DISCLAIMER: I don't own Alex Rider

Title: End of innocence

Rating: T! for language, violence and death.

Language: English.

WARNINGS: Child abuse, swearing, violence, death and drinking.

Summary: Nobody understood why Wolf was so harsh on Cub. But he had a reason...a pretty damn good reason. It all began with his childhood.

PROLOGUE

James San-Luca was the last person you would expect to be unhappy at home. He had it all, people thought, he had a handsome face and dark brown hair with a slight olive complexion. His eyes was a dark brown. One thing people noticed was he hardly ever smiled, they assumed it was because it made him seem the strong and silent type. Since there was no denying that he was strong, he had obvious muscles. No-one knew how but the girls loved it. They could often be sighted watching the boys play football and hoping he would disregard the school rules and take his shirt off.

James San-Luca had a sort of fan-club. It was massive. Boys all hoped to be his friend, because who doesn't want to be friends with someone they could pick discarded girls up from? Despite all this he had one friend, Ben Daniels. He was always, as sappy as it sounds, there for James. If James was to ever reveal the inner workings of his house Ben would probably beat the living daylights out of James's father and then take James to his house to stay in instead of his own.

James's father was...different from the average one. James's mother was just 16 when she married his father (despite the fact his father was a 30-year-old man), who was handsome at that time. His mother was desperately in love with his father. It worked out fine for a while...until James came along. His father began drinking time after time, slowly getting worse as the days went on. His mother was often covered in bruises and cuts but James couldn't understand what they came from as a little kid.

At just age 6 his mother left, even though she "fixed" James's father. She was the only one who knew how to "fix" his father. As she left she had said to James "I can't take it anymore". James assumed she meant him by "it". He was devastated and spent a week up in his room wondering what he did to make his mother go away and leave him. He only came downstairs for something to drink and eat and only left his room for the toilet.

His mother was spanish, she had a olive complexion and thick, black coarse hair that waved down to her shoulders. Her face was soft and gentle with cheekbones jutting out drastically. Her eyes was a dark green and peered down at everyone. She was truely beautiful, yet her face often had black and blue marks on.

It was a month after she left that James understood what his mother meant by "it". His father had hit him for the first time. At first James believed it to be a accident. It was only when it became a daily reoccurrence that James realised it wasn't a accident.

He lived in fear of setting his father off. He watched as his father slowly drained bottles of the intoxicating liquid that smelt horrible. He kept the house immaculate as he quickly learnt if it was not spotless he would have it worse. From the age 7 he led a different life than others, in fear of returning home and preferred school to home life.

He was forced to learn to cook and to shop for he and his father from a young age. His best friend, Ben, knew something was wrong when he finally understood how to analyse how James was behaving. He was far too mature for his age as well as being immature at the same time. He nearly always had bruises and cuts, that he claimed came from falling over. Not only that but James wouldn't let him come around to his house.

When Ben was out shopping with his mother at age 10 he saw James pushing a trolley around the supermarket and putting items in. Ben excused himself, claiming to go get the cheese, and followed James to see if he met up with his mother or father. He watched as his best friend put items into the trolley for 5 minutes. Only then did he connect the dots. He wouldn't mention it to James though, he would allow James to bring the subject up. Ben knew even at that age how hard it would be to talk about that for James.

Ben collected the cheese and wandered back to the trolley and put it in the trolley. He didn't pay much attention to anything going on around him. He was trying to see it from James's point of view, being terrified to return to his house.

If Ben was honest, James was messed up in the head.

If James saw anyone in pain, being bullied or crying, heck even alone he would always go over and comfort them or protect them. He was determined to ensure that another person never felt like he did, even if it was slight in comparison. He never said it out loud but he sometimes wondered if anyone would care he died, even from age 11. He also found himself wondering if he was truly worth anything. In short he hated himself.

Despite that he acted as if he had no problems, laughing and smiling. He laughed at almost anything that wasn't even funny. He laughed instead of crying. He had gotten so use to pain and feeling isolated that now tears never came when they usually would. He was broken and abused, there was nothing left of the former James San-Luca.

All that was left was a self-loathing boy with a messed up life.

As far as anyone else was concerned? He had a perfect life.

The only one who had a slight idea on what was going on was Ben Daniels, and even he couldn't truly understand it.

I've just always wondered what made Wolf the way he is. Hope you liked it.

~ Chloe xoxoxo