Interstellar
19

Titan ached to leave Nova curled up in his bed, her tears still streaming silently after he spent nearly an hour wrapped around her, trying to siphon her grief and replace it with his love. When it was time for him to leave, she clutched his shirt tightly and sobbed for him to stay with her. Her tear-glazed eyes met his own, and she wiped the moisture from his eyes with a touch so gentle, her fingers seemed to hover across his skin. He kissed her deeply, willing all of her pain to enter him instead. He would carry the burden of their suffering for eternity if it meant seeing her smile. Once she calmed in his arms, he untangled from her and tucked her under the blankets. He kissed her forehead and stood, a dizzying weight braced across his shoulders. He watched her a few moments longer, until her breathing slowed and her heart beat in tune with his own. Once assured she had drifted to sleep, Titan climbed out his bedroom window to avoid his mother’s wrath on his way to drills.

Titan was the last to arrive. Leon and Cohen had already barked their initial orders, the other young adults falling into formation and well into a hunting drill. Titan observed Orion had taken his place at the front and slunk in behind him, filling his brother’s usual spot in the formation. He felt the eyes of his peers piercing his back, his mind racing with all the possible speculation about the change. Titan briefly looked to his father, but received nothing in return. Titan channeled his anger, drawing from it the motivation to prove his parents wrong. He did deserve his pack. He did deserve his mate. And he definitely deserved his Goddess damned formation spot back.

At every opportunity, Titan strived to surpass Orion. His twin was lithe and fast, much more similar to the females within their ranks, whereas he was a solid mass built for strength. He pushed his body past it’s limits for each speed exercise, yet he never once succeeded. After the fourth failure, Titan collapsed onto the ground and screamed until his lungs failed.

Leon called for a break and walked toward the tree line with Cohen, their conversation appearing heated despite the hushed tones. Orion sat on the ground beside his brother, forearms resting on his knees, and looked down to watch his twin’s tantrum with a smirk. They could not have been more different, but they had been near inseparable since birth regardless. Orion gave his brother’s heaving chest a few hard slaps before returning his arm to rest across his knee.

“Trouble in paradise?”

They had not spoken since getting their father’s directives the night before, though Titan’s advance on Nova had not gone unnoticed. Orion’s bedroom sat between Titan’s and the nursery. He’d heard his brother’s conversation with his mate turn into frenzied passion, far different from the sounds that had drifted down from the loft so many nights before, and he knew his brother had finally claimed her. He’d heard their mother’s wail of horror, presumably walking in on the act. Orion felt a brief moment of sadness for his parents, but it passed in an instant and was replaced by pride in his brother. Once the pups began shrieking, he slunk to the nursery to sooth the toddlers back to sleep. He dozed with the boys in his arms until he heard his parents return. They stood right outside the nursery, their voices silent but their wolves so loud. His mother’s soft footsteps followed after his father’s, boots pounding against the floor until they faded outside. Orion gently laid the sleeping boys into their bed before returning to his room, stopping only to shut his twin’s bedroom door before heading back to sleep. The pair had been unknowingly observed enough, and he kept his eyes on the floor until the door was shut.

“Dad was the sane one.”

Orion was stunned and remained quiet. If he knew anything about his brother, it was that he didn’t want advice right now. They had spent many long nights discussing Titan’s choices regarding Nova, and Orion had tried his best to convince his brother to take another path, any other path, that the one he ultimately took. His time to offer aid was over, his primary obligation now as a pillar of support. When Orion considered how he would react in Titan’s situation, despite all his ideas otherwise, he knew he would have done the same thing. They had been conditioned their entire life to never question their Alpha or his romantic whims.

“I’m pretty sure if mom sees me before dad fucks some sense into her, I’ll wind up gutted and strewn through the woods. But who knows when that will happen at this point. Can you believe they were going to request Earth Mother for a second claimed mate? So damn greedy.”

Orion chuckled, all too familiar with Titan’s venting. He was brash and tactless most of the time, and as much as he avoided sharing how he felt, glimmers of his truth shone through. “Greedy, huh? Nothing to do with her being yours to claim?”

“Bastards probably wanted her to spite me.” Titan forced a smirk, but his eyes remained swirling pits of rage.

“You know, I was thinking about that, actually,” (”No shit?”) “And I wonder if one of the crones doesn’t know something. After that night dad marked-”

“Do. Not.” Titan’s voice was calm on the surface, but his anger demanded compliance.

Orion had seen the love in his brother’s eyes each time he spoke of Nova. For the past season, Orion had watched Titan stare longingly at her from afar. He had woken to Titan howling his grief into the woods while his mate was bedded by their parents night after night. He watched his as his brother spent gruesome long hours training to avoid the chance of passing Nova in the halls of their home while their parents were tending their daily responsibilities. Orion could not determine if he felt respect or disappointment at the fact Titan hadn’t claimed Nova the minute their father’s mark appeared on her neck.

“I know, I know. But after that night, I wondered if there isn’t something more to Earth Mother’s methods for assigning our mates. Like, what if she had been meant for him before we were born, and it just, I dunno, transferred to you since dad had mom by that point?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, I hope that’s not it.” Titan pushed up on his elbows, his head leaning back behind his shoulders. “I like to think Earth Mother always sees us where we are, and that she doesn’t pre-assign based on some asinine matchmaking criteria. It feels like she saw that our hearts seek the same things, and that she led Nova to me because of it.”

They pondered the mysteries of Earth Mother’s divine plans until the sun rose high in the sky, signaling the beginnings of afternoon patrols. The twins rose to their feet, steps falling easily in line with each other as they jogged to meet the rest of their group. Leon shot a glare at Titan, the younger man a near carbon copy of him, and summoned him with a nod. Orion caught a peripheral glance of his brother headed toward their father before he continued toward the front of the group. Looked like he would be leading patrols with Cohen once more.

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