Chapter 2 - Tomas

“Nate, man.  Let’s go for a run.  You’ve been cooped up in this library for a week.  Your wolf has to be going crazy.  Let’s go for a run.  Maybe a shower and a meal that isn’t brought to you in a bag,” I say to my best friend.

He has been searching for a way to get into any of the three possible places where Nyx could be without someone like Hermes who can get us in and out of different realms since we’ve returned home two damn months ago.

He only comes out when Dev or Arya force him to for training, or when Slade or Naomi use their alpha or luna tone on him.  

It was rough going at first.  We didn’t realize that he wasn’t doing all the things.  You know, the things like bathing.  Eating as often as he should.  Sleeping.  Leaving the damn library.

I mean, I’ve been a little caught up in the mating frenzy that comes with the matebond with Zoe and Kaia.  It was slightly extended because of the battle that we had at the gates of Valhalla and I didn’t get to check in on my bestie during that time.

Naomi and Slade also didn’t realize exactly what was going on because they came home to a fucking mess.  Ryder, their youngest, is going off the fucking rails at school.  He’s 13 years old.  His wolf isn’t supposed to appear for another three years, but it’s already come to the forefront.

And it’s fucking powerful.  This huge, black, brown, and white brindled wolf, with fucking massive jaws.  And the aura off of his wolf is fucking crazy.  I mean, surpassing the aura that most alpha wolves have and approaching Rowen and Alexander’s auras.

Here’s the problem.  There is a reason that wolves don’t appear until a werewolf is 16.  By then, our youths have gone through years of training on how to contain their emotions.  Because increased emotions can make you shift when you don’t want to.  And because you can handle your emotions, you can commune with and handle your wolf, especially during those first few shifts.

But Ryder has only had about six months of training.  He can’t handle his own mood swings that just come naturally as a teenager.  It’s been causing a lot of issues and he’s been having to work really hard with Rowen and Alexander.

Selene isn’t around for us to ask what the fuck is going on, spending a lot of her time in Valhalla trying to come up with strategies for the fight that’s coming with the rest of the gods on our side.

All that to say, Naomi and Slade have been a little preoccupied to check in on Nate.

It was actually his siblings Ethan and Gray that brought it to our attention.  They had been worried about Nate since they found out about Nyx.  And they had been dealing with Ryder the entire time that we’ve been gone.  And, frankly, they’re scared of their youngest sibling.

So they worried about their other brother.

They had been trying to get him out of the library the entire time that his parents and I have been busy.  They couldn’t get him to leave the library, but they got him to take breaks to eat and sleep.  

Dev went in there twice when Nate didn’t show for training and made him leave to shower and rest.  He slept for 24 hours both days that he left.

But the second that I walked out of the house that I’m sharing with Zoe and Kaia, they were on me like white on rice.  I made them go tell their parents, regardless of what was going on with Ryder.  

We needed to get our shit together to take care of Nate.  Not only for his sake, which was enough for me, but because of Nyx.  Because the two of them are mated.  Their bond might not be completed, but they are still connected.  Especially since they had started to get closer to each other right before Nyx was taken.  And him taking care of himself will only help strengthen her through whatever is going on with her.

It’s been hell trying to get him out of that fucking library.  A fight every single time that we try.  But it needs to happen.

Nate is my best friend and I’ll do whatever I can to help him.

So, when I suggested that we go for a run, it’s because he hasn’t shifted since he’s been back.  And with an alpha wolf under his skin, he needs to let his wolf out.  Now.

Instead, he mumbles, “I’m fine, Tomas.  I don’t need to go on a run.”

“That’s bullshit, Nate.  You haven’t shifted since we’ve gotten home.  We can tell by how irritable that you’ve been, how much you’re eating, and how you’ve been throwing shit around here.  You need to get out of this room.  You need to shift, shower, eat, and sleep,” I insist, moving some of the books in front of him out of his reach.

He literally growls at me, to which I just raise an eyebrow.  “Still think you don’t need to shift?”

“What I need is my mate!” he growls, the sound of his voice overlaid by his wolf’s.

And I’m kind of done with his shit.  And my wolf enters my voice as I growl back at him, “And you won’t fucking find her if your wolf tears this entire fucking library apart!”

Ok, it is not a good idea for my wolf to go up against an alpha wolf.  Granted, I’m strong, but I don’t have the aura that’s going to be able to go up against an alpha wolf.  Especially if I don’t want to fuck up the library.

Thank fuck that Alexander happens to walk in right then.

“Hey, guys.  What’s going on?” he asks in that shaky tone that you can get when you walk into a tension filled situation.

“I’m trying to get my stubborn asshole of a best friend to come for a run, because he’s going to fucking shift out of desperation like his 13 year old brother!”  Why am I yelling?  It isn’t a smart thing for me to be yelling at a wolf that’s barely hanging on by a thread.  I need to be calm and get him to follow me out.

But I’m tired of coddling and cajoling him to do the best thing for himself and his mate.  I get that he misses her.  I get that he desperately wants to find her.  But if he doesn’t care for himself, Nyx won’t have anything but a fucking feral, alpha powered wolf who is, at the very least, chained down.

“Ok, yes you have a point, Mas.  But growling at him and starting a fight between the two of you isn’t going to get him to do what you want.  Why don’t you step outside and let me get him to come out with us, along with the rest of the Elite?” Alexander says.

“Yeah, whatever,” I say, turning to leave the library.  “Fucking asshole,” I murmur as I turn away.

“Fuck off!” Nate growls back at me as I flip him off behind my back.

I stomp out of the library and jump off the steps, loving the feel of the jolt through my muscles with my anger.  I either need to punch something, preferably Nate’s face, or let my wolf out to run.

Outside, waiting for us, is the entire Elite: Dev, Arya, Rowen, Jared, Summer, and Micah, along with my two mates.

Zoe and Kaia immediately move towards me, wrapping themselves around me.  They make sure to touch as much exposed skin as they can.  The sparks of our matebond flood my system and immediately calm my wolf.

“It’s ok, baby.  Alexander will get him out here.  Though it seems like it’s gonna be by force,” Zoe says, brushing a hand over my cheek. 

“Luckily, he’s the strongest wolf out here,” Kaia says, her lips brushing along my other cheek.

Fuck!  “If the two of you aren’t careful, I’m going to be releasing my frustration with Nathan by fucking the shit out of you instead of going for a run,” I murmur against Kaia’s lips before taking them with mine.

Zoe chuckles.  “You say that like it would be a bad thing.”

Shit.  I need to be here for Nate.  He’s my best friend and he needs the support.  But he also has the support of all these other wolves out here.  Me being missing because I’m pounding into my mates’ pussies, doesn’t seem like all that bad of an idea.

But just then, Alexander pushes through the library doors with Nate in his arms.  Nate is flailing and swinging, trying to get out of Alexander’s arms.

He’s flailing and screaming obscenities to try and get out of Alexander’s arms.  It’s not going to help him, not unless Alexander pushes him out of his arms and dumps him to the ground.  

Which is what he does right now.

Before Nate can respond, Dev uses his alpha tone, saying, “Shift!”

Looks like Zoe, Kaia, and I didn’t make it out before the run started.