The Forgotten Wolf Kin

Chapter 5 – Eero

Malachi’s POV

“s**t! Mal! What the hell are you trying to do to me!” Marley’s dulcet tones filled the room.

His disgruntled face, looking a little dishevelled and tired. His wavy hair, a few shades darker than mine, had grown and was now covering his sea-green eyes. He stood in the doorway, as he brushed his hair out of his eyes, revealing the slight dark circles that edged them as he waited for me to speak.

“Me? to you?” I said weakly, struggling now to stay awake, my voice hoarse.

“Yes… if you die, I have to be Alpha… no thanks!” he spoke in all seriousness, but there was a small curl on the left side of his lip as he unsuccessfully tried to keep a straight face.

Avery started to laugh uncontrollably, and I wanted to punch him.

“Nice to see you too,” I croaked.

“Who”s this?” Marley said, walking into the room and closing the door behind him, as he looked over at Avery, his cheeky grin widened across his face and his dimples deepened. We were incredibly similar in looks, but he had a squarer jaw than me. He and Avery were the same height, and defiantly had the same personalities.

“This is...” but before I could finish, Avery did it for me.

“Avery! Good to meet you” they shook hands. “Hopefully you are the less sarcastic and stuffy one of the two of you. He has been my Luna and b***h for a year” he winked at me, and it reminded me I should disfigure his face so he couldn’t do that again.

“Avery Aldine, Coldfell? Good to meet you! I’m Marley, the best-looking brother and I can see you have got him figured! I am definitely not as stuffy as him”, Marley grinned. Oh Goddess save me. These two should never ever be in the same room ever again!

“Hello!” I waved pathetically at them both “The dead not dead brother/friend over here!”

“Friend” Avery teased, a small smile creeping in.

“Avery, I swear, you carry on and I will not sign the alliance”. My ability to remain deadpan in any situation was beginning to pay off. Or so I thought.

“Words sweat pea, just words. I know you don’t mean it”. Avery had just hit an all-time new low and I knew he was only doing it because I was unable to hurt him in my present state.

Marley was cracking up in the corner and I just wanted them both to leave, they were painfully exhausting.

“Ok. Let’s get down to business”. Marley just got serious, this was new. I think that’s why I liked and disliked Avery so much. He reminded me a lot of Malery. But being serious wasn’t something I had ever seen in either of them.

I remained silent for longer than I should have as I was taking stock of the new persona Marley had just taken on, his back straightened and he lent forward in his anticipation for information.

“Malachi, I am assuming you are happy for Marley to be involved” Avery also took on a stoic stance, and seeing the two of them suddenly become determined and stern was unnerving. Never did I think I would see the day Avery took the lead in an important discussion.

“Of course he is” Marley retorted, unimpressed with Avery questioning his involvement.

“Malachi?” Avery waited for confirmation as Marley looked on, offended. I was under the distinct impression that if I didn’t speak soon, this was not going to end well, as they both battled for dominance.

Avery may be Alpha, but Marley was of Alpha blood too, and they were evenly matched. I needed to stop watching the scene evolve and intervene, but for a short moment, it was fun to see the two of them puff their chests, especially as I had never seen either one of them take anything seriously before.

“Yes Avery, Marley will be my Beta, I trust him with my life, tell him everything” Marley looked over at me with a weird expression on his face that I couldn’t quite decipher. “What?”

“Well, that was a really weird way of asking me to be your Beta” he stated incredulously.

I furrowed my brow slightly at his odd statement, a mild look of confusion on my face “You were always going to be my Beta Marely”. I assumed that was a given.

“And I was supposed to know how? Have you ever mentioned it?” he stated as a matter of fact, arms crossed as he took a seat next to Avery and crossed his leg over his thigh and leaned back in the chair, eyebrows raised questioningly.

“I assumed you knew”. I didn’t realise he expected an official offer! Jeez.

“Well, I didn’t” he huffed. It wasn’t like a marriage proposal!

“BOYS” Avery shouted, managing to get both our attention, looking somewhat exasperated.

“Sorry” I said meekly. “Marley, I trust you with my life. When I become Alpha, would you do me the honour of being my Beta?” I tried really hard not to roll my eyes.

“Why, Malachi, I would be absolutely honoured” he grinned, relaxing in the chair. This was exhausting and far more excitement than my body is able to take right now.

“Great, now we have that sorted, you pair of f*****g idiots, can we get onto the important stuff?”

Avery, calling me an i***t, the cheek. I swallowed my thought “Yes”.

“I’m listening” Marley uncrossed his legs and sat forwards in anticipation, as Avery explained the situation as we knew it to date.

“Well Holy f**k” Marley looked at me in mild disbelief. “Well, that was a little more serious than mum and dad made out”, he almost looked a little guilty for having played up on his arrival.

“Well, I doubt the Council said “Hi, we thought your son was dead, but then a short while later, Ta da he’s actually alive and we have no idea why or how!” you i***t” Avery crooned. He had a point.

“I wish you two would stop calling me an i***t” Marley seemed less than impressed, but in the space of the hour he had been here I was pretty sure we had all been called an i***t at some point, so I didn’t think his sulking was necessary.

Both Avery and I laughed, and I think this is the first time we both laughed at the same thing.

“Sorry. What did the Council say to them?” I asked, more seriously.

“That someone tried to kill you in the arena, they stopped it from happening, you were injured but recovering and were keeping you in just to make sure you were well cared for”

“Wow, that wasn’t even half the truth, it was almost a complete crock of shite” Avery said, incredulously.

It suddenly dawned on me, if they lied about that, what else did they lie about? But it was a fleeting thought, as Avery clearly thought of something else, but he was being coy. He signalled his finger to his lips to remain quiet while he spoke.

“Well, I think we should stick to the Council's story. No need to worry anyone, and you are feeling better now, so no harm done.”

Marley was going to say something, but I stopped him. Avery looked at me and nodded slowly while he reached for a pen and paper. I understood him.

“You’re right Avery. No need to worry anyone unnecessarily, it’s over now. I just want to forget it ever happened and move on. I am so ready to go home and be with my family”. I kept my voice on an even keel.

It was actually the truth, so not difficult to pull off, but as I spoke, Marley seemed to catch on to what Avery was doing and took the bait.

“Fine. I do actually agree. We say nothing to anyone. It is better kept between us anyway.”

Avery had written on a piece of paper in the meantime.

***Room bugged Council???***

We both nodded.

“Okay, so now we have agreed to say nothing, what now?” I asked, trying to fill the void.

“We get you home to rest and live the rest of our lives as we were always meant to, peacefully” Avery winked, and this time, I didn’t want to punch him in the face, which surprised me.

He wrote something down and I no longer felt comfortable talking in this room. They may not have bugged the room, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I made an excuse to be alone.

“Look Marley, I am so glad you are here, but I am really tired. I think I have had just about enough excitement for one day”

“Of course man, we’ll let you rest, we’ll be back first thing to check if you are ready to come home. Mum is desperate to see you!”

Avery held up the note ““will talk properly tomorrow”“

We both nodded, not willing to take the chance that we may just be being super paranoid.

“Yeah, hopefully we can go home tomorrow, I am so ready to be back home and back to normality.” It wasn’t a lie, I really did just want to go home.

“ OK bro, we’ll get out of your way, we’ll see you tomorrow” Marley leant over the bed, and I winced slightly as he gave me a small bro hug.

“You two going be okay together?” I asked, not sure I really wanted to know the answer.

“Sure, why wouldn’t we be? We are big boys”, Marley chuckled.

“Because you are both really irritating people and I don’t need any more drama in my life. Behave!”

“We will, promise” Avery grinned, and I just closed my eyes as they left the room.

I drifted to sleep, despite my mind whirling with all the information that I had been plagued with.

'Malachi…. Malachi….'

I knew it was Eero’s voice, but I was half asleep and not completely with it.

'Hello? Eero?'

'Sheesh, about time.'

'What! You just called me, I was asleep.'

'Malachi, I need you to listen to me. I know you have a lot of questions, but please trust me when I tell you, now is not the time.'

'Eero, what are you talking about?'

'I just need you to trust me, that when the time is right, I will tell you what you need to know.'

Something about his voice and the way he was speaking was different, and both my body and mind were telling me to trust what he was saying. Not that I had ever not trusted him implicitly.

'Of course, I trust you, Eero.'

'Now, are you ready to listen? It is very important you do'

'I’m listening'

'You are going home tomorrow. The Council will be watching you from afar. It is very important that you tell no-one other than those who already know about what happened to you.'

'How do you know this?'

'I just do'

'So I can’t even tell my Dad?'

'No, not even your Dad. The more people that know, the more danger will be bestowed upon you and our Pack. Right now, it is best just Avery and Marley know. They can help you.'

'Help me with what? What Danger?'

'Right now, they just need to get you home and help you continue your current path. The rest will come in time. I can’t tell you anymore, it would be counterproductive. For now, the less you know, the better. When you need to know more, I will tell you. I promise'

'What’s with all the cloak and dagger secrets?'

'All will become clear. But for now, just go home and keep your secret safe. Just be aware that the Council is watching, so don’t do anything to raise attention or suspicion. We need them to back off and feel less threatened.'

'Why do they feel threatened by me?'

'They don’t understand you, you are different.'

'I am now more confused and frustrated than I was before.'

'I’m sorry, It’s just important you understand what I am saying and comply.'

'Okay. I understand. Can I tell Avery and Marley about this?'

'Yes. If you feel it necessary, but not here. I have to go, but don’t forget what I said, Malachi. It’s vital you keep a low profile for now.'

I wanted to ask him more, but somehow, I just knew he had gone.

“Alpha Malachi”, I heard another voice in my head, here we go again.

“What now?” I was unbelievably tired, and I just wished people would leave me alone!

“Oh, Sorry Alpha, I didn’t mean to wake you!”

What? I am awake…

Open your eyes, Malachi. It’s rude to talk to the nurse with your eyes closed.

Eero’s dulcet tones reverberated in my mind once again, and I realised my eyes were closed. I opened them, and it was dusk, the light just fading. Hang on, I swear it was mid-morning ten minutes ago. I wondered if that had been a dream.

The nurse looked over at me apologetically “Sorry, I was dreaming. I didn’t mean to be rude!”

“It’s okay, Alpha Malachi, It’s just you have been asleep for quite some time and I thought you may be hungry. I brought you something to eat.”

“Right, yeah I’m starving!”

“If you want anymore, please just let us know. We would be happy to oblige.”

“Thank you”

She set down a plate of food which I knew wouldn’t touch the sides, but I didn’t want to ask for more already. I ate it before she had even left the room. She finished checking my charts and looked at my empty plate and laughed.

“I told them you would need more. Let me go get you something else!” she grabbed the plate from me and made her way out of the room.

“Thanks” I said a little sheepishly and she left.

'Eero, you still there?'

'Yeah, I’m here'

'Was I dreaming?'

'No, it wasn’t a dream, and I need you to take on board what I said.'

'Okay. But are you going to actually explain what happened?'

'Yes, just not now.'

He sounded a little irritated, but more than that, he just sounded as tired as I felt.

“Here you go, Alpha Malachi.”

The nurse had returned with a mound of food which I eyed hungrily “Thank you so much!”

“It’s good to see you have an appetite. I will be back when you have finished checking your wound. Does it still hurt?”

“No actually? It doesn’t”. I removed the sheet covering me and lifted the top I had on, and the dressing looked clean.

“We can look at it after you have eaten” she smiled politely.

“Kind of interested to see what it looks like, to be honest”

“ OK then, let’s take a look”. She took the dressing off.

All that remained was a large scar across my stomach, slightly tainted silver, which I thought was odd. I had never known a wound caused by silver to heal with a silver tinge, but something told me not to draw attention to it or ask questions.

It was barely visible, but the slight glow that shimmered from it was difficult to miss from where I was. I briefly wondered if I was seeing things, but after everything else that happened, I wasn’t taking any chances.

“Good as new” I smiled.

“Looks like it, looks like it just needs a good clean”. I assumed she was referring to the silver tinge. “If it doesn’t wash off in the shower, let me know and I’ll bring in something to clean it. Everything else on your charts is normal. I would suggest you rest tonight, and you will be ready to go home tomorrow”

“Great, I am more than ready to go home!”

She left and I finished the rest of the food that had been given to me.

'Eero'

'Yes'

'Are you going to tell me then?'

'Fine.' He huffed, unimpressed with my persistence. 'You didn’t die, Malachi, not exactly anyway. It just looked that way.'

'They said I was dead, Avery even checked.'

'Well, yes, I made it look that way. I only meant to make you look almost dead, not actually dead.'

'Why?'

'Because I killed Ashton. If you survived so easily, you would have lost your chance to become Alpha. They only allowed you to pass the training because you were so close to death, and it looked like self-defence in a life-or-death situation.'

'So, it wasn’t self-defence? Or a life-or-death situation?'

'Well, that could be argued.'

'Eero!'

'Fine. You were never going to die. But he wouldn’t have stopped trying until either you or he was dead, so I had to do it.'

'So, I can’t die?'

'Yes, you could, but you weren’t going to then.'

'So, you made it look like I did?'

'Yes. As I said, I didn’t mean to make you look dead, just almost dead. That was my mistake. But doing that and then fixing it was exhausting. That’s why I needed time to recover. You needed me to do it, to pass this training and become Alpha.'

'How did you do it?'

'That’s for another time, Malachi. For now, just accept what I tell you and when I say something is important, or needs to be done, know I mean it.'

'Okay'

I accepted his words, I trusted him. He was a part of me, and I knew he would only do whatever was best for our survival. I die, he dies. But this entire day had completely blown my mind, and I had more questions than answers. It still didn’t make sense.