Brothers - 52. Chapter 52

DEVYN

“Nice shoes Dev!”

The wolf frowned as he lowered himself into the bus seat. Connor smirked at Devyn’s wedges from the seat in front of him, and it made Devyn wonder if he was being sarcastic or not. A swat from Brienne aimed at the human’s head helped with that.

“Leave him alone. I think they look great on him,” the girl scolded.

“Ow! Hey, I was being nice!” Connor protested as the bus rolled away from the school.

Devyn grunted, leaning against the window. His hands fought to get the glass down, and a hand covered one of his.

“Push the other end in. I got this side,” Connor said, his thumb pressing into the lock.

The wolf pushed against the other lock, and the window slid down an inch before catching again with a thump. A growl of frustration escaped Devyn, his thumb pushing against the lock fruitlessly.

“Connor, sit down!” Alastair snapped from the front of the bus.

Connor gave Devyn an apologetic shrug, sinking back down into his seat. The wolf scowled at the seat in front of him, his tongue prodding at his broken tooth. He wasn’t sure, but there seemed to be a bit of bacon left over from breakfast. If there was, Devyn was going to get it.

Before he knew it, the bus had rumbled to a stop, and people were hurrying out of the vehicle. Devyn grabbed his bag and his cane, following Ruby off the bus and into the crisp morning air. The smell of the Queenswood sprang up nearby, and Devyn spent a moment reacquainting himself with the scents of nature after the enclosed space of the bus.

“Okay, all wolves to the locker room!” Sandolin called out, and Devyn let out a happy grunt, slowly following the rest of his team as they jogged around a track and toward a large building.

The East Astaran Packhouse was one of the wealthier packs in the city, and it showed. Fresh paint burned into Devyn’s nose as they entered a large gym. A hardwood floor covered in all sorts of strange lines and borders sat in the center of the giant building, a red tiger painted in the center of the floor. Devyn barely spared it a glance as his feet clopped over a thin mat that seemed out of place. Then again, the wolf seemed to recall different rugs being here for the last wolf meet. Maybe it was to keep the wolf claws from scratching the floor?

A door sat open next to the bleachers, Elias vanishing inside as Devyn tried to catch up to his team. It was weird not relying on his cane, but the wolf was making an effort to walk without it. Anything to make Jason proud of him.

Getting down the flight of stairs and into the locker room was a little difficult. Devyn had to clutch the railing as he carefully placed his weight on his toes. But finally he was on the ground again, and the wolf hurried toward an open locker, wolves sitting around him in various states of undress.

“I want everyone changed and upstairs in five minutes. We’re going to jog the course as a team,” Sandolin called out, before making his way back out of the locker room.

Devyn fell on a bench with a grunt, his fingers pulling at the straps of his shoes. The velcro pulled away, and the wolf kicked the wedges off, tossing them into the locker. Beside him, Ruby’s body shifted fluidly into her wolf, leaving Devyn one of the last to change.

His own shift was fast, the wolf kicking his locker shut behind him. Devyn trotted over the rug in a hurry to regroup with his teammates. A sudden tug yanked at his front paw, and Devyn yelped as he fell with a thump.

The wolf pulled his foot away from the rug, the mat pulling up with his foot. Reaching down, Devyn began gnawing at the strand that had his nail caught, growling in frustration as the rug held firm. Rampant barking followed; he wasn’t going to get out of this on his own.

“Devyn? What’s going- oh for the love of the gods…” Sandolin grumbled, hurrying toward the trapped wolf. “We keep telling them these rugs are horrible for claws…”

Kneeling beside Devyn, the elf carefully worked the nail free as another group of werewolves hurried into the lockers.

“Watch your step on the way out,” Sandolin called after them, as Devyn finally broke loose from the trap.

The wolf tore out of the gym, racing toward his team. Sandolin caught up to them a minute later, leading them as a group to register for the race.

“Devyn, they’re working with a biker to keep everyone on course,” the elf said as a harness was placed over the wolf’s chest. “There shouldn’t be many splits in the course, and the track is clearly marked, but I want you to pay attention, especially around the Queenswood Split. There should be palace guards watching the split, but you need to be responsible for the course.”

Devyn grunted in acknowledgment as he stepped aside for the next person in their group. The slight weight of a chip in the harness threw him off slightly, but the wolf shook it off. It was necessary for tight finishes, not that he planned on having one.

“Elias, work on displacement. I want you to stick just below scoring position if possible. Don’t strain yourself too much, and try to have fun,” Sandolin continued. “Ruby, the field is relatively level. Save your energy for the switchbacks, then you should be able to let loose at the top. Try to make sure Devyn goes the right way. Everyone, I want to see a slow trot through the course.”

The wolves shook themselves out, loosening up before following their coach at a gentle pace. Devyn remained at the front beside Sandolin, his teammates having learned to give him the lead in the course walkthrough. Jockeying for position before a race would only tire everyone out.

Breaking through an open gate, Devyn took a deep breath of dewy fields and distant stone. He could see the cliff nearly a mile distant, rising up with the royal palace on top. A small forest stood between them and the base of the cliff, where a mile of switchbacks would see the runners to the top of the bluff, well outside of the palace grounds. From there, the course would be an easy downhill lope to return to the school grounds. All Devyn had to do was get past the cliff.

JASON

The car pulled up in front of an iron gate. Jason glanced at his phone worriedly in the back seat; they had half an hour before Devyn’s race was supposed to start. What they were doing at the Eastern Packhouse was beyond him.

“I know you’re worried about time, but I want to do this without Devyn first,” Richard said, rolling down the car window as a woman leaned out of a small guardhouse. “I’m here to see Patrick Etaro.”

“Do you have a visitor pass?” the woman demanded.

“Um…”

“No visitors are allowed without a pass. Please move your car; you are blocking traffic.”

The werewolf vanished back into her booth, and Richard grumbled quietly, backing out of the narrow entrance. He pulled over in front of the complex, reaching for his phone.

“Hey, it’s Richard. I’m sitting outside the pack house. Can you meet me out here?”

Jason heard a bunch of panicked swearing on the other end of the phone, and Richard pulled the phone away with a low chuckle.

“Calm down. It happens,” he said. “I’ll be waiting outside the gate; your guard wouldn’t let me in without a pass.”

Jason couldn’t quite make out the next words, but Richard laughed, ending the call with a shake of his head. Three minutes later, a gate opened nearby, and a middle aged elf hurried out with a long striped cane in hand. Long blue hair rested around a face relatively devoid of wrinkles, glasses nearly flying as the elf scanned the street frantically. He hurried toward the car, Richard stepping out to help him with his cane.

“Richard, I got it,” the elf laughed loudly, folding the cane with practiced ease. “I’m not that blind.”

“I know, I just-”

Richard’s voice cut off as the elf pulled him into a tight hug. The werewolf’s nose raised curiously, and the elf glanced into the car.

“Richard, you didn’t tell me your son was a cat,” he said in interest, waving through the window.

Jason’s fur bristled at the word, but the neko forced himself to wave back. His eyes glanced back at the folded cane. The elf must be deaf; that would explain the stripes.

“Yeah, that’s Jason. I wanted you two to meet without his brother present, just so we don’t have Devyn’s wolf as a possible complication,” Richard said, opening the passenger door for the elf.

‘It’s nice to meet you,’ Jason signed through the window before the elf could get in the car.

“Likewise. Richard’s told me a lot about you and Devyn,” the elf smiled. “I’m just a little surprised he didn’t mention you were a cat. I would have thought that was an important detail.”

“Um… could you not call him a cat please?” Richard said as he got back into the car.

“Oh, right. You guys don’t like that,” the elf frowned. “My apologies.”

“Jason, this is Patrick. He’s my mate,” Richard continued.

Jason’s eyes widened in shock.

‘But I thought Margaret was your mate.’

“Multiple people can mate one person, I guess,” Patrick shrugged. “I mean, Richard told me about Devyn’s friend Dylan. He has three werewolf fathers, right?”

“Right,” Richard replied, pulling away from the pack house. “Granted, when an elf suddenly interrupts your date to tell you you’re his mate, things get a little complicated. But Ethan seemed to take it well.”

“Whoever your former mate was, she must have been pretty bad to turn you onto guys,” Patrick snorted.

“Oh no, I was actually dating a guy in school when I met her. And I’ve been with a couple girls. They’re actually pretty nice, when they’re not threatening to bite your dick off for daring to suggest dog…”

His eyes glanced in the mirror at Jason and Richard’s mouth closed quickly. Jason stared at his father in shock, as Patrick burst into laughter.

“Take it from someone with over a hundred years of experience. A variety of positions is great for a healthy relationship. As is open discussion.”

‘Maybe not in front of the kid though?’ Jason signed.

“Yeah, that’s a fair point. Why don’t we save this conversation for later,” Patrick suggested. “You said we’re heading to Jasper High?”

“Devyn has a cross country meet there,” Richard said, turning down a narrow street. “I thought it might be nice for you to meet him after the race. Jason already told me he needs to go to the palace for some research material.”

“Oh? Do you work for Queen Amber?”

‘As a writer,’ Jason signed, marvelling quietly at how much quicker it was to talk when he didn’t have to deal with the phone.

“What do you write?”

‘Stories about early 12th century neko theology. Specifically Niwo at the moment, but I am hoping to expand to Askani-Ythin parallels eventually.’

“I’m afraid you lost me. Are those neko tribes?” Patrick frowned.

‘They’re not really tribes; they abandoned that distinction around the end of King Paelias’ rule. Now they’re referred to more as breeds, given that the Askani are generally interbred with elves and the Niwo with humans.’

“Oh. That’s interesting,” the elf said, glancing at Richard.

“Don’t ask me. I didn’t understand any of that. Not that I was looking, I don’t take my eyes off the road when I’m driving,” Richard added sternly.

Jason shrugged. It wasn’t really important for Patrick to understand any of his work. It just would have been nice.

DEVYN

The wolves walked through their stretches slowly. Devyn’s head turned toward the stands on the side of the track the entire time, trying to pick Jason out in the mess of colours and smells. He was in unfamiliar territory, and there was only two nekos here.

Devyn’s heart surged with joy at Dylan’s scent. He leapt off the low bench where the wolves were stretching, bounding across the football field toward the stands. Dodging grabbing hands, the wolf jumped into Lysander’s lap, his tongue licking furiously at the elf as startled yells filled the air around him.

“Hi Devyn… I’m glad to see you too…” the elf spluttered, his arms hanging limp at his side.

Devyn whimpered, his nose pushing at an arm in an attempt to get the elf to pet him. It flopped onto the wolf’s back, a weak scratch following.

“Get off him Devyn,” Dylan scowled at his friend.

The wolf stepped off Lysander, finally realizing the elf was sitting in a wheelchair.

“You’ll have to forgive my arms; they’re still catching up,” Lysander chuckled dryly. “Hey Damian, can you give a good boy a scratch from me?”

“Sure. Come here Dylan,” Damian grinned, rubbing the other neko’s hair.

“Ow! Come on Papa, stop that!” Dylan protested. “Brienne’s watching!”

Jordan sighed beside them, reaching forward to scratch behind Devyn’s ear.

“We’re okay Devyn. You should get back to your team. Your coach doesn’t seem very happy,” he said.

The wolf huffed, giving Lysander one last lick before trotting back across the field. Sandolin scowled at Devyn, but just motioned him back into line to finish their stretches.

A few minutes later, a chime sounded around the field, and the wolves made their way to the starting line. Devyn’s head snapped up at a sharp whistle, and his tail wagged furiously at the sight of Jason sitting next to Lysander and Richard. The neko waved at the wolf, and Devyn bounced a bit, trying to get his excitement under control as he was joined by the other four wolf teams and various unaffiliated wolves from around the city. A biker took off a moment later, pedaling furiously to build up a pace ahead of the wolves.

A chime sounded again, and nearly forty wolves surged forward, legs pushing them furiously down the first stretch of the course. Devyn pushed forward, only to feel a quick nip at his tail. The wolf grunted, falling into a more steady pace as he tried to ignore the dozen of wolves pulling ahead of the pack.

Out the gate, they fell into a wide funnel, moving through the car park and onto a well marked trail that took them toward the forest. The pack thinned out, Devyn’s legs carrying him past a few wolves who had focused on sprinting out of the gate. Just behind him, Ruby kept to his withers, subtly guiding him through the fields of dying grass.

It didn’t take them long to break into the Queenswood, the trees around them cutting off the morning sunlight. Here Devyn focused more on Ruby. His nose would not be able to distinguish the man made deer musk from any deer who might be wandering the woods. His running partner guided him around turns as they passed wolf after wolf.

And then they hit the cliff.

Bursting out of the forest, Ruby gave a warning bark, and Devyn forced himself to slow down as they hit the first slope. Legs stretching to make up for his lower pace, the wolf made his way up to the first sharp turn, nearly skidding as his legs cut the turn short. Ahead of him, he could see a black wolf turning, and Devyn put on a burst of speed, trying to catch up to the other wolf.

He skidded around another turn, and another, nearly reaching the wolf right as they got to the split in the track.

Left or straight… was it time to go straight? Was he supposed to turn? The biker was missing, and Devyn seemed to recall passing him coming up the hill… or was that last year’s race?

The black wolf bounded straight ahead at the turn, and Devyn raced after him, skidding to a halt at an angry bark. Ruby’s teeth closed around his tail, dragging Devyn back to the turn as three wolves passed them. Devyn growled in frustration; he’d been led off course again, and the black wolf’s teammates had surged ahead of them. If they crossed the finish line before him or Ruby, Devyn’s team would lose the race completely.

The North Astaran wolves picked up their pace, frantically trying to make up for the lost time. Devyn could see the front wolf reach the top of the cliff and break away, and he let out a frustrated grunt as the second wolf hit the flat ground. He and Ruby pushed past the third wolf, legs pressing harder and harder as they neared the top of the cliff.

And then they were free, racing toward a sharp curve in the trail as a group of spectators cheered them onward. Devyn pushed away from Ruby as he rounded the corner. The last part was a straight shot back to the school. He could do that on his own. And he could see the other two wolves ahead of him, nearly three hundred feet ahead.

Devyn entered his sprint nearly half a mile from the school, quickly making up the ground between himself and the other team’s top runners. The other wolves picked up their pace as he blurred past them, and they entered the car park neck and neck. Running all out, Devyn’s claws dug into the rubber of the track as soon as they reached it, the red wolf using the traction to inch himself just slightly forward as the three sprinted down the final stretch. His heart felt like it was about to pound out of his chest, but he was so close… just a little further…

And the chip in his harness vibrated, signalling he had crossed the finish line. Three wolves let out tired barks as their coaches rushed forward.

“Jog it off!” Sandolin called out, and Devyn slowed to an exhausted trot. He had won…

“In first place, Jasper High’s Logan Aster with one point. In second place, Quarian Academy’s Devyn Farin with two points. In third place-”

He’d lost… Another wolf had beaten Devyn…

The wolf let out a whimper as he made his way around the track. The one thing he was good at… and he’d let someone beat him.