Chapter 32 - 31. Human Pack - Part II: Brotherhood

In the living room, Connor was almost done with the preparation. The boy was getting everything ready for his parents' return with Glen. He had brought out a whole selection of snacks, sweets, and drinks. He went to the kitchen where the cake was placed and lifted the lid of the box, smiling. The inscription was perfect, the decor just as he ordered. Her mother had also spent all her time at the stove yesterday preparing the meal, as she knew she wouldn't have time today. The kitchen smelled of delicious home cooking. The boy eyed the potato gratin dish and gave the babysitter a side glance before giving up. He could wait. A little more patience and they will have an unforgettable day!

Indeed, today was Glen's birthday, but maybe also the day he would finally stay with them. They all jumped for joy when they finally received a response from the WIA. They were told that if Glen was officially cast aside the pack during the rank ceremony, he would be allowed to live with them. The news had made him both happy and sad.

Although he wanted his best friend to come and live with his family, Connor still wished everything would be okay. He had read tons of books about werewolves and they all said the same thing. It was important for them to live in their pack. So, it doesn't matter if he didn't like Red Creek's alpha. Even if he was the reason why Glen was always alone, he couldn't bring himself to wish the ceremony would go wrong. Because it did go wrong, it also meant his pack, his family rejected him.

To help Glen not to feel too apart if he joined the pack, they studied all the books in his father's library. From time to time, they didn't understand the terms used, but his father was always there to explain and answer their questions.

Connor opened the refrigerator looking for something to snack on while he was waiting when a voice called out to him.

"Nono, I want a cookie!"

A little boy with light brown hair around four years old walked into the kitchen dragging his babysitter behind him. She looked at Connor with a half-sorry, half-amused expression.

"Anny, how many times do we have to tell you that's not how you ask?"

The little boy pouted, but obeyed his older brother's remonstrance and rephrased his request.

"Nono, can I have a cookie, pleaaase?" He dragged the magic word out which turned into a humming plea.

The older boy took a bottle of fresh milk from the fridge and opened the cupboards to find the cake box. As he rummaged, the babysitter sat the last member of the family, Anthony Everett, in a chair with a booster seat installed, before going to help the eldest of the house. Debbie took out two plates and set one in front of the little boy and one in front of the chair next to it. Connor arrived with a cookie jar, looked at the table, and commented.

"You don't want some, Deb?"

"No! I'll save myself for later. With all the food your mother has prepared, I'm going to need a second stomach if I want to taste everything. "

"You think so? I wonder if that will be enough. "

The young woman opened her wide eyes and stared at the mountain of food that littered every available corner of the kitchen. Connor shrugged at her astonishment.

"He's a werewolf you know."

He placed a cookie on each of the plates and filled two goblets with cold milk. Connor sat up and a mischievous smile spread across his face.

"Tell me the truth! You don't want to eat too much because of your date tonight, do you? "

The first-year college student stared open-mouthed at the boy who was wiggling his eyebrows in front of her.

"How do you know about my date?" She retorted, offended that her private life was displayed by a shameless brat.

"You left your phone on the living room table when Anny asked you to paint with him."

"Geez, Connor! How can you be so nosy? "

The boy shrugged and bit into his cake with one hand while wiping the crumbs off his little brother's cheeks with the other.

"What is a da-ite?"

"Something you will do in the distant, veeeery distant future." Connor stared at the boy who eyed his cake for a moment, then took a bit and started to munch enthusiastically. "On second thought, forget the dates. You're way too cute for them. "

Debbie chuckled at the remark and shook her head, wishing inwardly good luck to the poor boy already shielded from his future wooers by his overbearing Big Brother. The trio chatted happily and cleared away before settling for a movie.

The cartoon was almost over when the young woman got up from the chair to answer her phone.

"Mrs. Everett? Yes, everything is fine. No. They are in front of the television, we were watching a cartoon… What? "

Connor, who was listening distractedly to the conversation, turned her way, hearing the young woman's sudden worried tone. Debbie snapped her head and met Connor's gaze. When she noticed his staring, she moved away to finish the conversation. The student returned a few minutes later, an unreadable expression on her face.

Connor patted Anthony's head who was still engrossed in the screen and went to join the babysitter who was waiting for him.

"He can't come home, right? I-I got it. I'm not sad. I just thought he could come to the party. But if his pack accepted him then… "

"Connor! It's not like that. It's… You know, when they were at Alpha Carter's mansion, something happened and… and… "

A sob strangled the young woman's voice and Connor froze. Unable to move, he tried to read her face the answer to the question he dared not ask. His mouth was dry and his tongue mushy when he finally spoke.

"What happened?"

"Glen has been hurt."

"Hurt?" He paused and frowned. Why would his mother call to tell that Glen had been hurt? He was racking his brain to find a reason when the unthinkable answer popped into his mind. He clenched his fists. "Did Alpha Carter hurt him with his toxin?"

Debbie's face gave him the answer he wanted to know and something dark spread through the boy's heart.

"Tell me if he's alive."

"Yes… But… The toxin stayed in his body for a very long time. He hasn't regained consciousness yet. "

The boy welcomed the news with silence. Still standing between the living room and the dining room, he felt a hand grip his shorts. He looked down at Anthony who was staring at him with those big hazel eyes.

"Nono, are you ok?"

"Hey, Anny!" He picked up the boy and propped him up against him. "I am… sad because your other big brother is not coming home."

"He's not? Why? " The little boy asked in a shrill voice.

"He is… sick… So he can't come."

"When will he be healed?"

"I don't know, Anny. Soon I hope."

The little boy pouted. "It's not fair that you promised me that I would meet him today."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, Anny."

________

Connor knocked on the door and waited a few minutes before opening it. The curtains were drawn, preventing the sun from coming in. He walked into the room and approached the bed, which he creaked as he sat on it. He glanced at the mass hidden under the covers.

"Mum wants to know if you'll eat with us tonight or if you are staying in your room? She's worried because this morning and this noon you left your tray almost full. You should eat a little more. At least to reassure her. If there's something you want to eat, you can write it down somewhere and I'll pass it on… "

The boy glanced at the wrapped figure and settled himself down, legs stretched out and arms crossed behind his head.

"Classes at school today were boring. I won't dare to say that you're not missing much, but everything is boring. It's so hard to stay awake. Oh, did you know that… "

Connor continued his monologue like every day when three knocks sounded on the door which then creaked as it opened. Anthony's head full of untamed hair appeared in the hallway. He scanned his older brother silently for permission and once Connor nodded he trotted over to the bed which he climbed onto without hesitation before pulling twice on a piece of the sheet covering Glen. As if a secret code had been entered, the fabric lifted and let the little boy through. Anthony squirmed his way and made himself comfortable.

Connor smiled when he heard a small voice whisper. "I have cookies in my pockets."

When he came back down to the kitchen a bit later, Maria gave him an anxious glance, and he shook his head to answer. His mother's shoulders slumped slightly, but she straightened up right away and pulled out two platters. She began to put and arrange several dishes on a tray. As her hands moved, she heard the faucet turn on. Connor washed his hands, then wiped them dry and walked over to help her.

The woman didn't utter a word and just eyed him sideways now and then. The serious expression that never left her son's face worried Maria. She knew he was concerned about Glen's condition, but there is nothing much they could do.

It had been almost a year since the events at Alpha Carter's mansion. That evening, after being forced to put Glen to sleep after his first-ever transformation, Laurent and Maria had rushed with the young alpha to the hospital for werewolves. The boy, who only shifted back to his human form after the toxin left his body, woke up two days later.

If being impaled and poisoned by his father was already something that traumatized the boy, the news of his mother's death had caused an unprecedented breakdown. Prostrated in silence, the alpha had lost all will, and the way the WIA handled the crisis didn't help.

After hearing the report from two members of their organization who testified that their alpha protege's transformation was caused by toxin poisoning, the higher-ups weren't more lenient. Glen had been kicked out of school on the pretext that control over his condition was no longer a guarantee. In truth, the WIA was only getting rid of a potential problem since the Luna's death had been caused by a werewolf placed under the care of one of their agents. Laurent and Maria protested in vain, the high places remained insensitive. Red Creeks was a town of werewolves and the pack was its nerve center. In other words, the alpha's hold didn't end with his packmates.

Maria squeezed one last plate on the large tray and smiled, happily.

"Can you bring him his meal, please? I'll come with yours and Anny's. Oh, I got a message from his tutor. He said he will be a little late tomorrow and will be there around four o'clock. " She paused and resumed. "You come home around this time, I think. How about you join them for once? I'm sure that… "

"No, I'm fine!"

Connor fled to the bedroom with the tray in his hands so as not to let his mother see the blush spreading across his cheeks. He returned to the room and pushed the door he had left ajar.

Two heads were sticking out of the covers. Glen was listening intently to the rantings of the little boy who seemed far from finished his story. The brown-haired boy frowned and scolded his little brother.

"Anny, don't stick to Glen like that, he will get hot."

"No, he won't! Packmates like to sleep together. "

"You're not sleeping," retorted Connor rolling his eyes. "Goodness, Glen, you're spoiling him way too much."

Anthony eyed the tray overflowing with food and his face lit up. "Yeah! Food! "

"Hands up! It's Glen's. Mum is coming with ours. "

"Yeah! Pack feast! "

"What with the pack obsession?" Connor chuckled and shook his head as he settled everything on a coffee table.

"Because Glen and I, we're a pack!"

"Yeah. That's probably the tiniest pack in the world. "

Anthony narrowed his eyes as he considered what his brother had just said then his expression changed and a smile appeared.

"Then, I'll let you come in our pack."

"It won't change much."

The alpha let the two brothers bicker and chat. His mind drifted like always. Snatches of memories of that day came back to him whether he liked it or not. He remembered what had happened in the alpha's office with a precision that he would have preferred to do without.

When Glen felt the claws dig into his stomach, a sensation seized his body. Between the pain of the toxin that was crawling through his veins, another sensation mounted, even more terrifying. Darkness clouded his mind, confusing his sanity. He had witnessed, helplessly, the transformation of his body. The pain was unbearable, but it wasn't the worst. The physical pain he felt was nothing measure in the agony to which his mind was subjected. Glen felt his wolf being chained then pierced all over by the darkness that surrounded him. Just before he lost control, he heard a ringtone and words appeared before his eyes.

[Bloodlust has been activated]

After that, everything had turned black. When he opened his eyes in the hospital a few days later, he learned what had happened.. By then, Glen was sure there was something wrong with him.