Page 58 of My Broken Mate (Healing Bonds #1)

Chapter forty-four

Strength

*REMUS*

T he black eyes of my brother’s wolf are gauging us, but Atlas doesn’t seem the least bit afraid.

It’s the second time that I have shifted, and the first time in front of one of my brothers.

Sean has tested Atlas’ stamina first, running with him through the pack lands.

Admittedly, it’s pretty obvious we have some work ahead of us, but Sean doesn’t seem to mind.

For the last thirty minutes, however, our wolves have been standing facing each other, just looking .

Sean’s wolf is strong and dominant, oozing power as is typical of an alpha of his caliber, but Atlas just isn’t scared.

He is calm and composed, standing in front of our alpha, letting him inspect and test him however he wants.

Eventually, Atlas bows his head a little to Sean, but it doesn’t feel like there is pressure on him.

Maybe it’s because there is nothing scarier than the monster we’ve already faced.

Or maybe it’s because he knows neither Sean nor his wolf would ever hurt us.

Suddenly, Sean shifts back to his human form, gesturing to me to follow suit. “Interesting,” he mutters.

“What’s interesting?” I ask, accepting the robe Sean hands me

Sean takes a second one and puts it on, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Atlas obviously has some work ahead of him for having been dormant for so long.

Now that I know what we are dealing with, I can put together a good training schedule for both of you.

Your training needs to adapt, too—you have a whole new strength available now.

Not to mention that Atlas is an alpha wolf through and through.

There is a lot of new stuff you'll need to adapt to. "

My heart takes a leap of joy. "I am actually looking forward to that. Is he really that strong?"

"We come from a pretty strong alpha lineage," Sean tells me. "And from what we know now, your mother's family is from a very old lineage of wolves. Once you start training properly, you will notice just how much strength you actually have."

All three of us have done some digging since we returned. What Atlas told me is true. It looks like my mom was from a very strong bloodline of wolves. There are not many family members left, but I do think it was the reason my father hunted her down and made her his mate.

She was a trophy to him. He never saw her as a person, but as a rare ornament in his life.

"You still haven't told me what you found interesting," I say.

Sean smiles. "What’s interesting is his nerve.”

“What about them?” I ask, terrified that something might be wrong.

“He has nerves of steel,” Sean explains. “He is simply not scared. And it’s not like he is overestimating himself face to face with my alpha wolf; he just seems incredibly calm. Eye to eye with my wolf, he should have been more scared than he was.”

“Is that bad?”

Sean laughs. “Not at all, Remus. It’s probably in his blood.

You are from a strong lineage of wolves.

I believe that’s the reason for it. His mind is very strong – for a wolf, that’s a tremendous gift.

We can learn how to fight and how to build up stamina, but a strong mind is much harder to build. ”

“You mean to say, he doesn’t care if someone is an alpha or not, he just stands proudly?”

“Exactly.”

“Cool,” I say. I could use a boost of confidence.

“It really is,” Sean verifies. “It means eye to eye with any alpha, Atlas won’t submit.”

“Didn’t he submit to you in the end?” I ask.

“He did,” Sean says. “But because he wanted to, not because he felt my aura. He did it out of respect for me and my wolf.” He pauses. “Let us test something. Are you up for that?”

I nod, looking at Sean expectantly. When our eyes meet, I can see something in his, flashing.

The air around us seems to get thicker, an invisible force suddenly pressing against my mind.

It takes my breath away, so much so that I want to hide somewhere or run.

There seems to be a hand around my lungs, squeezing them tightly.

Then, however, something inside me shifts.

Atlas’ presence gets stronger in my mind, and the pressure I felt subsides. I still feel Sean’s aura around me, but it doesn’t terrify me anymore, and it doesn’t make me want to submit. “Oh shit,” I mutter.

Sean looks amused. “Why are you saying that?” he asks. “Obviously, this is amazing for you, and actually for Gabe and me, too. I have no doubt about it anymore, your mother’s strong bloodline—it’s in you.”

“Is that really okay for you?”

“Of course. You will make a great ally for me. Another alpha won’t be able to use his power over you and push you to submit. That’s a very handy talent to have, Remus.”

His praise makes me feel so much lighter.

It still feels so good to hear his or Gabe’s approval.

Maybe it’s silly, but I have been deprived of any real praise for so long that it makes my confidence grow whenever I hear them approve of something I do.

“What about my mother?” I ask him. “If this kind of strength is in our blood, how come that monster managed to ensnare her?”

“Maybe he didn’t,” Sean says after a while. “Maybe he wanted to. He was obsessed with her after all. Looking back at the situation now, he did constantly isolate her. I don’t know what he managed to do to her, but it must have been horrendous.”

“That’s true,” I say quietly, thinking of my mom’s letter and also of my own memories of what happened. He did anything to hurt her; he pressured her and threatened to hurt me so she would submit.

She was stronger than he thought she would be. And when she couldn’t take it anymore, she killed herself before she could do real harm to me. Or before he could fully have her.

And once she couldn’t protect me anymore, Atlas took over and wrapped himself around my mind like a blanket to ensure I could keep on living and surviving.

“What are you not telling me?” Sean asks, his eyes thoughtful as he watches me.

“What you said before is true,” I admit. “I remember some instances of my past. He had a hard time making her submit.” I clench my fingers around my robe, not sure how to continue.

“I didn’t mean to pressure you,” Sean says.

“You don’t need to tell me or Gabe anything that you don’t feel ready to.

I told you, we will do this at your pace.

” He tilts his head. “Still, everything aside, this gift of yours is truly useful. Please tell me, you are considering working as my advisor, at least.”

The last words come unexpectedly to me. I know, as the alpha’s brother, I will always have a certain standing in the pack, but to be considered a ranked member or an advisor, being blood-related is not enough, at least not for Sean. “I… Are you sure you want me to work for you?”

“Of course,” he says. “Gabriel is mostly working for our businesses; that’s where he excels, and that’s what he likes the best. But for you, I see a much more active part in the pack, if that’s what you want.”

“I’d love to,” I admit. “I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I was so useless up to now—”

“You never were useless,” he tells me. “You were always incredibly smart.”

“Gabriel is smarter.”

“Yes, he is smarter than any other person I know, but you have other strengths aside from being smart. You are very aware of your surroundings. Your social interactions were never awkward.”

“I never noticed,” I admit. “I constantly felt exhausted.”

“And yet, you managed to socialize. Besides, even without your wolf, you were able to set boundaries and have others follow them. You never were someone others easily walked over.”

It’s still incredibly hard for me to accept any compliment, even from my brothers… even from Kata, sometimes. But I decide to take this at face value. I know they wouldn’t lie to me. Sean would never compliment me when he didn’t mean it. Neither would Gabe, nor Kata.

“Thank you,” I say. “I will try to internalize everything you said more. And I do want to help you with the pack.”

“Fantastic!” Sean smiles. “Now, how about we pick up Gabriel and go out for dinner?” he offers. “I don’t know about you, but I am hungry.”

“No kidding,” I say. “I feel like I am starving.”

“We have been training for over two hours now,” Sean says. “I guess we deserve a nice break.”

“While we are at it,” I say. “There is something I want to discuss with you. I am not sure if you will like it… but, there is something I want to do.”

“And what’s that?”

“Kata and I won’t be fully moving in together yet, but we are…” I take a deep breath, trying to remind myself that if I want to do something, I need to be brave and face my anxiety, instead of thinking I will get rejected immediately. “We said, we’d alternate between packs,” I say.

“That makes sense. You are marked after all.”

“Yes, but that’s not all. I really want to have a fresh start, Sean. If possible, I’d like to move out of the Alpha Suite and into… I don’t know, maybe one of the small cottages or one of the smaller apartments in the packhouse.” I pause. “I would prefer not to stay in the packhouse.”

Sean looks surprised at first, then thoughtful. It’s hard to read him when he is like this.

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want to spend time with you and Gabe,” I add.

Sean nods after a while. “It’s fine that you want to have a fresh start. I am not going to lie, I feel a bit reluctant to see you move out, now that we finally all get along, but I also think it might be good for you.”

I feel relief settle inside me. He is not shooting me down. Actually, it sounds like he is supporting me.

Sean squeezes my shoulder and smiles. “Let’s meet Gabe, eat something and discuss your options.”