(MxM) Tales Of A Shifter (P1) - The Meeting

Chapter 49 - Popped Stitches

Chapter 49

Minding his speed so as not to intensify Brandons pain Ezekiel surely and patiently led the man in the direction of the kitchen....the place Glen spent her early mornings most days.

But...The moment Ezekiel guided Brandon further into the kitchen he realized that he had a problem on his hands.

"Well...Well...What do we have here...?" Lander nearly growled as he glanced over the two of them. His brother stood across the kitchen with a loaf of bread in his hand, and a plate on the counter top in front of himself. He looked away from Ezekiels and Brandon long enough to sit his bread down on the plate before him.

Ezekiel resisted his initial urge to groan and instead focused on ignoring his sibling for the moment in favor of getting the mortal off of his feet. Brandon's eyes were barely open but he barely let Ezekiel support him. He refused to lean on him much even though he was obviously in agony. Ezekiel didn't like it...but he didn't force him either.

Ezekiel made a move to guide Brandon further in, but the mortal, whimpered and bit his lip and resisted. Ezekiel stopped....he felt the mortal shaking slightly and breathing. Deep heavy breaths against his side. Calming breaths. Steadying in-hails and exhales.

Ezekiel let him gather himself in silence, watching the mortal struggle through his agony and hating that he couldn't do more.
But Lander wasn't as considerate in the least.

"Hey....!" He called out nearly at a shout, but when the mortal didn't look at him or even respond ti his call, Ezekiel brother positively shouted it again. "Hey You Mortal!" He barked across the kitchen, forcing the Brandon to flinch and finally look at him. "So is this how you show your gratitude to my family...by leaving your fluids all about our home? Haven't you heard that your people's blood is unsanitary?" He asked rhetorically.

"Leave him alone..." Ezekiel said with a roll of his eyes.

"Prick...." Brandon whispered back as his only response, clearly not in up to speaking much at that moment in time. Without another word he let Ezekiel walk him slowly across the tile in the kitchen.

"Ooohhh....this guy's got a mouth on him, huh Ezekiel? Feisty." Lander picked back like a small child and Ezekiel hissed at him, in frustration.

"Seriously Lander!? Give it a rest....." Ezekiel snapped at him, then he sighed as he concentrated on walking Brandon further into the room, and lowering him into a backless high stool beside one of the kitchen counters. Brandon released him quickly, once more reinforcing the idea that he detested being touched for any reason. But Ezekiel didn't have time to be offended by or curious as to the reasons behind his behavior.

Instead Ezekiels glanced at his brother and then about the empty kitchen, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach that he didn't want to acknowledge.

"Where's mom?" He asked his brother, already knowing that he wouldn't like his answer.

"She's out in the Western Village, helping them deliver the Andersons baby." Lander told him. "Apparently the Leopardess in that Clan went into labor early this morning."

"Shit....." Ezekiel said, moving back and looking at Brandon's side. His black gloves covered most his side, holding his shirt to the wound that was hidden beneath, but it was easy for Ezekiel to see the blood spreading through the fabric of Brandon's clothing like water across the surface of a sponge.

Frustratingly Ezekiel began feeling an instant flare of thirst over take him, a dry burn on in his throat but he pushed it away as he looked at his brother and away from the red spread on the mortal's side.