Universal Auction

Chapter 26- Change

Sorry I haven't been writing. I've been super depressed lately and haven't had motivation to do much of anything, let alone write. -A.B. Grace

Nadi's POV

A stunned silence filled the room, each of us contemplating what we all had just heard from Kal'ayy. I looked over to Zek, and his expression mirrored my own.

Shock and confusion.

It was finally Mal who spoke up first, "Last we spoke of the bonding process, we didn't think we had anything to worry about. That it was progressing like how most mating to Castillan's would. Did something change?"

Kal'ayy, though I didn't know it was possible, became a shade more uncomfortable than he had previously been. "No, nothing changed with the process itself, everything is still following the same bonding schedule." He hesitated, "But something did change with Theo."

The doctor waited for a moment, glancing across all of our faces expectantly, like one of us had the answer. When no one said anything, he continued.

"Well, the next stage has begun. Someone initiated the final mating."

When Sil'nyy was met again with another round of stunned silence, he explained further.

"I'm not sure which one of you boys exchanged DNA with Theo, but it triggered his body to start forming the organs required to be a Castilian mate."

Shaking off the confusion a lot faster than the rest of us, Vel responded, a noticeable worry etched across his features, "But normally that process is unnoticeable, it wouldn't be the cause of Theo's pain unless something it going wrong with the formation."

That's when I began to get scared. I wasn't as familiar with medical issues as Vel was, so when he looked concerned, I knew it was serious. Would Theo be okay?

"Normally, it would be a painless process, but it seems as though the mating wasn't completed with every member of the bond to Theo. When the mating begins, it is usually complete fairly quickly with all the members being present, but if not all of you complete it within a certain time, the body will react as if the bond is being severed, and will try to reject the new organs, treating it like a foreign body, while simultaneously forming them." Sil'nyy explained. "It would be extremely painful, and could lead to permanent damage to other vital organs in the surrounding area."

I didn't realize I was crying until Mal put his hand on my shoulders and shocked me out of the trance I was in. Our Theo, my Theo, was in serious pain because one of my brothers fucked up.

"Which one of you idiotic fucks did this to him?" I asked, none to kindly.

I don't know what I was expecting for a response. A calm and calculated one from Mal. An apologetic one from Vel.

It certainly wasn't a tearful one from Zek.

"I swear, I didn't know I was starting it." He said. "I-it was just a kiss."

"You kissed him? When?" I asked in shock. Zek was easily the least romantic of me and my brothers.

I probable would have believed him more if he said he had sex with him.

"Today, before we talked to Theo about the mating. He was so frazzled about everything, and I just wanted him to calm down and to know I wasn't mad at him about the incident in the city. I swear, I didn't know a kiss could start the mating, or I wouldn't have done it without talking to you all." Zek said, he looked worried and remorseful, it was hard to be mad at him when it was so clearly evident that he had no idea what he was doing.

"Well, you boys have a lot to talk about and discuss." Kal'ayy said, breaking the tension. He moved beside the bed Theo still slept in, and removed the catheter from his arm, and placed a bandage over the bead of blood that was forming where the needle was inserted. "Theo will wake up in the next ten minutes. He'll be a little groggy, but that'll be because of the pain killers I gave him. Don't worry, he'll be fully aware. He needs to be a part of the conversation as well." And with that, Kal'ayy left the room.

Mal spoke again, a stoic look on his face. "It doesn't matter how it started, it's started now. We have to figure out what the next step is with Theo. Completing the mating would be the easiest way to get Theo well, but that would also mean he needs to accept it first. The only other option is to sever the bond."

"No!" My other two brothers and I shouted in unison.

"We might not have a choice!" Mal shouted back at us. "It's Theo's choice too, and if he isn't ready, severing the bond would be the only way to stop the change and the pain."

I said, "But, that would mean we could never mate. Him or anyone else." Not that we would ever want anyone else, but once a mate bond is formed and severed, none in the bond could mate again.

Mal signed and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, clearly exhausted from the events of the day. "I don't like it either, but it's not up to us, it's up to Theo."

And with that, we all gazed at our little mate. The one that held all our hearts, and our fates, in his hands.