Saturday dawn caught Ethan evading Zyga's jabs on their morning jog. He was starting to pick up on when the tracker's footfalls were getting closer. And after three runs in the forest, the trail had become familiar. On this one, Zyga was pushing the pace, but Ethan kept up.
By the time they got back to the cottage, Ethan was bent double, gasping for breath. Zyga, though sweating, looked like he could go for another round.
Instead of going inside, Zyga tapped him and walked him around to the back of the house. "Let's touch up on your hand-to-hand training. Your muscles are already forming, and you need to adjust to the style that works for you. We'll go through the formations. I want you to try and touch my back."
"Ok. But when do I start training as a wolf?" Ethan wiped his face on the sleeves of his sweatshirt, though his ear perked up for the answer.
He had not transformed since his first moon. He had not even attempted it. Brent's tortured growls from the night at camp still haunted him. And he wanted Zyga around in case he lost control of his wolf.
"How about we work on the form you can control first, before worrying about the one you can't," his mentor snapped.
Ethan scowled.
Zyga squared off against him with his hands held up. "Now, c'mon."
Ethan imitated his stance, then lunged to the right, feinting. Zyga did not bite. The tracker twisted his body into Ethan's attack and then backhanded the left side of his face.
"Ow!" Ethan rubbed his stinging ear.
Nonplussed, Zyga lectured. "You were too obvious. Don't let your eyes show where you are going"
Ethan reset, one foot in front of the other, arms up. A second attempt and another smack. He now had two stinging ears. For his third try, he attacked head-on, trying to use his superior bulk to topple the tracker's slight form. This time, he earned a trip to the cold, leafy floor and a smack upside the head.
"Don't be stupid!" Zyga admonished him without sympathy. "Charge your opponent only when you are certain of a win. And lower your center of gravity on a charge."
The rest of the morning went by in the same fashion until Zyga called a ceasefire. By then, Ethan's torso had a smattering of bruises similar to a child's finger painting. He had also become quite intimate with the leaves on the ground. Some still stuck to his clothes.
After showering, they settled on the sofa for lunch. With his mother and Mrs. Baine not around to nag them, the two spread their feast on the center table. Ethan opened the containers of Kung Pao Chicken, General Tso's chicken, rice, and dumplings while Zyga switched on the TV to a football game.
Ethan loved Chinese food right after fried chicken, of course. The whiff from the boxes had his mouth watering. But the first bite of the marinated chicken did not deliver the sensation his taste buds expected. He tried the other dish.
That also failed in its promise. It was neither sweet nor salty. No spices, nothing.
"These are horrible. They're bland," he complained.
"Are you sure?" Zyga tried the dishes. "They taste fine to me. Put some hot sauce on it."
Ethan grabbed one of the finger-sized red packets, ripped it with his teeth, and squeezed the condiment onto his food. Then he speared a nugget of chicken liberally coated with the sauce and popped it into his mouth.
Zyga studied him as he chewed on the meat for a while. Ethan only felt a mild tingling on his tongue from the sauce that used to burn his mouth.
Then he remembered the burger he had eaten on his day out with Brent and Eri. That had also been tasteless, but he had thought it was just a bad burger at the time.
"I think there's something wrong with my mouth. I can't taste stuff."
Zyga forgot his food as his eyes scanned him. "What else? Do you feel odd anywhere else?"
The fact that Zyga did not seem surprised raised Ethan's suspicions. "N-no, nothing else. What is it? Is it the bond madness? Am I going to die?"
Zyga sighed and picked up his fork again. "You are not going to die. Now eat your food."
Ethan's eyes narrowed at the tracker. "You know something, and you're not saying. What is it, Zyga?"
His adopted father's green eyes locked with his hazel ones. They had a staring match and a vein ticked in Zyga's jaw. Usually, this was the sign for Ethan to back down, but he did not want to. Not today. So much had happened recently, and he knew so little. There was no way he would control things around him if he did not have the information he needed.
And so he glared right back until the tracker lowered his eyes with a sigh.
"Your body is failing because it realizes that you're not whole. You have an incomplete bond, and because neither you nor your mate has rejected it yet, the effect is gradual. It can take years before it blooms into a full-blown bond madness."
Ethan's shoulders drooped, putting his food back on the table. He really was dying. "I don't think Jan is going to accept me. Not after the other night."
"Son," Zyga started, shifting in his seat as if mulling over his next words. "What about you? Are you willing to be with him? Think carefully before you answer. Living with a vampire will not be a walk in the park. And the pack won't accept him easily."
Ethan did not hesitate. He knew the answer from the moment he had seen the hurt in Jan's eyes at his callous words. "He's my mate, Zyga. My other half. The one Luna has chosen for me. There'll be no one else for me. Without him, all I'll be doing is living a tortured life till my death."
His adopted father nodded, a sad little smile playing on the corner of his lips. "Well, I can't say I'm happy about Luna's choice, but her ways are sometimes beyond our understanding. And even if your mate hasn't realized by now, I believe deep down he may have acknowledged you."
"What? How?" Hope flared in Ethan's heart, but he tamped down on it, holding his breath, afraid that the slightest puff might blow it away.
A cheer rose from the screen on the console opposite them. A team had scored a touchdown, but neither of them was watching.
"Well, first of all, no one joins a mating howl unless they want to tell the world that this person is mine, which you both did. But even before then, Dr. Kim said your scent changed because of him. I didn't want to believe it, but he must have done something to give you his scent."
Ethan's heart started to pump, and he heaved a sigh of relief. There was hope.
"But if he's acknowledged me as his mate, and I know he's mine, why is the bond incomplete?"
Zyga rolled his eyes, sighing as if Ethan had just asked why the sky was up. "Because realizing that someone is your mate does not complete the bond. You must go through the entire ritual, last of which is to get your mate before an alpha to bless your bond."
Ethan groaned, a sound that vocalized the death of the nascent bloom of hope under Zyga's thorny words.
He had been right in fearing for the worst. Having Alpha Ryden bless a bond of the two people he hated most was going to be difficult. But dragging his runaway mate back to the alpha for a blessing was an impossibility.
"Son, Luna does not offer unattainable things. You only have to take the first step, and she'll place the rest in front of you." Zyga said.
"But where do I start? I searched for him online, but there was nothing. How do I take the first step if I can't even talk to him."
Each night, he had spent time looking up variations of Jan's and Ivan's names. The internet had been scoured clean of any information of the duo. And no one in his family knew anything of his mate within the last decade. Ethan found it difficult to believe everything would work out despite Zyga's assurance.
"You forgot one thing," Zyga murmured.
"What?"
"Your bond. It drew him to you once, and it would do so again and again until your bond is completed. Besides..." Zyga popped a piece of chicken in his mouth. "I've lit a couple of matches under his tail. Let's see if that doesn't speed things up a bit."
Zyga smiled to himself. Ethan's eyes narrowed, dread lining his face. The tracker had not built a career by being friendly with vampires.
"What did you do?"
Zyga shrugged. "I did nothing. I just let someone else do the dirty work, and your mate's people would handle the rest."
"How do you know his people? You hate them."
"I don't hate anyone, but there's a good reason not to like them. Do you ever listen during the history lessons at summer training?" asked Zyga in an exasperated tone.
Ethan shook his head, arching an eyebrow. No matter what happened in the past, the cool blonde vampire could not be that bad.
"Well, you may want to start from next summer. Your mate is very active in them."
A/N
Hi lovelies, thanks for reading.If you loved it don't forget to vote, comment and add to your library.
I do love some some good authentic Chinese food.
I would love to here your feedback on the story in general and this chapter in particular.
What did you like?
And what didn't you like?
What did you think about the characters?
Next chapter is already being edited. I will post it in a couple of days.
Ciao!