Brothers - 17. Chapter 17

JASON

The neko let his brother go, Devyn spitting toothpaste into the sink. The wolf scowled at Jason, a shrug his only answer as Jason took Devyn’s spot in front of the sink. Brushing his own teeth quickly, Jason hurried from the room, dropping to the floor for a set of quick push ups before throwing on his shirt. It was not the best way to work out, but since he wasn’t allowed to go to the gym, Jason figured it was better than nothing. He needed to keep his upper body strength for the swim team.

Heading downstairs carefully, the neko found Dylan waiting by the door, mask still covering his face. Jason wasn’t sure why he was still wearing it; they were both healthy again.

“Hey, I wanted to get going early, if that’s okay with you two,” Dylan said.

Jason nodded, looking around for Devyn. The wolf had said something about talking to Richard, and the neko hoped it would end well, though the way things had been going, he doubted that at this point.

He let out a shrill whistle, hearing a scrambling tapping from beyond the kitchen. Devyn slipped out of the kitchen, his legs sliding on a slick patch on the floor, and the wolf fell, Dylan darting forward to catch his friend.

“You okay Devyn?” the neko asked.

“Yeah. Where’s the ball?” Devyn replied, looking around in confusion.

Jason frowned, glancing around himself before shrugging.

‘Sorry, I didn’t know he expected a ball,’ he signed, and Dylan chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

“No Devyn, we want to get going. Maybe we can pick up more squid from Jasper,” the calico offered, rubbing the wolf’s head.

Devyn grumbled quietly, leaning down to grab his cane. He limped past Jason, casting a withering glare at his brother. The neko shrugged it off, following him out of the house. It had been an honest mistake.

“Oh, Jason, did I tell you? Brienne and I went to the movies last night. It was awesome,” Dylan grinned behind them. “She seems to think you and I have a thing though.”

Jason shrugged, looking at the other neko. Turning so he was walking backwards, his hands spoke, Dylan frowning.

‘Do you really think that’s safe? I mean, you know I don’t care that you’re calico, but you still got me sick. I doubt making out would be smart.’

“Well, probably not,” Dylan shrugged. “Besides, Papa would probably freak out if I came home with a neko on my arm. But we could ask Etul. I mean, assuming you want to try?”

Jason shook his head slowly, hearing a growl from Devyn. The neko glanced at his brother, the wolf staring straight ahead as if he hadn’t just growled at his friend.

“Come on Devyn, it’s me. You know I wouldn’t hurt Jason willingly,” Dylan frowned.

‘I’m sorry, but I really don’t think being together is a good idea. But how was the date? Did you two kiss?’ Jason asked.

Dylan nodded, Jason letting out a silent laugh.

‘Way to go! See, I told you the two of you just needed to talk.’

“She asked me to the dance,” Dylan said suddenly. “I’m not sure why she didn’t wait for both of us though…”

Jason shrugged, his hands signing again.

‘I’m pretty sure you’re taking her to the game on your own too. Margaret grounded Devyn and I for the pie thing.’

“Well that doesn’t seem fair,” Dylan frowned. “She complains about Devyn acting like a wolf and then gets upset when he acts like a human? There’s just no making her happy, is there?”

“Dad did say I could take the job offer,” Devyn mentioned. “He’s going to tell Mom he said it was okay.”

Jason and Dylan both winced, looking at the wolf. Jason was sure that was going to end in disaster, but at least that was one bullet they would take later, not sooner.

“I’m actually thinking about taking a job at the bakery myself,” Dylan admitted. “I need money to go out with Brienne, and running honestly isn’t really my thing. The past few days have been brutal, trying to deal with Alastair.”

“You want me to chase him for you?” Devyn offered as they approached the school.

“Nah, too much work,” Dylan shrugged.

“Yo hey! It’s Cat One and Cat Two!” someone called.

Jason’s fur puffed out instantly, a silent snarl on his lips, Dylan was more vocal, hissing as he turned toward the person.

“Whoa, hey, calm down,” Connor said, throwing up his hands. “What got under your tails?”

“They’re not cats,” Devyn grunted. “Don’t call them that.”

“Shit, why didn’t anyone tell me you didn’t like that?” Connor frowned. “Sorry you two. Guess I’ll stick with Dogmeat, huh?”

Jason let out a huff, glaring at the man.

“It’s always the quiet ones you have to watch out for… Oh, by the way, Brienne’s waiting for you two by the lockers. I think she wants you two to fight for her honor,” Connor smirked.

“Or she’s plotting on how to get us to kiss,” Dylan said, glancing at Jason.

“Hah, I knew she was into… nekos,” Connor said carefully. “Fuck, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to apply blunt trauma to my head until I get a certain word out of my mind.”

‘I usually find brain surgery works better for that,’ Jason signed, and Dylan laughed.

“What you say Dogmeat? I couldn’t hear you,” Connor smirked.

“How do you know it was bad? Maybe he was saying something about wanting to make out with you,” Dylan grinned.

Jason scowled at the calico, shaking his head. He turned to Devyn, motioning toward Dylan and the school.

“Do you want me to guide you around?” Devyn asked.

The neko thought for a moment, before nodding. He wasn’t sure if Dylan would be able to show him around most of the day, and it would be bad to get lost on his first day.

“Okay, I’ll follow you,” the wolf said, motioning with his cane. “Take us to your girl Dylan.”

“I’ll see you two on the track. I hear we’re doing sleds today,” Connor said heading back toward the school.

Dylan groaned quietly, his tail fluffed out again.

“I swear he’s trying to kill us.”

‘Nah, sleds are fun,’ Jason signed as he walked with the calico. ‘Hurdles are harder.’

“Hurdles can cross the river,” Dylan grumbled.

“I can never see them,” Devyn agreed. “I’ll take Wolfbane Hill over hurdles any day.”

“That makes no sense,” Dylan frowned at the wolf. “I mean, you hear about dogs jumping hurdles all the time in agility trials. Shouldn’t you be able to see at least as well as them?”

“I don’t know,” Devyn shrugged. “Probably? But then, what’s one more problem to throw on me? I’m always running into glass windows, why not hurdles?”

Jason set an arm around his brother, pulling the wolf into a hug as they stopped. Devyn’s arms wrapped around the neko gratefully, his nose sniffling quietly into Jason’s neck. A chime sounded through the school, Jason pulling back as his ears instinctively folded against a nonexistent bell. Devyn let out a huff, leaning in for one more quick sniff as Dylan turned away.

“I’ll see you at second period Jason,” the calico said. “Later Devyn.”

He hurried away to class, Jason grimacing as he realised they were running late somehow. So much for getting to school early.

“Come on, I’ll get you to… creative writing?” Devyn said, looking at his brother.

The neko nodded, following the wolf through the halls. Three days late and he still couldn’t get to class on time. Jason was not having a good start to his new school.

DEVYN

“Good morning Devyn, nice to see you this morning,” Dr. Marin smiled as the wolf entered the WolfRoom.

“My dad said I can work,” Devyn grunted, heading straight for an empty bed.

He frowned, looking around the room at the werewolves.

“Where’s Blake?”

“He is out sick today,” Marin explained. “Which leaves the rest of us free to discuss some more adult topics about werewolves.”

He pulled out a small ball, tossing it from hand to hand.

“Now, I know talking about these things can be uncomfortable, and you might not want to participate, but some of you likely have questions that need to be answered. So what I’m going to do is toss you a ball, and when you have the ball, you ask a question related to werewolves. It can be anything, it doesn’t have to be adult oriented, but you have to ask a question.”

He tossed the ball to Chloe, Devyn’s eyes tracking the object as it flew through the air.

“Okay, here’s one. How do I get off this ride? I have two monthly visitors and neither are pleasant,” Chloe said.

Marin shook his head sadly.

“There is no cure,” he said. “I know you didn’t ask for this. Few of us do, and those who are willing to become werewolves tend to suffer after. As much as werewolves can be gentle and caring at times, they still have a drive to see things done their way. My best advice is to adapt as much as possible. Take your potions every month if they help.”

Chloe scowled, sharing a look with Anna. Her twin bore an I told you so look that made Devyn shudder at how similar it was to Margaret when she was proven right. The ball passed to the other werewolf, Anna mulling over a thought as she turned the ball in her hands.

“Oh! What’s the deal with the silver? I hate having to wear gold, it always clashes with my looks,” Anna asked.

“Ah, silver. The thing with silver is it likes to interact with sulfur. This is why it tends to tarnish. A werewolf’s body tends to have higher concentrations of sulfur within it than an uninfected person, to make a more suitable host for the disease. When the sulfur touches silver, it turns into the goop that you see tarnishing the surface of old silver. So, there really is no way to treat the silver safely as a werewolf,” Marin said. “Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that being shot with a silver bullet would kill anyone, it just kills werewolves a little more painfully.”

Anna muttered angrily under her breath, tossing the ball across the room to Silas. Before it could reach the man, Devyn was flying through the air, the ball bouncing off his face as he tried to bite it. He chased it down on all fours, grabbing the ball in his mouth proudly and chewing on it.

“Devyn, drop the ball,” Marin said sternly.

The wolf let out a whine, the ball falling from his mouth. Sitting up, he scowled at the ball, the round surface now covered in saliva.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

“It’s fine, I should have known better than to be tossing a ball around you,” Marin said. “Do you want to go next?”

Devyn shrugged, picking the wet ball up.

“Why do I want to smell like other people? Jason seems to hate it,” he asked, crawling back to his cane.

“That’s a tough one,” Marin frowned. “I think it has more to do with your wolf than anything. Werewolves like smells and they like to smell like the people they are close to.”

“Yeah, Milo liked to mark me with his scent,” Silas added. “I thought it was gross at first, but it kind of grew on me after he turned me.”

“That is actually a common way to mark lovers among werewolves,” Marin admitted. “A much easier way, and more socially acceptable, would be to share shirts.”

“I don’t know if I’d fit in Jason’s shirts,” Devyn frowned.

“Ah… Why don’t we have a little talk after class Devyn?” Marin said. “Go ahead and pass the ball.”

The wolf glowered, rolling the ball toward Silas. The man grimaced as he picked up the slobbery ball, but Devyn was beyond noticing. Fuck, he was in trouble again. He knew he should have skipped, but he had to tell Marin about the job. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, Marin was usually nicer than his mother.

“Yes, multiple mates are possible, and some would say even common in werewolves. Again, it might come down to the disease trying to multiply. But no amount of lycanthropy will force people to like each other, even if they are mates,” Marin said, pulling Devyn out of his thoughts.

The wolf frowned at the sight of the ball in Charlie’s hands, wondering how much time he had lost. The chime of the bell startled him, Devyn shaking his head to clear it. As the other werewolves hurried from the room, the ball bouncing across the floor, Marin sat in a bed near Devyn’s.

“So, talk to me Devyn. You seem very interested in Jason’s scent.”

Devyn nodded cautiously, wondering where the man was going with this.

“He smells good.”

“In what way? Can you describe his scent?” Marin pressed.

“Like a lavender field… and warm milk mixed with cinnamon,” Devyn said, licking his lips at the memory.

He could feel his body reacting, but there really wasn’t anything he could do about that. Even the wolf knew better than to deal with that at school.

“I see. And you like to have his scent on you. Do you know what that means? It sounds like you love Jason.”

“I already told Mom I’m not fucking him. I would never hurt him,” Devyn said defensively.

Marin hummed thoughtfully, studying the wolf.

“Do you remember learning about Prince Quarian in history?”

Devyn shrugged, not sure what that had to do with anything.

“He was King Paelias’ consort, another werewolf. There is speculation that he was intimate with his brother. It is not something we like to discuss, but it is a possibility that needs to be stated here. Jason is your brother by adoption, but the disease in you would not recognize the laws of people.”

“What do you mean?” Devyn frowned, too tired to puzzle through what the werewolf was getting at.

“I mean it sounds like Jason is your mate. But that doesn’t mean you have to act on that. You can choose what you do; you are not beholden to your disease.”

“He’s going out with Brienne, he can’t be my mate,” Devyn denied.

Yet his gut twisted at the thought of his brother with the girl.

“It doesn’t matter if your mate is with someone else, they are still your mate. But you do not have to lay claim to them. You can let Jason go, and let him live a life free from lycanthropy,” Marin explained.

A girl poked her head into the room, frowning at the sight of Devyn sitting in the large bed. Marin stood up, motioning to her.

“You should head off to second period. But think about what I said. And remember that Jason needs to have a say too,” the man said.

Hoisting himself up with his cane, Devyn grabbed his bag before hurrying from the room. He couldn’t mate Jason, he had promised his mother nothing was happening between them. The wolf didn’t care what Marin said, Jason was not his mate.

JASON

The neko pulled on a pair of shorts, tucking his tail through the leg. Beside him, Dylan was dealing with his own tail, frowning at the lack of proper tailholes.

“You’d think they’d understand we need our tails,” he grumbled.

Jason shrugged, his shirt falling over his torso. He kicked the locker closed, before following Dylan out through the gym. Violet walls were striped with yellow, a fox head painted in the center of a multipurpose court. The mascot made little sense to Jason. Weren’t they wolves? But he supposed one of the other packs in the city must have already claimed the wolf, leaving North Astara in general with the fox.

The nekos gathered with the rest of the track team, Connor giving them his usual smirk while Brienne typed into her phone.

“Hey Brienne, I found your nekos in baggy shorts,” Connor grinned.

Brienne rolled her eyes, shoving her phone into a pocket.

“Morning Dylan, Jason,” she said, pulling them both into a hug.

“Yes, but is it a good morning?” Dylan asked. “That all depends on what Alastair makes us do today.”

“Oh, definitely weights. He likes to throw weight training at us every Lenya and Ferya,” Connor said. “Gives us a day to rest before meets.”

“Then it is a bad morning,” Dylan said solemnly. “I’ll be sure to be sick on those days.”

Jason frowned at the calico, shaking his head. He didn’t get why Dylan didn’t like working out. Feeling the burn in his muscles was invigorating to the neko, and he was grateful Alastair was making them work out. It would only help him in the long run.

“I’m spotting Jason,” Brienne smirked, grabbing his hand. “Connor, you get Dylan.”

“Traitor,” Dylan scoffed, glancing at the grinning girl.

“Hey, you got your time with me yesterday,” Brienne said as Alastair joined the group.

“Nice for you to join us Farin,” the man said, glancing at Jason. “We’re working our legs today, getting more power to our starts. Alternate deadlifts and squats, and don’t go over seventy five percent. Let’s move.”

“Can someone explain to me what that means?” Dylan demanded as they followed Alastair toward a set of stairs heading below the gym.

“Easy, don’t lift more than three quarters of max,” Connor shrugged. “You didn’t tell me this was your first season.”

“And probably my last. Fuck, I don’t even know what a deadlift is…”

“Oh don’t worry Fuzzbutt, you’re in good hands,” the human grinned.

Jason froze at the top of the stairs, his tail flicking uneasily. Brienne frowned at the neko, squeezing his hand.

“You okay there Jason?”

The neko shrugged uncertainly, staring into the well lit descent.

“Bad experience with stairs? They’re not going to hurt you,” Brienne said. “Here, just put this hand on the rail, and this hand on the wall.”

She guided Jason’s hands, her own resting reassuringly on his shoulder.

“If you make it down the stairs, I’ll give you a hug,” she added quietly. “Maybe even a kiss?”

His foot moved forward, Jason carefully taking a step down. The neko’s hands gripped the solid railing like a lifeline, his feet slowly descending. One step, two steps… all the way to fifteen. He would have to defeat fifteen steps on his way back up, but in the moment, Jason was just grateful he was still alive.

“Good job,” Brienne smiled, pulling the neko into a hug.

Her lips pressed quickly into his cheek, the girl stepping back with a grin.

“Now, why don’t we show Alastair what a neko can do?”