The Brothers and I

Chapter 32

"W-what just happened Thomas? What was he talking about?"

Thomas' face scrunched in agitation, his eyes switching between silver and gold at a rapid pace that it felt almost hypnotic to watch. His hands continued to rub my back in an absentminded way while he spoke, his voice holding an undercurrent of forced calm. "Nothing you need to worry about."

I stared at him in disbelief, my tears long forgotten as I wondered angrily if he took me for a fool. "Nothing to worry about? Are you fucking kidding me? You were just demoted and I have essentially been given a life sentence of solitude! That is not nothing Thomas!"

His golden eyes snapped down, a subdued snarl curling around his features, his distaste for the subject clearly evident in his feral voice. "It's my punishment."

"Because of me? I hesitated, a pool of guilt building in my gut before I continued with a whimper. "Is it because I'm human?"

He sighed, closing his eyes while he exhaled a defeated breath. "Mia... I fucked up. Or at least... I think I fucked up. I'm so sorry baby. We are in this because of me. Not you... In fact, all of this is happening because my brothers can't seem to accept the truth."

"Which is?"

Thomas eyed me with an air of caution, his worry etched across his creasing forehead and his lips paling into a thin line. "Every wolf is gifted with a mate by the Moon Goddess. Our other half. And the pair is connected through a bond called the mate bond. Sometimes, wolves born together share a bond... which means they end up with the same mate..."

My head was beginning to spin but I kept my gaze sharp, hoping and praying that he wasn't going where I think he was going.

".... For my brothers and I that other half is.... you Mia. You belong to all of us and we belong to you."

My head snapped to the face kneeling in front of me when his vigorous shaking on my shoulders began to hurt.

"Huh? Sorry... What did you say?"

Liam huffed before narrowing his gaze on me. "I was asking if you were ok. You went pale all of sudden and you weren't answering. Maybe we should go to the infirmary and -"

"No, I'm fine. I just..." My fingers automatically reached out to fidget the edge of the blanket, my anxiety rising at the thought that Thomas may not return. "Um...Thomas and I had a fight after we came back from the meeting. I was hurt and he said some things and I retaliated... Anyway, he took off into the trees after that and hasn't come back."

My voice had dropped to a pained whisper but Liam seemed to visibly relax, his tense posture easing as he took hold of my hands in his. "Both your lives have changed overnight. It's normal to feel upset and angry. But believe me, Tommy will come back. You're his mate. He can't stay away."

I sighed, my eyes glancing at our entwined hands before rising towards the trees, hoping to catch a glimpse of silver fur but to my disappointment, there was nothing. My mind drifted to the last thing I had said to him last night.

"So, what you're saying is that I'm some kind of soul mate to all five of you?" My voice was filled with incredulity. All this talk of bonds and Goddesses was starting to go over my head.

Thomas' jaw ticked, his silence cementing the fact that my fears were indeed true.

I was magically connected to five brothers who happened to be mythical creatures and four out of the five were complete assholes who didn't want anything to do with me. And as much as I tried to find relief in that, I couldn't. It hurt. When Marcus had said that I was unfit, the pain in my chest had been searing. It had hurt to the point where I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Whether from the physical pain or from heartbreak I wasn't sure. But it had felt brutal.