Talons

Chapter 9: The Brother

Lark’s POV

I was about to head to bed early, my first love is coming to visit my sisters, and I don’t want to see her. I haven’t found a mate yet, and I don’t want to make the mistake of sleeping with her. We broke up just before I turned eighteen, and she has been so angry that I haven’t seen her since. I was just about to remove my clothing when I got a link that Brain is missing.

Robin is worried, because no one seems to know where she is, and apparently Colt showed up. I don’t want to believe that he is the one who attacked B all those years ago, but I can’t put it past him. I have asked my sister, but she has never given me a straight answer. She either goes with ‘Colton is not a nice person,’ or ‘he doesn’t like me much,’ but she has never said ‘he is the one who hurt me.’

I search B’s room, but she isn’t there, and now I am worried. As the youngest, and with her sickness, Brain has been babied by our parents, and now I am following in their footsteps. I head downstairs and I find her rummaging through the pack’s general medicine draw.

“What are you looking for?” She jumps in fright, and I realize that she really is a defenseless wolf without her sense of smell. B’s hearing is acute, but since she was making lots of noise looking through the draw, she didn’t hear me approach.

“I need something that will help with the pain of intercourse.” I clutch at my chest. I know Brain came into her wolf early, so it makes sense that she would come into her urges early, but I am not prepared for her to be sexually active. Before I know it, I’m grabbing her arm, and she is looking up at me like I am insane.

“You’re having s*x?” I whisper-shout. Her eyes bulge and she rips her arm away, frantically waving both hands back and forth to let me know I am wrong.

“W- what? N- no! I- It isn’t for me.” Relief washes over me for a brief second, but then I think of my other sisters, and B ends those thoughts too. “It’s not Raven or Robin either, eww.” I almost chuckle at her reaction.

I don’t have a sister complex or anything, but I have had to break a few ribs over the years. Everyone wants to ‘take down’ an alpha’s daughter, but I will not allow either of my sisters to become tools for enjoyment.

“Then who is it for?” B shifts uncomfortably, and I can tell she is carefully choosing her words.

“I overheard a couple in the woods; the girl could barely walk afterward. She wants to go home, but she is in too much pain to leave and is embarrassed to tell her friends.” It's a weird situation, but my chest swells with pride.

Of my sisters, B is the only one who is attentive and caring enough to hold the title of a Luna, but she does not have the confidence or strength for it.

There is also the fact that she is mentally challenged, and no alpha would ever make her his mate.

It is really a shame, because while the twins are no doubt having a good time, B is the one making sure our guests are taken care of. Anyone would be lucky to have her if they can look past her flaws.

“B, I know you mean well, but I can tell you haven’t thought this through.” I pull out some numbing cream and hand it to her. She nods gratefully but she still hasn’t gotten my point, and I know part of it is innocence. As usual, she is about to dart away but I stop her. “How do you expect the girl to apply that?” I see the gears turning in my sister’s head and the realization of where the girl is ‘injured’ finally dawns on her. “I will create a distraction for you, but this is the last time I want you involved in matters like this.” B nods in understanding, and I lead the way to the fire.

As I expected, everyone is so shocked that I took a break from pack work that no one sees B darting behind the trees and toward the girl who is huddled in a corner. I see her give the girl a large towel and a nod before she dashes away again. B somehow ends up behind me and I swear that if I hadn’t been watching I would not have known she was there, especially with the scent blocker. She is small, and she moves like a blur.

I am once again saddened by the issue with her sense of smell. She would have made a hell of a scout, and I wonder if I can convince her to teach a class.

“I think you guys are forgetting a celebrant,” I say, and Robin comes to steal Brain away from me.

I am sure she wants to keep our sister near her forever, which may not be a terrible thing because B may need the protection, and of the Twins, only Robin has the patience for her.

I find a seat next to my future beta, Luke, who has mutual friends with the twins, and an obvious crush on Robin. He is only two years older than her so it could happen, but the oracle told our parents that there would be mate bonds between the Claw and Iron packs.

Then, as if the moon goddess wanted to prove herself real, my mother found out she was having twin girls at the same time the Iron pack luna was carrying twin boys.

I link Luke, teasing him for staring, and to remind him that Robin may be spoken for. He is embarrassed, so he accidently responds to me aloud by denying that he was looking at her and I stare at him down.

I feel someone wrap their arms around me but lying to a superior is unacceptable and I let some of my authority slip into my response.

Luke is like a brother to me, and I would love it if he and Robin were a thing, but I will not accept a lie from him, even if it's just a white one.

Luke immediately apologizes, telling me that he just feels uncomfortable admitting that he likes my sister. I accept his apology and excuse.

Honestly, I don’t know why I take his attraction to Robin so well. Maybe it's because I know my sister is not interested, or maybe it's because I know she will be mated to one of the Stone twins.

I finally look at who is hugging me and decide that she will make a fine partner tonight. After making sure she is of legal wolf age to consent, I allow the girl to snuggle up to me.

She must have realized that she is making herself look desperate, so she peels away on her own, which I am grateful for.

“Who the hell is that?” I hear someone say in a lustful tone. I look up to see Emma walking toward the fire. She has bags in her hands, and I know they are gifts for my sisters. She was always thoughtful in that way, and if my grandparents hadn’t insisted, I would have stayed with her.

There is a three-year age gap between Emma and me, so we always knew it was unlikely that we would be mated, but we did hope to choose one another.

As my sisters are greeting Emma, my wolf begins to stir. I try to quiet him down but then the sweetest scent hits my nose. I am overcome with the urge to claim Emma and I shout the word 'mate' before sprinting toward her.

My sisters are clapping and cheering, but Emma looks unimpressed. I beg her to let me mark her, but she huffs away from me and I panic that she is going to reject me. I am so confused in that moment that I start chasing her, not even bothering to look back at the people watching because I do not care.

Alpha or not, I need my mate and as soon as we are out of sight, I push her up against a tree and demand an answer.

“You smell like another woman and you dare ask to claim me as your mate? Let's not even forget about the fact that your family sent my family to another pack.” My mouth hangs open, and my wolf is threatening to abandon me if he gets rejected. He cannot leave, but he can go dormant which would cost me my alpha title.

“Please babe, it wasn’t my choice. Mates with an age gap like ours is beyond rare.” Emma is clearly not listening to me, so I do the only thing I can think of; I link my mom. My parents show up in less than a minute and my mother is already cuing up the water works but then she sniffs me, and I earn a solid slap, which makes Emma jump.

“You approached your fated mate smelling like another female?” I am shocked, but Emma looks sorry, and I see a way in. My mother grabs my mate and pulls her away, leaving me to chase them like a puppy. I have never felt so helpless in my life, but at the same time, I have never felt so great.