Chapter 20

Strained bond

-Xabien-

Ceyden and Riya both stare at me for a moment, before Riya growls “over my dead body.” Ceyden glances over at her, before nodding. “I’m sorry, but I agree with Riya. Rogues are cruel, unpredictable criminals.”

I sigh. I knew this would be their view, which is why I have to convince them. “Some of them, maybe most of them. The two I’m talking about are merely two wolves whose only ‘crime’ is running away from a man who wanted to kill them.”

The two mates in front of me exchange a look, before Ceyden sits down at his desk, motioning for me to continue. Clearing my throat, I tell them about Harriet and Harli.

“These two wolves are a mother and a daughter. The daughter is only 18, and my pack is the first she’s ever spent any time in. 26 years ago, the mother- Harriet, left her pack with her mate, a wolf who wasn’t her fated one. Her fated one was the alpha, and he’s a sadistic bastard. So, they left. Harriet and her husband, Henry, had two children, and the alpha Harriet rejected swore to kill them all. He managed to kill Henry, and very nearly killed Harriet’s son also.”

Pausing for breath, I glance up at my friends, who already look upset at what Harriet and her family had to go through. “This alpha chased them into our territory, and by the time we got to them, Harli, Harriet’s daughter, was injured, and Horatio, Harriet’s son, was barely holding on to life. This alpha was deliberately killing him slowly and painfully, whilst Harriet and Harli had to watch.”

Both Ceyden and Riya look certifiably horrified, and oh boy do I know how that feels. Thinking back on what they all had to go through is physically painful for me; I can only imagine how horrific it must have been for them.

“Harriet and Harli can’t stay at our pack forever. They’ve spent years on the run, and they have to move on again; apparently it’s like an itch beneath the skin. So, I was thinking that maybe they could move between our two packs. They want to settle down, but that’s too big of a step right now.”

Ceyden contemplates it silently for a while, before Riya speaks up, her voice a little shaky. “Why only the two of them? Did the son…did he not make it?” She asks quietly, and I smile. “He made it. He’s really strong. He uh, he’s also my mate,” I say slowly, and both Riya and Ceyden snap their eyes up to mine.

“Oh shit- really? Is he- is he ok?” Ceyden asks, worry evident in his tone. I smile, folding my hands in my lap. “Yeah, he’s doing ok. Has a massive vendetta against alphas, as you can imagine, and I’m not the biggest fan of rogues either, so we had some stuff to work out, but everything did work out.”

They both smile warmly at me for a moment, before Ceyden nods. “Alright. Can we meet them, and then decide? Obviously I trust you, and I don’t think you would’ve taken them in if you weren’t sure about them, but still. I’m not letting a repeat of Atti happen to anyone else.”

I nod quickly, “of course! I don’t want you to take them in if you’re not completely sure. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” Ceyden nods gratefully, before raising an eyebrow at me. “So, why doesn’t your mate want to go with them? Presumably he’s been travelling around for as long as the others have.”

I feel my face heat up a little, glancing away from them. “Oh well…he said he wanted to stay with me,” I say quietly, unable to stop myself from smiling at the memory. “Aw! He sounds all shy and cute,” Riya proclaims, and I choke on my own breath.

“Introverted, yes, shy, no. He’s quite fierce, and a good fighter. A really good runner too, so are Harriet and Harli. All their wolves have bulked up a bit now- Horatio’s was so small, that first night I saw him. It was smaller than Harli’s, and hers wasn’t exactly big. But, they’ve all healed and had proper meals for over a month, so that sort of…did the trick.”

“Wow, I thought he’d be this scared, paranoid little thing, from what you’ve told us about the family’s past,” Riya muses, and I smile. “I thought he’d be like that too, and sometimes I think it was all a dream, and I never saw him bleeding on the ground with that alpha’s claws in his neck, and then I see the scars and I feel so impressed by him, and also sad. And angry- I don’t think alphas are allowed to do that, are they? Just…attack wolves if they feel like it,” I clarify, watching my friends’ faces go through a mixture of sadness and anger as I speak.

“No. They aren’t. We should alert the Hunter Association, the Berrecas probably hate us already from making them spend years searching for those other rogues, but I’m sure Atticus can get Constanza Berreca to listen,” Ceyden suggests, and Riya nods.

“Absolutely, I basically have Connie on speed dial, and that’s nothing to do with her being my friend. I’ll give her a call and see what she thinks about all of this.”

I let out a relieved sigh, rubbing my eyes with my hand. My mating mark is starting to ache a little, probably because Rat and I only just mated, and then I instantly separated us. Probably not the smartest of ideas, but I knew he’d want to sort out his family before himself.

“You ok there Xabien? You’re looking a little tired,” Ceyden says, and I nod. “Yeah, and this aches,” I say, gesturing to my mark. Ceyden frowns, tapping his desk with his fingers.

“Xabien, when did you and Horatio mate?”

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to remember when it actually was. So much has happened; I introduced him to my family, and then the pack, and- oh shit.

“It was only…last night.”

Ceyden and Riya both gape at me, before Riya sighs, pressing her face into her hand. “Are you dumb?! That’s so recent! And you just left your mate with your pack?! The bond is in its critical period, normally wolves spend the entire week with each other after mating, or at least two days! And you- you just left?!”

I groan, the left side of my neck really starting to hurt. “Fuck me, I didn’t think about it, and no one mentioned anything- how was I supposed to know?” Ceyden sighs, rubbing his temples. “Xabien, if you’ve had your mate at your pack for over a month, they, like us, probably assumed you mated ages ago. Riya and I only waited like an entire year to mate because of her promise to Atti, otherwise we would’ve mated ages ago too! I can’t believe you only mated yesterday.”

Gently touching my mark, I hiss in pain as a sharp jolt of electricity courses through the mark, and not the nice, warm electricity I get when I touch my mate. Nope, this is just good old, painful electricity.

“What do I do?! Is- is Rat also going to be in this pain? What’ve I done,” I groan, placing my head in my hands. “Rat? Weird pet name to give your mate but ok. And yes, he’ll be experiencing the came thing. You should go home in the morning, it’s too late now but as soon as it’s light outside, go back. It could be dangerous for you both if you hang around here any longer than that.”

I nod, my eyes still squeezed shut as my head begins to throb with the pain, and I feel uncomfortably hot. Ceyden and Riya help me get to one of the guest rooms in the packhouse, and I lock myself in immediately, wishing I could just scent my mate and cuddle Rat to me.