Shards of Sanity (Book 6, Forgotten Series)

Chapter Twenty-Three: Part Two

We kept our heads pressed together as my wolf and I let waves of comfort and reassurance roll over our brother. We could feel Luka doing the same thing for Ezekiel and it was greatly appreciated. We had shit going on in our lives but that didn't mean we could all separate and forget about the bonds we had formed with each other. We needed to make more of an effort to support each other and to spend time together.

There was a faint feeling of moroseness from Ezekiel and I gently nudged at my wolf. In response he answered my unspoken suggestion and leaned more heavily against Ezekiel as the other wolf gave a heavy sigh. Shouldn't miss her. There was some strange images he sent me that made me pause before I realized who he was talking about. The memories were dark and held a lot of pain for him and I didn't blame him for the darkness they had when it came to his mate.

Do you? I nudged my wolf again and he gently nuzzled Ezekiel's cheek, giving him an affectionate lick.

He gave a heavy, heavy, sigh. Yes. No want too. His hurt at that radiated off of him and I sent him all the comfort I could. This was not an easy topic to discuss or to even remember for him. What his mate did was horrible and I didn't blame him for hating the fact he missed her.

The bond is designed to make you miss her, to want you to go back. It was all I knew. He would be forced to go back to her, one way or another. That is what the bond was for, pushing people together so they could create a future. It didn't matter if they didn't want that or they couldn't be around each other.

Pain easier. Freedom without not. He gave an internal wince I could spot and my wolf nudged him again with his nose and gave a low whine.

I can understand, brother. Perhaps your wolf needs you because without you and the pain he knows he will head back to her because of the bond. I could imagine that, his wolf needing his help and so he was refusing to allow him the peace of the dark. He needed some sort of buffer between him and the bond. It had lost it's pain to force him back so it had shifted to something else entirely.

No. It was a savagely said word that I didn't blame him for. I knew he didn't want to think about returning to Vera and his pack, I knew that, but it didn't stop what I said from being the most logical reason for it.

It makes sense. He could be struggling with it just like you are. Perhaps he is unsure as well, uncertain of just what he would do without you there to tell him no. They were close and his wolf knew just how much they didn't want to go back. It would make sense he was leaning on Ezekiel to keep them apart from what the bond wanted. That he needed the security of Ezekiel there to keep him on track and away from whatever it was the bond was doing to them both now.

He paused for a moment before I could see him, his eyes lightening as he looked at my and my wolf. No think. I could feel his distress and I didn't blame him. He had his previous framework shifted and changed and now the bond was changing as well. Then he was being tossed out of the comfort of the dark by his wolf. It was enough to distress anyone and I was just happy that he was willing to talk to me about it.

I know but he needs you just as much as you need him. I hoped he could see that and that they could work it out together. I knew it might result in Ezekiel being more present and I knew he didn't want to do that but I also knew he might not have a choice.

No want to miss her. It ache. There was a faint tremble to his voice that I hated hearing. My wolf and I placed our head over his shoulders as we could feel his wolf shaking. We knew how much feeling like that would distress him. We knew what Vera had done to him.

I can imagine. What she did was horrible, Ezekiel. No one should have experienced that. The anger I got for my Beta brother was immense whenever I remembered just what Vera had done. There was a special place for her with Mene's brothers, I knew that deep in my heart.