Sun and Earth Ch. 07

It was a weight lifted off my chest to be with my family again. Once our mother had left us to our father's will all we had was each other and it had been 50 years since we were all brought together again. All we needed now was Corbin and the circle would be complete.

"Hey, little brother." Chris murmured as we all held each other. I laughed at the simple greeting.

"Hey bloodsucker." Eric replied with an evil grin. Chris pulled away slightly and cuffed him over the head. I pushed away from my brothers and walked back towards Micah, a silly grin plastering my face.

"Eric, meet Micah." Micah and Eric walked towards each other and shook hands slowly, sizing the other up.

"Ah yes...the abominable earth breather we've been hearing about." Eric grinned at Micah.

"What have you heard?" Micah asked as his eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Well...there is the version that some devious mage has kidnapped our savior and plans on killing her. There's also the version that says Parker has become a traitor and switched sides because a mage has tricked and seduced her. Then, and this one is my personal favorite, there is the version where Parker has for some unknown and magical reason, mated with a mage. Because this hasn't happened in 5 centuries and has been agreed upon to be the end of the war and since most wolves and mages don't want to stop fighting until one race finally obliterates the other, that makes you two the hot commodity for capture or kill across this lovely earth. But wait there's more, since Parker here is one of the famed saviors, which the mages should not know, the wolves can't kill her. Not unless they want their supreme power that was prophesied." Imogen handed him a glass of sweet tea, he raised it to her in thanks and gulped the whole thing down.

"I forgot you talked so much." I commented sarcastically.

"Why shouldn't I talk a lot? The sound of my voice is akin to a heavenly choir." Eric's joke was cut short as he glanced over at the door and his eyes widened. He quickly pulled me in against his chest again and held me as another voice settled over the room.

"Don't I know it? I've been listening to that wanker since the womb." Another voice laced with an Irish lilt settled over the room.

I tried to turn to look at him but Eric held me tight, an old memory of Eric holding me so I couldn't turn to look at the result of a brutal battle flooded my mind. I pushed him away from me, now much stronger than I used to be and turned to see my last sibling.

He stood briefly in the doorway sending a cursory glance over the kitchen occupants and I bit the inside of my mouth to keep myself from gasping. Goosebumps rose on my skin as I observed the drastic changes my brother had undergone over the years. Eric had pretty much stayed the same but Corbin looked ravaged. It could have been because of all the blood coating his throat and the front of his shirt but there was more to it than his rough exterior. Eric and Corbin both had a light within their souls that could not be captured. I was often envious how they could usually see the silver lining of any shitty situation but looking at the dull and hardened skin of Corbin's aura, I knew he had sacrificed much to be leader of his own pack.

There was no doubt that Eric and Corbin were twins, they looked exactly alike except Eric had black hair like our father and Corbin had red like our mothers. Other than that their bodies had both grown in different directions. Corbin was bulky and muscular where Eric was lanky and fit. They were both very tall but looked like completely different people, besides the face. Corbin was clearly much more tan than Eric and I saw light specks of scars trailing along the right side of his face.

The room was silent as Corbin averted eye contact with us and strolled to the fridge. He casually opened the door and withdrew a soda can. Popping the top he met my eyes and held them as he downed the drink. If I didn't know any better I would assume this action to be almost predatory.

"Cor..." Imogen put a hand on his shoulder. He tore his eyes from mine and turned to the intensely pregnant woman. Corbin bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. The pieces to this odd puzzle just kept lining up.

"We're fine." I heard him murmur to the girl. The tension in her shoulders released slightly and she squeezed his hand before turning her attention back to wrapping up the bowls of chili.

"Parker, Chris." He nodded to me and then to Chris. A short greeting, completely opposite of the greeting we received from Eric.

"Corbin..." I started

"Parker, can you come with me for a moment please?" I nodded. Eric gave me a thumbs up gesture and Chris just shrugged. Micah moved to walk with me until Corbin turned and said "Just Parker, please."

"We can't go further than 100 yards from one another." Micah explained in a level tone of voice warning me that he was on edge.

"Hhmm. We'll go out back in the yard, it shouldn't be more than 80 feet from the kitchen. Is that alright?" Micah and I both nodded reluctantly, we would both be slightly uncomfortable but we would survive.

I followed Corbin through a screen door that was right off of the kitchen hallway. It was dark outside by now and my mind wandered briefly wondering where Mina was and hoping she wasn't causing too much trouble. He gestured for me to sit on a wooden bench, I obliged and waited for him to join me. He chose to stand and pace for a few moments instead. I wondered if I should start the conversation and ask him for permission to cross his lands like I would with any other Pack leader. Part of me still wanted to have a comfortable relationship with Corbin but I could tell this reunion would not be as easy as it had been with Eric.

"Corbin-" I began but he cut me off holding a hand up to silence me.

"I couldn't figure it out when you escaped the prison." Corbin began. "I knew you had done something strange and unnatural to yourself to escape because there was no way any of us would have been able to spring you from that death trap."

My skin chilled and I began to worry that I knew what he was alluding to.

"Trust me Parker if there was anything Eric or I could have done to get you out of there we would have. We watched you withering away and it killed both of us, we know you were given the short end of the bloody stick but when you actually escaped and ran off with Christian we couldn't figure it out." He sighed and scratched the short beard that had started to grow on his chin.

"I know you would have Corbin-"

"Please let me finish before you say anything?" I nodded at his request and settled back on the bench. He continued.

"Eric let it go quicker than I did, he told me we should just be happy that both of you escaped and were living your own lives now. We both hoped you would be smarter this time and go somewhere farther away, which you did so cheers. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, no scenario I came up with made sense so I started to do some digging." He was pacing again now looking more and more frantic as he expelled his story. I had a feeling he had never told this to anyone before.

"There was an old mage in a few towns over who mistook me for Chris for some reason. I introduced myself as his brother and he asked me how you both were doing. I thought it would be pointless to attack the guy even though as you know, our fathers rules dictated killing mages on sight. I asked him what it was he did for you to help you escape and he gave me one word; Scindo." My girl stirred within me. She knew the word and hated it as much as I did, Corbin shivered slightly obviously thinking of the consequences.

"I told him that it was just a myth and that it was impossible but he told me it was a mage based trick and that was why no wolf truly knew the details about it." Corbin stopped and stared at me before walking over to me and kneeling in front of me. He inhaled my scent and crinkled his nose.

"You smell like you did when you were a kid, earth not sun. But there is nothing that says you severed your very essence of being. How could you do it?" He placed his hands on my knees and then his head on top of them. I sighed and stroked his messy red hair thinking how to explain this to him.

"Corbin, like you said there was no possible way that I could ever have escaped. I was so weak that I couldn't even use the sun gift to aid my escape. So when Chris came to me with a possibility to help me gain my freedom I grabbed without thinking of the consequences." Corbin lifted his head and I saw tears in his eyes.

"But learning to become one with the wolf so that you are in essence the same being is the great pride of being a werewolf. How could you give that up? How could you live with yourself knowing there is something else inside you that has a separate consciousness?"

"It's strange and uncomfortable at times and there are days throughout the month leading up to the moonlit runs that I need to let her take control of the body we share. But we were dying in that silver lined tomb. I would have been dead within the month. The way it works is at the very moment the scindo physically severs the wolf from the human we became indestructible, almost like being born anew. I tore the silver bars apart and ran for two days straight with Chris by my side. It was freeing and invigorating. My girl and I took turns switching control of the body and we realized that this kind of lifestyle wouldn't be as hard as we thought." I put my hand against his cheek and rubbed his stubble with my knuckles.

"The worst part is longing for her. We both miss the complete natural state of being one but we both agree that we made the right choice. I will NOT be passed around like a common whore to spread my gift among the clans. Its not worth it and I will NOT use my gift as a method to harm others. It's not meant to work that way, fuck what the so-called prophecy says." I took a deep breath allowing the wolf inside me to calm herself. "Anyway, now that Micah is in the picture there is no way I could ever go back to the pack...scindo or not."

"Parker I know you need to ask my pack for support but...I don't know if I can allow my people to follow something so unnatural." Daggers jabbed at my heart as he stood and slowly walked away from me.

"Stay with us a little while so I can observe how you interact with the pack. Let me see with my own eyes that you truly are still a wolf...a severed wolf but a wolf all the same." Corbin was looking past the large field and towards the mountains. I stood and walked over to where he was standing.

"Corbin I can't stay very long. I have to make my way to New York for the Truce meeting so Micah and I can present ourselves and we can finally get this war to end. I need a large number of wolves and mages to support me and as your pack doesn't seem to have many problems with other races it would be perfect. What were you thinking creating a pack of other Weres?"

Corbin snorted and put his arm around my shoulders. "It's not just Weres Parker, we have mages, therianthropes and Vryks as well." That must be where Mina was. "I've petitioned a few displaced fey to join but you know what they are like, if it's not their own kind it's not worth acknowledging." I laughed and put my head against his shoulder. He squeezed me to him slightly and I sighed contented.

"We're all grown up now, Parker." Corbin whispered

"Corbin, you are over 300 years old...I think we have been grown up for a while." He laughed and rubbed my head. "Why are you covered in blood?"

"Wolf challenged me because he wasn't happy that we are accepting mages into our sanctuary. We fought and I tore out his throat." This wasn't an unusual end result of challenges but Eric and Corbin were never challenged in our home pack, it unnerved me to think of my brother as a warrior.

"Imogen?" I asked and was happy to see a beaming smile shining down on me in response.

"My wife. Pa was furious she was someone he didn't pick for me. We've had two kids in the past 5 years and she has another one on the way."

"I'm an aunt?" I gasped

"Ha, yes you are girly and don't think you aren't going to be spendin quality time with them when all this shenanigans is over." I grinned and pulled him down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm proud of you and Eric. You've really branched out on your own...and you didn't have to be disinherited to do it." I pulled out of his grasp and turned him towards me. "I would be in your pack's debt if you became allies with Micah and I. Please Corbin, we need you and the strength behind you." I put my hand over his heart, a gesture I used to use when I was promising him something. Only the two of us knew what it meant. Eric and Corbin sometimes made my life a living hell but by no means did that suggest we weren't close. I have a special relationship with all of my brothers, true Christian and I became a team just as Eric and Corbin were but we all loved each other very much. I must have done something right to have siblings like these.

"Parker..." He sighed and placed his hand over mine. "I will present the idea at the pack meeting tomorrow night. You and Micah can get up and speak in your defense...it might be wise to have some of your companions speak of your honesty and integrity. I won't mention the scindo but trust me Parker if I notice any odd behavior that I think is due to your two natured being I will not give you my support."

I nodded solemnly and we lowered our hands so we were no longer touching. I was a bit put off by Corbin's formality but honestly what did I expect. Chris was the only other person in my life who knew what I did to gain my freedom but since he presented me with the idea, he was partially to blame. I was still ashamed of what I had done and probably always will be. But I will never regret the choices I made...the choices that led me to Micah.

Thinking of Micah made me realize the tugging was not as persistent as it had been when we came out into the yard. I turned towards the house and saw him standing in the window of the hallway. I gestured for him to come out and meet us.

Corbin and I met him halfway to the house.

"Corbin, I would like to introduce my mate, Micah. Micah, this is my brother Corbin." Corbin and Micah grasped hands and shook fiercely. It was a manly handshake to be sure but it reassured me that Micah was no longer overly wary of Corbin. I had a feeling he may have overheard some of what we had talked about.

"Welcome to the family, Micah. First I would like to say good luck because you are going to need it." Corbin ducked from my reach as I went to punch him in the arm and started to head back to the house. As he reached the door he turned back and looked Micah dead in the eye.

"Second...if you hurt her, I'll kill you!" and with that Corbin retreated back into the southern mansion.

I rolled my eyes at his retreating back and leaned back into Micah as he wrapped his arms around my stomach. He placed his chin on my shoulder and I sighed in content.

"Can we talk about it?" Micah asked. I growled lowly and pulling away from him walked back to the bench. I plopped myself down and waited for him to sit next to me. He sat at the opposite side of the bench so we weren't touching, making it clear he meant business.

"Micah...you probably heard all of it. Why were you listening anyway?" I asked as my voice rose in anger slightly. While all other emotions were too uncomfortable to deal with, anger was a fun one to hang on to.

"I wasn't listening." I gave him an exasperated look. "OK I wasn't purposefully listening but I couldn't help overhear your conversation as I looked over you from the hallway." He shrugged.

"Don't do that please." I told him gruffly as the unpleasant vision in my head took hold.

"Do what?" he asked looking confused

"Shrug, it reminds me of Mina which reminds me of you and Mina together which is something I really don't want to think about." I went to stand and walk away thinking that a refreshing run through this field sounded like a fabulous idea. Micah of course had other plans which he made clear by grabbing my wrist before I could get very far.

"That is also something we should talk about." He tried to pull me back to the bench but I stood my ground.

"Micah it's been a long day as you very well know, please let's do this another time." I begged slightly tugging my arm within his grasp but he held firm.

"No. I'm not going to let this fester and drive a wedge between us. We have come very far in a short amount of time and under extreme duress. I can't allow us to move back a step, Parker. I need you to open up to me." He stood and walked to me, keeping my wrist firmly in his grasp in case I tried to run again.

"The sex today was..."

"Micah stop." I begged him because I couldn't hear him describing the wonders of sex with a Vryk. I knew how intoxicating it was and that I could feel the same way if I allowed myself. He was a mage though...no matter how many protective spells and immunity brews he used on himself to avoid becoming intoxicated by the pheromones a Vryk produced, he could only do so much.

"Tell me what you felt with Drakon. I need to know." He grabbed my other wrist and held them to his chest. "Parker I told you what I felt after-"

"I know you did!" I yelled trying to get away from him. "It hurts. Just the thought of you two feels like molten lava in my stomach. It feels like I've been pierced by that fucking dagger all over again except worse." I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I drew in my sun gift to allow a warmth to settle on my skin and sooth my throat.

"Tell me, mate." He whispered into my ear and drew me closer. I couldn't understand why he wanted me to torture him, I knew seeing me with Drakon could not have been remotely pleasant for him.

"I felt-I felt pain...at first. I thought he would instantly be rough and want to elicit screams from me but the alternative I realized was much more sadistic. He was slow...he made me want more...he made me want him. It was a different kind of want...it's the affect a Vryk has on you, especially Vryks like Mina and Hell's Desire who have a vocal talent to seduce. I can't imagine what it was like for you..."

"Parker I love you and I know it's not just the mate bond we share. Even if we hadn't mated I know that I've found something that onetime sex with a Vryk can never replace. But I'm not taking back what I said to you earlier today. I regret that I said it...but I think it was the slight intoxication I was feeling from all the Vryks in the compound." My heart was breaking with every word he said. I knew he was trying to reassure me but that didn't change the fact that we had both enjoyed sex with people who weren't our mate.

"Parker, look at me please." My eyes were trained down on the ground in shame for remembering the pleasure I had felt as Drakon slid his dick deeply inside me. My skin chilled at the memory and goose bumps broke out against my skin. Micah's hands slid over my arms and began to rub them up and down in quick movements. The friction of his hands against my skin made the chill recede; I took a breath and looked into his chocolate brown eyes.

"What I felt when I made love to you...that will always be what I take with me when I look back on today. I won't think of the mist that Mina's voice lay against my mind" his hands cupped my face and he leaned his forehead against mine. "I will remember the melding of our auras." I wanted to laugh at this extremely mage-like view on the situation, but then I realized that there was something in me that came from a Mage. "I will remember the warmth that settled over my skin and I will know that I was the luckiest man in the world to become one with a soul as beautiful as yours." I put my hands over his and leaned in to his mouth.