Brothers - 29. Chapter 29

JASON

A whistle blew, piercing the neko’s ears as his body exploded into action. His foot slipped as he pushed off the starting block, and he fell with a loud hiss, slamming into the track. Pain struck fast, his arm scraping over the ground as he dropped, and Jason rolled over with a grunt, looking up at the sky in frustration.

“Shit, you okay Dogmeat?” Connor asked, hurrying toward Jason.

The neko waved him off, slowly picking himself up. His shoes seemed to be slipping more; he would have to get a fresh pair when he got his allowance.

“Slipping on the blocks again? Things are not looking good for you Farin,” Alastair called.

Brienne offered Jason a hand as the neko stepped off the track. Jason frowned at the scrape on his arm, the sting not as bad as it could have been. More of an annoyance than anything at this point.

“You were trying to stand on the block,” Brienne frowned. “You need to keep your upper foot flat on the ground; the block is for pushing, not standing.”

Jason looked back at the track with a frown, watching Connor take off from the blocks. The human made it look so easy.

“Is this your first time running track?” Brienne demanded.

The neko shook his head. He’d been running for a year, but he’d learned how to use blocks for swimming four years ago, a grab start instead of a track start, and switching things up was confusing him. It seemed counterintuitive not to stand on the block, and yet the way he was doing it made his feet and calves burn. Obviously it was wrong, but he had never learned better.

“Okay, come here,” Brienne said, motioning toward a nearby wall.

She pushed Jason against the wall, leaning down to grab his left foot. Caught off balance, the neko nearly fell, just catching himself against the hard surface behind him.

“Take your foot, and put it into the ground right here,” the human said, planting the left foot back a bit so the sole of Jason’s foot was pressing into the wall. “You should have spikes, right?”

The neko frowned, shaking his head again, and Brienne sighed quietly.

“Okay, well you should get some, they’re only three silver. You can’t train in them, but they’re great for races. They’ll go on the front of your foot, right here. It’s why your foot needs to stay off the block, so you can use the traction the spikes give to pull yourself forward.”

Only three silver… well, he was two thirds of the way there, he supposed. Once Richard got home, that was. Jason let out a silent sigh of his own, wondering how he was supposed to handle his money issues. He had never used spiked shoes before and he had done… not well, but he never finished in last place. Besides, he had been saving up for a suit for the dance; he couldn’t spend his allowance on shoes for running.

He could probably ask Richard for help, but thinking about that made the neko feel worse. The man had given up so much already; how could Jason even think of asking for more?

“Farin!”

His ears flicked at the bark, Jason frowning as he pushed off the wall.

“Again,” Alastair said. “You’re going to get this right or you will keep working on it this afternoon until your form is perfect.”

The neko shrugged, stepping up to the block again. He rubbed idly at his arm, a bit of blood smearing at his touch as he tried to figure out how his feet were supposed to fit against the block. Toes on the ground…

“A little lower!” Brienne called as he knelt.

Adjusting his feet so more was on the ground, Jason leaned into the block uncomfortably, trying to keep his balance. His toes felt the pressure of his position, the neko adjusting a bit more until the sole of his foot was firmly set against the track. A click made him lean forward again, his weight shifting, and with the whistle, he darted forward, his shoes slipping again as he dug into the track for more traction.

“Again,” Alastair called as he slowed, the neko letting out a silent groan as he jogged back to the block.

And again. And again. He thought he was getting better, but there seemed to be no pleasing the human, and eventually the neko gave up trying, just going through the motions of setting himself on the blocks. Frustration took hold, and when Brienne took his place, Jason stormed off the track, grabbing for a bottle of water before dousing himself in the liquid. He needed to cool down, to take a breath. The neko had never been more grateful for being mute; it kept him from mouthing off to the coach. Part of him wondered if that was Alistair’s plan, if the human was trying to make him quit as Dylan had.

“You had it there for a couple tries,” Connor said as he passed the neko. “Don’t mind Alistair, he’s an ass. Especially to new runners.”

Jason sighed silently, glaring at the man as he stood with a clipboard in hand. He prayed the swim team would be a lot better; it was his better sport after all. He would find out in a month’s time, when tryouts began.

DEVYN

The hair crawled up the back of his neck as he stared at the werewolf. Erith’s fingers pinched his lips, telling Devyn to be quiet as the room stared at them both curiously. But Devyn was not about to be denied.

“Why?” he demanded, turning on the elf. “What are you doing?”

“Devyn, I don’t know what you’re talking about but you need to be quiet,” Erith breathed.

“No.”

His hand smacked the desk as he stood up, stalking closer to the elf.

“Mr. Daniel, I need to step out of the room,” Erith said over the wolf’s shoulder, before grabbing Devyn’s wrist and dragging him out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, the elf turned, scowling at Devyn.

“What do you want? I’m busy.”

“What are you doing trying to claim Jason?” Devyn snarled.

“Claim Jason? I… I have no interest in nekos…” the elf spluttered, anger turning to shock. “Is this because I said I’d watch him tomorrow?”

“This is because I smelled you claiming my territory, my house, my brother!” Devyn spat angrily.

“What? I don’t even know where you live!” Erith protested.

With a sniff, all the anger seemed to flee from Devyn. The elf was confused. Scared, angry, but also confused. He really didn’t know what Devyn was talking about, and it made the wolf confused himself.

“I smelled you…” Devyn scowled, not sure what to believe. “You were there, you marked Jason’s window. You… you don’t remember doing it?”

It was the only reason he could think of; maybe the werewolf had lost himself to his wolf. It seemed to happen often with newer werewolves, but Devyn could have sworn Erith was seeing Marin last year too.

The elf’s eyes closed, his face falling slowly.

“Gara… my wolf… Look, I like Jason, but I could only ever see us being friends. I don’t think Gara meant to mark his window.”

“What do you mean? Stop trying to confuse me.”

“It was you, okay? My wolf likes you. And I don’t know why. You’re not my mate,” Erith snapped. “Obviously you’ve been spending a lot of time in Jason’s room, what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. I’m protecting my ma-”

Devyn fell silent, face darkening. Jason didn’t want to be his mate, he couldn’t keep calling the neko his mate.

“I’m protecting my brother,” he corrected with an angry grunt. “If you ever go near him, you’ll answer to me.”

He turned back toward the door, a tight hand falling on his shoulder. Nails dug into his shirt, the wolf fighting back a wince.

“If you ever threaten me again, you won’t live to see the new day.”

The voice sent shivers down Devyn’s spine, a low growl escaping him as he brushed Erith’s hand off his shoulder. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The last thing the wolf wanted was to get in trouble for fighting in the halls.

Devyn pulled away from the elf, frowning at the scowl on Erith’s face. The elf was rubbing his head, his eyes seeming to droop, almost as though he was exhausted.

“You should go to the WolfRoom,” Devyn said, shivering as the elf’s face seemed to clear.

“WolfRoom? Why?”

Devyn shook his head in confusion, Erith’s voice back to his more gentle questioning. The elf’s scent was all over the place, and it was making Devyn’s nose burn. He sneezed, trying to clear his nose, but it didn’t seem to help, the mix of emotions filling his nose again.

The whole day just seemed to be off. Jason denying his claim yet again, Anna and Claire pulling their switching trick again, and now Erith acting like… not Erith… Devyn wasn’t sure how much more he could take.

“I think we should return to class,” the elf said, motioning toward the door. “I promise, I won’t pursue you. I know you’re probably more interested in your mate.”

“No, you should go to Marin. I… I think you need his help,” the wolf insisted, his entire body tucking in on itself at the admittance.

“Devyn, are you okay?”

“These emotions… they’re everywhere. You’re confusing me. Angry, confused, lust, sad… what are you? I can’t understand it.”

“Maybe you’re the one who needs Dr. Marin?” Erith suggested. “Why don’t we walk together?”

Devyn nodded slowly, turning toward the WolfRoom. Erith walked beside him, a concerned silence between them for a moment.

“So… you and Jason, huh? I mean, I get it, he seems nice,” the elf said.

Devyn shrugged, still trying to figure out the rapid change in Erith’s scent.

“I’m assuming that means you’re off the table. I mean, I’ve heard that Jason is into threeways…”

The elf’s jaw twitched slightly, an uneasy smell flooding him briefly before a surge of confidence, and Devyn’s head spun, the wolf staring at the elf warily. He didn’t feel safe alone with Erith, and Devyn picked up his pace, trying to hurry toward the WolfRoom.

“I don’t know,” he scowled. “Jason doesn’t want me.”

“Why? It’s not like you’re actually brothers. I mean, he’s a neko and you’re human. Pretty big difference there.”

“He doesn’t believe so.”

They stopped outside the WolfRoom, Devyn opening the door with a quiet sigh. Stepping inside, he found Marin and five wolves sitting in a circle, the doctor frowning.

“Ah, here are some of our older wolves. Devyn, Erith, it’s nice to see you.”

Devyn took a deep breath, crossing to his favourite bed with an accusing scowl at the wolves.

“Devyn, this is the class for new wolves,” Marin said. “We’re working on controlling their shifts, and working out the energy of the new moon.”

The wolf huffed quietly, wondering if this was the class Blake had been moved to. The young wolf had been missing the last few days, yet Devyn couldn’t see his black wolf here either.

“Erith, how are you feeling?” Marin asked.

“Fine, Devyn just seemed like he needed to visit,” the elf shrugged.

“Oh?”

“He smells weird,” Devyn muttered.

“Ah. Erith, why don’t you take a seat as well,” Marin smiled at the elf. “I know Gara is probably a little grumpy right now with the new moon.”

“Not really, just tired,” Erith frowned, dropping into a bed next to Devyn.

Devyn stared at the elf, thoughts running through his mind, bits and pieces adding up. This Gara… it must be what the elf called his wolf self. Maybe that was what made Erith smell weird, it was like the wolf was an entirely different person within Erith. It was still strange; werewolves didn’t usually name their wolves, but if it made the elf feel better, Devyn wasn’t about to tell him not to do it.

Instead, he just relaxed into the bed, working on breathing exercises with the other wolves as Marin taught them how to better control their shifting forms.

JASON

The neko ducked into a bathroom, damp fur covered in sweat. He really should have showered after gym; there was no way Devyn wouldn’t smell him, but there was no time even for a two minute rinse when they had ten minutes between classes.

Instead, he would just splash his face. Jason was already damp with sweat, a bit of water wasn’t going to make it worse.

A sudden grunt made Jason freeze, the neko’s ears pivoting toward a large stall at the end of the room. He knew that sound…

Hands and knees were set against the floor under the stall, two wolf legs shaking behind them, and Jason let out a silent gasp, stumbling back against the door in horror. The sudden noise was drowned out by another groan, the legs shaking as a girl moaned loudly before a hand cut off the sound.

The crunching of bones followed a moment later, a werewolf shifting in the stall with a wet sniffle. Jason lunged for the door as he tried to escape what he had just heard, had just seen.

“Who’s there?”

The neko was long gone before the girl could find out, not planning on becoming a werewolf’s next conquest.

Jason finally slowed, nearly slumping against a wall of lockers trying to catch his breath. A locker slammed nearby, the neko startling as he saw Dylan leaning into the door. His hand knocked against the wall of lockers, the calico glancing up with a horrified expression that relaxed when his eyes met Jason’s.

‘Are you okay?’ Jason signed with a frown.

Dylan shrugged, rubbing at his eyes with a yawn, a perfectly innocent gesture of exhaustion if it weren’t for the tears clearly visible in the neko’s eyes.

“Just tired,” he muttered quietly.

‘Frustrated?’ Jason corrected with a wry smirk. ‘I know that psych class is hard, I took it last year… maybe not here, but it can’t be that different. You should ask Halor if he can help you; he seems nice enough.’

Dylan turned back against the locker with a shrug, the neko’s fur puffing out uncontrollable, and Jason’s heart sank.

‘What happened?’ Jason signed almost violently.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

‘Dylan, you can trust me. Whatever it is, I can help-’

“I said I don’t want to talk about it!” the calico snarled, before storming away.

Jason’s ears flattened under the outburst, his tail matching the thrashing of his friend’s as his eyes followed Dylan until he was out of sight. A silent groan escaped the neko, Jason picking himself up to head to third period with a whole new gut full of misgivings.

His eyes stared at the front of the room as he dropped into his seat in the classroom, the neko belatedly realising he had forgotten to spray Brienne’s perfume over himself. Not that it would have helped much, but he could already feel Deyn’s eyes on him, the wolf almost hungering for his brother. It left Jason with an uneasy feeling, the roiling in his gut replaced with nerves as he was reminded that Richard was gone for the evening and once again he would be home alone with the werewolf.

A hand dropped on his shoulder, the neko stiffening under Devyn’s touch.

“You are upset,” the wolf frowned. “I want to make you feel better.”

Jason pulled out a piece of paper, scribbling a note on it before passing it to Devyn.

‘I’m worried about Dylan. He doesn’t seem comfortable with his new class.’

Devyn’s eyes narrowed, reading the paper. He looked up at the chime, Halor walking into the class, and the wolf sniffed heavily, sneezing violently after.

“I can’t smell. You’re angry and there's too much pine in the room,” he scowled, staring at the elf at the front of the room.

Another note scribbled out, the neko passing it to his brother again. He didn’t want to use his phone, afraid that if something was happening, it would tip Halor off. Jason hoped he was being paranoid, but the look on Dylan’s face… he couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened.

‘Just talk to him after class please. Maybe he’ll tell you what’s wrong.’

“I can’t,” Devyn grunted. “I have to go to the therapist after class. First day.”

Jason scowled, more to himself than anything. He had forgotten the wolf was going to be busy after school. Apparently not even after; he was leaving before lunch. There was no chance he could talk to Dylan before he left.

He slumped in his seat, staring at Halor, trying to figure out just what it was about the elf that seemed to have Dylan so angry. It wasn’t that he was an elf, Lysander was an elf.

Jason tried to relax, tried to rein in his emotions. He needed Devyn to smell, needed the wolf to tell him that he was being crazy. But it was almost like someone was deliberately blocking Devyn from smelling. Jason couldn't smell the pine, but he trusted Devyn. If the wolf said he couldn't smell, he couldn't smell, and that worried Jason to no end.

The more and more he thought about it, the more the neko was convinced. There was only one explanation he could think of. The elf was fucking with Dylan, and Jason was going to find a way to prove it.