Chapter 5 The Bond
five
The Bond
*MARCELLUS*
Things are not looking up, not even a couple of days later.
In fact, I feel my body getting weaker every day.
Obviously, I’m still an alpha’s son, so on the outside, I still look strong, but I can feel the change.
What surprises me is how much the mate bond weakens me.
I know staying away from one’s mate without a rejection sucks out our strength, but that fast?
No, something is going on.
It’s Flo, who writes to me and brings light to the situation. The pack only knows the basics of what’s happened; my parents did their best to keep the severity of the situation hidden. I’m actually thankful for that, because the last thing I need is even more drama and maybe pitiful gazes.
Flo, however, knows and has my back.
It’s a simple message she sends me. Marc, I am so sorry for what’s going on. I contemplated staying quiet, but I can’t. You deserve to know the truth.
Attached, she sends me a picture of Eugene and Olive, dated yesterday.
They are meeting?
They promised they would stay apart from each other until we have discussed everything. Eugene promised, and Olive agreed. Fuck! Maybe it was a coincidence? I can’t believe my twin brother and closest friend would betray me like that.
The pain we felt, Amos says, appearing in my mind. His eyes are angry. It was them, meeting.
Did they sleep with each other?
No, we would have felt that a lot stronger, he says.
We still felt the betrayal, though. That’s why I am so weak.
He growls, prancing around in my mind. He is a strong wolf, very similar to my father’s beast, which is why Floyd and I have been so worried about his weakened state.
But it makes sense now. Follow them, he commands.
Are you sure? I ask. You might not like what we find out.
We need to know, we deserve the truth!
You are right, I agree.
I know the truth already, even without spying on them, but I want to see it with my own eyes.
I need the proof, or I will continue to lie to myself.
I don’t know what will happen once I know what’s going on, but keeping things as they are now is no option.
Eugene and I have avoided each other. I didn’t seek him out, but he didn’t seek me out either.
He was the one who lied about me, and part of me – the proud and stubborn part – wanted him to approach me first. Maybe that was a mistake.
I don’t know anymore.
I have no idea what’s right or wrong. I don’t know what I would have done in Eugene’s shoes.
He loves Olive, I know he does. He said she is the one for him.
If roles were reversed, I don’t know how I would have reacted, but I want to believe that I would have at least sought out my brother before burning that bridge.
The photo Flo sent me is from a small garden behind the pack house.
It’s an old one, and hardly anyone visits it.
A perfect place for a secret date. Maybe that’s their regular meeting spot?
I make sure to hide somewhere close to it, watching who comes and goes, from far enough away so that neither Olive nor Eugene will be able to take up my scent.
I don’t know how long I wait, and am close to giving up, when I spot Olive walking through the small gate. Half an hour later, Eugene arrives. They aren’t even sneaky. No surprise Flo caught them.
Well, makes it easier for me. I get up from my spot and approach the garden. The ache in my chest gets stronger again, meaning whenever I felt it, they were probably together.
From the distance, Amos’s sharp ears pick up their voices.
“We shouldn’t do this,” Eugene mutters.
“I know,” Olive says sadly.
“Olive, you are my brother’s mate,” he says. “What do you really want?”
“I don’t want him,” she admits. “I don’t want to hurt him. He has always been so nice to me. And I know we share the bond, but I… I love you. I can’t help it!”
When I step closer, I can see how Eugene leans into a kiss.
“Then why didn’t you say so immediately instead of making promises you can’t keep?” I ask coldly, stepping towards them.
Eugene and Olive basically jump apart. If it weren’t so serious, this would actually be kind of funny, but it isn’t. It’s not funny at all.
“Marc…” Eugene takes a step closer, while grabbing Olive’s arm and pulling her behind him. Something about this gesture pisses me off further. In my mind, Amos is already baring his teeth. “We didn’t mean to… and we didn’t sleep with each other. We just couldn’t stay apart.”
Before he can even grasp what’s happening, I’ve approached him and punched him hard.
Olive screams in shock. Eugene scrambles to his feet, his eyes flashing, indicating that his wolf is on the surface and didn’t take this attack lightly.
Well, neither do Amos and I! Eugene dashes towards me, knocking his head against mine.
I didn’t expect this type of attack, my mind spinning momentarily.
Enough for Eugene to tackle me and push me down.
I can hear Olive yelling something, but I don’t care what she has to say. Eugene doesn’t either. I don’t know how long we fight like this, but suddenly I hear a voice booming through the garden.
“Enough!” Dad growls, using his alpha command on us. “Apart!”
Eugene and I can’t do anything else but obey, stumbling apart.
“Goddess, boys,” Mom gasps, shocked.
Olive is standing next to them, looking terrified. She must have alerted them. My gaze wanders towards Beta Floyd, who has accompanied them. I expect him to look disappointed, but he just looks sympathetic.
“Are you crazy?” Dad yells. “You can’t do that. Not like this.”
“I can’t accept him taking the woman I love,” Eugene blurts out. “I can’t accept it!”
“And I can’t accept him taking my mate,” I growl.
“Then let’s battle it out,” he demands.
“Fine!”
“What?!” The shock is evident on Dad’s face. “Are you serious? Are you aware of what that means?”
“Fully,” Eugene snarls.
“Yes,” I huff.
“Don’t do it,” Mom begs. “Please don’t do that. This is not worth it.”
“I disagree,” I snap. “It is worth it to go against this betraying scum.”
“My own brother is mates with my girlfriend,” Eugene hisses. “So much about scum.”
“Brother,” I laugh without humor. “Funny that you say that. I didn’t sneak around behind your back.”
“Let’s settle this once and for all,” Eugene demands.
“But you can’t fight over me,” Olive yells. “Don’t do that! Please don’t do that!”
“She is right,” Mom tries to reason. “She… she made her choice. No matter what we think about that. Even if you fight, we can’t force her to mate with the winner. It’s her decision.”
“We are not fighting about Olive,” I say darkly. “I am not that stupid. I know we can’t force a mating.”
Eugene nods grimly. “Marcellus, I challenge you to a fight for our rank.”
“I accept.”
Mom has been crying nonstop for days, and for the first time, I can also see Dad being emotional.
The only thing he did convince us to do, though, was to keep it a private family matter.
We won’t make this a huge pack event. I prefer it like that anyway.
The last thing I need is to be the main topic of next month’s gossip.
Beta Floyd and Gamma Caleb are going to oversee the fight and act as witnesses.
They have decided to hold the fight in the early morning hours to make sure the other pack members are kept away.
The later in the day, the more pack members are usually active in the pack.
I don’t need this to be a huge spectacle, so I approve. I don’t know about Eugene, but if he is at least in a small part still the same person he was before our fallout, then he won’t want a huge spectacle either.
I don’t know his exact reasoning, but I know why I am doing this, which is part of the reason I don’t want the whole pack to watch. It’s not about Olive, it’s not even about the rank. But after this fight, I will know for certain. It’s something I need to know.
Dad actually came to talk to me. It was just the two of us sitting together and talking about the most basic things, about how happy I am that school is over, about the pack, my hobbies, and the last book I’d been reading.
We never had such a chilled talk before.
It makes me kind of sad we never had the chance to rebuild our relationship. There obviously was potential.
It’s on the day of the fight, as I’m starting my warm-up exercises, that Mom approaches me. She looks tired and broken, and I hate that I am part of the reason she looks like this.
“Don’t do it, Marcellus,” Mom begs me. “Please don’t. Why can’t I reason with either of you? Why do you both have to be so stubborn? You and your brother love each other!”
“I have to do this, Mom,” I tell her. I know she doesn’t understand, and maybe she is right, maybe this is the most stupid thing we have ever done, but I don’t see any real reconciliation with Eugene happening any time soon.
There is too much at stake not to battle it out now.
In a worst-case scenario, it could even hurt the pack.
Are you ready? I ask Amos.
We are going to see this through till the end, he says. You are a fine human. It’s an honor to have been chosen as your wolf spirit. When I see the goddess, I will tell her.
His words make me almost choke up. Amos is a calm and rather level-headed wolf, somewhat different to me, who is short-tempered and loud.
I sometimes feel bad that he got me as his human; to hear him say that being with me made him happy and that he cherished our time together makes me feel more relief than I could have expected.
Hearing him, I know I can do this. He just gave me the confidence I needed.
Not that I will survive this. Both Amos and I know we won’t. The strained bond has weakened us too much, and there is no chance for us to win against Eugene. It doesn’t mean we won’t go down without a fight, both of us having made up our mind that no matter what happens, we will fight till the end.