The Brother
I hate to admit it, I really do.
But – I need to see him. It's been two weeks. Two freaking weeks, mates shouldn't be apart for that long. I haven't even felt him, normally my wolf would feel his wolf lingering around as per his stalker tendencies but recently there's nothing. I have, however, been getting the creepy feeling that someone was watching me. Though, whenever I got to my window I wouldn't see a damn thing.
Back to the actual issue here though, I need to at least be around him. My only problem is, the hell am I going to do? I cannot go to him. He'll laugh in my face then not give a crap about my feelings. The very feelings I didn't want to manifest but no he had to stop me from just rejecting him and having this whole thing come to an end.
I can't stay here either though, I'll go crazy. These rollercoaster moods are also probably because I miss Zeke so bloody much. However, there's literally nothing I can do about that because he's unfortunately mated to Luna Josephine's younger sister, Bridgette. She's such a bitch. She literally goes around claiming to be a bitch. I mean honestly, who does she think she is, a female rapper?
Elisha has been no use either, I haven't seen her since she found out Nicholas was her mate. Nicholas at least bothers to come around sometimes, to talk to me – mostly because he knows that I'm away from my mate and actually need him – however, Elisha just doesn't swing around. Which is weird considering we live in the same house.
"Eli." Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
"Hi, Elisha." I say briskly, "Finally remember you have a sister, I see." I smile.
She gives me a look, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"We live in the exact same house and yet you're practically a stranger. Nicholas sees me more than you do. Way to go making me feel better about Zeke, big sis."
She laughs, "I'm your big sister when it suits you."
"What?"
She clicks her tongue, "You're always hot and bothered when I act like a big sister – which I am – but as soon as I 'stop,'" she puts air quotes, "You're ready to pounce on me! What the fuck do you want, Elijah?"
"I just want my sister, my boyfriend and my best friend. I just want everything to go back to the way it was."
Weird as it is the four of us have kind of always hung together. First, it was just the three of us but as soon as Zeke and I had started flirting then dating he was added on. Now, there's no one. Absolutely no one left. Just me.
If I had lost them in intervals maybe I'd handle this better but it all just fell on me. They all left, all got their other halves who actually accepted them and the bond. To add salt to the wound, I lost them all on my birthday.
Not to mention what the Pack lost, it's been weeks of mourning and sadness. Jay has tried his best to make everything as smooth as possible for the families that lost loved ones.
The rebuilding hasn't been that bad, seeing as most of it happened out in the open field. As I had mentioned my home is quite some distance away from the rest of the Pack and majority of it happened out there.
Her face softened, "Eli."
"No, whatever. It doesn't matter. I'm going for a run."
I walked right past her, down the stairs and out the house. As soon as I shut the back door I ran toward the woods. I stripped behind a bush, tied my clothes to my leg and shifted.
I ran as if my life depended on it, I zipped in between trees, jumped over fallen branches and ducked under low hanging trees. My emotions taking me further than I had ever been, I don't even know how long I've been running but soon enough I heard thumping behind me.
Alerting me that someone was following me. Damn, I probably passed out border kilometres ago. I was so trapped by my hurt I didn't even realise.
'Don't look behind you, Eli. Just run, you're almost safe. Run!' I heard an unfamiliar voice link me.
It almost made me do the opposite of what it was telling me, it was so sudden and unfamiliar.
I controlled my surprise and did as the voice said, soon enough I stopped right in front of a man, fully clothed. He didn't really look scary. He had brown gorgeous skin, like mine, a puff of curly brown-blonde hair and the most familiar brown eyes. I knew those brown eyes.
"You're safe here." He said looking down at me.
His voice matched the one that had just linked me. How did he link me though, he's obviously not in my Pack. I unknowingly crossed that border hours ago. I'm really crap at geography so I don't know when our border ends. I must have been wondering about. That's so dangerous.
"It is dangerous. Now, please go shift." He points to a bush however I move backwards. How the hell did he know what the heck I was thinking?
"Woah there, Eli. You're going back into No Man's Land. That would get both you and I killed."
Having had enough of this unknown man and not being able to actually voice myself, I made my way to the bush and shifted back, dressing as quickly as possible I move from behind the bush ready to direct all my questions.
I fire my first question, "Who are you?"
"Everything will be explained later. Let's get inside first." He says simply.
Has he lost his mind, "Let's? So, I'm just supposed to walk off with you?"
"I mean, you trusted me up until this point." He shrugs.
Not being able to counter that, I trail behind him for a little while until we reached a large but not ginormous house. It actually looked really cute. It was a two-storey white house with blue shutters. Like the house in The Notebook.
"I built it with that purpose." My head snapped to his as he was now beside me, "For it to look like the house from The Notebook." I nodded.
I don't really want to talk to him, he's genuinely creeping me out. I don't know how he keeps reading my thoughts or why he would even want to. What a major invasion of privacy. I heard him chuckle and I huffed, crossing my arms in annoyance.
We got into the house and I just couldn't handle it anymore, I asked again, "Who are you?"
"Your future brother-in-law. Nathaniel Russo." He winked, "I'm supposed to keep you safe when my dickhead of a brother can't." I knew I knew those eyes from somewhere. His eyes are identical to Alexander's.
Has he been the person that's been watching me, although I just met him, that would make me feel better. Knowing that it's not some weirdo stalker but my mates' brother.
"Don't you have your own mate to take care of?"
Surely she would have a massive issue with her mate out looking after someone else's mate. I mean, he looks old enough to have found her already but then again she could be dead or not found yet. Maybe that was an intrusive question.
"Nope." He says simply but I still feel like I overstepped.
My head lowers, "Oh. You called that strip of land No Man's Land, why?" I completely change the topic of conversation.
"Oh, that's not important." He waves it off, "Just familiarise yourself with you border ending so you don't land up there again."
"Call me a dickhead again and I'll castrate you, brother." My mates voice makes itself known before he does.
Nathaniel grins, "Why hello to you too, Alex."
He walked into the room looking drop dead gorgeous, his hair let down and his beard looking freshly trimmed, "Whatever. C'mon, Eli. I'll take you back home."
My wolf was yipping away, she was happy to finally be in her mates' presence but I could tell she wanted more. She wanted to be in his arms. And that was not going to happen. We all know that, well everyone besides her clearly.
While she was happy to see him, I was just angered. I was being chased by things in No Man's Land and he doesn't even seem bothered! On top of that he gets his brother to look after me, why doesn't he do it himself? Am I that unbearable to him that he can't even look after me himself?
What am I even saying? I don't need him to take care of me, I can take care of my damn self. I literally don't need him.
"No. I'd rather have Nathaniel take me." I say, purely as an act of defiance.
He still slightly creeped me out.
"What? You literally just met him and you're already willing to have him take you home?" Alexander says incredulously.
"Yes," I cross my arms, "Goes to show what a little kindness, can do for two people." I spat.
His eyes are slits, "That fucking tone will not work with me, Elijah."
"How about this one: I don't give a shit!" I yell.
I mean, would it actually kill him to show some compassion or worry? I could've died if it weren't for Nate.
I can see the fury burning in his now pitch black eyes, his wolf obviously not appreciating my tone. Alpha's always had less control but more control at the same time. Less control of their anger, possessiveness and such. More control of their wolves.
I could care less about upsetting his wolf at this point, Alexander was insufferable. How in the worlds was the Moon expecting us to get along?
"Eli –" Alexander had begun but Nate cut him off.
"It doesn't matter. None of this matters. Alex, go cool off. I technically am her guardian. She was bound to get used to me. I will take her. Just calm down." He said the last two words cautiously but sternly.
He turns away from his brother and stares at me, "Whatever, I don't give a shit anyway. Great to see you're still alive, Eli." He spits out with so much venom, I almost took a step back. He then turns around and walks away. Really, he marches away.
"You should cut him some slack." Nate says looking at me, once Alexander has left.
I scoff, "Why? Because 'he's been through a lot'?"
"Actually, he constantly goes through a lot." He shrugs.
"He's not very pleasant to be around nor does he even act like..." a mate, I desperately wanted to say but didn't, "Ugh, never mind. Let's just leave. Please. I don't need my parents on my case again."
Nathaniel queries, "Where were you going anyway?"
"To him, I guess." I huff.
He hides a smile, "Oh."
"Yeah, unfortunate much." I let out a humourless chuckle.
He punches my cheek, "I think it's cute." I slap his hand away, "Don't touch my face."
"Elijah. You do realise his Pack is roughly two hundred and sixty kilometres away from mine, right? And mind I remind you he just got back from a meeting out of the country. He could've been sleeping or something. Meaning, he hol-assed his way here. Just to make sure you were okay. Even though he must be exhausted."
I had no clue. Two hundred and sixty kilometres? Holy macaroni.
"He isn't the monster you think he is... Not completely anyway."