Blood Bound (mlm)

Chapter 2: Part 4

It's been two days and I think I'm starting to lose my mind. If I'm not hunting, eating or drinking from the river at the edge of the territory, I'm bullying myself or obsessing over what happened with Yerik. I'm between feelings of immense shame, generational guilt, anger and regret. And honestly, I've had it. So after my morning hunt, I decide to make my way back to Yerik. I have to hear his side of things and apologise. Once I've done that, I'll go home and deal with that mess. I hear a howl I've never heard before in the not-so-far distance.

I stop and howl as well, not just urged to because of my nature but happy to communicate with someone. I trot in the direction of the sound but before I get close, I see just the wolf I wanted to full on sprinting towards me. He slows down to keep from running into me and I can't tell what I'm feeling at the sight of him. His head and overall posture is low to the ground as he gets closer. He whimpers softly and flops over, showing me his stomach. I'm surprised to say the least, he's willingly submitting to me, calling a truce. But something in me doesn't trust it so I snap at him, making him go on the defensive almost immediately.

I can't understand why but my instinct is to fight, seeing him just makes me feel hurt all over again. I growl at him but he whines, keeping his posture low. He's really trying to avoid a fight. I acknowledge but I'm just getting more pissed. He jumps back and barks when I try take a swipe at him and that gesture seems to fire him up. He charges for me, a glint of aggression in his dark eyes and it's more than I bargained for. I turn tail and run, my bravery gone and my anger becoming fear. What the hell am I thinking, he's a f*****g lone rogue, he could definitely kill me! I scold myself, running faster as he barks from behind me.

I hear his feet hitting the ground with all their might, catching up to me quick. Then, I feel his claw tips poking my hips and he brings me down. I yelp and fall, trying to get up quickly so I can surrender but I realise he's not hurting me. He's just keeping me still. "Please, come back." I hear his voice in my head, completely taken aback. "Let me explain Luca, I'm begging you." He says, his voice even clearer. I don't know what to say or how to feel at the fact that I can hear him but I lower my head, willingly submitting. Once he lets go, I get up and we walk back to his cabin side by side.

I'm lost in thought the whole way back, trying to understand how it is he could talk to me. Maybe I'm hallucinating, maybe he's been a figment of my imagination this whole time. Leaving one's pack can make a wolf crazy after all. That's it, I've gone crazy. I wonder as we walk up onto the porch and shift. "Can I explain myself now?" He asks gently as we walk in. "Can we, put some clothes on first?" I request, feeling embarrassed and he chuckles softly. "Yes, of course." He responds so we both head upstairs and get changed.

A few minutes later and fully clothed, we're sat on the couch in a tense silence. I'm eager to hear his side and be proven wrong for my previous assumptions. I don't want to believe that he meant to hurt and lie to me, but maybe it's better if I do considering we aren't mates anymore. "Luca, I promise that I didn't know we were mated. When I tried to get you to leave, I did it because of the letter I found on my territory line. Your parents want you back and they're willing to destroy me to get you, so with them threatening war I figured it was best for both of us to get you back there. Plus, walking away from everything you know is a seriously lonely thing. It wasn't a choice I got to make and part of me couldn't stand you making it...b-but I swear, I didn't know for sure that we were mates and I didn't realise my words would be taken as rejection." He explains.

"When did you figure out we were mates?" I ask him. "I had my suspicions when you got so sick but didn't know how to voice them. I just wrote them off because it was kind of unbelievable that I would be mated to an Atlas, let alone the son of the Alpha Pair. Anyway, I knew for sure when you rejected me and stormed off. I couldn't eat or drink once you left, I felt weak, I couldn't shift properly and I was being more self-abusive than usual. I eventually decided to do some reading before I came looking for you and what I read made everything click. Which brings me to another thing..." He answers then pauses, carefully considering what he wants to tell me. I stay silent but give him an expectant look. "We're Blood Bound." He reveals after a beat of silence and my immediate reaction is confusion.

I search my mind for a moment, trying to remember when I would've learned about it in biology class. However, all I can remember is that it's a very rare form of mateship. "You wouldn't happen to remember what you read on the topic, would you?" I ask coyly and he chuckles at me shortly. "How are you the one with a formal education and you don't know it?" He asks, pretty amused by the fact that he has something to teach me. I hit him playfully, laughing lightly along with him. "Stop, biology was my least favourite subject! And, in my defence, Blood Binds were, like, a paragraph in a whole chapter on wolf relationships." I defend myself.

"Sure, sure. Well, from what I read earlier today, it's regular mateship but on the heaviest drug possible. It's so strong that it makes us one in a way. It's why I didn't kill you the second I found you on my land and why I felt a strange but strong pull towards being nice to you. There are other things too but I was barely paying attention to all that because I was looking for something specific." He explains and my heart begins to slow at the revelation. Isn't there something especially unique about being Blood Bound? I ask myself, the garbled fact slowly coming to mind but not clear enough for me to get it.

"What were you looking for?" I interrogate. "I kept wondering why I was still yearning for you even though you rejected me. If we were regular mates, me unintentionally rejecting you would've done the job. So I read for how rejection works and found out that Blood Binds can't be broken. No matter how hard either of us tries, we can't reject each other." He answers and, one by one, more things start to make sense in my head. "Wait so, we're still...?" I can't finish my question, my heart feeling like it's going to stop all together. Then, embarrassingly, tears start to swell in my eyes and threaten to spill.

"Mated? Yes, we are." He finishes my question, then confirms. Thank the Goddess! I think before the tears fall and I practically jump onto his lap. Before I can stop myself, I cup either side of his jaw and kiss him and it feels. So. f*****g. Good! He kisses back, his hands making themselves comfortable on my hips. We both pull back from each other, holding eye contact for a tender moment before diving right back into each other. I take a good breath of him in and the lovely scent that I had been smelling since being in his space finally comes to me.

I pull back and chuckle to myself as he cups my cheek. "What? Am I that lousy a kisser? In my defence, it's my first time." He says with a charming smile. "N-no it's not that, you're really goo—wait, it's your first time?" I respond before realising what he just said. He chuckles shortly, pulling me a little closer. "Of course, being lone and a rogue isn't really conducive to relationships or experimenting." He answers, sparking a delightfully wicked feeling in me.

"Whoa, what's that look?" He asks with his eyebrows slightly raised. "Nothing...I just think it's pretty hot that I have some things to teach you." I reply with a similar smirk. "I'll be a good student then." He says lowly before pulling me back in to kiss me. I melt into him, my stomach filling with butterflies as I taste him. I need a better taste. I think before turning my head and deepening the kiss. He moans against me, the sound making my ears sharpen.

Though, I don't get to hear much more as he pulls away. "Wait, what were you giggling about though?" He asks and I shut my eyes to sigh softly. "I finally figured out what I was smelling all this time, aside from the burnt wood and forest scents. Realising it makes me feel silly for taking so long to figure it out." I start and an intrigued look morphs onto his face. "So, what was the smell?" He questions, sounding afraid that it'll be something embarrassing. "I'd call it more of an aroma and it's toasted peanuts covered in vanilla and sugar." I reveal, happy to finally have an exact pin on it. "That's good and by the way you sound right now, it's doing a great job." He replies, his eyes taking me in.

"What do I smell like?" I ask, finding myself admiring his face as I play with his hair. "Po—." He answers simply after taking a sniff of me but I'm barely listening, too enthralled by him. "Did you hear me Luca?" He checks, cupping my cheek again and I finally zone back in. "Grapefruit, I smell like grapefruit?" I guess, blushing that he caught me in a daze. "I said, you smell like pomegranate. What's on your mind?" He questions and I start smiling like an i***t.

"I was really worried that I broke us up in a fit of pettiness and anger. When you howled for me, I was actually on my way back to apologise and get some closure...so I could go back home and deal with that s**t show. But since you told me that we're Blood Bound, all I can think about is the fact that I have you forever." I answer, delightedly. "Well I'm happy to hear I'm not in the dog house anymore, but are you still going to go back?" He asks next, swiping a few strands of my hair behind my ear.

"I will eventually, but for now I'm going to stay right here with you." I answer, any anxieties I had over the past few days completely swept away. "That's comforting to hear. Although...I do think an apology is in order." He replies with a sly smile. "That's fair. Yerik, I'm really sorry for lashing out like I did and knowingly hurting you." I apologise and he slow blinks at me with an appreciative smile on his face.

"It's okay." He replies softly and a moment of silence falls between us. I watch as his eyes can't help but travel down to my lips. I smirk before leaning in to kiss him and it really feels like such a relief. We kiss deeper, moaning gently but gripping each other intensely. It feels like a door to my mind opens and all my feelings flow out of me, only to be replaced by his. Mind Link. Is the only coherent thought I have and I know that this is the real deal.

•

TERMINOLOGY & TIDBITS:

The 'lone' title holds multiple meanings. It can refer to Alpha wolves that do not have mates for whatever reason. It can refer to wolves that are in the process of separating from their pack either by choice or force. It can refer to rogue wolves with Alpha Blood (and therefore no pack). It can finally refer to wolves that are out on expedition but still very much part of their packs and free to return at any time. Yerik is considered lone by other wolves because he's rogue, an alpha and without a mate. Luca is also lone right now because he is separate from the pack but not completely like a rogue is.