The Brothers and I

Chapter 33

Cracking my eyes open, I groaned, feeling completely exhausted. My body felt leaden after having dozed off on the couch in a semi-upright and semi-curled position. My arms lay awkwardly trapped beneath the weight of my body, cramped and rigid. Squinting hard against the light spilling into the room, I gently stretched my muscles, coaxing the blood back into my stiff limbs as I yawned tiredly.

"Hey"

Startled out of my languid emergence, I whirled around in surprise, a gasp slipping from my lips as my view collided with a pair of familiar eyes.

Silver. Radiant grey-silver. The colour flooded my vision. Up close, the details took my breath away. Each streak of reflective silver blended perfectly with a stormy grey to form the most captivating pair of eyes that I had ever seen. Eyes that wielded the power to encapsule my soul with its brilliance. A colour so distant and cold, but yet could invoke the warmth of a thousand suns when turned in my direction.

"Hey." My voice came out weak, hoarse from the strain that it placed on my over-used throat.

Thomas drew closer, his face holding apprehension at the sound of my voice and also perhaps at the sight of my unkempt form. Bending his naked torso over the couch he reached out to caress the side of my face, his fingers light as a feather brushing soothing strokes over my skin. My eyes closed automatically at the tingles that his touch elicited, causing me to lean further into the comfort that only he could give. I did nothing to stop the tears from falling this time, for I felt unashamed to be vulnerable in front of him. Moreover, the tears were not out of fear nor loss but the overwhelming sense of relief that welled within me at having him by my side once again.

The couch dipped as I opened my eyes to watch him climb over the backrest and settle down beside me. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but ogle at his naked body, the sinuous tendons flexing invitingly, asking to be touched.

"You're naked."

A chuckle left his lips as he took my feet into his lap, massaging and rubbing them gently. "I know." Turning towards me with a small smile that lit up his features, he continued, a tenor of humour lacing his voice. "Tore through my clothes when I shifted."

"Ah. What a shame. I really liked those pants."

He laughed, his eyes holding a twinkle underneath all that care and warmth that were etched across his face. Bringing my foot to his lips, he placed a tender kiss on each of my toes before grazing his palm softly on my sole, making me smile at the reverent way he touched my skin.

We sat in silence, my tears long gone as our eyes remained on each other, drinking greedily at every flicker of emotion that passed between us as if it were a lifeline. And out of those, was the heavy guilt and hurt that was gnawing me on the inside. The feeling of insecurity was strong after our argument last night. "Why did you take off and not come back? I waited here after you left but you never came." My control cracked towards the end when I remembered the mental block I had to put up to shield myself from the pain.

Getting up, Thomas knelt beside my feet before taking my hands in his. His face twisted in sorrow and his voice trembled with emotion as he appeared to be close to his breaking point. He took in a deep breath, his body shuddering slightly as he prepared himself to speak.

"You know... mates are very sacred in our world. It is in our blood to care, to provide, to protect and to love the one you are mated with. And yesterday for the first time, I realised how miserably I had failed you in every single way." His eyes dropped down to our conjoined hands, an over-powering feeling of shame emanating from him. "My brothers blamed me for bringing this on them and on you. For taking away your choice and your life when I dragged you into mine. And ever since that meeting, I've tortured myself with what if's and what could have been. But after our fight one thing became clear."