An Alpha's Bond

Twenty-Five

Trigger warning on this chapter for SA/S**ual harassment.

   By the time I got home from school, Hunter was still in bed sleeping it off. Alex had been left to run things whilst he rested. When I was sure he was going to be okay, I went back to my bedroom to put my things down and see Cova. After hearing what Hunter did, he was beyond pissed and I had to make sure that he wouldn't go and poison my mate. He seemed to be calm enough about it for now.
  "I'm mad at him too," I whispered, looking at the clock. He should be awake by now. "I think I'm gonna see if he's alright."
  Cova rolled his eyes and nodded at me. As I got up he scoffed and grabbed my wrist.
  "Let him wallow in self-pity. He doesn't deserve to see your face." I sighed and put my homework on my desk. We'd barely gotten any of it done, spending more time judging tv characters than solving equations.
  "Maybe not, but you didn't see the state he got into last night. I want to see if he's okay." he shrugged, crossing his arms.
  "Go on then. We should watch a movie later." I hugged him, before putting my homework on the desk and turning around.
  "Hunt— Alex." Alex didn't look up, sitting up straight and cleaning Hunter's face. His lip wasn't busted this morning. "Alex."
  "Oops," he mumbled, and Hunter looked up at me, shrugging. "Must have slipped."
  "I asked you to leave him alone," he shrugged, getting up and nodding at Hunter as he left. "A—"
  "It's alright, I deserved that."
"How are you feeling?" I whispered, sitting close enough he could grab me by the waist and hold onto me.
"Still tired from last tired. Regretting life choices. I'm a shitty guy. A shitty mate." I didn't say anything, only smiled when he pressed his forehead against my neck. He was quiet, only pulling me onto his lap to get closer.
"You made it up to me last time."
"That makes me sound shittier. I didn't mean it, Wells. I really didn't. Barely even knew what I was doing and then you were hurt. Because of me. I'm not supposed to hurt you."
"You're supposed to feel shit after that. I don't like it but it's true. Don't you have some Alpha stuff to be getting on with?" he shrugged and scratched at his arms. I tried to stop him. "How are we going to sort it out?"
  "I should talk with someone about my anger at least, but my temper isn't normally that bad— I can manage loads of things. I don't know why I did it and it scares me."
  "Then let's do that," he nodded, not looking me in the eye even once. "Kiss it better?"
  "What?"
  "Kiss where it hurts. Like we're kids and i'm hurt." he must have thought I was joking at first, but when he realised I wasn't he pulled me against his chest and held the side of my jaw. He slowly kissed alongside where it hurt, pausing when I winced and pulled back slightly. "Never said stop."
"Of course," he whispered, smiling at me as I pulled him back. "Anything."

Duty calls, and when Alex came storming into the bedroom we knew that we would have to continue later.
"What's happening?" Hunter asked, noticing Alex struggling to talk over his nerves. "Someone has Cova?"
"Won't let him come to me because I'm not the Alpha." he rambled, clearly panicking. I could feel my own blood pressure spiking.
****"Who? Where? Wells please stay here this time." I shook my head, following him forcibly when he left the room. He tried to stop me once, but heard Cova yelling and couldn't stop me. It was Tay, challenging authority in an all out way. There was always rebellion at this stage. Cova's jeans had already been torn, and I could tell that Tay had been close to taking what he'd wanted without a care for who watched. Cova looked like he'd stopped functioning, barely moving. Hunter was there standing and assessing the situation. I would reject everything if he let Cova get hurt like that. Nothing would make up for that.
  "What's going on?" he asked, not moving at first, I nearly went for it for myself, but something told me he had a plan. "Let him go, and talk to me."
  "You're letting this pack go to shit."
  "Everything is running smoothly, Tay. You're the one disobeying pack law and Alpha." he laughed, tugging at Cova. He seemed threatened. Hunter was doing something whether intentional or not. "Challenging an Alpha— your Alpha? Rookie move, Tay. Let him go." I could see the fear on his face. It was plain and obvious, but he had already gone too far to come back from. "What have I said about omegas, to everyone in this pack?"
"The rules have never been that way. Omegas aren't that important. Now none of them are respectful. Because of you." Alex's head turned, and I could sense without looking why even he felt the need. Hunter was using his status to his advantage. "Why should anybody listen to you about omegas when you can't even keep your hands off of your own?! We're supposed to listen to that whilst you're allowed to beat yours?"
"I suggest you let him go now, Tray. I might be a little a less harsh on you if you obey now." he seemed to lower his gaze, but not let go. Cova squirmed a little, and Tay let go after another minute.  Cova didn't move for a moment, not until Alex grabbed him and pulled him away. Hunter and Tay were gone by the time I looked over.
  "Let's get you upstairs."
"Yes please... I'll have a bath I think. Can you come with me?" Alex nodded, hand against Cova's back. "Just want to watch a movie after. In my room."
  "Of course. Do you want to order food?"