RAIDEN ||
My baby brother being in my arms brought on an entirely new warmth to my life. . . the memories of my struggles these last three weeks all but forgotten as I held onto him for the first time in two years.
Seconds turned to minutes which turned to almost an hour as Roman and I embraced each other, not willing to let go as our familial bond flourished with such warmth, it brought tears to my eyes.
Holding onto each other's safety, each other's love, each other's happiness.
Unable to control Asad, my baby brother and hi Kion start calling out to me, their short burst of roars filling the room as they couldn't find the words to describe this perfect moment — the only thing that seemed right were their calls.
"F-Fuck R-Raiden," Rome stutters through his words as he fights against his overwhelming emotions. "A-are you o-ok?" His chest jerking with each sob that escaped me.
Out of pure instinct and because I missed my baby brother so much, I start rubbing his back soothingly and cradling his head to my shoulder, gently rocking our bodies.
"Calm, Rome, calm, Asad," I whisper, burying my nose into his hair, inhaling all that I could of his scent. "I'm ok, Rome. I'm ok."
I close my eyes after I say those few words because I knew that I was far from ok.
"Tell me I'm safe, brother," Roman whispers into the crook of my neck, his calls for me, stopping only long enough to speak. "Please, I need you to tell me that I'm safe, just tell me that I'm safe."
Begging me to give him those two words that I would always tell him and our sisters whenever they were scared or just needed reassurance, Rome waits for them to come, calming himself enough to stop calling out to me.
Taking a deep breath, I whisper, "You're safe, Rome."
Our roars of happiness filling the room and when I finally pulled back just enough to look into this beautiful man's eyes, I see him blink once then twice, trying to focus his vision through the glow of his Lion' Asad's eyes and when his vision does clear, the image that laid in front of him brought even more tears to his eyes to replace the ones that I'd wiped away.
"What happened to you brother?" He asks, his eyes searching mine and I chuckle but quickly stop as all amusement leaves my frame, my hand going to clutch my stomach as I wince in pain.
Quickly trying to hide my reaction, I clear my throat instead but Roman noticed and he narrows his eyes as he immediately starts to take in my appearance which I'm sure looked downright awful.
Unfortunately there was a little mirror in the corner of the room next to some kind of wardrobe closet and I'd caught a glimpse of what my reflection would show.
I wasn't the built, mountain of power that I was used to be — My body that sat in front of my brother's now was skin and bones, my face had sunken in, bags were under his eyes and my hair was a mangled mess and from what I could see — my body was riddled in bruises.
My time in those fucking cells really took a toll on not just me, but Reland as well — we both looked like shit.
"What the fuck brother?!" Another roar escaping Rome, the intensity behind it, causing me to flinch as I focus my attention back into him, his eyes continuing to study my body. "Who did this to you?"
Before I could answer — Hunter, Gabe, Garrett and Theo run into the hospital room, eyes wide and shocked expressions plastered across their faces as Dylan pulls himself and a nurse off the floor.
Roman's attention is taken by the sudden intrusion and before I could stop myself, a growl escapes me at the sight of the men that I've been waiting to kill for three weeks, enter my hospital room.
But when Roman hears my warning growl, his head whips back in my direction and I try my best to hide my reaction once again — I didn't need my brother to know that these wolves were the ones responsible for my pain until I figure out why he's in this pack in the first place.
Shaking my head, Roman silently agrees to ignore my reaction, instead he reaches his hand out for something, someone.
"Come here," Rome speaks softly as his eyes meet one of the wolves that just entered the room, the fear that once was, still somewhat apparent. "I want you to meet someone."
Wait what. . .
Trying to look around his body, I study the men that had plastered their bodies against the wall by the door, their fear permeating the air in the room as I hear Reland roaring quietly on his bed.
My brother seemed to be fixated on someone by that door, his hand still extended, warmth flowing through our familial bond as he continues to gesture for one of them to come over and I couldn't decipher which one because they all were looking at the both of us.
"Hunter, come here please."
I gasp quietly, my eyes frantically shifting between my brother and the wolf responsible for injecting Reland and I with that first round of poison in that forest, he was the reason that Relan me went down, he was the reason that I, momentarily lost all function and with Dylan's help in using our bond against me, Hunter was the one who sneakily injected me with the poison that took Onyx away from me.
This better not be what the fuck I think it is.
I narrow my eyes as the stench of fear seeping from Hunter's pores was the only thing that I could focus on at the moment — watching the wolf slowly make his way over to my hospital bed.
"Brother." Looking to him when he calla out to me, I raise a questioning brow but stay quiet. "This is Hunter. He's the umm," Rome pauses, searching for the right word. "Gamma here. He's the leader of their strongest fighters." He smiles through his explanation and I nod for him to continue.
"I met Hunter a little over three weeks ago," Sighing happily, my brother pulls Hunter onto his lap and my heart starts beating erratically as the realization begins to dawn on me. "He rescued me and brought me back to his pack here."
My earlier frustrations gone as I hear those words and I look to my brother instead of the wolf on his lap.
"Rescued you?" I question, my eyes darting between his and Hunter's.
"Yes," Rome nods. "I was trapped in some human thing. Silver. I couldn't get out on my own, I honestly thought I was going to die brother," He shudders at the memory before continuing. "But Hunter and Gabe over there," Pointing at the men in question, Rome chuckles when Gabe sheepishly waves our way. "And some of their other wolves found me and rescued me. They brought me back here. I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for Hunter finding me."
Finishing his explanation, I see Roman studying my reaction. I knew there was nothing more that he wanted than my approval of his blessing — for me to tell him that he did good and that I was happy for him.
Except the terrible truth is that I wasn't happy for him, my baby brother deserves so much better than any wolf that is apart of this pack. . . but I couldn't tell him that, not with the way that his eyes shined brightly and the way that he was smiling at me right now, he seemed happily, truly happy and I could taint that with my own selfish reasons.
My eyes slowly travel back up to Hunter, I sigh seeing the fear behind his gaze. "Are you ok now, Rome?"
Rome nods happily, "Yes I'm ok, brother. It's been almost two weeks since I got here and I feel amazing now." Telling the truth of his injuries, I hoped that would ease my mind over the whole thing but it didn't.
"So why are you still here then?" I asks the most obvious question because if my brother had found his blessing in this fucking wolf, than why not just leave with him, find their own territory and start building their Pride.
I mean it's not like Hunter is the Alpha, I don't think wolves that aren't the Alpha are obligated to stay in their pack.
"I'm here because of Hunter, brother." His words bring absolutely no resolution as I shake my head, confusion still very much an issue. "Hunter is my blessing."
"You found your blessing?" My words coming out barely above a whisper as I feign innocence and Roman nods again, his smile never fading. "And it's Hunter?" I ask again already knowing the answer and looking at Hunter who's gaze meets mine once again and he offers a small smile that never meets his eyes.
Hunter's reaction to me now was making things a little more awkward on his part but I couldn't blame him for being cautious — I mean he did help capture me and my friend against our will and lock us away in those Goddess awful cells.
"Yes brother," Roman nods slowly, confirming my previously faked question. "Hunter is my blessing and I'm so incredibly happy that I've finally found him."
"Well that's," I pause, trying to find the right word as I sigh heavily. "Amazing, Rome."
"Yeah it is," His smile widens, this time even bigger before turning to point at Dylan and I scowl.
"The squishy Alpha wolf right there, he's alright, I'm pretty fond of the wolf, he's an idiot but he's cool in my books and considering the fact that he's taken such good care of my blessing while I've been searching for him, has put the squishy deeper in my favor. Plus, he's real good entertainment," Rome finishes, a hearty chuckle escaping him and I nod silently.
My eyes glued to Dylan as I scoff quietly, shaking my head, unable to hide my distaste for the man that the Gods and Goddess seemed acceptable for my soul.
"And that right there is his Beta, Gabe," Roman says, pointing to the man in question, so I look to him as well. "He's better than Squishy."
"Screw you, Hairball." Dylan growls quietly, avoiding my gaze when I look at him once again, the fucker's insult against my brother not taken lightly.
"And Gabe has a mate named Avery," Roman continues his explanation of the wolves around the room. "He's a super small guy, but he's pretty great. He reminds me of the runts back in the pride and Gabe worships the ground that the little man walks on."
Roman then grabs my hand and sighs, which brings my attention back to him to see him smiling softly at me and I couldn't but return it with one of my own.
"Gabe reminds me so much of you brother, he's strong, confident, helpful, selfless, he would give someone the shirt off his back even if it meant they were comfortable and he wasn't." Nodding, Roman follows suit and this time when my gaze finds Gabe, he never once looks away from me.
Just minutes ago, I was contemplating his death for his involvement in mine and Reland's capture, but to hear how much this wolf has touched my brother, I had to redirect my thoughts.
Looking to Reland briefly, he was silently observing the room as his eyes shift between each and every creature in here before landing on mine and then he blinks three times — silently telling me that he was uncomfortable and that something was off about this picture.
I blink back at him then follow my brother's finger as he points to the pair of wolves that I despised the most in this little group.
"Then there's Garrett and Theo." I shake my head as their heart rates pick up. "Garrett is Dylan's younger brother. The pup is pretty smart man. He's my age but like seriously, he could solve any damn math problem you put in front of him. Theo is Dylan and Garrett's cousin. Same age as Garrett and he's pretty chill, plus he loves archery!"
My anger momentarily fades as Roman's exclamation brings a smile to my face, thinking back to the times that I would watch him practice his love for archery in the open fields of our pride lands.
"It seems like you've built some really great relationships with the wolves here, Rome." I smile, although it wasn't my normal smile.
I hated lying to my baby brother even if was just an insincere smile.
"Yeah I have," He agrees but with a heavy heart as he studies my forced expression. "And I'm not in too much of a rush to leave because Hunter is important here in his pack, but once I've reached my limit, that's when I'll take him with me and build our own pride on our own territory."
I sigh myself, now understanding why Roman hadn't left, if Hunter is important to this pack, than he couldn't just up and leave and hearing my brother's words, it only took seconds before Hunter frowned.
"Romey, I'm not leaving the pack. We've talked about this." Hunter whispers, not very well though.
Romey?
"Little one, we have talked about this and we won't talk about it again," Shaking his head, Roman raises a brow when Hunter goes to open his mouth, shutting it just as quickly. "When Asad's tolerance has reached it's limits, we're leaving your pack."
"But-" Hunter starts but Roman roars, completely cutting him off.
"No buts, that wasn't up for suggestion nor was it up for discussion." Speaking softly to his mate, Roman lays down the law in typical feline fashion and in the usual wolf fashion that I've observed these past few weeks, Hunter pouts before sinking further into my brother's arms.
Pussy.
Tearing my gaze from the pussy wolf, I focus back on Roman as he looks at me. "I know you prefer your solitary lifestyle, but I'm sure with you being my brother, the wolves here wouldn't mind letting you stay. Right, love?" Roman questions, looking back at Hunter who nods quickly.
If only you knew. . .
"Raiden is m-more than welcome to stay, right, Alpha?" Hunter stutters, making me chuckle as he looks to Dylan for reassurance.
Who in turn looks at him, eyes shifting to Roman then slowly traveling to mine and once Dylan catches me glaring, the my so-called blessing nods without even an ounce of hesitation.
"Of course," Dylan agrees. "Any family member of Roman's is pack to us and Raiden is more than welcome to stay."
I scoff, loudly this time, unable to hide my anger for the man a few feet away from my hospital bed.
Feeling the shift in the atmosphere once again, Roman's eyes dance between mine and the wolves in the room, confusion lacing our familial bond as he hears their heart rates pick up, fear and guilt pouring into the room.
My own rage flooding through our familial bond alarmed Roman as he touches my shoulder but I could tear my gaze away from Dylan, the man that the Gods and Goddesses felt worthy enough to bound to my soul, the man that used out bond against me, the man that allowed all of this shit to happen these past three weeks and to top it all off, now my baby brother, who is the most amazing creature on this planet, is mated to one of the wolves that's caused so much pain not only to me but to Reland.
Roman goes to say something but seeing the action of me shaking my head, his thoughts come to a halt and he follows my angered gaze as it falls upon Garrett and Theo.
"Thank you Garrett and Theo for being so kind to my little brother while he's been here in your pack. I'm sure with the fact that he's been alone for a few years searching for his mate, that your welcoming him brought him great joy."
Roman smiles probably because being around other creatures after being on his solitary joinery for two years, brought him joy.
My baby brother being a Lion needed companionship and affection and social interaction just as much as Reland.
Seeing Garrett and Theo nod to me, I look at Gabe who stood strong and tall, but still had an apologetic tone to his stance. "Thank you Gabe for being someone that my brother could look up to. For him to say that you remind him of me is a huge compliment. So thank you again."
Roman's smile widens as he nods to Gabe, the appreciative that my brother had for his wolf was enough to shift my thoughts before of killing the fucker to allowing him to continue to take the breaths that he needed.
Once I was satisfied with him, I look to Hunter and I see Roman tense, his fear of me accepting his blessing was all too apparent and because I love my brother so much, I was going to try to accept this pairing.
But that doesn't mean that I have to like it.
I narrow my eyes slightly on the pussy wolf and speak clearly. "Thank you for rescuing my brother, Hunter. I appreciate the fact that you have accepted your bond with him immediately and you haven't turned him away just because he's a feline or a male."
Giving Dylan the coldest side eye that I could, I love how my pettiness takes root as Dylan hangs his head.
Looking back at Hunter, I force a smile. "That's very big of you to do, so thank you for loving him. If there's anyone that deserves happiness, it's my baby brother. Please don't break his heart, he's my life and I would hate to have to hurt you if you hurt him."
Roman's smile returns as he chuckles behind my words and Hunter smiles as well, a genuine smile that met his eyes before nodding and leaning even further into my brother's arms which he tightens around his blessing — placing a kiss to the side of his head.
And even though I could tell they both were happy that I am willing to tolerate their bond, I don't miss the moment that Hunter shifts uncomfortably on my brother's lap as my cemented words harden around the visible threat of my words, sealing them on the surface.
And finally, I slowly bring my gaze to meet Dylan's as he watches me with fearful eyes. "Alpha Dylan, I appreciate you being willing to allow me to stay in your pack. My brother included, you didn't have to open your borders up to us and help, but you did so I thank you —" I start and when Dylan tries to open his mouth to say something, I quickly speak up again, effectively cutting him off.
My gaze hardens, a deadly grip behind my eyes as I hold Dylan's uneasy stare.
"And with allowing me to stay here, I hope that I'm ok in assuming that you finally seem willing to accept our bond.... Mate."
And with the words that crushed my soul as Roman spoke them, I hear him gasp as I utter the same ones that now bewildered him.
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Raiden betta go the fuck off! I love this for him. He truly felt like he couldn't speak up about his hatred for the wolves in the room because of Roman's happiness, so he went the petty route and I live for a good petty moment!
This chapter signals the end of PHASE ONE of this story, Dylan and Raiden's lives before their bond was forced to begin it's true journey.
PHASE TWO will involve their bond finally setting in it's foundation.
Thoughts on this one???
Predictions? Hopes? Fears?
💋 LYNEA
Thanks so much for reading,
Until next chapter,
Byeeeeee Bestiessssss!!