Chapter 4
Victory can be its own bitter defeat.
-Unknown
"Hell yeah! WOOOOOHO!!" Nate suddenly howled like the Wolf that he was from across the mats.
Brandon turned his way as he shouted and then Brandon smiled as he watched Nate running across the room towards him and for a moment Brandon had to shake the crazy image he had of a large grey wolf, tongue lolling out of its mouth running right for him.
Walter and Ezekiel weren't far behind. Nate jumped into the air just before he got close and Brandon laughed as he watched him clear five feet of air effortlessly. He skidded to a stop next to Brandon and gave him a very enthusiastic punch in the arm that made Brandon stumble to the side.
Nate smiled at him in apology as Brandon rubbed away the pain, then he watched as Nate walked over to his table bound brother. Careful not to get within his reach, Nate preceded to taunt him.
"Wow its 2 and 0 for you today Lander. First Walter and now....?" Nate laughed at him heartily. "Candy pants rules! Looks like brain beat brawn today, huh?" He said looking away from Lander towards Walter.
Lander roared in impotent fury and cussed him.
Walter nodded and graced Brandon with one of his rare smiles. "Good job." he said. "I was surprised. You're extremely fast for a mortal and you think well on your feet, maybe next week Ill spar with you instead of these fools?"
Brandon nearly choked as he stared up at the large man. Brandon knew that he wouldn't even know where to begin. Walter was huge and way to grounded. "But your huge, I cant beat you in a fight!." Brandon blurted out backing away.
Walter smiled again and chuckled. "You didn't beat Lander, but you did out smart him." he pointed out. "Perhaps a game of chess will be a better battle ground for you and me?"
Brandon nodded. "Yeah, sure." Brandon was genuinely relieved and surprised that he had impressed the large brother at all.
Nate walked over to the weapons table and grabbed a small golden key from among the pile. He walked over to Landers cuffed hands and after a moment he had him free of the silver cuffs.
Lander rubbed his bloody wrist smearing the blood. Then he walked up to Brandon. He paused a moment and Brandon worried that he was going to enact some horrid revenge. But then he put his hand out and after mentally checking to make sure that his energy was under tight wraps Brandon shook it.
"Nice job with the hand cuffs..." Lander said heavily, releasing Brandon's hand quickly. "Even though we both know I'm stronger then you...."
"Lander!" Ezekiel and Nate both growled at him in clear warning.
Lander held his hands up in surrender. "Okay! I'm sorry for all the queer jokes and for saying that I'm better then you..." Lander tipped his head forward in a small bow of apology. "Your all right...for a queer."
Nate rolled his eyes and Ezekiel hissed, but Brandon just shook his head.
Brandon laughed at Landers half-assed apology and said. "Huh, I guess that will have to do...?" He said to himself. Then with a shake of his head Brandon decided to concede. " But I guess for a Homophobe you sure do have your moments of decency."
"I try...I try real hard." Lander shrugged without any further inflection.
"Welp! I'm hungry." Nate barked suddenly stretching his arms above his head. Giving Brandon a full view of his chest and well defined smooth stomach.
And just like that, now that all the adrenaline was fading away Brandon realized that he was standing in a room full of half clothed great looking men. Great looking men he barely found himself attracted too. It was the darndest thing. Brandon wondered if he was just so stressed that his libido was sorely diminished.
But even though all of Ezekiels brothers were handsome to him he realized that he felt no attraction to any of them. They were all great guys, but for some reason Ezekiel was the only one who made him feel uncomfortable. He was the only one Brandon wanted to touch. The only one he wanted to let touch him.
Lander put his arm across Nate's shoulders and hugged his head down in a playful grapple. "Hey, I'm hungry too....let's go fire up the grill. I'd kill for a slab of bloody ribs right now."
Nate was pulled along as Lander headed towards the Sparing room's exit. With Walter following close behind a smile spread across his face for the first time that Brandon could remember. It startled him greatly to behold it and he forced himself not to stare as the eldest brother moved away.
"I want my ribs extra raw. No burning them this time..." Walter called out as he tailed his siblings out of the room entirely. "Lander you know I'm talking about you right...?"
Chapter 5Brandon watched the door close behind the three Guardians and took a deep breath.He wasn't particularly hungry, but for now he wasn't even remotely ready to retire back into his solitary room. Honestly too bored to resign himself to another twelve hours of solitary confinement Brandon went to follow them, but he had only taken a few steps before he was wishing that the sound of food didn't sound completely repulsive.During the course of the last few minutes his inner battle had take a turn for the worse. Brandon realized that using a small amount of energy after only a few days of rest may not have been the best idea. Brandon put his arms across his stomach and closed his eyes as pain flashed down from his skull and settled in the pit of his core.Brandon was so caught off guard by the sickness rising that he forgot not everyone had left the sparing room."Brandon?" Ezekiel said to him. He was a few feet away about to follow his brother stoop the kitchen , but he had caugh
Brandon pushed his power down and tried to focus.He swallowed as more nausea rose as the small flame inside of him was denied a meal. With the sickness came pure hot agitation. “I’m telling you everything, but you won’t listen to me, Ezekiel!” He said elbowing Ezekiel in his chest as hard as he could.Ezekiel growled and released him quickly, before Brandon could hit him again. Pivoting on his heel Brandon turned to him so that his back was to the wall. He glared at the beast trembling openly.“I’m not going to confess anything to you.....So STOP interrogating me at every turn! I didn’t ask to be here! I just want to be left alone!”Ezekiel, easily unconvinced, smiled at him darkly. He stepped forward and leaned in crowding him. He put his arms on the wall boxing Brandon in. Brandon turned his head away as Ezekiel drew into him or his face would have been inches from Ezekiels.Ezekiel didn’t speak for a moment and even though Brandon couldn’t see his face he could feel Ezekiels eyes
Ezekiel followed Brandon out of the sparing room moments after he ran out, but he was unnervingly fast. It was odd that Brandon’s speed hadn’t disturbed him until now, but even when they had first meet Ezekiel realized that he should have noticed that the man moved more like a beast....and not a mortal.Brandon was somehow already cresting the stairs, before Ezekiel had even touched the first one and by time he had made it to Brandon’s door it was closed. Panting slightly Ezekiel stopped and hesitated. He should have knocked, but something told him that something....was amiss. That Brandon was hurt.He felt it all around him, he sensed a strange residue on his soul.Something Powerful. Something....unnatural. Dangerous. Wrong.It had wafted around Brandon for a second like an invisible blanket.Then he had felt it again. Something he had been sure had only been a figment of his fevered dreams at night. Power so raw, so sweet, so familiar and amazing that his body nearly trembled. He h
It was disorienting to wake up...and be floating in mid-air....over a giant bottomless rocky chasm.The sun, a beautiful russet of rose and orange glowed from behind the peaks of the mountains and the valleys and the clouds of billowing smoke.Wait....I’m dreaming....And just like that Brandon heard the men shouting at each other below him.One of the men was Brandon. But the Brandon of his dreams, was garbed in a bright white and long silken robe that seemed to exude power. Eshowe a prestige and beauty that was almost mesmerizing. This Brandon had hair that was short and cropped, he spoke with a strange dialect....and was dripping in blood and wielded a long blade in his hand that was smeared in fresh gore.Across from the Brandon of his dreams...there stood one of the most beautiful men that Brandon had ever seen.This man was Kail. He screamed at Brandon. His face stretched into various expressions. From agony, to rage....to hatred. Kail was and had been a part of Brandon’s life f
Instead the Brandon of his dream, took the blade in his own hand and laughed. His voice cracked on a sob as the metal clanged across the mountain top. He dropped to his knees having disarmed himself. “They are all dead Kail. I just....felt the last of them die.....Now I guess peace will rain....Come brother.... you can finish the slaughter.” The phantom Brandon sobbed.A sharp knife of agony split Brandon’s heart apart as he watched the dream phantom of himself scream and claw the earth.“WHY!! Why did you do this to us?” Kail’s blade clanged into the earth...and with a broken scream he collapsed into the mountains soil. Kail put a hand to his head and bowed down as if he were in agony. “My people.....My Clan....Their sorrow is unimaginable. We never wanted to betray our own...!” Kail said.But Brandon’s dream phantom simply laughed. “They couldn’t allow Acaris to fall into our hands.” He said. “They needed it to rule the world, but with our deaths.....I know you will stand against th
Chapter 10Waking up was unnaturally instant...as if Brandon’s body was simply tired of rest and demanded he awaken and give it stimulation outside of sleep.Unfortunately Brandon awoke to fairly calm and demure surroundings, leaving him feeling like he was floating in his own inertia.The room was wide, if not terribly long. The spacious cot that Brandon happened to be lying in the middle of gave him an immediate and complete view of the room before him that was only filled with a few coffee tables, rugs, and long counter tops to the far left of the room that held a number of tall jars filled with spices, and tools and cotton balls.The room had the intense feeling of a hospital or clinic, as the overly sparse surroundings and cool tile floor held a small hint of chemicals.A pair of doors to the far right seemed to lead into other parts of the unfamiliar building and not a second after his eyes fell on them, then one of the doors to the further left opened and Ezekiel started to ste
Chapter 11Brandon was completely at the mercy of the beast and a part of him melted into the bliss and passion.Locking both of Brandon’s wrists in one of his large palms, Ezekiel freed up one of his hands. And with gentle hunger, his fingertips skimmed against Brandon’s nipples making him whimper as hot waves of pleasure shot down between his legs. Ezekiel softly caressing the hard nubs before his palm slid down Brandons belly massaging the rippling muscles along Brandons lower torso, the gentle brush of Ezekiels fingertips across the front of his cock sent electricity across his skin.Brandon fought the urge to arch up into the caress. Instead he snatched away from Ezekiels kiss and tried to buck the Guardian off of him. But all he did was make Ezekiel hiss and tighten his hold. “Ezekiel stop it! What are you going to do? Rape the answer out of me? Please stop! Please! Your hurting me!!” Brandon shouted at him in anger and with a smidge of fear. The darkness of another’s hands on h
n a few pain filled moments of movement Brandon had managed to pull himself up from the bed and dress himself. The air was so thick with tension that Brandon felt as though he could split it simply if he made the wrong move.There was frustration and deceit hanging across him and Ezekiel....but of course this paled in comparison to the sheer....almost desperate ache to have the minutes of before return.To have Ezekiels tongue and his hands roaming across his skin....Brandon banished these thoughts with a pained hiss as he pulled a cotton white tee shirt over his head and felt yet another vicious, hungry stab dance across the core of his body. The Flame needled him with small bouts of hurt and nausea as he continued to deny it and himself the one thing it craved.Finally the two of them were sitting on the edge of the cot. Neither of them were speaking. Neither of them....seemed even able to take heavy breaths or move....Until finally Brandon braked a small quite laugh."You're sudden