Page 18 of Bond & Protect

Instead, we both focus on Amos for a few moments, waiting for him to come back around. His breaths are much less ragged now. I can tell the pain isn’t anywhere near as much. He will recover and be fine at the end of it. It’ll just take a bit of time, like I said. We need to be patient.

Really, we need to focus on what attacked Amos because that’s definitely going to be problematic later on. This monster… it’s coming back to haunt us. It’s going to destroy us if it can. And if we allow it to attack and kill us, then it’ll go on to kill everyone in the town as well. There’s no telling how far this thing will go. The stories that we have all been brought up on never end well. If the monster is allowed to destroy, then it won’t stop.

This is a huge issue for us. The biggest that our pack has ever had to face. I have realized that the whole time, but now it’s hitting me really hard. I don’t know how we’re going to handle it. Are we going to have to get assistance from other wolves, or can we find a way? We might even need to consult the pack elders to see if there’s any advice that they can give us.

I know Elias won’t be keen on that plan, but it’s better than nothing, right? I think so…

I don’t want to pile on and ask Elias right now, but we’ll have to figure it out at some point. We’ll have to meet and talk it through to see where everyone stands. Now that we know Mila is innocent and we’ve seen what the monster actually looks like… we can finally work together.

“Is he okay?” Sydney’s quiet voice floats through the air, causing me and Elias to turn to face him. He’s also really concerned about Amos, which shows how much he cares. All this concern for Amos is really sweet. It reminds me that none of us are ever alone, even if life can get lonely sometimes. We are always here for one another. “He’s looking much better.”

I nod and smile. “Yeah, he’s good. Is Mila all right? She looked worried.”

“She’s sleeping. I think she needed some rest. It’s been a stressful time.”

Sydney flops down on the couch, and so me and Elias follow him. We’re all exhausted, and even though we aren’t all here, I can see that we need to talk.

“So, what’s going on?” I make a sweeping gesture with my hands. “What’s happening here? I’ve been very busy at the hospital, and I feel like I’ve missed out.”

Sydney and Elias exchange a look, but neither of them says anything. The less they say, the more I start to resent them because I’m feeling incredibly left out. I know I can be on the outskirts of the pack, looking in, because most of my time is all consumed with the hospital. But this is the first time it’s felt quite shitty. I don’t like the way no one is sharing.

“It’s Mila,” Sydney finally declares, loosening a tight knot in my chest. Okay, this I can understand. This I can deal with. “I know that none of us have talked about it yet, but it’s there…”

“Mila?” I ask curiously. “Okay, so what’s happening with her?”

I think I know. I think I understand it, but I want them to express it all to me anyway. Because I never thought that I’d end up fighting hormones as strong as the first time I scented a female in heat. Especially not a human woman. I know my feelings for Mila are unlike anything that I have ever experienced before, and I can see it’s the same for them as well.

I never thought I would end up in a mating round, and I’m starting to get the impression that everyone else feels the same way. But no one knows how to verbalize it. I have always been the rational, calming voice in the pack. I can be the same here.

“I feel a bond with her,” Sydney declares a little nervously. His eyes keep darting over to Elias, who by some miracle, isn’t freaking out yet. “A mating bond. Like I haven’t ever experienced before. But I know I’m not the only one. I know Amos and Elias feel that too.”

Elias breathes in deeply before he starts nodding. “Okay, sure. I will admit it. I’ve definitely felt that way toward Mila as well. It’s very powerful and almost…” He pauses to think of the words before he continues. “All consuming. I think that’s the best way to describe it.”

I nod along. “And you think Amos feels the same way? Has he said anything about it?”

I know he does, I think that things have happened between them as well. I’ve seen the thoughts they’ve all had about Mila, but I want to make sure that we’re all on the same page. I watch both Elias and Sydney nod slowly. No one is fully letting everything out in the open, but that’s okay. We can still work with all of this, as long as we work together.

“Well, I’m going to be honest with you…” I begin. “I also feel bonded to Mila.” Sydney sucks in a sharp breath, but Elias doesn’t look surprised at all. “It’s difficult for me because I haven’t spent enough time with her to know for sure. Not like the rest of you, but I know these feelings and am certain of what they are. I’m mated to Mila. We all are.”

There’s a beat of silence, where all three of us end up looking at one another in shock. No one quite knows what to say, which is really awkward. I’m going to have to be the voice of reason again. I just need to make sure that the words I have in my arsenal are the right ones.

“You know there is a mating round, don’t you?” I ask the others. “I think that’s what’s happening here. There’s a reason we’re all bonded to one woman, and it’s because we’re supposed to be in a mating round. We’re all supposed to be with her.”

Elias leans back in his chair like this isn’t something he’s even considered. I watch him furrow his eyebrows intently as this idea crosses his mind. But Sydney already seems much more receptive to this whole idea. I get the impression that he aches for Mila so much, that he wants to be with her in any capacity, even if it means being in a mating round.

“Wow,” Sydney whispers. “That actually makes sense.” He presses his hand to his chest. “I feel a little better now, knowing about all of this. Knowing that this is possible.”

He still darts his eyes anxiously towards Elias, waiting impatiently for this man to figure out how he feels about all of this. It’s taking him time, though, he’s really struggling.

“Elias, this happens all the time,” I tell him carefully. “This is normal. It might not be something you have ever encountered before, but it happens. I mean, if this is something that you’re worried about then why not talk to the wolf elders?”

He shakes his head. “Hold on, just give me a minute. I need some time. Because we need to remember that this isn’t just about us, is it? This isn’t just about us three right here. It involves Amos as well. We need to figure out what’s going on with her. And more than that, it involves Mila. We don’t know how she’s going to feel about any of this.”

That actually causes all of us to panic a bit. What if Mila rejects us all? She’s new to town. There’s no guarantee that she’s going to want to stick around. She’s had her troubles in the city but also has a life there. She had a career and everything, which she might want to go back to. We might not be enough to keep her in town.

“None of us know how she feels, that’s true,” I admit. “But we do know how all of us feel, which is a good start. It means we can talk to Mila together when the time comes.”

There’s a thick tension surrounding us as I say that. I can tell both Sydney and Elias are struggling with this, they don’t know how to confront Mila, but we’re going to have to. We don’t want jealousy and simmering tensions to destroy us, especially when we have another enemy to fight. The enemy I thought we would be talking about when I sat here…

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