An Alpha's Bond

fifteen

The moment that my back hit the mattress was probably the best part of the week. Most of it was over now, meaning that I could finally relax. Hunter didn't have orders left, right or centre for any of us, so the omegas of the pack could actually get on with life. If they had anything they wanted to do, then they could. All I wanted was to get into bed.
  "You're quiet," Cova whispered, pushing me closer to the wall so that he could get onto my bed. "You okay?"
  "Long day."
  "Yeah, but somethings feels different. Has he done something?" I shook my head and rub my face. A conversation was nowhere near what I wanted. "Then what's wrong?"
  "Nothing, Cee. I'm alright."
  "If you don't tell me, i'm gonna get Alex to get Hunter to get it out of you." I didn't react, just stared at him. I felt numb. "I just want to go to sleep, Cee. I'm tired."
  "Fine." he got up, and was gone for a few long minutes. Time was unbearably slow, dragging behind. "As his lifelong best friend I know there's something wrong and you need to figure it out."
  "I know I'm his mate, and i'm not being funny, but if you can't figure it out, how am I supposed to?"
  "Just help him feel better. That's better than nothing."
  Hunter took a seat on my bed behind me and stayed there for a while, stroking back my hair and humming a song I didn't know. It was soft and probably something he had learned when he was little, but all I did want was peace and quiet.
  "Hey, love. Are you tired?" I nodded, not budging. The idea of it was too much no I had lay down. It made my body hurt, and the thought of moving too much was similar to lifting weights far too heavy for me. "I'm not going to order it out of you, okay, but I hope you would tell me if something was wrong. Have I done something?"
  "I'm just tired."
  "Alright. I'm going to go make you a cup of hot chocolate, that okay?" I nod, feeling the same sparks as he kissed my hair. They were there and they were good, but it didn't feel the same when you were exhausted. My eyes hurt, so I closed them and tried to shut out the light.
 
   Hunter
   It was painfully obvious that something was wrong with Wells, but he probably didn't realise it himself yet. He'd been acting quite odd all day, so I wasn't surprised that he was getting worse. As his hot chocolate cooled down, I picked up a couple bottles of water and accidentally ran into my Dad.
  "Enough water to last for days there." he commented. I shook my head and added whipped cream to the hot chocolate.
  "Yeah. Something's wrong with Wells and I don't know how long he needs to rest for so i'm taking them to my fridge so that don't get taken." he nodded, looking at me strangely.
  "We can talk about today tomorrow, you have questions."
  "Mom... she was depressed right?" he took a harsh breath and looked away for a moment. It was still hard to talk about her.
  "She was. Why?"
  "How did you help her?"
  "Hot chocolates, making sure she didn't feel too alone. Just being there." I nodded, feeling the cup to make sure it wasn't too hot to handle. "If you think he's depressed—"
  "I don't know yet, he's been... different. All day, and now he's exhausted. I just want to help him."
  "You should sit with him, go on."

   He was still facing the wall and Cova was sitting with him when I got back to them. I could feel something wrong within myself, something dull and exhausting weighing him down. I knew it was only because we were so close and it was so intense, but it scared me.
  "Here," I held the cup of hot chocolate and tried to smile as he sat up, but he looked exhausted. "Have you brushed your teeth yet?" I whispered, and he shook his head, picking at the marshmallows slower than normal.
  "I'm too tired tonight, I'll brush them in the morning."
  "Okay, that's fine. You're cold," he shrugged and started to sip at the drink. Once he was finished he put the mug on the floor and lay back down. "Do you want to come and sleep in my bedroom with me?"
  "Too tired to get back up."
  "I don't think Cova wants to see me shirtless any time soon, so I've gotta sleep in my room tonight, okay?" he nodded, pulling at his blanket. "That and Alex might kill me for getting undressed in front of his mate."
  I brushed hair out of his face and pulled the blanket over him properly, slowly unclasping the jewellery around his neck and passing it to Cova to put away.
  "Goodnight," I whispered, kissing his face once more before getting up and leaving. Whatever was making him feel that way couldn't have been good, but I would try my best to help him however I could.