A/N: I'm back! Sorry my exams literally kicked my ass (it's still a little bruised im recovering now as we speak lol). But as it is summer time I will be updating this and hopefully finishing this one and the sequel I have in mind. Maybe I'll actually finish my novel this summer. Hope you guys are enjoying ACOWAR, I know I did (even if I was still left wanting more).

Chapter 11:

It wasn't the warmth of the body next to her, or the light that shined into the window that woke Elain. In fact, it was the slight buzzing of an object sitting on top of the bedside table. The man that lay next to her groaned and removed the arm that had cradled her head all night to turn off whatever alarm had gone off on his phone. She sighed deeply and opened her eyes to find Lucien's still closed. "'Morning," he grumbled and she couldn't help but giggle just a little bit.

"Good morning," she said snuggling closer, "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, no thanks to you." He opened his eyes and smirked down at her, "How did you sleep?"

She hmmed in response and leaned up to kiss the corner of his jaw. The hazy morning mood made her resistance to his charm nonexistent. "What time is it?" she mumbled into his neck, his arms tightening around her.

"Who cares?" he whispered into her hair, "Let's not worry about it, just stay." His voice was breathless in her ear as Elain chuckled leaving one last kiss against his throat before she pulled back, "Sadly I cannot, class remember?" She looked down, biting her lip at the pained expression on his face. He really was quite the theatric.

He groaned rather dramatically as he reached across her again to look at his phone, "It's 9:16 to be exact," he startled back when she flew from the sheets, "What's wrong?"

"I have class in fifteen minutes! I'm going to be late," Still wearing the clothes from yesterday she was frantically pulling her shoes back on. She had only halfway put on her left shoe when she tried to get off of the floor, and failed as she slipped and fell down again. The act was either from her clumsiness or still sleepy state, neither knew for sure. Chuckling at her attempting to finish tying the shoe again, Lucien rolled out of his bed and went to the bathroom.

When he returned Elain was throwing her hair back in a high ponytail. She looked up at him, still shirtless. The sight of him caused her chest to tighten, it took all her power to look away without blushing too profusely. He smirked, shaking what was in his hand, a toothbrush. "It's a new one I swear," was all he had to say before she popped the brush in her mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

She had never brushed her teeth so fast in her entire life; despite being a sophomore she had never once missed a class. But glancing out his bathroom door, she couldn't help but groan at the fact she was leaving him. His flaming hair was tied back and he reached for something in the pantry, giving her the perfect view of his backside. Stupid school. Shaking herself away from the view she spit in the sink and washed her mouth out.

Wiping her mouth off, she darted to her backpack, "I'm sorry," she said. It was the first time someone had spoken since the initial realization that she would be late.

He smirked, opening the front door, "It's not a problem," he handed her an apple. She nodded in appreciation of the only slab of breakfast she would get that morning, "Enjoy your overpriced education," Her face shot up from the apple and he chuckled at the way her nose scrunched up when she got angry. Her brown eyes offended at his teasing. She stuck her tongue out at him and he barked even louder.

"Enjoy your day of smelling like greasy wings and overpriced beer."

He shrugged, "fair enough."

For a moment they lingered, just looking at each other before he cupped her cheek and leaned in. Their mouths were only a few centimeters away from each other when he murmured, "Have a nice day Elain,"

"Have a nice day," she smirked back, looking deep into his russet eyes. She was the one who closed the space between them, their lips glued together. She didn't know if she would ever get tired of the way his mouth moved against hers. As he pulled away she whimpered at the loss of contact, "Elain," he whispered against her skin, "you have to go to class."

"Right," she groaned and bolted down the steps, and she didn't look back as she heard him chuckle behind her.

A few moments later there was a slight knock on the door. Lucien, had just started a pot of coffee when he heard the sound. Maybe she forgot something, he thought as he went to open the door. He instantly frowned at what stood there instead, the hulking landmass that was his brother Cassian. "What do you want?"

He flashed Lucien a cocky grin, "What's the matter? Elain not put out last night."

"Don't talk about her like that," he hissed. He took a deep breath, knowing that his brother was merely teasing him. "We didn't so much as kiss until this morning." His hands braced the bar, "Then she left."

"Damn." He said taking a seat at one of the other barstools, "You really have it in for this girl, don't you?"

He nodded, "Believe me, I wish I didn't. It would have made my life so much easier."

"What's keeping her away?"

"She's just using me to… gain experience."

"Ouch."

"I know," the beep of the coffee pot sounded and Lucien grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. He filled both of them up and handed one to Cassian, "She wants to marry some dreamy future doctor who wants to help kids in Ethopia or some shit."

"So… Why don't you just tell her how you feel? Maybe her thoughts have changed."

Lucien tasted the bitter coffee, still too hot for his liking he put it back down onto the counter, "I highly doubt that. The ideas she's got for me aren't one of commitment… and besides… she's too kind to stick around for someone like me."

"Don't say that." Cassian said patting his friend's back, "We all have our own baggage, on some days it's heavier, and others it's not. All you have to do is ask for help when you have to carry it around." He took a quick drink of his coffee, "And besides if this Ivy League Princess thinks she's too good for you, then you're too good for her."

He shook his head, "It's not like that… She's just. She's just different. I've never felt anything like this before." He turned back to look at Cassian who sat there with his jaw dropped, "You really like this girl don't you? The doe eyes, everything?"

The only response he could give was slightly nodding his head, "I really do."

After class, the remnants of Halloween were clear as day in her apartment complex. Elain could only imagine the look on Nesta's face when she left their apartment to find the black and orange streamers draping the hallway. Nesta loved Halloween, it was her favorite holiday, but Nesta detested any mess that a party left behind. "Lazy scum," is usually what she called the partygoers, and Elain couldn't help but laugh at the memories of her sister.

She was about four doors down from her apartment when one of the other doors opened. Out stepped a man with a rumpled jacket and raven like hair. When he turned around they were face to face.

Elain blinked up at him, "Rhys?"

A tinge of pink spread across his cheeks and the master bartender slipped his hands into his pockets, "Hello, Elain," One of his hands reached back and ran their fingers through his hair. The act only made his hair look even darker, just like his brothers. He was probably drop dead gorgeous, on his worst day, which made Elain even more furious at the 'family' genetics. "Fancy seeing you here," he muttered.

"Yeah," she cracked a grin, "I live here."

His ears seemed to turn up at that, "with your sisters?"

Elain nodded, and then pointed toward the door, "Does she know that you work at a bar full time?"

A twinkle of starlight danced in his eyes, "I don't think she cares. And I own said bar with my brothers, or do I need to remind you that?"

"No… You don't," Elain said, the blush creeping up on her cheeks.

He nodded toward her, "Hey, you have a car don't you?"

The middle Archeon sister eyed him warily, "Yeah, why?"

His hands shoved deeper in his pockets, "Well you see here, Carly I think it was drove home last night so I am without the means of transportation." Elain just stared at him, "Sooooo I was wondering if you could give me a lift back to Illyria?"

Elain smirked, "Why don't you ask Clare?" pointing back to the room he had just come out of.

He barked with laughter too similar to Lucien's, "So the doe is actually a bobcat, no wonder my brother likes you so much."

"Right," she rolled her eyes and pushed past him, "Follow me or don't, but let me drop my stuff off." He followed and muttered thanks.

They walked the rest of the ways down in complete silence; she could feel Rhys study her. She pulled her keys out of her purse and opened the door to her apartment. The first thing she noticed was the black tarp that covered the floor of her apartment. "What the hell is that?" Rhys said.

"My sister," Elain said stepping onto the tarp, beckoning Rhys to follow her.

"Elain!" Feyre beamed. The youngest Archeon turned to see her sister in tow with the 'bartender' they had initially wanted Elain to hookup with. Rhys stood there smirking at her, she was in an old oversized white t-shirt and her entire body was spattered in paint. "Oh," her voice died, "I didn't know we were going to have company," she bit at her sister.

Rhys opened his mouth only for Elain to interrupt him, "We're not," Feyre couldn't help but smirk at the look Rhys had given her sister. He looked at her as if he hadn't expected for her to react that way, "I'm just giving him a ride back to the bar." Elain strode past her sister and went to her room, leaving the two busybodies alone.

As she was shifting through her bag she heard Feyre go, "And what exactly were you doing on this side of town?" There was a hint of a bite in her voice; a little bit of Nesta always came out of Feyre when she was nervous.

"Well Feyre Darling," he began, "I just so happened to be without transportation when I ran into your lovely sister who offered me a ride." There was a slight pause before he said, "Don't worry, next time I'll be sure to stop by and say hello to my favorite sisters."

Elain knew her sister would roll her eyes at that, "Yeah, I'm sure my boyfriend wouldn't be too fond of that."

"Fond?"

"More like he would snatch your balls off." Elain walked out to see both her sister and Rhys smirking at each other, as if they had been craving this sort of banter their whole lives.

"Feyre if you want to look at my-"

"Alright that's enough," Elain intervened causing the two feuding parties to jerk their attention towards her. "Rhys," she pointed towards the door, "Don't make me rethink this," Rhys held his hands up in defense as he turned and strutted out the door. Elain quickly turned toward her sister, "And you! I expected you to behave yourself, not bite off the head of Lucien's brother."

Feyre started wagging her eyebrows at her sister, "And how was last night ow OW," she squealed making Elain turn to the couch and promptly throw the closest couch cushion at her sister. Then she ran out the door, the sound of her sister's cackle followed her and Rhys down the hall.

She turned to see Rhys smirking at her, "Come on Romeo, let's get to it,"

"No Romeo for me, I'm not pining after one girl." The words echoed in Elain's ears, and she somehow felt it was untrue. So she just nodded, "Now my brother on the other hand…" His voice trailed off and he eyes her knowingly.

Elain shook her head, a flash of warmth flashing over her face, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You two have been seeing a lot of each other." Not exactly a question, but a statement.

She shrugged one shoulder, "I wouldn't say we had been seeing a lot of each other," even though she knew that she had seen Lucien more than any boy in her entire life.

The two stepped into the elevator with two other girls who stopped mid conversation and exchanged glances with them. The girls continued talking about a party they were going to and how they wanted to get 'fucked up'. When they stepped off of the elevator Elain turned to Rhys with a smirk on her face, "Don't you want to ask for their number?"

Rhys chuckled, "Not really my style, I'm more of a traditionalist."

She wanted to mention how sleeping with a different girl every other week was the complete opposite of tradition, so she settled for her second question. "Does your brother know you're here?"

His smile shifted into something cat like, "Why don't you ask me what you really want to know?" They had already reached her car and he was getting himself situated into the passenger seat. He had opted not to put on the seat belt but Elain had refused to pull out of the parking lot until he did.

"What do you mean by that?"

"You want to know everything about my brother, admit it." He leaned back into his seat and crossed his long legs over each other, like he owned the place. The nerve, Elain thought.

"I don't want to know everything," she quipped. Just the key parts.

"Well I can tell you that he is seriously into you."

"How can you tell that?" She said too quickly. She internally cursed herself, thinking it would have been wiser to act like she didn't care.

Rhys shifted in his seat, "I mean clearly he's no me, there have been a couple of of girls but… no one like you."

"And what exactly am I like?" She said pulling around the corner; they still had a good distance to go before they reached Illyria.

"You, Elain," He began, " are the kind of girl a guy brings home. Which is why I guess Lucien never got involved with your type before. We don't have much of a home to bring girls home to. His old man is a piece of work. Even before the accident, he was bitter and foul-mouthed. Hell, I don't know what flew faster—his fists or the empty beer bottles he threw at him."

Elain's hands clenched the steering wheel as she stared wide-eyed out at the street. A sour feeling washed over her, her stomach began to churn. His childhood didn't sound much better than hers. Somehow Rhys sensed this and placed a delicate hand on her shoulder, "He sounds great," she bit out before Rhys had the chance to say anything.

"A real prince," he muttered.

Turning back to him she asked, "You mentioned an accident," whatever it was Lucien obviously blamed himself, "What happened? Lucien mentioned that he was responsible."

Rhys raised his eyebrows, his eyes wide with shock, "He said that?" Elain nodded.

Never in her life would Elain have thought someone's face could drain so quickly. His tan skin turned a ghastly pale. "It wasn't his fault," he whispered, "But If I were in that situation, I guess I'd be thinking the same thing." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts on how to explain this to Elain, "Well Lucien's father wasn't just a grumpy old drunk. His father, and my father, are the head of two of the mafia families in the city. Where we grew up, you married whom your father said you were to marry. I never liked the idea. Always wanted to break away, somehow I managed and took my closest friends with me. Lucien on the other hand… had to pretty much flee.

"You see," he said as Elain began to pull into the parking lot of Illyria. "There was only one real girl before you. Jesminda. She was a normal girl, not relevant to any of the mafia families… and Lucien wanted to marry her. I don't know if he's ever told you but he's the youngest of seven."

"Seven?"

"Seven." Rhys confirmed. "Well the two were stolen from their bed in the middle of the night. Lucien's never told me any explicit details but they butchered the poor girl, and Lucien. That's why he has all of those scars, although Amarantha is responsible for the one on his eye. That story is for another time. All I know is that they butchered that poor innocent girl, and at 4am Lucien was knocking on my door step begging for Sanctuary."

"And you gave it to him?"

Rhys nodded, "My father died years ago and our 'family' broke it off. Although Morrigan's father Kier now is head of whatever is left of that family. I inherited a lot of money and I always liked Lucien. Don't get me wrong; he's a silver-tongued bastard. But I knew he wanted to break away from the 'family' just as much as I did if not more," Elain parked her car and turned to look into the passenger's violet eyes, "and once he told me what happened he became my brother, he might as well share my blood. He dropped out and we opened up Illyria."

"You think he'll ever go back to school?"

Rhys shrugged, "I don't know, maybe, he likes running the bar. He didn't at first, but… Illyria is a part of him now. He's a part of our family now."

He turned to smile at Elain, who was fighting to keep her tears from breaking, "I'm glad," she said, "That he has someone like you, like you all."

He opened the car door hesitantly; "Thank you for the ride Elain,"

"You're welcome," she said.

Before he left he drummed his fingertips on the window of her car, "My brother's a good man you know." Elain nodded, she wasn't sure what to say, "I heard you came over and helped him when he was sick, he deserves someone like you."

Embarrassed, Elain tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, "Thank you," she said, "But you don't know me Rhys," She wanted him to know that she wasn't going to be the girl to save his brother, she could barley save herself.

"Maybe I can see you better than you think,"

"I highly doubt that." Elain snapped. Who was this man to tell her who she was, he didn't know her and he certainly didn't have the right to make assumptions.

He flung his hands in the air, "Alright maybe I don't, but my brother does. He wouldn't be wasting his time with you otherwise."

Elain's fists gripped the steering wheel, she snarled at him, "You're making a lot of assumptions here, Lucien and I are barely friends."

He laughed a little at that, which made Elain's face turn even brighter, "You keep telling yourself that. See you around Elain." He threw a peace sign over his shoulder as he walked back into the bar. She waited a moment, just to see that he got inside all right, and then she cursed him the entire way home. She really needed to take a break from spending so much time at Illyria.