Chapter 9

Seb's pov

"Are you going to be okay?" Glen asks once we got out of the car.

"Yeah-- Sure,we got this." I reply affirming him. We have burdened him enough.

"We? I don't think he contributes." He chuckles as he points at Leo. He's currently half hanging on my shoulder babbling something, almost half asleep.

"No! I mean yeah. It's fine."

"Okay then. Call me incase you need anything." Glen suggested as he drove away, starting the car.

I let out a sigh I've been holding as I turn towards the house.

God! He's heavy.

By the time I unlock the door by tapping in the code and stumble towards the door, his weight is completely crushing me. I was heaving by the time I managed to drop him onto the couch and settle beside him with a sigh a relief.

The clock on the wall is already ticking two in the morning and I gave up my hopes of a good night sleep for this day too. My eyes burnt from all the exhaustion and lack of sleep in the past few days. I turned around to glare at the sleeping figure responsible for it but soon found my frustration vanishing as I found the similar tiredness in his eyes, even when they are closed. His under eye skin almost resembling a bruise and his lips pale and dry.

Atleast one of us is getting some sleep tonight.

I forced myself to get up and grab some water from the kitchen. I didn't realise how thirsty I was until I took the first gulp and soon downed the whole bottle. He must be thirsty too.

"Leo!" I tapped on his shoulder gently in hopes of waking him. He stirs a little in his sleep, turning to the side and he attempts to open his eyes with more taps, fluttering them open and close until he finally focuses on my words.

"Here, have some water." I ask him, inching the glass near his lips.

The position he is in making it difficult so I support his chin up to let him have a better access to the glass.He opens his mouth and drinks it in few gulps. He settles down once the glass is empty and closes his eyes.

I got up from the crouching position and started to make my way to the kitchen until he startles me by grabbing my hand.

"Don't go." He asks, his voice groggy from the intoxicated state he is in.

"I'm not-"

He pulls me down onto the couch before I can even finish my sentence.

The force making my legs loose balance but he holds me right in time as he gently places me on his lap, with my legs straddling his thighs. The position making my brain go haywire as I have no other option but to hold on to him. The intimacy of it is more foreign than anything.

"Sorry! I'm so.... sorry! Just don't- leave me" He keeps going on, his words muffled as he keeps his lips pressed to my shoulder, the sensation making my body burn all over. I keep my head low unable to look him in the face.

My eyes shot wide open when I feel his teeth graze over neck. My body shivers, in response to the electrifying jolts of pleasure which overwhelms my body as he continues nipping the skin there. I move my hand to squeeze his bicep as a signal to stop his torture but it only encourages him to bite further.

"-our bond. We should complete our bond."

It takes few moments for my muddled brain to register the words he whispered. All the previous hesitance leaves me and the panic kicks in, trying to lift my body off of him.

"Leo! Stop!"

My pleas only fall on his deaf ears and his grip on me only grows tighter. The  state of helplessness and panic settles in as I internally cry at my inability to stop him. Soon the shirt I'm wearing gets drenched in sweat making it stick to my skin.

My breath hitches when I feel a wet sensation that is different from my own.

Pleasure ripples through my body as his tongue starts gliding over the sensitive skin on my neck, in slow strokes. As if he's preparing the skin there for his mark. His mating mark.

The thought brings out two opposite reactions from within, while Venus jumps in excitement at the idea of wearing his mark, my mind spins in horror.

This can't be happening.

I've thought about this exact moment thousands and fantasized about it even more but never in my scariest dreams, it was this way.

Mate bond is something sacred, the old tale of broken souls finding eachother in their mates we're told as kids,engraved in my mind. It's only after growing up I realised, it's not every soul. The bond is only relevant between the ones that actually wanted it, it's only special between the mates who loved eachother otherwise it's just a complication that ruined one's life.

A sharp bite brings me back to reality as it stings making my eyes flew open. The skin in that area already is already so sensitive due to the constant scraping. He gives another sharp bite gaining a painful Yelp from me.

I muster up all my strength to push him off. My knuckles turning white as I grip onto his arms tight before I use my total strength. That seems to shake him off a little with his actions coming to a halt.

His rough bites turn into feather light kisses on my neck, making my breath hitch.

Genuine relief washes over me as he moves his head away from my neck. He rubs his roughly as if trying to regain some conciousness. Realising that I am still in his lap, I try to stand but it alarms him and he's back to gripping my waist like earlier.

Goddess!

He looks up meeting my eyes with his glazed ones, now filled with tears. He hesitantly places his palm cupping my cheek and slowly rubs his thumb near the eyes. My eyes close on their volition at the tenderness of the action.

"Are you okay?" He asks, locking his piercing eyes with mine. His eyes are glazed with tears.

"I'm tired" I get up making my way to our bedroom. He follows closely behind me until we reach the bed. I get into the bed from my side and he repeats the same. Once we are finally settled, he wraps his arms from behind holding me close.

I decide to close my eyes and pretend nothing has changed for one more time, hopefully for one last time.

________________________

It's illegal for a morning to be this unpleasant.

First, I woke up with a raging headache. Now my pan cakes turned out shaped like shit and I haven't had my morning coffee yet. I flip the last pancake with the last ounce of patience that is left in me. Turning off the flame, I head towards our bedroom.

I was greated with the sleeping figure of him, still dead to the world. It must be nice to have the ability to sleep that well. I internally sigh at the faint alcoholic smell, still lingering in the room.

I can't believe out of all people, I got an alcoholic as a mate.

Oh! Cut him some slack, he got a fucking psychopath as one. - Venus retorts in his bitchy tone. The nerve this creature has.

How do you manage to be this bitchy even in the mornings - I ask him in my most fake sweet tone.

The same way you manage to be whiny, I guess.

"Nevermind! This is pointless." I make my way to the bathroom praying if have I could have a replacement of my counterpart.

Unlike other areas of the house, only this tiny space remained as neat as ever. The only salvation of this morning. Thanking the angels above, I start removing my clothing.

"Goddess!! No. No. No."

Standing infront of the mirror, I let out the loudest groan known to mankind on seeing my reflection. This can't be happening right now.

It wasn't my deep purple undereyes or my horrible disheveled hair coupled with my deadly pale skin that brought that reaction. It was my neck.

It is littered in red bites all over.

They're called hickeys for your information. - my atrocity of a wolf decides to comment.

"Shut. Up. They're not hic- " That bastard shouts before I can even finish.

Hickeys.

"Bites." I whisper shouted hitting the counter.

Hickeys

"Bites."

Hickeys.

A loud knock interrupts our banter, making my anxiety raise. He can't see them.

I open the door, carefully. Only poking my head through the door, so that he can't see a patch of skin on my neck.

"Sorry! Are you okay?" He questions, panic evident in his voice.

"Yeah" I answer confidently as if I wasn't having a panic attack few minutes earlier.

"Um, okay. It's just, I heard some loud noises, like something's hitting the floor." He says, trying to get a peek into the bathroom to check.

Seems like few bottles were knocked over when I hit the counter but I was too deep into proving my stupid wolf wrong, I didn't even notice it.

"It's just the shampoo bottle, it slipped from my hands." I come up with the best lie I can. It takes me a few more minutes to convince him that I am perfectly alright and to make him leave. I quickly turn to finish my shower.

Thankfully he left the room by the time I finish my shower. How do I even explain them to him. Hey! You just kinda gave them to me last night.

And almost tried to complete our bond. Not a big deal though.

I mentally face palm myself at how stupid that sounded. This is so stupid. Everything that happened last night was so stupid. I don't even know why am I doing all of this,why am I still here.

I hopelessly sit on the bed. Frustration overtaking me, at my inability to walk away.How did I end up in the same place, I desperately ran away just few days ago. So much for standing up for myself.

Unable to sit my thoughts anymore. I busied myself with a mission to find the highest turtleneck ever. After numerous tries, I found a patterned knit sweater with a high turtleneck. I would probably look weird, considering it isn't all that chilly outside, but this is the best I could do.

"Sure Dad, Ofcourse. We will, we will." He is on the phone, presumably with his dad, by the time I made it downstairs.

I approached him with a sceptical look, as he carefully scanned over my features. Pointing at his phone, " It's dad, he wants yo- us, he invited us over for lunch. We can go...if only it's okay with you, ofcourse." He explains, in a frantic set of words. Almost making me feel sorry for him.

A part of me wanted to say no, to prevent us from falling back into the false pretense that 'nothing has changed' when infact it did. But his father doesn't deserve it, our parents doesn't doesn't deserve any of it.

Reginald has been anything but welcoming since day one. Considering his stature and reputation among the packs, he never once let it show. He's been the best father anyone could have asked for.

"I don't really have any classes until afternoon." I answer honestly.

"It's perfect then, I will inform dad." Leo says with his most excited smile, I've ever seen. He picks up the phone and types something swiftly before he walks towards me.

And then he does the most unexpected.

He takes my hands, joining them together before cupping them with his own. The action taking me by utter surprise, I look up at him with a questioning look, only to be drawn into his sincere eyes, they shone with an expression that held so much warmth and he helds my gaze as it is before saying " Thank you."

And then he's off, already climbing the stairs as I just stand there in position he held me in, wondering..

What am I going to do with him?