48. Christopher
48
CHRISTOPHER
“ W e’ll discuss it after lunch,” I say, looking out the window as the trees and buildings pass us by. Ben sighs in the back of the car, but I ignore him. He’s been whining all night because he’s been missing Maia and Phoebe.
He’s not the only one that’s sad that they weren’t home with us, and I’ve hit my limit with his whining.
Seb’s been far more grouchy than usual, since he’s missing his mate and child, and even Alex has been less rational than usual. We can feel every single emotion she experiences, every wave of happiness, every sour tinge of panic.
The bond we share is amazing in that regard.
“And yet, it lets us feel the distance,” Orion whines. It’s a little embarrassing to admit that my wolf has whined far more than Ben has.
But he’s correct. We can feel the difference now that she’s not right next to us. Before the bond, it was a slight hum, a niggle of discomfort, any time that we were apart.
And now, it’s like a part of me is in agony, ripped away, missing. It’s like my limbs are not gone but empty, full of static. Having her not by my side whilst I’m gone for work is bad, but Orion and I know that we’re coming home to her .
But with her not even in the house? It’s been hard.
Especially with her rollercoaster of emotions since we’ve hung up on her. She’s up and down, and I don’t understand the anger and the confusion. We’ve tried calling, but she’s not answered us yet.
Some of this tension that my brothers are feeling can be blamed on the situation with Morgan as well, though. We’re on oppositional sides, and each of us have our own feelings to process.
“Some of us are crying like little bitches that she moved on without us,” Orion says. “And some of us are logical adults.”
Last night was a much needed regroup. We got the tension off our chests, had a play around in our wolf forms, and then started digging on Emily Jacobs—Morgan Grey. We didn’t find much, other than her payslips and one photo of her mostly hidden by an umbrella. The bright blonde hair was there, though.
She’s got a team that handles the public side of Howling Hope, like Maia told us, whilst our cousin runs everything in the background. The foundation's reach has grown since she became the head six years ago, and it’s amazing to know that she’s been so successful.
Even if she had to fake her death to make that happen.
“You good?” Alex asks, and I nod, not bothering to answer him.
“Liar. We miss mate. We need mate. Mate and pup. Pup and mate.”
“ We’re going to get them now, O,” I say, not arguing with him.
“It’s time for us to mark her.”
“No, it is not,” I hiss, clenching my fists as my teeth elongate. The feeling burns my gums as an ache fills me.
Orion and I have been at odds all night long.
He wants our mate marked and bedded. Claimed as ours. So nobody can dispute it. So that she feels the full force of the bond. So that she finally becomes one of us .
He’s not happy enough to accept that she wants us, as proved by her marking us.
But Maia is not ready for that, and I won’t push her past what she can handle.
“Are you okay?” Alex asks once more as he turns the car down onto Maia’s street.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak, as I wait for my teeth to shift back. Orion’s trying to fight me, but he’s not going to overtake me.
I have Maia’s best interests at heart, and my wolf knows it. No matter how selfish he’s feeling, he won’t ever manage to overpower me when she’s my motivating factor.
“I’m not selfish, human, I want to protect our mate,” he argues. “She loves me. Let me show her how much I love her.”
“Showing her you love her should start with respecting her body and her mind. She’s not ready for us yet, and we both know it. She brought us a daughter, she gifted us her soul. Be grateful for that , and wait your fucking turn.”
“Another child to a wolf mother would be a boon.”
Maia’s still grieving. She loves us, that’s abundantly clear in the way she feels and even in the way she talks. Ryan is her first love, but not her only. I fully understand that there’s a place in her heart for all five of us.
But she’s still grieving him. She’s still in survival mode as she tries to make it through each day. She’s relying on us, letting us in, but she’s also giving so much of herself to us as she works through these problems we’re facing.
“It would not be a fucking boon when the mother hasn’t fully fucking healed,” I roar, and there’s stunned silence as I realise I shouted it in the car for all of my brothers to hear.
“Max is the same way,” Alex says after a beat of awkwardness. He continues driving and keeps his eyes on the road. “He’s adamant that you mark her so that we can and that she becomes a wolf. Then, once it’s safe, we fill her with as many babies as we physically can. ”
“We all know your wolf wants to fuck another pup into her. That’s not a surprise,” I say, trying to sound humorous, despite my annoyance.
“You’re not wrong, and honestly, Maia rolls with it.” Alex’s chuckle relaxes me slightly.
“She knows?” I ask, confused.
He nods. “Maia’s willing to enable the breeding kink that Max and I have because she’s perfect.”
“Fluffy and I just want to be with her. To smell her. To cuddle her.” Ben leans between the two front seats and grins at me. “To let us fuck her after you three have.”
I snort, shaking my head as he sits back in his seat. “So, we’re all fucked, huh?”
“For her? Always.”
We approach Maia’s house, and I freeze as we get closer, and I see a man in her driveway. She’s not alone, and the emotions that I’ve been feeling from her make a lot more sense.
As we come to a stop outside her house, my fury builds. I can’t see his face, but the blond hair makes it very fucking apparent who this is.
Ethan fucking Grey.
Alex stops the car, turning the engine off, and the three of them immediately vacate the car. I take a pause and examine my mate properly.
“Get to her!” Orion roars. “Protect her.”
She’s fucking beautiful, but the fear that thuds in my chest is only overpowered by her anger. I hate seeing the tears dripping down her face, the redness of her eyes. I hate the strong, bitter scent of her turmoil, and I want to crush the bastard who has done this to her.
Her rosy lips are plump, and I guarantee they’re so soft from all the tears, but this isn’t a pain I can kiss away.
But that only angers Orion and I further.
“Kill him. Our mate is not his. Gouge out his ? — ”
“Enough.” I can’t go forth and keep my calm when my wolf is ready to unleash our murderous side.
I reach over and grab the keys from the ignition, pocketing them, and climb out of the car. Alex might not have been thinking about our cousin’s escape strategy, but I am.
I sniff the air, my eyes narrowing as I realise the biggest issue we’re facing.
“Fuck!” Orion roars in my mind.
I take in the way Maia’s relaxed into Seb’s hold, letting him support her, the way we’re meant to. Alex has Phoebe’s car seat in hand, and I relax knowing that both of my girls are safe.
Ben’s tense as he fights with Fluffy, but I know that the two of them will merge together as one when the time calls for it.
This situation was bad when I thought it was Ethan here, accosting my girl.
It’s worse now that I know it’s Oliver.
Oliver Grey, the forgotten triplet who has hid from the world for the last decade, or at least… that’s what we thought.
Oliver’s a name that hasn’t been mentioned since the night Morgan died. He was always shoved to the side, never included, all because of his… differences.
Whilst disappointing for the survival of our species, it’s common— far too common —for females to be born without a wolf spirit within. It’s the norm in our society, and it’s so rare, almost a miracle , when that’s not the case.
But for a male to be born without a wolf? It’s practically unheard of.
And whilst Oliver was born as part of a triplet set and carries the scent of a wolf, he does not have one .
He can’t shift. He can’t speak to his wolf. He’s… worse than human, really. He’s deformed, with a leg in both worlds, but he doesn’t belong in either.
And he’s here, intimidating my mate, harassing her, trying to take Ryan’s place because he doesn’t have one of his own.
Well, not on my fucking watch, he won’t .
I let Orion push forward, claiming his strength and dominance as my own, as Oliver shivers at the shift within me. He can feel the danger in the air. He knows there’s predators who want to harm him.
He’s useless, unable to truly do anything. But he is a man who vastly outweighs my mate, and if he wanted, he could harm her past the psychological damage he’s been doing.
His brothers are cowards, one dead, and one so far up his parents ass that he’d need to be birthed again. Oliver, though, his deformity is the reason their trio set is so weak.
Oliver tries to plead with my mate, fully aware he’s lost the upper hand. “You’re wrong, Maia. I’m not and never will be my parent’s puppet.”
“No, you wouldn’t be,” I drawl, slamming the car door as I stride over to where my mate stands. I need her to understand how sorry I am, and I hope she can feel it.
If I knew, if any of us knew that he was here, that this impossibility was actually a reality, we’d have warned her about Oliver. We’d have shared his existence with her, made her aware.
But unlike Ryan, who left of his own will, Oliver was banished from his pack. The words uttered towards him were cruel, but I always figured he’d at least be happier amongst humans who couldn’t tell the difference about what he was. They wouldn’t see him as defective.
And honestly, Morgan’s death was the only thing I cared about when everything went down. Fuck Oliver and Ryan, the traitorous bastards, and fuck Ethan, the ass-licker.
I never reached out to try and find Oliver because, honestly, at the time, I didn’t care what happened to him.
“Because we fucked up here, princess, and I’ve led you to believe something that wasn’t actually true,” I say, coming to a stop next to Maia. Her blue eyes are full of confusion as she looks up at me.
Tears drip down her cheeks as she clutches at Seb’s arm. I’ve never been so grateful to him for providing her the support that she needs.
He’s the one she often clings to when she’s overwhelmed—often followed by Alex—and whilst I’m a little resentful that it’s not me, I just love how much she relies on us.
How much she trusts us.
“You’re only a little jealous she isn’t choosing you?” Orion snorts, and I hold back the eye roll.
“Only a little, yes. I’m mature.”
He snorts again and tries to push forward in my mind. “Come on, you’re making jokes. You’re not taking any of this seriously. Let me out. Let me at him. I’ll fix it all.”
“I don’t understand.” Maia’s words are so quiet, so timid. I hate how she cowers in front of this bastard. How weak she feels.
Maia is perfection and should never, ever feel out of place.
“This isn’t Ethan, little love,” Seb says.
She sways, and Seb grabs her before she can go down. My jaw clenches as I take the sight in. Her emotional pain is clear in both her demeanour and her scent. The tanginess of the orange burns my nose, the weight of her despair is so hurtful for my wolf and I.
“Ryan... Ryan is dead.” Her teeth are chattering, the words hard to discern. “He’s dead.”
“If he wasn’t, I’d make it so for the pain he’s caused her,” Orion says. “I’d never let that spineless ? —”
“Don’t. We’ve been through this. Our cousin has done nothing wrong.” It’s taken a long time to come to terms with that, but I can accept it for the truth—and not just because Morgan’s now alive.
Maia’s helped us see past the grief.
They were no more to blame than we were.
It’s just taken us far too long to realise it, and we’ve lost our cousin in the process .
“ Can you see the way he’s fidgeting?” I mention, as Oliver fidgets.
“Obviously. I see what you see.”
If I could punch him, I would. “Are his hands trying to shift?”
I sniff the air at Orion’s prompting, but there’s no scent of wolf like I thought there may be with his reactions. As expected, Oliver still does not have a wolf spirit. He still can’t shift.
So then, why does it seem like my cousin is holding one back?
“Yes, he is,” Oliver confirms. He sounds sad about it, as if this is the most devastating thing in the world.
“He lost part of his soul the day his brother died. Sucks to be him, I suppose,” Orion says.
“So kind.”
“My mate is my only concern right now. She’s devastated. We need to make her understand the truth, and then keep her and Phoebe safe from that... family ,” Orion says. “His lost piece of his soul is not my problem. Their trio was already fucked up.”
“And our relationship will be if we can’t explain to Maia how this was a genuine fuck-up. We never once meant to keep this from her.”
“Our mate will listen.”
Yeah, I fucking hope so.
“But Oliver is not,” I say gently. I enunciate his name, praying that she’s going to be able to hear me out.
Her eyes widen, and I hear her heart skip a beat as she starts to speak. But unfortunately, she collapses into Seb’s waiting arms before she can finish her sentence.
Her heart rate begins to slow, her eyes fluttering under their eyelids, as he lifts her into his arms.
“Get Phoebe into the car,” I command, and Alex doesn’t hesitate into moving to do what I said. I look over at Seb, raising a brow. “Can you lay her down in the car or would it be better inside the house? ”
He eyes the car, and then the front door, before charging towards the vehicle. It’ll be less panicky for Maia to wake up knowing Phoebe is with her. She’s usually only unconscious for a few minutes in moments like these, but she’s often out of it for a little while afterwards, too.
Being with some of her mates and her daughter should be enough to stave off the panic and let her relax.
“I didn’t mean to—” Oliver starts.
“Do not talk to me like we’re friends,” I say, merging with Orion so that he can hear the growl in my words. He deserves to feel small. Scared.
Terrified that I’ll hurt him.
Because over the last few months, that’s how he has made my mate feel.
“Because we’re definitely not,” Ben says firmly. He comes to stand by my side as our other two brothers care for our females. “My mate has seen your dick, and that’s?—”
“Not mine!” Oliver immediately shakes his head, cupping his dick.
I groan, but Ben smirks, the scent of his amusement filling the air. “You’ve all got identical dicks. So you’re already going to die today for that alone.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Oliver protests, and his words send me back to the past for a brief moment. Nostalgia is a weakness. “Look, I’ll leave?—”
“And go tattle to Mummy and Daddy that Phoebe, indeed, is your brother’s pup?” I ask, tilting my head as I let out a snarl. Orion tries to push forward, but I don’t allow for that. “That’s not happening, Olly. She is our daughter, and whilst you fucked things up with your own?—”
“I was a child!” He roars, his eyes flashing grey for a brief moment before returning back to blue as he breathes in and out slowly. He’s trying to calm himself down.
But I don’t understand why . It’s not like he can do much but shout at us. He doesn’t have a wolf, for fuck’s sake, and yet, it’s almost like he’s trying to hold back a shift.
“What the fuck is going on with our cousin here?” Orion demands.
“I’m interested in knowing the answer to that question, too. This shouldn’t be possible, but the way he’s acting… it’s as if there’s a wolf spirit inside him trying to break free.”
“He still smells of the faint traces of canine and the strong richness of the earth,” Orion says as we discreetly sniff the air. Oliver’s breathing is ragged as he fights to control himself, and he’s giving us time to inspect him. “Which means he’s not using whatever scent neutraliser they’re working on.”
“Or maybe they are, and it’s this advanced already. Maybe it’s so powerful it can hide the fact that he now has a wolf.”
“I hope not.”
“I wasn’t referring to your sister,” I say, stepping closer to him to see if we can feel any difference in his systems. “We fucked up all those years ago. Losing her destroyed us all, and rather than bonding us closer, it tore us all apart.”
He sneers at me, and if he had a wolf, he’d feel my anger and could never manage to meet my eyes. There’s no way he’d be strong enough to go toe-to-toe with me. “And what, you’re now having this little epiphany all these years later? After you killed Ryan?”
Confusion fills me, Orion and I frowning as one. After we killed Ryan?
“After we killed Ryan?” Ben demands, voicing my thoughts. “I wish I did. That fucker fucked my mate.”
Oliver frowns. “I feel like we’re fighting against two different topics.”
“And on two very different sides,” Ben says.
“You’re not to blame for Morgan,” I say. “None of us were. We were children, and we loved her. It fell to our parents to protect her, and they didn't.”
“Fucking cowards,” Oliver and Ben say as one .
“But you’re not a good man, either,” I say angrily. “You’ve spent months and months tormenting my mate. You’ve been fucking her over, thinking that you’re entitled to do so.
“She’s not yours, Oliver. She was Ryan’s, and now she’s ours. I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but you can’t blame being a child for this one.”
He steps towards me, his face lighting up in fury, embracing his anger. “Do you really think I’ve been tormenting her?”
“We don’t think you have, dickhead,” Ben says.
“We know it ,” I confirm. “Seb listened to her sobs as she thought she was going crazy for all these months as you showed up time and time again.”
“Speaking of that—” he starts.
“And if that wasn’t enough, you’ve started dabbling in science to fuck us all over. Losing Ryan wasn’t a big enough clue that you should stop that project?” I demand.
“How did you know about my involvement?”
I roll my eyes as Orion snorts. “Because I’m not a braindead fucking idiot. It doesn’t take much to put two and two together. But, seriously, cousin, messing with our sense of smell? Only someone like you could not understand the level of?—”
“Don’t speak about what you do not know,” Oliver hisses. He gives me the dirtiest look he can muster, the sneer on his face is one that’s familiar from back in the day.
“All it does is piss me off that much further. He’s a tiny little boy acting like a big man. Shame, really. I was just thinking we could move past it all.”
“The only shame is he doesn’t have the goods to back it up,” I reply, cracking my knuckles.
“We’re not dabbling in science for our own gain, you self-righteous fucking idiot. We’re doing it to help women. To help female-born wolves hide in plain sight. Do you really think that after Morgan we just moved on?” His laugh is bitter, and I freeze. “We’re not like you four. We didn’t cower away from what happened. We didn’t hide or pretend she never existed. And we certainly didn’t decide to follow mummy and daddy like you fuckers did. We mourned her. We made a plan, and we fucking followed through.
“So whilst you sit here catering to what your parents wanted, we are making waves. We are helping protect the next generation, and the one after that. Morgan’s situation was an unavoidable casualty because we were children .
“But now, we’re not going to settle when there are people out there who need our protection.”
“Holy fuck,” Orion says, regarding Oliver. “Cousin’s finally got some balls.”
“He might. But I wonder if he has the evidence to back it up.”
“You being on our lands is a direct break to our treaty. You’re dishonouring your family.” I mention the last part deliberately, as his jaw clenches.
“My family is in tatters. I can count on one hand the number of people I trust. But my family, including the two girls in your car. Maia is Ryan’s?—”
“She was never his,” Alex roars, charging towards Oliver as he jumps out of the car. I debate on stopping him, but as Alex swings for our cousin, I decide not to. The crack of his nose fills the air, blood dripping down his face. “Maia is ours, you fucking bastard. She’s not your anything .”
“She’s not yours, either,” my cousin cackles. “I sense no true claim.”
His blood smells weird as it drips down his face. Almost like it’s tainted. Poisoned.
There’s the hint of canine, the strong scent of his bloodline, but there’s that underlying sort of bitterness.
It’s tangy and hurts my nose, and I don’t understand it.
“It’s wrong,” Orion agrees. “Not decaying, so he’s not dying. Sadly. But there’s something off about him.”
“Our mate might not want him dead.”
“No, I doubt she will,” Orion says, and my eyes dart over to where Maia is sitting up now in the backseat of the car. Seb’s glaring at her, in his own way, and she’s likely begging for information.
“Do you sense much?” Ben asks his cousin.
“Do you, runt ?” Oliver replies, cracking his nose back into place. The blood has stopped pouring, but he doesn’t bother wiping it off his face.
Alex swings his hand back, ready to hit him again, but I grab it, shaking my head. “Don’t.”
“Why?” Alex demands.
“Because there’s something deeper happening than we can sense,” I say, and he frowns. “He knows Morgan’s not dead.”
“No shit.”
“I’d rather be the runt than defective,” Ben replies with a shrug. He’s the one least fazed about Oliver’s return, likely since they were the closest two as children. “And we haven’t claimed our mate, Oliver , because, unlike you, we respect her, and we’re content to have the marks she has given us.”
“What do you mean?” he demands, and Ben tugs his shirt down, displaying the silver scar. “That’s… wow. That is what she meant when she claimed you were bonded.”
“We’re giving her time to grieve our cousin,” Ben continues. “As horrifying as that is.”
“And yet, he was a vital part of the creation of our daughter,” Maia says, her voice strong as she gives Ben a warning look. Three identical glares are hit towards Seb for letting her get out of the car, but he’s getting Phoebe out of her car seat so he doesn’t even give a fuck.
“Bastard,” Orion says, and I can’t argue.
“Do not insult him.” Maia’s tone is stern as she takes a step towards us, and it takes me a second to realise she’s not referring to Seb, but Ryan. “I understand you’re all wolves—at least sort of—but I’m not, and I’m very cold. So can we please take this discussion inside ?”
“He’s not to be trusted, Maia,” Ben says, shaking his head.
“And you’re telling me four incredibly strong werewolves can’t contain the half-werewolf thing that he is?” She cocks a brow, looking between us all with a feigned confusion.
It would work if we couldn’t feel what she does, and so strongly at that.
Orion pushes forward, letting a pout settle on my face. “But, mate, we don’t like him.”
“And?” Maia laughs, a twinkling laugh, as she approaches me. “Regardless of your feelings, I want to know how this entire situation is even possible. Seb mentioned that Oliver has been exiled for not being a wolf, for not being like the rest of you, despite being part of the triplet bond. I want to at least hear his story.”
“Oh, he’s got some tall fucking tales,” Alex says, turning his glare back towards Oliver. “He’s a traitor. He’s an embarrassment to his family. And he’s?—”
“Phoebe’s uncle,” Maia interjects. “If he’s been exiled, it’s not like he can go tattling, now, can he?”
“He still talks with Ethan.”
“Ethan is a good man , and we’re working together,” Oliver hisses. He shakes his head, turning to Maia.
“You’re working together?” Maia asks.
“Yes. We’ve been working with Ryan for years ,” Oliver continues. “In fact, we even knew about Phoebe from the moment she was conceived.”
“Wait, what?” Maia stops, and a blank expression fills her face. Her emotions are too hard to pick out of her already turbulent feelings. Her scent is just as overwhelming. It’s the best thing to ever hit my nostrils, but when it’s as overpowering as it is, I can’t wade through it as easily.
“We’re a third of a whole, Maia. The moment you conceived with Ryan, we knew,” Oliver says, rubbing the back of his neck. A blush fills his face.
“Ryan knew ? He knew about Phoebe?” Maia demands. She glares at Oliver as tears well up in her eyes. “Do all wolves know when they have a child? ”
Oliver freezes at the four growls directed his way before a slow, mischievous smirk fills his face.
I won’t stop Alex if he tries to punch him again.
I won’t even stop him if he decides to kill Oliver for breathing our air.
“Yes,” Oliver says.
Fucking cunt.
I don’t need help wading through her scent now. It’s dripping with despair, with anger, with betrayal. The pang hits me so hard that I stumble back.
“I see.” Her voice is shaky as she tries to hold her tears back.
Seb reaches for her, but she moves to the side and doesn’t take my offered hand, either.
“I need…” she trails off, releasing a slow breath. “Phoebe needs a feed and to get settled. Cancel the lunch plans because I’m not—” She cuts herself off and turns to Seb, who has Phoebe. “Pass me my daughter.”
I flinch, the words a harsh sting in her current mood, but Seb dutifully hands Phoebe over. Maia cuddles Phoebe in and takes the keys to let herself back in her home.
Nobody moves until the door clicks shut—but not locked—and then the four of us turn our anger onto our deformed cousin.
“Bad move?” he says with a hint of amusement in his words.
“Fucking terrible move,” Ben replies as he shifts and launches himself towards our cousin.
“My turn,” Orion begs, and I pull back, letting my wolf push forward.
Oliver doesn’t back down.
But honestly… I hoped he wouldn’t.