Brother Blood

Chapter 22: fight!

Keith and I trudged up the hill toward the house. No one had found anything, of course, but I was certain that the pack could tell from the look on my face, I knew what had happened. Aidan was standing on the porch with Ralph's hand on his shoulder, as if Ralph was the only force keeping Aidan still. When his yellow eyes met mine, he bolted from Ralph's grasp, barreling straight into me. We tumbled to the ground. Mel shouted at us, but Aidan wasn't listening.

"This is your fault," he growled.

"I'm sorry," I coughed, rolling over stand once more.

"Are you, Conor?" Aidan snarled. "Do you actually feel real emotions? Or is that just another way you're an animal freak masquerading as a human?"

He tackled me to the ground, landing a couple punches in my ribs before springing back. Keith tried to intervene, but Aidan socked him in the nose, landing Keith on his backside.

"Hey," I managed, rising again. "Leave the others out of it. You're welcome to try and beat the crap out of me."

Casey rushed to Keith's side, but no one else tried to step between Aidan and me. Now that I was ready, Aidan's next swing gave me opportunity to land my own punch, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped once.

"You knew what she was capable of," he wheezed. "You knew that she couldn't be trusted."

He feigned another swing but swept my feet out from under me. I hit the ground with a thump.

"You knew that she would do anything to keep you," Aidan accused, lifting me up and tossing me across the yard. "And you just let it happen!"

"I loved her!" I shouted, hopping up to my feet.

When Aidan bounced close, I extended my claws, raking them across his chest and then slamming my fist into the side of his jaw.

"You would do anything for Grant?" I continued when he stumbled, blood seeping through his shirt. "What about the pack, Aidan? What about our family?"

I dodged his blow and landed my own in the small of his back.

"I chose you over Stefa," I growled when I punched again. I heard a rib crack. "I chose the pack over my own happiness. I chose doing the right thing over the woman I love, and you don't get to judge me!"

Aidan managed to brush his knuckles again my face, but an uppercut from me sent him to the ground. He spat out blood. I grabbed his shirt, leaning in close.

"You're angry. We're all angry. I'm angry I have to choose at all, and you're angry you never told Grant how you feel. We're going to get him back. Fighting me isn't going to get that done, and you'll only end up a bloody mess."

I released his shirt and extended a hand down to help him up. Aidan eyed my bloody knuckles for a moment but then accepted my help.

"I didn't know she would take Grant," I told him. "If I had, I wouldn't have let her walk away. She said she had changed, and I was naïve enough to believe her."

Aidan didn't say anything. I didn't move, not certain if he was going to continue punching me or not. The training I had received was paying off in an unfortunate way, and I hoped that I hadn't hurt Aidan too badly.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled his eyes returning to their normal grey hue. "Forgive me?"

I gave him a hug. It was a little weird; we had been fighting just moments before. I could feel him trembling as he retuned the hug. When I released him, we were both covered in blood. We limped to the house together.