Brothers - 40. Chapter 40

DEVYN

The door closed inches from his nose, and Devyn whimpered, backing away from the barrier. Silence took over the house, his brother’s scent slowly fading into the stench of his mother’s rage.

“Get away from the door Devyn,” Margaret said finally. “Go get ready for bed.”

The wolf’s whimpers increased, his paw scratching at the door in vain. His wolf door was locked, and he was stuck inside when he needed to be outside. Who knew what would happen to his brother? How was he supposed to protect Jason when Jason wouldn’t stay with him?

“Now Devyn!” Margaret snapped.

Devyn turned away from the door, reluctantly heading into the kitchen. He picked up his bowl and jumped up to drop it in the sink. A metallic clang echoed as it landed, ringing through the room.

His dish cleaned up, the wolf made his way upstairs, frowning at the sight of his mother entering Jason’s room.

“Fuck, does no one in this house use their fucking phones?” Margaret snarled.

Devyn’s head poked into Jason’s room, the wolf watching his mother go through his brother’s things. It made no sense. Why wasn’t she going after Jason? Was she really just going to let the neko roam the streets? Someone needed to do something to help his brother, and Devyn was locked in the house.

“Richard. No, everything is not fine. Jason decided he doesn’t want to live here anymore,” Margaret said suddenly.

Devyn’s ears flicked back at the words. Jason hadn’t said anything. He just left. What was she talking about?

“I don’t know. He just left. No telling me where he was going, if he would be back. Of course I tried to stop him,” Margaret snapped.

She dumped Jason’s bag out, flipping through his notebook. Devyn gave up as his mother kept focusing on his brother’s things. There was only one way to find Jason, and it wouldn’t be from finding something in his notebook.

“Devyn is a werewolf, not a fucking dog! I can’t just walk around with him waiting for him to pick up a trail!” Margaret snarled.

Devyn let out a huff, backing out of the room. His feet carried him back downstairs, and the wolf pawed at the latch holding the wolf door shut. Jaws closed around the metal, and Devyn tugged at it, trying to slide it back as the metal cut into his mouth.

“That’s enough Devyn!”

The wolf startled at his mother’s voice, pulling away from the latch. His head lowered, a growl threatening his throat. He needed to get out. He needed to find Jason and make sure he was okay. Devyn knew he could convince his brother to come back, if he could just get through this door. Why was his mother just letting this go?

“Go to your room. Just stay in there until morning. I have to deal with your brother.”

Devyn frowned, but made his way to the stairs. He found Jason’s notebook on the table, torn pages sitting on top of it, and the wolf grumbled. That was Jason’s notebook; why was Margaret destroying it? Was she really that mean?

His mouth closed over the book gently, and the wolf scampered back upstairs. He tucked the notebook into the safety of his den under the desk, staring back at the door to make sure his mother didn’t see.

Moving to the window by the bed, Devyn rested his chin on the sill. He had never tried escaping through the window before. Could he even get it open? Not in this form certainly. He had to face the fact that he was trapped until the new moon went down. The one time he wanted to be human, and the wolf was stuck in his natural form. It was ridiculous.

Devyn turned away from the window, a thought coming to mind. He could get a hold of Dylan. It was difficult to communicate through the computer, but he was sure Dylan would at least figure out something was wrong.

Now he just needed to figure out where his computer was. He couldn’t see the grey surface that stood out against the desk. And his bag wasn’t in the room either. Or his antler.

Devyn growled again, pacing the room. His mother had to have taken them. Why? What had he done wrong? What was Margaret doing? It was like she was trying to keep him from asking for help, but he was a wolf. He couldn’t ask for help anyway.

He was forced to wait. There was no way to get to Jason, no way to get help. Devyn would tear the school apart the next day until he found his brother, but until then, there was nothing he could do but wait. And think.

Why did Jason leave him here? He should have taken Devyn with him, if only for his protection. It hurt the wolf, another rejection that cut his heart.

Curling up under the desk, Devyn bit back a lonely howl. It would only piss his mother off more, and that would just make things worse for Jason when he came home again. He would just have to make sure he put his mother in a good mood. Maybe she would forget to punish his brother when he came back.

JASON

He had been expecting it, planning for it, but nothing could have prevented the thrill of fear that rushed through Jason as he closed the door. The neko could hear his brother scratching frantically at the door behind him, whimpers shattering Jason’s heart.

Devyn would be safer at his house. Besides, it was only for a day or two. Richard was supposed to be back soon, and Jason didn’t want to get Devyn in trouble with him.

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, Jason started walking, slowly making his way in the direction of Erith’s house. It would only be for a couple of weeks. With luck, he would get his first pay from the Queen soon, and then he could find a place to live, or at least pay Erith rent. That was a deal he was much more comfortable with.

The neko sped up his steps as the sun sank below the horizon. He wasn’t sure if the curfew had ended yet or not, but the last thing Jason wanted was to get in trouble with the city guards and spend the night in a cell somewhere.

Ten minutes later, he was picking his way through a bunch of rusted cars, trying to keep to an invisible path to the front door. The door opened before he could touch it, startling the neko. Erith flashed him a slight smile, holding the door open for him.

“I wasn’t expecting you to need me already,” the elf said. “Where’s Devyn?”

‘Waiting for his father. I don’t want to get him in trouble too,’ Jason signed. ‘I’m sorry for intruding like this. I promise I’ll try to stay out of the way.’

“Don’t worry about it. Help me clean out the basement and I’ll call it even,” Erith shrugged. “There’s a bed down there; the mattress shouldn’t be too bad. I don’t really have a guest room though.”

Jason’s fur puffed slightly at the thought of a bed in the basement. Even Erith seemed nervous about it.

“I… Nothing’s going to happen between us. It’s… it’s from when my uncle lived with me,” the elf said uncomfortably. “He… uh, he had a lot of… sex stuff down there. I’ve been meaning to get it out of there, but I’ve been putting it off.”

‘Okay. I’ll try to get it all moved tomorrow. I’m not going to school anyway; it would be too easy for Margaret to find me there.’

“Great… thanks. Um… I have some sheets you can borrow, and there’s some CeCe’s leftover in the fridge if you’re hungry. Bathroom’s over there,” Erith added, motioning toward the hallway. “How long do you need to stay here?”

‘I honestly don’t know. I hope Richard will be home in a day or two and I can go back, but if anything, I promise I’ll be gone within three days,’ Jason replied, trying to figure out how he could get back to the orphanage for at least another few months. ‘This was an emergency.’

“Yeah. I figured something was coming. Margaret was not happy with me claiming you. Fuck, I never even got to claim Devyn. Not that I really need to now, right?”

‘No, it should be fine. But thanks for doing that,’ Jason signed.

“It really wasn’t a problem. I don’t really know much about wolf claims, but I figured it would at least keep some of the other wolves off me for a while too.”

‘Well if you need to,’ Jason offered. ‘I mean, if it helps you too, it would give Brienne a reason why I broke up with her, and it would keep Devyn from getting in trouble.’

“With who?” Erith frowned. “I thought no one can deny a claim unless they’re immediately affected by it. Besides, you and Devyn aren’t even blood brothers.”

He shook his head with a sigh.

“Don’t worry about it though. I don’t want to come between you and Devyn. And Gara certainly doesn’t need to mate anyone. Do you need help with your bag?”

Jason shook his head, stepping toward the basement. He frowned at the sight of Elroy’s head sticking out of his bag, and the neko hurried to hide him from view. Taking a deep breath, Jason reached into the basement and flicked on the light before making his way downstairs.

An enormous room sat below the house, filled with all kinds of nefarious equipment. Jason stared in shock at the sheer number of bondage items, frames, and cages that covered the floor. Even the walls were filled with whips, belts, and canes, a wide selection of punishments waiting to be doled out. The place looked more like a bondage club than a basement.

The bed Erith had talked about lay within a cage of its own, a stained mattress sitting on a small frame. Cuffs protruded from the frame, a leash hanging off the bars of the cage, and Jason wondered if he’d be safer sleeping on the streets. The mattress alone screamed infection.

“I have sheets at the top of the stairs, if you need them,” Erith called down.

Jason frowned, looking back at the stairs. The elf seemed almost scared of the room. Maybe Jason would be helping more than he realized by cleaning it out.

The neko headed upstairs, pausing at the top to sign. Erith stood just outside the door, his eyes flicking over Jason’s shoulder nervously.

‘Are you okay?’

“Yeah, just have some issues with this room. I’d rather not bring them up,” the elf muttered.

Jason nodded. He understood. Erith’s rage at Halor, his nervousness around the subject of sex and mates… it all led back to the basement in his house.

‘Why did you let me see this?’

“Because you need a place to stay. And… well, I figured you wouldn’t actually tell anyone, right?” Erith said quietly.

‘Never,’ Jason promised. ‘I’ll try to have this place all cleaned up for you by tomorrow. Maybe Devyn can help. But what did happen with Halor?’

Erith’s face soured at the mention of the other elf.

“They let him go and put me on a week of in school suspension. I know what I smelled.”

‘Talk to Dylan. Maybe he knows something about Halor,’ Jason suggested, before taking the sheets from Erith.

“Maybe. I’ll let you get settled. If you need anything else, let me know, okay? And… thanks for not telling anyone. It’s bad enough I went wolf last year. I don’t need more rumours to spread about me.”

Jason nodded his understanding, before carefully making his way back down the stairs.

DEVYN

Resting on a notebook was not easy. Devyn tossed and turned all night, whether from the book under him or from Jason’s absence, he didn’t know. There was no sleep to be found, and the wolf was wide awake when a car pulled into the drive.

Bolting upright, Devyn raced to the window, nose pressed against the glass. He let out a joyous yip as Richard stepped out of the car. The wolf raced to the door, bouncing off the closed barrier. A whimper broke from his maw as he dropped, covering his throbbing nose. The wolf door was closed to his room too? Why was he stuck in his room?

The thought vanished from his mind as a door opened downstairs. Devyn rammed a shoulder against the door, barking loudly to let his father know he was stuck. He could smell Margaret on the other side of the door, and a sudden slap at the door startled him.

“Quiet Devyn, you’re going to wake the neighbours!”

But he was stuck in the room… he needed to get out, so he could greet his father properly. Why wasn’t she letting him out? He whimpered again, knocking against the door.

“Devyn! Stop!”

“Is he locked in his room?!” Richard’s voice demanded.

“I had to lock him in- What is that smell?” Margaret snarled. “Did you fuck someone?!”

“We’re done Margaret. You don’t have any say in who I sleep with any more. I had plenty of time to think on the road-”

“And you immediately thought about plowing some slut?! What the fuck is wrong with you? Why would you fuck someone else? Are you trying to destroy this family?!”

“Margaret, you ruined this family when you knocked our son down the stairs,” Richard snapped. “I’m home, and I’ll be taking care of Devyn and Jason. I’m going to take Devyn and track Jason down, and I want you out of this house by the time we get back.”

“After all I have done trying to keep them safe-”

“Because pushing people down stairs for rolling their eyes is so safe Margaret. I want you out.”

“I’m working on my anger issues. You don’t need to kick me out-”

The door suddenly opened, knocking Devyn in the nose, and the wolf yelped.

“Shit, sorry Devyn,” Richard said, pulling the door back again. “Are you okay? I didn’t get you too bad, did I?”

Ignoring the words coming from his father, Devyn leapt at the man, tongue licking over Richard as he desperately tried to unload the gratitude he felt for the open door, for his father’s presence, for everything Richard.

“Okay, okay, get down. We can say hi later. Do you know where Jason is?” Richard asked, pushing the wolf off of him.

“He’s not a dog Richard! You can’t just treat him like-” Margaret protested.

Devyn didn’t bother listening. Finally someone was going to let him get Jason back. The wolf was not going to miss this chance.

Racing down the stairs, Devyn skidded across the floor, nearly hurling himself into the front door.

“Hang on, Devyn,” Richard called, making his own way down.

He opened the door, letting the wolf out into the front yard. Devyn was outside in an instant, rushing to the sidewalk with his nose stuck to the ground. He could smell Jason, the neko’s musk filling his nose and his mind as the wolf focused on his missing mate.

A stiff autumn breeze blew past him, the smell of rain in the air, and Devyn spared a glance up at the dark sky as an ominous rumble filled the world around him. Devyn shook out his coat as a leaf fell over him.

“Hold on a second buddy…”

Richard pulled on a jacket, hurrying to catch up to the wolf.

“Do you know where he is? The rain won’t mess with the scent, right?”

Devyn snorted, nose to the ground. He could smell Jason clearly; finding him would be easy.

A heavy drop landed on his head, and the wolf huffed again, refusing to speed up any further. While Devyn wasn’t too worried about losing the trail, he didn’t want to take any chances, not when Jason could be in danger.

He could barely smell Erith under his brother’s scent, and it put an idea in his mind. Maybe Jason had gone to the elf. It would be better than him sitting out in the rain.

And just as the thought flashed through his mind, the skies opened, cold rain weeping over Devyn and his father. Richard let out a curse, pulling up a thin hood in an attempt to keep the rain off him. But it didn’t matter; within a minute, they were both soaked.

The smell of rust hit him like a brick, and Devyn sneezed suddenly, shaking his head. Nose down, he wandered off the sidewalk, following Jason’s trail through the wet dust and rusty cars.

“Devyn!” Richard hissed.

The wolf frowned, looking back at his father. Richard stood on the sidewalk, staring at the yard Devyn was in.

“Jason’s not going to be here. I think you have the wrong scent.”

Devyn grunted, shaking his head. He sniffed again, coming away with a strong smell. Jason’s smell.

Bounding across the yard, the wolf pulled himself up short at the side of the house. He whimpered loudly, looking around until he found a small window near the base of the house. Sniffling at the window, the wolf barked frantically. Jason was in this house. He could smell his brother in the basement, just out of reach.