Chapter 12 The Strings Attached
Josh
Bane and I haven’t seen much of each other the past week. But plenty of other activities take up my time.
The circular potion bottle tips off the side of the counter and tumbles to the floor below. Crack. A splintering sound, but when I lean over the edge and check, the glass remains mostly intact, save for a crack at the impact site.
“Awesome,” I laugh. Pretty good, especially for my first attempt at strengthening the glass. Defensive techniques are fairly straightforward but making them last against any attack takes a mix of power and determination. What’s it like to protect and stand between something and destruction?
Selecting a squat square bottle next, the cool surface heats up in my palms as the magic sinks into it. Almost there—
“Hey.”
“Ah!” Losing my concentration when I hear Bane’s voice, the bottle falls before I finish fortifying it, and the glass shatters on the floor.
Oops. Bane waits for me as I clean up the mess, his brown bomber jacket hugging his broad shoulders. He glances around the empty potions store, a familiar smirk playing on his lips.
“Hey, you off soon?” The heated look in his eyes tells me exactly what he’s after.
“No, but I’m free Friday.”
His smirk widens. “You think I don’t already have plans for my weekend?”
“Move your big plans?”
“Rearrange my schedule for you?” He makes a show of considering it, but that’s all it is. A show. He likes hooking up with me. Why else would he keep doing it?
Sure enough, Bane leans against the counter, his eyes locking on mine. “Only if you make it worth my while,” he purrs.
This is my chance.
“It’s Clover Pack movie night on Friday,” I offer, aiming for casual but probably missing by a mile.
“Showing something good?” he asks nonchalantly, fingers drumming on the counter as he leans back.
“I’m not sure, but it will be fun.”
Like someone flipped a switch, the interest drains from his face and he disengages. “Why invite me to your pack’s gathering?”
“Everyone is welcome,” I say, fiddling with a jar of dried herbs on the counter. “You should come.”
He makes a face. “Your pack’s territory should be private. It’s not Disneyland. You shouldn’t just invite rivals into your den.”
“We don’t think of you as rivals.”
“That’s good. You guys are way too soft to tangle with us.”
“Seriously?” I huff. “Is this really an issue?”
“Nah. It doesn’t matter.” Bane sighs, that familiar mask of indifference sliding back into place. “But we’re not dating.”
“It doesn’t have to be a date,” I assure him. “Just two... friends, friends hanging out.” The word feels foreign on my tongue. Are we even friends?
He shakes his head and backs up from the counter. “Never mind. Think I’m busy after all.”
He turns on his heel, waltzing to the door. Why is my mate so stubborn?
Sometimes Bane seems completely against love to a ridiculous degree.
Being a player and hooking up doesn’t explain it all.
Even seeing one measly movie is too much for him?
I wonder if someone hurt him in the past. What if a terrible experience with a former love broke his heart?
Is there someone out there I need to kill?
Okay, I wouldn’t kill anyone. I would glare his ex to death and unleash some very harsh words behind their back.
I get out from behind the counter and manage to step in front of him, blocking his path to the door. “Wait! Don’t go.”
I reach out tentatively, fingers brushing against the sleeve of his jacket. Bane’s gaze flickers down to my hand, then back up to my face. He seems almost... uncertain, which is so unlike him. For a second, he lets my hand keep him in place. The expression on his face almost looks like longing.
We’re here in the place where my magic woke up, something that was only possible thanks to him. Surrounded by the familiar smell of herbs in my mom’s store, at a place where I feel comfortable and content. Does he see me? Does he Recognize me?
“We’ve been spending a lot of time together lately,” I say. “Is it really so terrible to spend one night doing something different?”
“Yeah, it might be.” He shakes his head, and any hesitance or conflicted feelings vanish as if they were never there at all. Dammit. Why doesn’t he ever Recognize me?
“Bane—”
“Stop it. Thought I told you already. I’m not interested in dating or anything serious.”
“Not even for the right person?”
He shrugs. “Only if they have a killer right hook.”
“Huh?”
He coughs and clears his throat. “Never mind.”
I stare at him, trying to figure out what he means. Does he want a skilled fighter? Is that his idea of the perfect mate?
“You’d like a strong partner?” I ask. “Is strength that important to you?”
With a long sigh, he slowly admits, “It’s the only way I’ll get what I want. My righteous quest, as Wynn calls it.”
“What do you want?”
Bane shakes his head, but it seems like he’s debating whether to tell me. This is my chance to understand him better.
“Hold on, it’s pretty dead tonight. Let me see if I can go.”
The coven member doing inventory in the back agrees to let me leave early. I consider going upstairs to the apartment but decide against it. Bane ends up giving me a ride back to my pack’s land.
Seems like he needs a moment to gather his thoughts anyway. We stay silent as we drive out of the city.
I need a moment to gather my thoughts too. And to brace myself. If Bane seeks a strong mate, I might be the last wolf in Concordia who fits that description. My wolf and I are small and useless in a fight.
My biggest asset is probably magic. Having magic is a miracle I never expected, and I’ll love any form my gifts take. But not all crafts are impressive or useful in battle. Finding the right fit is most important.
I seem to be having some trouble with that these days.
The drive out of the city is uneventful. Once we’re on the main road leading to the Clover Pack lands, we only drive for a little while before the car slows down.
Bane pulls the car off the main road and parks it on the shoulder. Once he turns off the engine, we’re plunged into darkness. The area around us is silent, save for the distant call of a nightbird. It’d be almost peaceful if Bane weren’t tense next to me.
“Why are we stopping?” I ask.
Being a wolf, my eyes adjust to the dark quickly, even in human form. I see him thinking over his words. When he twists to face me, his gold irises are easy to see in the dark.
“Look, I’m not trying to be a dick here, but if we keep doing this, my priorities aren’t changing. Hooking up is fine, but I’m not interested in more.”
“I know.” I wish it were different, but Bane made that perfectly clear. He never led me on.
“Now’s no time to get distracted. My goal is to become the next Alpha of the Iron Pack.”
My eyebrows raise. “What, in twenty years? No way Elias is even close to throwing in the towel.”
“No, that’s not how it works.” He hesitates before saying more. “Come on, you know all this already, don’t you?”
“What? No. I’d like to understand.”
He considers it for a moment and continues. “The succession process values strength without upsetting the existing balance of our pack. All my father’s children are eligible to become the next Alpha once it’s earned by combat.”
“Whoa.” Combat? Imagining Bane locked in a brutal fight with his siblings, my stomach churns at the thought.
Bane raises an eyebrow. “What? You think Dad should just select the oldest child and call it a day? Do you think we’re barbaric?”
“No, they’re your customs.” They do seem fitting for what little I know of his pack. Winner takes all. May the best wolf win. No, may the toughest wolf win. “But please tell me you don’t fight each other to the death.”
“Nah,” he says. “We can yield once beaten.”
Good, that’s a relief.
“So that’s your goal?” I wonder. “To be the Alpha after your father?”
“That’s what I am. I just have to claim it.
” I see his quick grin, the flash of teeth in the darkness, and then he sighs.
“But I’m not stupid. Winning won’t be easy.
We’ve all been training since we were small.
The next Alpha is chosen five years after the youngest contender turns eighteen.
Whoever wins starts training with my father and eventually takes over. ”
That’s why Bane’s concerned about this now, the next Alpha will be chosen soon.
“The fight is sibling vs. sibling in our wolf forms. No help, except for who will rule by our side. That’s why we wait after the youngest challenger reaches adulthood, to allow them opportunity to find a mate.
Well, everyone has until then to find a mate, whether true or not. The strongest pair wins.”
Oh. It’s a struggle to form words. The Iron Pack is severe and obsessed with strength. They view my pack as too soft. Bane’s future depends on picking a worthy partner physically. Does he even care about true mates? What if he dismisses it as sentimental garbage?
“So… you’re not looking for a true mate? You want an ally? That’s so...” Bleak. Loveless. Sad.
“Practical?” he interrupts. “Look, I’m a leading contender. That’s not vanity, everyone in our pack knows it. My sister or me are the favorites to win.”
Bane sits upright for a moment, his spine straight and his shoulders back, steely gaze focused ahead. He looks like a man certain of his destiny.
“But honestly, my oldest brother has a shot too,” he continues, sinking back into his seat with a sigh. “He’s still in his prime, and he and his mate have been training for the longest. If I were in his shoes, I’d be a sure thing. Too bad I got the short end of the stick by being the youngest.”
“And you’re still unmated,” I fill in.
He nods, grimacing. “Yeah. Not mated and almost twenty-three. My five years are almost over. I need to find a partner to fight with.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Bane’s priorities are so foreign to my own desires.
“That’s a lot of pressure on you,” I offer quietly.
“It’s fine.” It doesn’t sound fine judging by his clipped tone, but he plays it off.
“That’s my challenge. Not much of an Alpha if I can’t rise to the occasion.
So yeah, I go out with people and have a good time, but they’re never who I need.
When it’s not going anywhere, I gotta cut ‘em loose. There’s no point entertaining something that won’t last.”
“That’s all you’re after, someone strong?”
“Yeah,” he answers without hesitation. “I can’t let any attachment to someone who isn’t suited to be an Alpha hold me back.”
No wonder love is the last thing on his mind. His focus revolves around power. And he’s running out of time. The deadline is looming and he’s almost twenty-three.
“See, that’s why it’s good with you,” he says. “You aren’t under any delusions that this can last. We can keep hooking up because we both know it’s going nowhere.”
Ouch. Hearing that hurts, but I must be a glutton for punishment because I have to ask. “What about love? Or finding the one?”
Bane laughs, the cold sound so loud in the silent car. “I gave up on my true mate a long time ago. Now I just want someone who can fight by my side. I just want to win.”