VEUX

Fifty Nine

August 23

"What a surprise!" Oracle hollered once inside the mahogany doors of his office. "So lovely to see you so unannounced! And to what do I owe this lovely surprise?"

"Brother," Obsidian sighed seeing his little brother's rampant energy.

"You certainly sent my security for a scramble there, didn't ya?" A black towel draped down Oracle's shoulders as his wet hair slowly drip-dried.

"Just checking if your men still know how to do their job," Obsidian replied smoothly, but his mind dared to think of anything but the conversation at hand.

"I should let my brother-wolves decide your fate for wasting their time and expertise," Oracle sneered as he dropped into his chair behind the large redwood desk.

"Nobody was hurt," Obsidian defended himself casually. "I was just letting off some steam."

"Yes, I can see that," Oracle huffed at his brother's appearance, coated in a grime of dirt and mud splash during his time in the rain. "You couldn't have cleaned up before demanding my utmost attention?"

Obsidian rolled his eyes at the words and crossed a muddle ankle over his bare knee. "You should thank me for having the decency to put on anything at all," he referred to his track shorts barely fitting his muscular knees. "Besides, then I might have missed the opportunity to have this wonderful conversation with you. Pour us some of that bourbon, would you?"

Within reach of his long arms, Oracle pried loose two shot glasses and a bottle of dark liquor from his desk. "Someone's drowning tonight," He muttered.

The first shot was down Obsidian's throat and back on the table rather quickly.

"Easy on the wood!" Oracle groaned as he savoured the nasty alcohol as he swallowed.

"Another," Obsidian nodded towards the bottle still in Oracle's hands, "I've had a long day."

Confused, and lightly concerned, Oracle poured to the brim of his brothers shot glass and leaned back in his seat.

"Does this have anything to do with the Twins at all?" Oracle began questioning as he could not contain his curiosity any longer. "Maybe what Rick brought to my attention last week?"

Obsidian stared blankly, for he really did not pay attention to the dramatics behind his back. His focus was always on the goal ahead of him, not who said what and where.

"Do you remember when we were kids?" Obsidian drifted off as his stare turned to the clouds beyond the red drapery.

"Uh, sure?" Oracle responded lazily, he had pulled out his phone and began rapid texting on the screen.

"Do you remember how much you annoyed father and I, pretending to be my shadow everyday?"

"Sid," His tone of voice had changed, grew cool at the discussion of such sensitive memories. "I was just a kid," He trailed off as if implying an apology that he didn't want to say.

"You wanted so bad to be in my shoes, to take my place. You envied father's attention to me," A smile graced his lips as he looked back on the foolishness he endured all his childhood. "You claimed to become a better Alpha than I one day-"

Oracle rumbled lowly in his throat to cut off his brother's speech. "We have already hashed out these topics years ago, brother. I was just a kid, trying to be like his big brother, but I understand why everything happened how it did now, and this does not need re-hashing."

His brother had never been the soft-kind of person, even as children. Though one of their mother's favourite and blessed by Mama, Oracle had built walls of steel around himself as a coping mechanism.