Enslaved To The Bond

Chapter 8 Welcome To GrayCrest

Noah



"I am so fucking disgusted with you," Noel hissed as I dragged myself back to the main house. I knew this was coming and, frankly, I didn't have many words to respond back with. 



"I tried my best to help her," I grumbled, knowing very well that was a lie. 



"My ass," he snapped. "Help her? You probably beautifully made her feel unworthy and cheap by hiding the truth and throwing her like a piece of trash at the omega shelter," 



"It's just one night!" I protested, guilt clawing at my chest. "I will find a way to bring her here." 



"Please," Noel scoffed. "You couldn't even argue with your brother and you think you will stand up to the elders? The truth is you don't want to. Because you are a fucking coward," 



"Yes, maybe I am and I deserve to be!" I scowled, quickly masking that up as I was greeted by my younger brother, tattooed arms folded across his chest as he assessed me curiously. He was undeniably not going to let this pass. 



"I want to meet Theo," I said before he could start. "Where is he?" 



"Upstairs. Rara just went to check on him," he answered, narrowing his eyes at me. 



"Cool," I nodded and started to head upstairs in order to avoid him, but much to my dismay, he tagged along and I knew he was itching to bombard me with questions about Rose. 



"So, what is with the girl?" 



What did I say? 



"What do you mean?" I asked nonchalantly. 



"What are you hiding?" Asher blurted out and it was a good thing I was pretty well-versed at maintaining an impassive expression. My younger brother might be the I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-anything playboy whose main concern half the time was about getting laid, but he was pretty smart when he wanted to be. And as an alpha by birth, fooling him wasn't so easy. 



"What?" I gave him a look. "Didn't you get laid last night? Is that why your brain is bored?" 



"Ha-ha," he scowled. "But seriously, what's with the girl? Don't think I didn't notice you holding her hand as you walked in. You and women are like the North Pole and South Pole. You want me to believe that you holding a girl's hand shouldn't make me suspicious?" 



"Be suspicious all you want then," I grimaced, inwardly surprised though. "She has been really frightened about what happened with the slave traders and then being faced with more strangers obviously made her wary and scared. I was just trying to assure her, that's all." 



"That's all?" he raised a brow. 



"That's all," I nodded. 



"Aw, look at you lying like a pro," Noel hissed, which I ignored. I realized I have a lot of ignoring to do in the coming future. 



"Well, she is mesmerizing," Asher smirked. "I have been with uncountable women but..." 



"Hands-off, Asher!" I warned, shooting him a glare and it made me cringe at how I sounded. But I simply had no control over the natural possessiveness that came with the bond. And if I continued to react like that, I was fucked. Neither Logan nor Asher or the pack elders were fools. 



"Jesus and then you want me to not be suspicious?" he pointed out. 



"She is a victim of abuse. I don't want you of all people to make her uncomfortable. Understood?" I said firmly. "She is my guest here and you are my brother so..." 



"You make me sound like some sort of rapist. I don't ever force myself on women. They come to me and I only go after the ones who want me to. Thanks for letting me know what you think of me, brother," he gave me a dirty look before turning on his heels and walking away. 



Shit. 



I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose before knocking on my brother's bedroom. Amidst all the nonsense, I completely forgot about my little nephew, Theo Anthony Gray. He was born just fifteen days ago, if my calculation was right. And since I was off to investigate the slave traders, I never got to meet him.



"Oh hey, Noah," Cora smiled, opening the door. "Come on in," 



"I haven't met with my nephew yet," I smiled, walking inside and shutting the door behind me. 



"Well, you are in for luck because he just woke up from his ten-minute nap," Cora answered, making a dirty face. "This dude has something against sleeping,"



 I could see she was tired and her usual radiant face lacking its glow. Cora has been our best friend since we were babies and, hence, the little puppy we were overprotective towards. But her equation with my elder brother has always been something entirely different than with me and Ash. Those two have loved each other for as long as they can possibly remember. And their love story has had enough drama to last them a lifetime. But nevertheless, they have found their happy ending now and it makes me really happy every time I see Logan and Cora together. They were imperfectly perfect for each other. 



"Being parents kicking ass?" I asked, a gasp escaping me as I spotted the little thing lounging on the bed. 



Fuck. He was so adorable that I had to fight the urge to squeeze him to death as he peered up at me with his big dark eyes. He was a mix of both his parents, dark eyes and dark hair which were on the curlier side like Asher, with cheeks like dollops of vanilla ice-cream and fingers so tiny that I didn't think I would want to touch them. They might just break. 



"It does, big time," she nodded, pulling Theo into her arms. "Because this guy likes to give us a lot of grief, don't you?" I smiled as she kissed him, her eyes shining with love. 



"How is Logan doing?" I asked. 



"Better than me, surprisingly," Cora laughed. "Being a father finally forced him to grow up a bit, but well, he is still Logan. But it's a lot for him too. Staying up all night because Theo just won't sleep and most of the time I fall asleep and he stays up. And then there's so much going on in the pack, he doesn't get much time to rest. He missed you a lot because Ash is...well he is still learning. You, on the other hand, are as much an alpha as Logan is, maybe even a better one, and he really needed you beside him," 



"Yeah, it took longer than I anticipated," I agreed. "Can I hold him?" 



"Of course," she smiled, slowly handing Theo over to me. I had no idea what to feel as I held him in my arms. It was an incredible feeling and I hated the sunken emotion that flooded through my chest. I have always wanted kids of my own, always envisioned myself as a father. But of course, that wasn't happening. I had to make peace with being an uncle and I guess that was okay. 



"He is so adorable," I smiled, bouncing the little wonder in my arms. "Hi there, Theo," 



"Look sweetie, this is your eldest uncle," Cora cajoled, and even though he was still just a newborn, he seemed to understand everything. "Uncle Noah," 



"The best one," I added. "Congratulations, Rara. So happy to see you and Logan finally getting there," 



"Yeah," she smiled, playing with Theo's hand. "This little guy really completed us. I mean we are still us, so we have our days but...it feels complete now." 



"You both deserve this." 



"And what about you?" she asked. "Will you ever give me a chance to be happy for you?" 



Oh no...here we go again. 



"What about me doesn't make you happy?" I joked, knowing too well what she meant. 



"You know what I mean," Cora narrowed her eyes at me. "Noah, it's been so long. We really do want to see you find the right person who can heal you back to life with love. You deserve it." 



"Love is overrated, Rara," I said, hating that I had to lie to her of all people. "And don't worry, I am absolutely fine. I don't need anyone to heal me. I have everything I want. A great family with an adorable nephew, a best friend and sister-in-law like you. It's more than enough." 



"And a mate I chose to ignore," Noel chimed in glumly. 



"Someday you are bound to fall in love again, mark my words," Cora grumbled. I gave her a shrug and chose to quickly change the topic because...



That was never going to happen. 



__________________



I couldn't sleep a wink at night, tossing and turning as a weird uneasiness gripped me. It was a combination of guilt and worry. Was she okay at the shelter? What if someone picks at her or something? She practically knew no one apart from me here. I should have fought harder. At least if she was here, I wouldn't have to feel so guilty, Noel's words going round and round in my head. 



"You probably beautifully made her feel unworthy and cheap by hiding the truth and throwing her like a piece of trash at the omega shelter,"



"Fuck," I sat up and scowled, gingerly rubbing my face to wipe the non-existent sleep away.



 Irritated, I decided it would be a good idea to take a walk and maybe the fresh air might help with the sudden headache that appeared out of nowhere. Pulling on my sleepers, I silently tiptoed outside and down the corridor I could hear Theo crying his lungs out. It was three-thirty in the morning. 



Poor Logan and Cora. 



The pack was pin-dropped silence except for that and as I stepped outside, gulping in the fresh air, it instantly made me feel a lot calmer. Gray Crest was nestled amongst the Adirondack mountains, so there was a lot of greenery around along with the fresh, unpolluted air. The pack stretched for miles and miles and the primary perimeter was actually an hour and a half away from the last perimeter that marked the start of the packhouse if you choose to walk. 



I tentatively made my way to both mine and Cora's favorite spot, the gazebo on the hilltop. Every time either of us felt depressed or needed to be alone, we came here. I flopped down on the wooden bench and pulled out a cigarette. After my alcohol addiction, I had to stay as far away from alcohol as I could for probably the rest of my life. But addictions don't just go away, so I kinda replaced alcohol with cigarettes. And even though I was really trying to cut down, I cannot do without one when I was feeling like shit. Taking a long puff, I sighed and stared around, my eyes falling on the looming gray building that was the omega shelter. 



Was Rose sleeping? 



I shook my head, still unable to wrap my head around the fact that I had a mate now. How was I ever going to come to terms with that? I had no idea. There were so many questions I had surrounding her, but I just didn't know how to ask her without making her uncomfortable. Something told me she has seen a lot in life for her age. I had no idea how old she was, but a vague guess would be early twenties. 



What happened to her other than the fact that the luna sold her to the slave traders? If she was marked, who was the other mate and what about the baby she was carrying? Was that a mutual decision or...I shuddered at the idea and somehow I knew that was exactly what it was. She was so scared about going back to the pack. If this was a mutual decision, then wouldn't she want to go back to her mate? Or did some random asshole forcefully marked her? The thought boiled my blood because force marking and that too a woman with a weak wolf was excruciatingly painful. If she lived through that...



"She is a brave, brave woman," Noel said, sounding proud. "Rose is much more than what is visible to the eyes," I frowned at the sudden observation. 



"Why would you say that?" 



"Just a feeling. She seems very...special. Something about her is different." I frowned, but I had to admit Noel was right. There was something about her that pulled at me in a way that was hard to explain. It was definitely stronger than last time, which gave me all the more reason to stay as far away from her as I possibly could. 



Who knew what destruction the bond was bringing for me this time around? 



Finishing my cigarette and having no respite from the restlessness whatsoever, I decided to head back. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. I had to talk to the elders, prepare for my oath-taking ceremony in four days and get myself back in touch with all the pack drama. Logan could do with a break at the moment. As I strolled back to the house, something stopped me. I wasn't sure what, but after a moment of silence, I heard it. 



Muffled laughing.

Chapter 10 - Enslaved To The Bond