Wolf Afflictions
*~Damon's POV~*
I watched Alex pack up all the medical equipment and some of his things. He looked a bit shaky but that was it. No types of stress or even self hatred. No signs of even vaguely remembering pulling he trigger on someone. The only thing he seemed to be thinking about was why Hunter had just yelled at him to get out.
I was going to take him home. He needed rest. It was only a matter if time before it hit him what he actually did. That he killed someone. I remember for my ritual I went a whole week before I broke down. And I couldn't stop seeing their face everywhere I went. Every scream. There was a cold empty feeling following me around for weeks. But then I found ... well, I found Josh. But that changed for Alex and Molly after that. And now only Alex is still standing.
I kept thinking about what Hunter had said. That Alex wasn't his. That he was really my mate. But that couldn't be true. We couldn't be mated. It just ... it wasn't right. It wasn't fair. To either of us. Hunter and I, I mean. It's not fair to me because I could have had him sooner. I could have been with him the day he told me that he liked me. And it wasn't fair to Hunter because he deserved Alex a million more times than I did.
Until I saw Hunter break down a few hours ago I didn't even think that he had emotions. He never has shown a lot of emotions. Even as a child. He was quiet and shy. He was very reserved. And I realized that whoever this Curse guy was has been rapidly draining away all of my brothers strength. It saddens me to think that all this time Hunter has been hurting himself and trying not to make others think he's weak or see his weakness.
But Alex has brought out those emotions. He's helping him move out of his shell. But there's something wrong now. He's shouting himself down again. Pushing people away.
Alex sighed and looked back at me. I stared back still wondering how he could be my mate. But it does explain why we couldn't keep out hands off each other.
"I don't understand." Alex said softly. His words barely a whisper in the wind.
"There really is nothing to understand. I'm going to take you home and then find Hunter. I think I know were he might have wondered off to." I said.
Alex sighed but nodded his head anyway. I walked over to him and put my hands at the sides of his face. He looked back at me and I once again felt that little flicker of lust but I didn't act on it. Just stood there looking at Alex. Wondering how the hell I could ever deserve to be mated to this. How it was even possible to be mated to him.
"Damon?" Alex whispered looked at me in a bit of confusion. And I realized I must have been staring to long.
"Sorry." I said backing away from him. "I just... Hunter he said some, um, he said ... anyways, I need to get you back. Me and Hunter need to have a talk." I rambled on. Alex looked even more confused but followed me back home anyway.
The trip was silent and brief. Alex walked behind me with his head down and hands gripping his belongings tight. He seemed to be in deep thought. I just keep walking forward. That's what we all needed to do. Keep moving forward. We arrived that the house moments later and Alex when to put his things away. I stayed in the kitchen with my mom to explain what was happening.
“Where's Hunter?” she asked concerned.
“I'm not sure, but I think he's down by the lake. We found the roughs. It was Josh and two other guys from the team, but Alex he... he killed Josh. After that Hunter when crazy or something so I'm gonna go find him. But keep an eye on Alex please. He hasn't cracked yet.” I said. My mom was kind of shook at the fact that Alex had killed but said she would look after him.
I told her that he had cracked yet just when I was starting to think that maybe, he wouldn't. And that thought scared me. That Alex was somehow containing all of his thoughts and worries and everything else and just not letting any of it ever surface. Like something or someone was keeping it inside. If it was someone, I had a feeling it was Death.
Walking out towards that woods I decided that I should probably turn because it would be easier to track Hunter and the lake wasn't close. Hunter had told me about the lake after the first couple of nights he started going there. When it was getting really bad. The doctors claimed that he had severe depression, anxiety, insomnia, and was a schizophrenic. They tried to put him in a mental hospital but mom and dad wouldn't allow it. We were only checking for the symptoms of the Curse. And he had them.
But Hunter wasn't taking it well. He keep racking his head against the walls and sometimes he would scream. He would just sit in his room and cry and scream and it echoed through the house. It was so bad we had to physically go to his room and move him to the Anger room. The whole time he wouldn't stop. Mom and dad were constantly stressed and they were extremely harsh on me after I gave up my alpha powers to Hunter. I knew that they loved me but I knew that they weren't lying when they scolded me for putting more shit on my brother. But by then he has started going to the lake. And now he was just extremely quiet.
If you weren't paying attention he could walk right by you and steal the couch from right under you and leave before you even noticed that you were on the floor. Or pass him in the school hallway ten times a day and not even see him. And it made everyone in the house cautious and a little uncomfortable.
I was running. Leaves rushing by me and rubbing against my fur. My paws slamming into the dirt and then leaping into the air the next minute. My senses trying to zero in on Hunter. I was getting closer to the lake. My vision was blurring everything together, and soon enough I was there. Hunter was laying down in grass with his eyes closed. I changed back into my human form with a little bit of extra strength to get my pants back at the very least.
“What do you want?” Hunter asked as I sat down in the grass next to him.
“Why did you just run off Hunter?” I asked.
Hunter looked at me and sighed. “You know, just because I told you that Alex is your mate doesn't mean I just letting you go after him.”
“I was protecting him from you! You were the one who just started shoving him.” I scoffed at him. Hunter shook his head at me, laughing.
“That's not what I was talking about. I know what I did, Damon. I meant in general.”
I was confused as to why he was telling me this. Like he didn't just yell and shove Alex out of the tent and then run away. Like it was just a little misunderstanding. There was more to this, there had to be other wise Hunter would have dealt with it right then and there. And it's not about me and Alex, not really. He's made himself very clear on his stance with me and Alex. I was not trying to cross that line.
“Okay, then what's this about?”
Hunter sighed, “He killed him. Alex killed Josh.”
I flinched at the last sentence. I was trying not to think about the fact that Josh is dead. And now that I thought about it, Alex not showing any signs of breaking down over it wasn't really helping. Because it seemed like he just didn't care. Didn't care about Josh being dead, or my feelings about it, or even Hunters. But I was supposed to hate him. So I keep on pretending that I do.
“Why does it matter?” I asked.
“Damon you remember everything from when you kill someone, right?”
I grimaced at the thought, “Yea.”
“Just think about Alex. You and I both know what he's been through and seeing himself after he realizes what he's done is going to break him. I don't want to watch that. I don't want him to go through that because I don't know how it's going to change him.” Hunter said.
“Well, he hasn't broken yet.” I started, “But there's something else isn't there? Something to do with your Curse?” I asked. Hunter had been talking all this time but he seemed to just be barely here. I knew there was something else. Or really someone else harming him. That Curse guy that Josh was talking about.
Hunters eyes seemed to glaze over and his hands were shaking as he pulled grass out of the ground. “Um, right … right after we heard the g-gun shot … this guy. This guy that came with my curse, his name is Curse. And he has a sister, Gift. But anyways, he told me that … he told me …” By now Hunter was crying and didn't know how to comfort him other than just listening. He blinked the tears out and let out a heavy breath. “He told me that Josh is – was – my real mate.”
I froze on the spot. My own hands were starting to shake. How? How?
“You probably think I'm crazy.” Hunter mumbled.
“No … no. Just, it's okay. I have the same. Except it's just one. Fate.” And as I said that I realized that Josh was right. It was just so fucking ironic that I would have Fate inside my head.
“So, now my wolf wants to kill Alex. That's why I ran. I didn't want to hurt him.”
“Well, you're going to have to talk to him sometime. This is an alpha thing, okay. Control your wolf. You can do it. It might be hard, and you'll feel like giving up and running away but you won't always be able to do that. You have to stand on your own two feet and show yourself that you can do it. Because you, are going to be the best fucking alpha ever. And you're going to get over this.” I said. And with that I pulled him up and we made our way back to the house. My thoughts racing over that fact that I've basically taken everything and everyone from him. Without him or I realizing it.
A/N: Well hello there my lovelies! I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^-^ This was a significantly better talk between the brothers that before. QUESTIONS: How do you think Alex is doing? Do you believe that Death might be keeping Alex sane? How do you think Damon is feeling right now, after learning that Josh was Hunter's mate? Why is having Fate in Damon's head ironic? and Do you think the brothers relationship is progressing in a positive way?OKAY, until next time my lovelies <3 Pick is of Damon.