

“If anyone will even notice you're in the car. Out here, you're nobody," Elijah's eyes flickered to the rearview mirror.

William chuckled bitterly, “You console yourself with that every night?”

Gripping the wheels, Elijah retorted, “Funny, I was thinking the same thing about how you look in the mirror and think you're important to the organization. Try lowering your arms when you walk, it saves space for the rest of us.”

William's anger flared up again, “Oh, I didn't realize since we're all supposed to be bulky, not going around looking like we can take it from the fucking back.”

Elijah's eyes burned with fury as he shot back, “At least I'm not puffed up like a fucking peacock trying to compensate for other… shortcomings.”

William snorted, his thoughts flashing back to the hard-on he felt last night. A memory he couldn't shake off. “Bigger than that thing you're packing. That's why your dating list is longer than your kill.”

Elijah's jaw tightened, but he wasn't going to lose to William. A small win even for something insignificant felt like everything to him.

“Says the guy who can't even get one mission to his name.”

“Ha! Jokes on you, I have over a dozen!”

“That's because I allowed it."

“Right,” William rolled his eyes, nodding in understanding. “Must be fucking exhausting pretending you're in charge.”

“Not as exhausting as trying to stay relevant but hey, that's what happens when you're before greatness.”

“Greatness?” William scoffed. “You wouldn't know greatness even if it slaps you in the fucking face, but your daddy will."

"At least I have one."

Those words again and just like before, William was caught off guard. A whirlpool of rage erupted in his chest. His hands shot out, grabbing Elijah by the collar before he could even think. His eyes burned with an intensity that could skin him alive. "Repeat that!" He snarled. "I dare you to fucking repeat that!"

"What the fuck! I'm driving! What the hell is wrong with you!" Elijah screamed in his face before he suddenly delivered a hard and well-deserved headbutt.

"Argh!" The sharp, sudden pain from the headbutt sent a wave of dizziness through William and he shoved Elijah off him with an aggressive push.

Elijah's head stung from the impact of the blow and when he brought his attention to the road- "Whoa!" He turned the wheels so fast, trying to avoid the trash can in front of him. The tires screech as the vehicle swerved dangerously off the side of the road, almost crossing into the pedestrian lane.

People screamed and moved out of the way and Elijah handled the wheels, drifting off the side of the road and avoiding an accident. He slammed the brakes, throwing the car into a sharp spot.

The sudden jolt almost sent William flying. In his arrogance earlier, he had forgotten to use his seat belts. He quickly hit the dashboard to stop his head from hitting it. His heart raced violently and he could almost taste the rush of adrenaline in his mouth, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

Harsh breathing filled the air and for the first time in years, the space between the two of them was filled with silent agreement.

Elijah's breath quivered, slowly recovering from seeing his life flash before his eyes. Why was it always bad news around this guy? His body was rigid as his soul was yet to return to his body.

What the hell just happened? They could've both died and they wouldn't even know it. Would've opened their eyes in hell and the next thing would be a blame game.

This was all his fault, Elijah wanted to scream and punch that face in William's head but his chest ached and he couldn't produce a single word. Not right now.

A harsh knock to his window sent his heart racing twice as fast as he jolted in shock. He shot his head to the cop who was peering into the tinted windows.

"Shit!" He turned off the car, gulped down his heart, taking deep breaths before rolling the windows down.

The hard furrow of the bodyguard was replaced by surprise first, then a wave of soft Omega pheromones slammed Elijah in the face.

The cop’s cheek turned pink and he seemed at a loss for words.

Elijah wasn't new to this. Not that he caused trouble on a daily basis but that he could get away with it.

Who wouldn't throw themselves at a hot shot like him?

"Mr. Lancaster, sir," the cop's eyes brightened up. He cleared his throat. "That was a pretty dangerous thing you did back there. Could've gotten a lot of people killed."

"I apologize. One minute I had my eyes on the road and suddenly, some moron jerked me off it."

The cop noticed the bruise on his forehead and moved his eyes to the passenger's seat-- good heavens! Today was his lucky day. First a Lancaster, now a hot shot who was definitely a dominant Alpha.

To be sandwiched between these two would be a dream come true. William grinned at the cop as if sensing his thoughts.

"Sorry about that, officer. My driver here can be very blind on most days."

Wait, these two looked like they just got into a fight. A really bloody one. William's teeth had blood on it and his nose was turning purple with a bruised forehead, while Elijah looked the same.

"Do you mind just letting us go? We promised not to do it again," William wore his lucky smile. The one his mother assured him was sweet enough to charm anyone and from the look of things, it was working.

'Yet I'm the one who walks around like I can take it in the fucking back, was what Elijah thought before he brought out his wallet.

Anyone would pick cash over a grinning creepy doll.

"Okay," the cop muttered.

Elijah froze, snapping his head at the cop. If he thought his face was pink earlier, now it was completely red. He glanced between William and the cop, cursing under this breath when he saw his money wasn't needed.

Another win for William.

Between William's grin and Elijah's scowl, the young Omega cop hesitated for a second but said in a low voice, "Can I have your number?" The cop shamelessly blushed. "I'll need to... Uhm... Make sure you don't do this again.

“No, thank you, officer,” Elijah muttered through clenched teeth, slamming the gear into drive. His knuckles white on the wheels. He could barely contain his rage underneath his calm demeanor.

He accelerated, the tires screeching as he pushed the car forward, the road blurring as the tension between them thickened.

William leaned back in his seat, a smirk pulling at his lips as he drilled a hole in his face with his stare, “He wasn’t talking to you-"

"Shut up!" He growled, voice laced with venom. His anger rising anew. It wasn't hard to be in that constant annoyance around William and since when was his last time job a hooker?

William allowed the silence and thirty minutes felt like two hours. They got to their destination, the road leading to a street of abandoned houses. How come no one had suspected the crowd that turned up for every match?

Elijah parked his car in a hidden spot. "Get out!"

After that rough driving, he didn't need to tell William twice!