Chapter Text
The conversation was, to say the least, worrisome. At least for John.
"So this Council controls the clans?" John asked.
"Hmm… almost that," Kezia's calm voice said. "They control, say, werewolves' birth."
"As if they could do that." Evie said. "Werewolves organized into separate clans for hundreds of years,"
"Which hasn't been very effective, huh?" Arthur's acid voice cut through. "Since a lunatic ran away and attacked me, nearly killing John in the process." Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine. He didn't like that day, not just because he'd been bitten, but because his mate had nearly been killed. After all... what would he do if John died?
We wouldn't live much longer.
Of course. What would he do without John? Better not to think about it.
"Don't waste your few neurons too much, Morgan." Evie said, flashing a sarcastic smile. "Sometimes some idiots get out of hand. Who ever does?"
"Oh really, smart lady?" Arthur said, standing up as he growled at the redheaded woman. "Have you ever hurt your mate? To the point of almost ripping her throat out?" John cringed a little looking at the older man. His pupils were dilating, and his iris was taking on a reddish hue. This was bad.
"Arthur...calm down..." John asked in a tone a little too low. He had barely heard the words come out of his own mouth.
"And how do you have the courage to stay close to him when you're not in control of yourself?!" Evie said getting up too. "You're just a big bruiser, Morgan. A man who tries to intimidate anyone, using only brute force. Do you realize you scare your own mate? I can smell his fear here." The woman was growling now too, unconsciously putting her muscular body right in front of Kezia. Protecting the underage woman.
That was a punch to the man's stomach. Both he and the Beast were left without any reaction. Fear? John wasn't afraid of him! That's when he noticed the sour smell that surrounded the place. It was an almost imperceptible smell. But it was there. Arthur glanced quickly at John, who was huddled a little, squeezing his fingers together.
"S‐Scared? I... I'm not scared!"
"You're not even good at hiding it, boy." muttered Evie, sitting back down.
John wanted to start protesting again when he met Arthur's guilty eyes.
"Listen, Art, it's not true! I know you would never really hurt me!"
"But I don't know if maybe I can control myself around you when I have a tantrum, John." The older man pushed through his blond hair, fear gnawing at him inside. "I hurt you once..."
"But it was your first transformation, you big idiot!" John countered feeling a little desperate. "I'm sure you would never hurt me, Arthur... I know that..."
"Arthur is new to this all, John." Evie said, "God knows what I went through when I was bitten. I killed a girl I was in a relationship with at the time, before I met Kezia. I was totally freaked out, I couldn't handle my own feelings and I ended up transforming in front of her and when I came back to consciousness she had a hole in her stomach right in front of me." The red-haired woman said, putting a hand to her neck. She looked tired. "I don't want to scare you, John. I'm just telling you my experience and letting you know. Lots of werewolf mates have murdered their loved ones just because they're angry. Control is difficult at first, but it improves a little with time."
John felt terrified. Not out of fear of Arthur, but out of fear of losing him.
What if Arthur wanted to stay away from him, to protect him?
"NO!" John said with a start. "I've known this man since I was 12! I know he wouldn't hurt me...!"
"Deliberately never," John shifted focus and looked at Arthur, who had his head down. "But what if I lose control? I could easily kill you. I broke his leg just with my weight on it."
Kezia closed her eyes remembering the words of old Mahala. Arthur had to learn to control the beast within. But she also said he wouldn't hurt John! But now…listening to Evie, she wasn't so sure anymore.
This is bullshit! We would never hurt our mate. NEVER!
I'm scared.
I can't live without him. But if something happens to him because of me... I don't know... I'm really scared.
So believe me when I say we will never hurt him.
"Arthur... please…" John's voice had come out as a whisper.
"What can I do to learn to control myself?" Arthur asked Evie.
"The best you could do is join a pack. Learn from older, more experienced werewolves. That's what I did."
"I'm afraid there isn't time for that, Evie... it would take too long..." Kezia spoke.
"And could you help me?"
"Want to be my apprentice, Morgan?"
"I'm not in the mood for your pranks girl."
"Evie, please...you can help him, can't you?" Kezia asked.
The older woman sighed, looking at Arthur.
"Well, do you want me to teach you? You'll have to obey me. I was trained to use lycanthropy to my advantage, and it took years. I can't take the same time with you as we're short on time."
Arthur sighed, running his hands over his face. I need her help. "Just help me control the transformation"
"It goes beyond that. It involves the mind, and the ability you have to control yourself in the worst of situations. How much can you take before you break."
Evie said with a serious look. "And believe me you'll want to control yourself as much as possible so you don't break."
"Break?" John asks.
"The frenzy that afflicts creatures. The line that separates Arthur from the beast is very thin. A frenzy induces madness, and that madness can become permanent. The human's mind is destroyed and the most primitive part of the beast takes over. Soul, mind and body. It is almost always a path of no return. My old master said that the heart breaks. This can happen when a werewolf loses his bondmate." Kezia stood up, stretching her legs. "A bondmate is stronger than just a mate. Both carry a piece of the other's soul, it's a bond that's born with them. They can marry with other people, and they can even come to love them, but the destined bond with the true mate will always draw them close to the one who has a piece of their heart." She shrugged. "It works stronger with creatures. When lycanthropy enters your bloodstream, the beast will call out to its partner forever, and will never be satisfied with any other choice the human makes. I don't like that expression very much, but it's like people know 'soul mates'.”
John swallowed hard. Looking at Arthur, a movie seemed to go through his mind. It felt almost surreal. Fate had brought them together, and so it had been for several years. Artgur always protected him, even when he was just a rebellious brat. They even fought a lot, but Arthur always managed to stay close to him. Something called to them, a thread that caught them both, never breaking and always bringing them as close as possible. Even when Arthur got involved with Eliza and Mary. John was always there, Arthur always made an excuse to keep the young man around.
The thread that binds us together. The link that brought Arthur Morgan and John Marston together. Even if they wanted to, nothing would break that bond.
Arthur felt his heart grow bigger.
My soul mate.
There is no Arthur Morgan without John Marston. We are connected. You have to believe that we would never hurt him. Maybe we needed to forget the whole world, but he...
So... I would never hurt him…? It's always been that way, right? It was always just us. Him and me.
The rest is just rest.
But what about the gang? And... Mary? What I felt for her... I loved her...
You liked the idea of what it represented. A love. A true love. But it was never her. It was always him.
It was always him...
"You would never hurt me, Arthur." John said.
"Now I am quite sure." He smiled. How Arthur loved that smile.
“Just don't trust it completely. As I said, Arthur is new to this.... Do you think you have a soul bond?”
“I don't have much doubt about that,” John said, smiling slightly. "We've always had a special connection."
“Bonds like that are not very easy to happen. Even most people don't believe it.” Said the red-haired woman. “I don't really believe in it myself. My master truly believed, he said he had already seen it."
“Haven't you?” Arthur asked pointing to Kezia.
"If we had, I would already know. We've been together for some time. But I love her. And that's all that matters." said Evie.
"So will you help me?"
"I will. It will be interesting to see how far you go." said Evie. Kezia glared at her, but decided to let it go.
They had more important things to do now.
"I know it was too much information. But you can come to me if you need anything. Just as Evangeline will help Arthur, I can help you too. Or at least try to.”
"It really was a lot of information, but I can only thank you." John said with a soft smile. "You've always helped me from the beginning. If it weren't for you, Arthur could have died that night he was attacked."
"I know how you feel about all this. Right now we just have to focus on not being found. The Council must be looking for us."
"That worries me a lot." John said.
"I'll try to find more information about that." replied the young woman.
"Let me know if you need anything." John said, standing up. Arthur was already standing next to him.
Kezia and Evie said their goodbyes, taking the path that led to Valentine.
"Do you believe that?"
The ride back to camp was a little quiet, the horses trotting slowly carrying the two men.
"In what, darling?"
"This 'soul mates' thing,"
Arthur smiled, pulling on the reins and making Iron approach the Old Boy.
"If I had heard this before all this shit happened, I would probably have laughed at everything." Really? "But now... I don't know John... this bond that we've always had, in every aspect of my life, everything I've done has led me to you since the day we met."
"Yeah... I was always chasing you... and you always fought with me."
"And yet I always kept you close," chuckled Arthur. "It was like I couldn't let you out of my sight, like I needed you there."
"And it continues to this day?" asked John shyly.
"More than ever."
This warmed the young man's heart, eliminating all doubts.
"But I still need to learn to control the werewolf better. As much as I believe I wouldn't hurt you, I wish I had more control. I don't want to hurt other people either... I don't want to... infect anyone..."
John looked at him, "I know...but you can count on Evie...I think." He tightened the Old Boy's reins. "And I'll be here too."
"Holy shit I'm totally fucked up." Arthur joked.
"You big idiot," John rolled his eyes, but still gave a light laugh.
"But you love this idiot."
"With all my soul."
"Finally!" They heard a voice shouting from the camp. "Where were you two?"
"Just sorting things out, Dutch. Why the shouting?" grumbled John.
"Well, while the ladies were 'taking care of their own business,' some gang members were working!" Micah said, a little too loudly. "Our great collaborator here... Mr. Pearson, discovered something interesting! And besides..." A strong coughing fit cut Micah Bell's sentence, causing him to destabilize for a few seconds.
Some gang members who passed by, jumped away.
"At least cover your mouth with a cloth, you fucking idiot!" Bill said, running from where Micah was.
"Kiss my ass, Bill!" growled Micah, pulling himself together. "Damn, I think I'm catching a cold...but back to the point: we got a meeting with Colm O'Driscoll."
"What?" John couldn't believe it.
"Are you deaf, scarface? Colm wants to meet Dutch."
"Shut the fuck up before I do that, Bell." Arthur said through gritted teeth.
The camp looked tense.
What would be the purpose of that? Surely Dutch wouldn't forget what happened to Anabelle. He never forgot.
"It's true, boys." Said Dutch, butting in on the conversation, "That's what Mr. Pearson said. We're going to meet Colm O'Driscoll, Arthur. And you're coming with me."
John felt his stomach turn.