Howling at the Moons

CH 29: Defenseless?

A/N:  Second update for today - Have fun everyone! Remember to comment and vote if you are enjoying the story.

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PHANA'S POV

Yo looks like he's having fun. He waves to me every so often from the dance floor and I appreciate the fact the guys have moved him between them, so he'll stop getting hit on by strangers.

About an hour in they leave the floor together and head towards the bar, I assume they'll either return here or to the dance floor where I can see them in a few minutes. However, less than 5 minutes passes when I feel a burst of fear and anger slam into me, and I know Yo is in trouble.

Running from the VIP area, I look towards the bar. I can see Kit and Beam looking around them, but I don't see Yo. As my eyes move over the crowd, I finally find who I'm looking for but I see Park standing close to him.

As I'm making my way towards Park and Yo, I see Kit and Beam push through the crowd to stand near them. I'm only a few feet away when I watch as Park drops to one knee before Yo. My steps slow in confusion. When I move between Kit and Beam, they both stop me from shifting forward to Yo's side.

With my friends holding me back, I can only observe as Yo leans towards Park, but I do release a growl of irritation. However, my anger changes to puzzlement when Park drops forward to the floor. He's now on all fours on the ground. What is going on? Glancing at Kit and Beam, I can see they look confused too.

Yo leans one more time and I can tell he is saying something to Park, but again I'm thwarted by the music and can't hear what it is. The he straightens and turns to us. When he sees me, he immediately closes the distance between us and wraps his arms around me.

As I hold him, he looks up at me and asks, "Can we leave?" I merely nod.

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When we get outside to the parking lot, the three of us turn to Yo, and I ask, "What the hell happened in there between you and Ai'Park?"

"P'Pha please can we talk about this after we get home? Please, P'Pha I'm tired." He pleads with me.

Kit steps closer to Yo and holds out his hand, "Let me see, N'Yo." I didn't notice until now, but Yo is cradling his arm against his chest.

"It's fine, P'Kit."

"It might be, but I won't know for sure until I look. Now let me see."

"See what?" I ask, moving up next to Kit.

Yo heaves a sigh and holds his arm out. Kit holds Yo's elbow and gently pushes up his sleeve. Beam and I both release low growls at the angry red bruises already forming a circle around Yo's wrist. Kit doesn't look surprised, but he does look distressed. "Ai'Beam, we'll need to stop on the way home to pick up a few things to help this."

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The car ride back to the dorms had been in silence. Beam, Kit and I were locked in our own thoughts while Yo had simply lain his head in my lap and promptly fallen into a fitful nap. When we get to the dorms, the four of us head straight up to Yo's room.

We settle in Yo's sitting area to hear what he has to say. He looks distressed and uncomfortable, but he tells the full story of what happened between him and Park, while Kit takes care of his wrist.

I'm beyond angry at what I'm hearing. I want to leave right now and hunt Park down, but Yo seems more and more distraught as he explains what happened. He's looking at the floor as he talks, fidgeting in his seat and he won't meet any of our eyes.

When he finishes, Beam has a thoughtful look on his face. "N'Yo are you saying you can attack and hurt people with your skills?"

Yo's head jerks up. He looks at Beam, his eyes are open wide and his bottom lip is quivering. He just nods his head while looking at the three of us a little fearfully.

"How did you do it to Ai'Park?" Beam pressed for an explanation.

"I-I-I just pushed the feelings at him, made him f-feel what I felt, but stronger. I didn't want to, b-but he wouldn't stop, he wouldn't let go. He was h-hurting me."

"Can you do more than hurt someone, N'Yo?" Beam is becoming a little aggressive. I know he's curious, we all are, but it's too soon.

"Beam, stop." Kit interrupts before I can say something.

"No, Ai'Kit, I think we need to know." Beam turns back to Yo, "Can you do more than hurt someone? Can you... can you kill someone?"

"Beam! Enough!" Kit yells at him, knowing he's pushing too hard.

But it's too late, that one question was all it took to open the flood gates. Yo looks at Beam with horror filled eyes and he stands and runs from the room. Leaving the door open in his haste.

For a minute I'm stunned, but quickly stand thinking to follow him. However, as I near the door, I hear Yo beating on Ming's door, then Ming's voice as he says something. When I hear Ming's door close, I relax knowing Yo is in good hands for the moment. I should go after him, but I need a minute.

Closing the door, he left open when he fled, I turn to my friends. "My Yo can hurt people? Kill people?" The thought is so crazy I can't process it. I don't know what to think or how to feel about it. I look at Kit and Beam for help in understanding.

Beam stares back at me, then says, "Ai'Pha to be honest, when you told us about Yo, I kept trying to figure out how his father was able to let him leave pack lands at all. If Yo was truly as defenseless as he seems, how could his father let him go, even if he does have friends and guards around him?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Just that while Yo might seem helpless and might not want to hurt anyone, he obviously can take care of himself when required and he can harm someone when necessary."

"Ai'Beam, I'm not sure what you're trying to say, but I don't think I like where your thoughts are going."

"Ai'Pha," Kit mediates, "We just want you to be safe."

"Surely you can't believe Yo is dangerous." I ask them sarcastically, but when they just stare at me I get angry. "Yo is not dangerous!"

"Maybe not to you," Beams states, "but he could be to others. If he gets angry, or if someone had control over him, if they could use him... Ai'Pha, in the wrong hands he could be a weapon used against others."

"Guys, I don't want to talk about this anymore tonight. I need to see Yo. Go back for tonight and we can talk more tomorrow."

They both are irritated with me, which is fine because I feel the same way. But we say goodnight and leave it at that for now.

Sitting down for a second, I know I need to organize my thought before I see Yo. Is he dangerous? Obviously, he can be. He hurt Park tonight, but he was only defending himself, and he was so torn up about what he'd done afterwards.

The real question is does it matter to me if Yo is dangerous? It only takes a second for the answer to be clear to me.

No. No, it doesn't at all. Yo is my mate no matter what. Besides beyond my friends and Yo, I don't care about other people. Now I know my mate can protect himself if he has too, and that's a good thing.

I only hope he doesn't have to do it again, any time soon.

09.30.2017

Edited:  03.25.2018  12:28 pm  US CST