Chapter 18: Kegan was an...
"Okay so let me get this straight." Iris said with her hands outstretched in front of her. "This Romero guy, who is downstairs as we speak, drew some symbols on your body which made you feel a lot of pain and then took you to a cliff and mixed his blood into a liquid and made you drink it."
I nodded watching her. Damon sat beside her and had his arm resting on the back of her chair. We were all seated around the living room table and Damon, Iris, and Alpha Cairstay had arrived two hours ago. Since then I have been recounting all the events that happened when Romero took me. Jayden sat beside me and had my chair pressed against his. He hand my hand in his and I felt him stiffen when I told him about the binding ceremony.
"Now you two share a physical bond where you feel the pain he does." She looked at me with her eyebrows pulled together.
"Can you help or not? Every second that Layla stays connected to that bastard is driving me crazy." Jayden growled at Iris.
Damon glared at his brother and drew Iris closer to his side. She saw this and wacked his hand away, "Can you control your wolf for a second? It's his mate we are talking about here." She said looking at Damon whose cheeks now had a rosy tint to them.
I smiled.
"I've read about binding ceremonies and I have heard that they are as strong as a mating bond so I'm not sure if it can easily be broken. Plus you exchanged blood so that falls into being a blood bond." Iris said she turned to Alpha Neal who sat at the head of the table and said, "If you allow me a little time to shift and talk to my wolf I think I can come up with something."
Alpha Neal nodded and Iris and Damon excused themselves from the table walking out to the back. Alpha Neal escorted Alpha Cairstay and Jayden to his office asking to talk to them privately.
I lingered longer in the living room. I got up from my chair and decided to head upstairs to my room.
"Ahem." I heard someone clear their throat behind me and I saw Kate standing in the door way. I was about to open my mouth to say something but she pulled me into a hug and I felt tears falling down her face. I patted her back, "What's wrong? I'm home, I'm safe."
"I am so sorry dear" she said her voice thick with tears. "Jayden told us everything. I'm so sorry I didn't ask you more about what was wrong. I'm sorry Neal and I just let it slide thinking it was just a stage in life and you would get over it. I never imagined your own bro─" her voice hitched.
"What's done is done. Things have changed and I have changed. I won't hide anything from you every again." I said and pulled back from her. I grabbed a box of tissues for her and gave her one.
"Andrew and Tony want to talk to you."
Her eyes held a plea in them and not being able to say no I nodded. She left and after a minute Andrew and Tony walked into the living room. I had planted myself on the couch facing away from the door but I could sense them standing behind me.
"Mom told me you wanted to talk." I said keeping my head facing forward. "So talk."
They walked around the couch and sat in front of me.
Their dirty blond hair was swept back flat against their head and their piercing blue eyes had lost their gleam. They looked worn out and tired.
"I know that an apology would mean nothing at this point and asking for one would just be embarrassing and disrespectful to you." Tony said sitting on the edge of the couch and leaning towards me.
I kept my mouth shut and my eyes in front of me. Andrew sat back and was fiddling with his fingers. Tony nudged him to say something and I tried to hold back my smile when I saw the look on his face.
"Kegan was an ass." Andrew said.
Wow. Now that was the understatement of the year.
"We were sixteen and all we wanted was to be cool, Kegan placed it in our head that to that we had to follow his lead. We got in so deep that we didn't even realise what we were doing until you left. We didn't know what Kegan and Ryan did. We thought he just roughed you up, scared you. But we never imagined that he hurt you." Andrew finished.
It made sense that they didn't know because they were never involved in my injuries and only Kegan and Ryan knew. I was possible that they were kept in the dark but that gave them no reason to bully me. I was their sister.
"When that man left the note that he had you we finally realised how wrong and fucked everything was. We are so sorry and I get you won't forgive us but we will do our damn best to make it up to you." Tony said.
I looked at them and I knew they meant every word they said.
"There wasn't a day that I hated you and really wanted to kill you. I always thought of you as my brothers and all the fun times we had as kids mattered more to me that what you did these past few years. I'm not going to lie the bullying did change the way I looked at you and high school changed us." I said and I saw their shoulders fall.
"But I'm not going to hold what you did over your heads." Their faces showed relief and I smiled saying, "And Kegan is a huge ass."
"The Biggest!" Andrew and Tony said in sync.
There was a question weighing on my mind and I was reluctant to ask them but Andrew beat me to it.
"He is living with Ryan. Dad kind of disowned him and he left the house."
I nodded and left them in the living. I walked outside and circled the pack house breathing in the afternoon air. I sat down on the lounge chairs that were placed outback and allowed myself to come to terms with everything that happened and the only thing I could do now was wait and hope Iris found a way to break the bond.
I must have dosed off because when I woke it the sun was beginning to set. I watched the sun disappear behind the trees and when I decided to head back inside and find Jayden and crippling pain shot through my legs and I collapsed on the ground. I felt as if my legs were slashed open with a blade. My calves were on fire and when I pulled my hand back I saw blood.
"JAYDEN!" I yelled. I tried to crawl back to the pack house. Romero was hurting himself to cause me pain.
"Layla! Angel! Where are you?" I heard Jayden's voice call for me. Tears were running down my face and it took all my energy not to cry out in pain. I bit my lip when I felt the cut become deeper and I tasted blood in my mouth.
"Angel!" Jayden dropped down beside me and ran back inside carrying me in his arms. He carried me to the room he was staying in and placed me on the bed. He wrapped a cloth all around my calves trying to stop the bleeding.
"Ah!" I yelled out in pain when he tightened the bandage.
"Baby, please try to bear with the pain I need to stop the bleeding. Romero somehow got his hands on a knife." Jayden said finishing the final bandage.
I was still crying and my legs hurt like crazy. I could see my blood staining the wrapping and a sob escaped my lips. Jayden came around me and sat with his legs on either side of me. My back was pressed against his and he pulled the comforter over us. I clutched his hands in my own and rested my head on his shoulder. He curved his shoulders around me and his warmth encased me trying to block out the pain. Jayden whispered sweet nothings into my ear trying to distract me from my legs. I moved slightly to lean my side against him and placed my nose close to his neck. I breathed in his calming scent and he placed a soft kiss against my forehead.
We heard a knock on the door and Iris followed by Damon and the Alphas walked in.
"I think I know how to break the bond."
A/N BIG NEWS! The Healer's Mate made it to #968 in the Werewolf What's Hot list! (It was only there for a day but it still means something to me....)
I hope you liked this chapter and the pressure is building for Layla and Jayden! If you have anything you liked or just want to say hi drop me a comment or PM me. I want to hear from my readers!
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The Healer's Mate
WerewolfI was a werewolf without a wolf. But I developed an ability to heal wounds and injuries. My mother said the Goddess had given me this skill in place of my wolf. But there were those that saw me as undeserving and I fell prey to their abuse. My life...
