Evil is looming on the horizon.
Matthias can feel it. The rest of the pack senses it too. Their duty is to protect those who can't protect themselves, but how can they do that when the monsters they hunt are changing? After an increase in human dis...
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Alaric didn't say a word as he leaned back in his chair, eyeing Mason. His brow had sunken and he was now scowling in his brother's direction. The tension in the room was thick, making my chest feel heavier with every breath I took. I could sense the change in Alaric's mood the moment Mason came through the door.
An unsettling nervousness began to gnaw its way at my stomach. Fighting back the urge to vomit, I swallowed dryly, nearly gulping aloud as I forced myself to consume my own unease.
Nyx croaked lowly, letting out what sounded like a trilling sound of caution. Her feathers ruffled as she flapped her wings a few times. She too could sense the powerful waves of emotions that began to settle in the air and was growing agitated. She took off from atop my shoulder and went straight for Alaric, landing on the perch next to his desk.
Matthias's hand gripped the fabric of my sweater, making me take a few steps backward with him as he watched the two brothers intently. Even after we stopped, Matthias didn't take his hand from me. He stayed right where he was, making sure he shielded me with half his body.
Mason was silent while he waited for his brother's response to his words.
When none came, he cleared his throat again and took a step forward, making Alaric lift his chin in warning. The look he gave him stopped Mason dead in his tracks. I didn't need a pack bond to know that this was Alaric's silent way of telling Mason not to come any closer.
"Look," Mason began to say, his voice somewhat shaky and strained. "I know that you don't want me here. I know that you don't want to even look at me, let alone talk to me. But please, just let me say what I need to say, then I'll leave here forever if that's what you want."
My heart skipped a beat when those words left his mouth, the fear of never seeing him again welling up inside of me. I reached for Matthias, making him glance back at me when he felt my fingers gripping his jacket. Concern nearly dripped from those icy blue eyes of his as he studied my face. Though I wasn't able to hear what he was thinking, I knew by the look in his eye that he was worried too.
I offered him what little bit of a smile I could muster and he did the same in return before he moved behind me. He wrapped his arms around the upper part of my chest and I could feel that familiar rumble against my back. That soothing vibration from his chest helped settle me and I was able to breathe a little easier. My hands came up to grip his forearms as the two of us looked back a the scene unfolding in front of us.
Alaric didn't respond to Mason's words, once again. Instead, he sat there unmoving. His already intimidating presence was magnified by the obvious contempt he had toward his bother. Just his expression alone was enough to incite fear in anyone who dared to stand in his line of sight.
Mason was unnerved but didn't back down as he began to speak, "I know that I said some really hurtful things to you before I left and I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, for everything. I shouldn't have left the way I did. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for the way things happened between us."
