Chapter 27

James

I watched in silence as another chair soared across the room before striking the wall with force, causing the splintering wood to fly in all directions. The atmosphere was tense, to say the least as we all stood in the same basement office where we had taken turns testing the bond with our mate. Needless to say, the outcome was certainly not what we had expected. Thanks to our little brother, it seemed that the bond he shared with her, somehow held strong with the rest of us as well.

Kole was the most affected out of all of us which didn't really come as a surprise given that his control over his overly-aggressive wolf has always remained a work in progress. The first time when he had seen her, it had taken both Marcus and Alex – two Alphas to hold him back. And even then, it had proved to be a close call when he had managed to slip loose and nearly mark her.

For the rest of us though, that first meeting had been one of shock and disbelief; shock that Thomas was capable of treason to this degree and disbelief in the fact that we had a mate.

A human one at that.

While Marcus had kept his distance the first time around, Alex had wanted blood. Her blood. As for me, all I had wanted was to make sure that no matter the path we decided to choose, it would be a choice made out of deliberation, evidence, and facts. Not some half-witted decision that was conceived in the heat of the moment. This was why I had defended her and suggested that we first test the depth of the bond before reaching any form of a verdict.

After several heated discussions, Alex and Marcus finally agreed to test out my theories. After all, we have only ever heard stories and accounts from others of what happens when you meet your destined half, and none of them involved five brothers and a human mate. No. I realized in order to get this right; we would have to do it right.

Of course, certain things were already clear right from the start. Like the fact that our wolves felt the strong pull the minute we had seen her and also her enticing smell- like the flowers found in wild meadows, addictive and sweet, and then of course - the electric sensation that coursed through my body when we had touched. However, that first moment had been filled with too much chaos and confusion, leaving many questions unanswered. This was why, I made sure that the second meeting would take place in a calmer setting, where we would be able to accurately tell how strong our connection truly was.

And just to be on the safer side, I had also made sure that we all took some extra precautions – wolfsbane. Just a small amount, enough to suppress the most primal part of our wolves but yet be able to feel and sense our wolves' reaction to the bond. This way we would be more in control of our actions rather than risk giving into the pull and ending up either accidentally marking or mating with her.

My breath staggered as that thought ran through my mind. Fuck! Closing my eyes for a brief second, I let my thoughts drift back to our second meeting.

Thinking back to the incident now, I wouldn't say we fared better this time either. While Kole had needed an extra shot of wolfsbane to control his wolf, Marcus seemed to quickly lose his self-control the closer he was to our mate, despite having taken a small shot himself. And as for me, the wolfsbane had held me back but did little to suppress the urge to want our mate when she had responded to Marcus's ministrations.

Oh, Goddess! How much I had wanted her then.

But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. I could sense her confusion and resistance to what was happening but with all four of us at such close proximity, the poor girl stood no chance against the call of the bond. While we were lucky to have Wolfsbane to help control our drives, she had nothing to help fight against it. And that fact became more obvious as I stood back and observed her attraction towards Alex. Even though he had hurt her the most, she still couldn't help but react towards him.

But Alex on the other hand...

Looking at him now and hearing him release a furious roar before punching the wall behind him, I sighed internally. After witnessing Thomas's wolf recognize and bow down to its mate, Alex's fury was unstoppable.

So far, the innocent victims of his rampage have been two chairs, a priceless artifact from Tibet, an 18th-century painting from the famed Dutch artist- Elias De Vries, an antique vase, and a crystal decanter with some expensive whisky in it; bringing the tally to six. I could only hope that it would be the final count, my mind filling with dread while recalling some of Alex's past violent episodes where his temper would last for days and the prisoners that we held, ending up as outlets to appease his sadistic ways.

"You! This is all your fault! You and your fucking tests! If you had the balls to kill the bitch the minute I told you to, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

My body tensed as his accusing finger pointed in my direction. Trying to convince Alex to see sense when he is in a mood has never been an easy task. Seeing his wolf flash to the forefront, I realized that I had my work cut out for me. Taking a deep breath and maintaining his gaze, I responded, making sure to keep my tone respectful and submissive.

"Alex. We had to see for ourselves. Each of us separately. Think about it. Thomas has pulled us along in this bond whether he intended to or not. We were connected to her way before we even met her. So, if I had done what you had asked, I would have doomed us all. Granted, our wolves wouldn't have gone mad or rouge but they would have definitely been weakened. Tell me, brother... How long do you think you can run and defend a pack with a weak wolf?

"I don't give a fu-"

"Brother stop. James is right. At least now we know what we are dealing with. Let's stop arguing and see what can we do about it. James? What are our options here?"

Merciful Goddess! This was not going to go down well.

Clearing my throat nervously, I looked around at my brothers in the room. Alex was beside the desk, clutching the wood in a death grip, his knuckles turning white as his bloodthirsty gaze never left my face. One wrong move and I knew I would end up in the infirmary. Marcus was on the sofa, looking calm and composed. But I knew that was probably not the case on the inside. Marcus was extremely adept when it came to hiding his emotions from the rest of the world. Finally, my eyes landed on Kole who stood in the corner of the room against the wall. He looked pale and his eyes were unfocused as he chewed on his fingernail. Something that I haven't seen him do ever since we were teenagers.

"Unfortunately, I feel we don't have an option in this case."

"What the fuck do you mean?"

Avoiding eye contact with Alex who looked like he was ready to rip my head off, I turned towards Marcus - the Alpha more likely to see reason.

"Ok. Let's break it down. What do we know so far? We know that she is mated to all of us. We feel the pull, her emotions, the touch, and everything in between. But the fact that our wolves are already forming a bond with her... That's really quick given that we – I mean the four of us haven't spent any type of quality time with her for the bond to feel this strong. So, after a bit of research the only explanation that made sense was that when Thomas met her and spent time with her, their bond strengthened and because we are brothers and connected through blood and also share a mate, the bond grew stronger for us without us ever knowing it. I think there may -"

A loud crack sounded through the room startling everyone and halting my explanation mid-sentence. Glancing over at Alex, I saw him holding a piece of the desk that had cracked under the force of his hand. His eyes were pitch black making me look down immediately.

"I'm going to kill him!"

I sighed. Alex's "kill first and ask questions later" attitude was going to land us in serious shit someday. "I don't think killing our little brother would solve anything, Alex"

Suddenly I felt suffocated, my throat constricting as a hand wrapped around it. I didn't need to look up to see who it was. The Alpha aura pulsating in my face was filled with anger and an intent to kill.

"Alex let him go"

I looked up to see Marcus move towards us and grab Alex before forcefully pulling him off me.

He let out a snarl, as Marcus intervened, "Alex calm the fuck down. How is this helping? Let James speak!"

Shoving Marcus off him and straightening his shirt, Alex made his way toward the chair behind the desk and sat down before throwing a glare in my direction.

"James, what do you mean we don't have an option?"

My eyes darted over to Alex, observing him carefully before answering Marcus. "Well for one, I believe rejection is not an option. From what I have learned, the only way that could work is if all five of us reject her as our mate. And we all know that Thomas will not be a willing participant in that. We could threaten him or her life but seeing how she has already bonded to his wolf, there is a high chance that a forced rejection will either drive his wolf mad or weaken it severely. And since we are bonded with him, that could affect our wolves as well. To what extent I am not sure but I don't think it would be wise to risk it."

My eyes went over to each one of them. Kole was listening intently, his brows furrowed in concentration. Marcus's lips were drawn into a thin line as he paid close attention and strangely, Alex was staring at the desk in front of him, his face revealing nothing.

"... Killing him or turning him rogue will once again affect us and removing him from our pack will raise too many questions."

"I don't get it. So what if we are connected by blood? What does that have to do with a mate bond?"

"That is what I read Marcus. Siblings born together share a blood bond. And if the siblings also share a mate bond, then what happens to one, happens to all. Which is why rejection would have to come from all five of us. Wouldn't work otherwise. And even if it did, there will always be a lingering feeling towards the rejected mate"

"So what you're basically saying is that we are fucked?"

Marcus that is - "

"Why can't.... we just accept her? I mean...isn't she our destined mate? The one that the Moon Goddess herself chose for us?"

For a moment all eyes turned towards Kole who had remained quiet up until now. I could feel the collective shock run through the link as silence took over the room. I was beyond surprised that out of all of us, he would be the one to consider something like this, seeing how he was always the first to laugh at the mated couples saying how soppy the whole concept was. And the fact that he also had a voracious appetite when it came to sex and that no female from any species had ever been able to satisfy him, made this revelation even more shocking.

"What the fuck did you say?"

I watched as the chair that Alex was on swivel out of the way when he suddenly stood upright. His veins began to bulge as a low growl ripped through him in Kole's direction.

"I just thought - "

"What did you think? That you could forget everything that this family has ever worked for and run off into the sunset with a bloody human? Huh?"

Kole shifted his weight off the wall, his fists clenching while his eyes flashed before he looked at the floor and backed down.

"Get the fuck out of here before I rip out your throat"

A tense moment passed, Alex's threatening aura looming all around us, forcing submission. After hesitating for a moment, Kole gave a quick nod before walking out the door. "And you Beta. Do some more digging into this and see if we can rid ourselves of this bond… I'm done for tonight. I need a fucking run"

Alex walked past without another word as I gave a quick bow before the door soon closed after him. I let out a loud sigh, my muscles loosening as the stress and tension built over the course of the day eased. At least for the moment.

"Let's go get some sleep brother. This day has been a royal clusterfuck"

"No. You go on ahead. I want to make sure she gets back to the infirmary"

For a second, a look passed between us. As always, I couldn't tell what Marcus was actually feeling but there seemed to be some kind of unspoken approval from his wolf as it eagerly reached out to mine. Both of us exited the room together and while Marcus turned right to the elevator, my feet carried me in the opposite direction towards the scent of my mate. There was a feeling that wanted to burst forth as my wolf whined restlessly, unable to fully take control. I guess the wolfsbane still hadn't left my system.

And just as I was about to step into the cells, my heart stuttered as a giggle sounded through the open door. The melody immediately calms my wolf while simultaneously making my body shudder in response.

My heart ached at the beautiful sight in front of me. My mate sitting beside the cell while Thomas's wolf tried to lick her face through the bars.

"Eww. Stop. Not the hair! Don't lick my hair."

A small happy huff left the beast as it pushed harder against the bars to reach other parts of her face while bursts of giggles erupted from my mate. I smiled even though a flash of pain went through my chest, my heart wishing desperately to be a part of that scene.

Suddenly, her laughter ceased as a warning growl carried across the room. My wolf responded in kind as I growled back in response. I heard her gasp of panic as she turned to face me, her radiant beauty taking my breath away in an instant. Thomas's beast immediately picked up on her distress as it sent another growl in my direction, its territorial warning evident, as its eyes flashed gold.

"Stay away from us!"

I raised both my arms in front of me as a gesture of peace, hoping to ease her anxiety. "Not here to hurt you. Just wanted to take you back to the infirmary so that you can get some rest"

She fell silent as the beast continued to stare threateningly in my direction. Turning her head around, she glanced at the beast before looking back at me. "I want to stay here.... with Thomas"

I wanted to argue. Wanted to carry her away and tuck her into bed beside me where she would be safe and warm but instead, I smiled. "Ok. I'll get Liam to bring you a blanket or something. It gets cold down here"

She nodded before turning back to the wolf which bared its teeth towards me.

"Hey... calm down you silly wolf"

I watched in amazement as I witnessed the beast which had taken down rogues with just one bite, act like a harmless pup as it turned towards her, its threatening features immediately receding as it let out a whine and wagged its tail furiously.

I huffed out a laugh as I turned to walk out the door, a smile making its way across my face. She may be human but she certainly knew how to tame a beast.