Finding Closure (open m/m)

The alpha's aura disappeared completely, and James slowly laid down, his eyes laying flat against his head, his posture there showing the heavy shame. "You should feel that way. What you did to her was wrong." Mia's voice was firm as she laid the back of her right hand against Travis's forehead for a moment, before moving to check his pulse, two fingers against the left side of the man's neck, her other hand curled gently around Travis's left wrist. "My brother only does it with men, though. Makes it really hard to try and seek out the One with his annoying behavior. I am fully related to the First gifted with his powers by the Moon Goddess long ago. I can take care of myself if some man tries to be pushy. I haven't gone out to the clubs in forever because of him. Always having his people that work with him on the warlock council watching me when I go out."

Listening to what Mia said she raised a brow a little when she explained that he had just been able to get over being rejected she couldn't help but give a small laugh, "I know how hard that is to get over" she said with a small shake of her head before she glanced over at James when he spoke about Mia's brother not liking any males that went near her she shook her head a little. "I see Eric did what he said he was going to do" Clara said tilting her head to the side a little referring to James being able to talk again, it was refreshing to see that Eric for once had done what he said he was going to do for her. She could count on one hand the amount of times she had asked that man to do things and he had never done them. Gently laying Travis back down on the ground Mia sat back on her knees and wiped the blood on her hands onto her jeans, she didn't care that she was getting them dirty. "Must be nice though, having someone protect you" Clara said with a small laugh before she glanced at James a little once again, it almost felt awkward being in the same room as him even though there was two other people in the room with them.

Mia shook her head with a faint sigh, pulling out some skin-safe cleaning wipes, using them to clear the dried blood off of Travis's skin wherever she could get to it. "Physically, yes. Mentally... I cannot say." Her wolf left out a faint pulse of irritation and worry, and she paused for a moment to internally calm herself. "He had just been able to be... normal, years after being rejected... and the one who was supposed to be his just attacked him." When she brought up what Louis had told her, a smile came to her face and she let out a light laugh. "Indeed." She paused for a moment, her smile turning into a faint smirk. "My brother doesn't like him."

James let out a snort of laughter, sitting back on his haunches, his back still towards them. "That is because your brother doesn't like any single male that comes near you."

Mia let out a heavy sigh, putting away the pack of wipes after she was done cleaning Travis up. "He's a protective pain in my ass."

Clara breathed out a sigh of relief when James pulled his power back, it felt as if her and her wolf now hand enough room to breath. Glancing at Mia she shook her head a little when she apologized for being dragged into something she didn't know about. "It's not your fault, I apparently am just really good at getting into things I shouldn't" she said with a shrug of her shoulders, this was not the first time she had gotten into something bad without previously knowing what was going on. At least, last time it had been humans she was dealing with but when it came to dealing with her own kind and vampires even that was a little much for Clara. "His going to be okay right?" Clara asked as she tipped her head to the side a little, glancing over at James she raised a brow before she looked back at Mia. "He said...he would have taken him back home and watched from a distance" she said softly with a small frown "But he didn't because a warlock was there" Clara finished speaking wondering if he had been talking about Eric.

James visibly flinched, and Mia let the breath she had been holding as she felt his power recede, keeping contained a couple inches around himself. Shaking her head, she took out she special mixture, one she had created the night that James had been attacked. "I am going to rip that fucking blood sucker apart." She hissed under her breath, as she applied the clear paste over the wounds that were the worst. After that, she pulled out a small vial of a dark brown liquid, which she carefully dripped into the unconscious beta's mouth. "I'm sorry that bastard dragged you into this, Clara." She muttered, putting away her things.

Clare flinched when suddenly a portal opened in her motel room, the sudden sight of it made her want to scream but she didn't. Looking at the two she frowned a little when Mia told her to hold him up a little, moving she did as she was told and carefully raised Travis up enough that Mia could do what she needed to. It had been a long time since she had felt a pissed off Alpha's energy that it made her skin crawl, "Wanna tone it down a little?" Clara asked with gritted teeth as she shook her head a little trying to stop her wolf from fully coming out "Some of us aren't used to being around pissed off Alphas" she added with a small growl. She knew if he didn't at least tone it down a little bit her wolf would make an unwelcome appearance, since they had both become accustomed to not being around Alphas it had made Clara's wolf more eager to challenge someone when their power was greater than her own.

Mia jumped when she heard heavy breathing. She looked over her shoulder to see James in his grey wolf form, his hackles raised and his upper lip lifted in an angry snarl. Running back to her desk, she fished around in her drawer and pulled out a small black orb. She threw it at her door, and it smashed, a portal appearing there. Turning into her wolf form, she picked up her go-bag in her teeth and she jumped through the portal, James following closely behind her.

After a couple of minutes, the other side of the portal opened up into her motel room, and the two jumped out through it. Mia returned to her human form and ran over to Clara and Travis, sitting on her knees. "Clara, I need you to just hold him up a little bit." She glanced over her shoulder, looking at James. The man stood facing the closed room door, standing on all fours, still in wolf form. His alpha power flooded the room, warning anyone outside to avoid this room.

Clara swore as soon as the door flew open and someone was tossed inside, half raising from the couch she held onto the back of it with one hand and growled lowly at the man in the doorway. Seeing the fangs her heartbeat sped up, her wolf was sitting just under the surface readying herself to shift and launch at the man. As soon as he disappeared she moved quickly and went over to Travis, swearing softly she got up and grabbed the medical kit she always carried with her and set about trying to patch him up as much as she could. "Fuck" she breathed to herself before she closed her eyes with a frowned as she tried to reach out to James, it had been such a long time since she had tried to reach anyone though a connection that she hit a wall a few times. "Hang on, I'm trying" Clara said as she opened her eyes and looked at Travis her hands moving almost on their own as she worked to stop his injuries bleeding, closing her eyes again she tried reaching James again but it felt as if she was trying to get his attention through a foggy window. Motel...Travis...blood Clara managed to get through before she let out the breath she had been holding.

Looking down at Travis again she moved him onto his side getting him into the recovery position, "It's okay, you're going to be fine" she tried to reassure him even though he was unconscious she couldn't help but talk to him wanting to try and give him a little comfort after the ordeal he obviously had been through.

"Oh, don't worry, lovely. Just dropping off a gift." The voice on the other side of the door was dripping with twisted happiness. The door flung open, and someone was thrown into the room, landing against the wall opposite to the door, landing in an unconscious heap. The man standing in the doorway chuckled. "He didn't even fight back. You two should be friends." Crimson eyes with flecks of gold shifted, looking over at Clare, his smirk turning a little twisted, fangs flashing in the darkened doorway. "I would have taken him home, dropped him on that door step and watched from a distance, to see that look on that poor excuse for an alpha's face, but a troublesome warlock pest was there." He reached up and wiped away the faint trail of blood from the left side of his mouth. "Hope little Travis doesn't die here." He chuckled, disappearing quickly.

Mia paced in the room after that warlock had left, trying to trace Travis' side of the alpha-beta connection, unable to see it. She yelled and smashed the table to her left. Breathing heavily, she took a moment to calm herself. Looking down, she reached down and picked up the white card. Getting a weird feeling run down her spine, she shook her head and went over to her desk, laying the card on it before going to clean up the mess she had made.

Taking note of her firm gaze he raised a brow when she said that her half brother had done it, as soon as she put two and two together he couldn't help but chuckle. "Yes, it is not a complete spell. A little only fashioned which makes it harder to finish but, an easy finish for someone like me" he said honestly with a shrug of his shoulders. Standing up straight and stepping out of her way he raised a brow as he watched her as she walked over to James. Watching as she check on James he tilted his head to the side a little taking note of her body language, "I take it his waking up somewhat...and that something is very very wrong" Eric said slowly wondering what on earth was happening and if he had time to get out of this packhouse before whatever was happening ended up in his hands. Even though he was a warlock he could easily pick up the shifts and changes to power and when he felt hers change he straightened his back and started for the infirmary door, "Well, it has been a pleasure but I do not get involved in pack business" he said casually before he flicked his left hand a little and a white card appeared between his index and middle finger. "Should you need my services you can find me at my club, Black Magic" Eric chuckled and placed the card down on a nearby table before he left the room.

Clara had spent the day at her motel on her day off from her bar tending job she had in the city, there was something that was bothering her. A niggling at the back of her mind that she wanted to go back to James' pack but she wasn't going to let herself, even if Travis had said that she would be welcomed there. Laying on the couch that was in the room she frowned a little when she heard someone knock on the door, "Who's there?" Clara called out as she sat up on the couch. It was hard for her to smell who was outside of the room because the motel was filled with so many different scents that it confused her. It also confused her that someone was knocking on her door since she wasn't expecting anyone.

Mia sat up straighter when he walked over, allowing her to keep her gaze firmly on his face. "I got it from my half brother. He is from Finland, his patron god is Thor, and he is a member of the warlock council." After a moment, a smile tinged with irritation came to her face. "Posture, facial expression and tone of voice from you... it tells me that I am going to indeed kick his ass. He never finished it. We could have fixed this months ago." Shaking her head, she stood up and paused, when she realized that he had been standing a bit closer than she thought he was. Glancing down, she rolled her eyes when she saw the pendant start to glow strongly. Taking it off, she tossed it into a small silver box on her desk, the lid snapped shut and a small rune flashed above it. "Every time... Protective pain in my ass...." She muttered, shaking her head.

Walking over to James' bedside, she was checking his vitals when she went still. Mia... Travis never returned, did he? She glanced down at the sleeping Alpha's face. No, he didn't...


Louis was at the barrier last night.

The woman stood straight, her wolf's power leaking out of her, hot with anger. "He didn't...."

Listening to her as she explained the situation he looked down at James with a raised brow, "Well, since he rejected his mate he should have taken the opportunity to sever the connection between him and Clara" he said with a shake of his head. He had seen wolves die just from being rejected and those that continued to live on were never really the same again. "Honestly I will never understand you wolves sometimes, so much drama" Eric added with a small sigh. He had never met a bunch of creatures with more problems, shaking his head he turned to look at Mia completely before he walked over to her, leaning down he looked at the necklace she was wearing and he pointed at it making sure not to touch "Now, who gave you that little piece of jewelry?" he questioned raising a brow. The power coming off of it was interesting but there was something about it that told him it wasn't complete.

Mia turned her attention to the sleeping James, her expression slowly falling until there was no emotion to be seen. "She said she would heal him. Had she not then said that her payment was allowing her to remove his soul mate connection, in order to be hers, he probably would have let her." She closed her eyes, a light laugh escaping her. "I'm surprised she didn't do worse to him or the pack. He did tell her to go fuck herself." When she heard him ask about the situation that led him to this place, she let out a heavy sigh, opening her eyes and giving the sleeping James a slightly judgmental look. "When he was eighteen and Clara was fifteen, they fully met for the first time. The idiot rejected her..."

Eric raised a brow and looked over at her when he said that she was going to kick her brothers ass, "Now now, no talk of violence in front of the sleeping one" he joked with a small smirked before he looked back down at James for a second before he turned to the tray and began to mix a few things together. As he worked the soft smell of lilacs began to fill the room, "One of the Goddess' favorite things to do is to put a silence spell on vocal cords" Eric said casually as he dipped his fingers into the mixture he had made and spread some of it on James' neck. "Sort of an eye for an eye" he continued as he wiped his fingers off before he placed them back against the sides of James' neck and began muttering rapidly in another language. Leaning down towards James he listening to the mans breathing for a moment before he moved his mouth to beside his ear, "When you wake, you will speak" he whispered to him. Standing back upright he looked down at the man for a moment before he turned and looked at Mia. "His not the first Alpha I have come across who has told the Goddess no...but he is the first to have someone come to me willing to be in a blood debt for them" Eric said calmly as he waved his left hand a little sending the tray back to his home, "So tell me...why would someone like Clara, who has nothing and no one, come to someone like me for an Alpha who she has nothing to do with?" he asked raising a brow wondering why she had begged him to help this man.

The thought that crossed her mind about Eric's looks and appearance made her chuckle as she moved over to her table and took a seat at it. If her brother had heard that thought... she'd be in so much trouble. Hearing him ask that one word question, she turned in her desk chair and shrugged faintly, pulling her legs up into her chair so that way she was sitting in her seat crossed-legged. Crossing her arms and letting them rest across her knees, she leaned forward, her hair falling off her shoulders, partially obscuring her face. "Sometimes he gets panic attacks that cause his alpha power to go... insane. Have to put him on them to calm it all down."

Hearing him bring up the accident and the subsequent visit from the Moon Goddess, her blue eyes slowly changed to the burnished gold of her inner wolf. "Can't forget that." She glanced off to the side, scowling faintly. "I am going to kick my brother's ass..." She muttered to herself. If the charm he had given to her worked like he said it would, they could have fixed this long ago.

Eric couldn't not help but chuckle at the woman's words, "Can't blame me for trying" he said with a grin as he stepped inside and followed her up the stairs casually taking his time. Getting to the infirmary he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows as he walked towards James, "I need to know what you have given him so far to try and cure him" Eric said softly as he looked down at the man on the bed before he reached out with his left hand and slowly ran it over his body without touching him, a soft glow coming from his hand. "Tranquilizers?" he asked casually referring to his current state, placing his fingertips of both of his hands against the sides of his neck he closed his eyes as he focused on what he was feeling. "Ah, I feel you there" Eric chuckled to himself seeming to have found something only he could see and feel, taking his hands away he smirked slightly. "I take it his had a run in with the Moon Goddess and a vampire recently?" he asked as he flicked his right wrist and a tray of bottles filled with different colored liquids and bowls of herbs appeared at his side floating near his hand.

Clara turned her head and looked at him with a raised brow when he said that she didn't need to do it, "You said no one in the pack house can figure out what is wrong. I am sure a warlock can try a few things you all haven't tried" she pointed out. Leading the way to her motel room she stopped in front of the door and turned and looked at Travis with a frown, "I wouldn't know how stubborn he is. We didn't exactly spend time together, we have two very different friend groups" Clara stated with a shrug of her shoulders. Turning back to the door she bent down and grabbed the key from under the door mat before she unlocked the motel door, "And I'm not doing this because I want to...I'm doing it so when we move on to our next city we don't keep thinking about him" she said softly as she glanced over her shoulder at him before she stepped into her motel room and closed the door behind herself.

Spoiler:

Eric slowly walked up the porch steps of the pack house that Clara had begged him to come too, he had finally agreed but of course he had charged her for his services. A blood debt he had found was always the best way to make sure that people did his favours he asked of them. Reaching out he knocked on the door, taking his hand away from the door he tucked his hands into his pockets as he waited. Clara had told him that the Alpha here could no longer talk, it intrigued him as he so rarely worked with Alphas. When the door opened he smiled charmingly at the woman in front of him "Hello lovely, I am Eric Norten, I am here to see your Alpha about his current condition" he basically purred, Eric did love putting a little bit of impulse behind his words to charm people now and again just for the fun of it.

Travis could feel eyes staring at him, but he knew that the man was nowhere near him, but was simply watching them from a safe distance. "Ah... You don't have to do that. If you want, sure but... there is no pressure for it." The man let out the breath he had been holding as they passed across the pack border, and then when they almost immediately stepped past the barrier of his younger brother. "If you did it because you want to, and that idiot tried to refuse the kindness... Mia might just tie him to a chair." He shook his head with a faint chuckle. "The man can be too damn stubborn sometimes."

"I don't need to see what he did to the other women" Clara said with a shake of her head "I've seen enough stuff of my own to know how bad it can get" she said honestly. She didn't know why she was being honest with the man beside her, there was something about him that made her and her wolf just want to tell him anything he wanted to know and she didn't know why. Listening to him she couldn't help but laugh a little when Travis said that there was something nice in James, "I grew up in the same pack as him. He wasn't what you'd call, nice" Clara stated rolling her eyes. She had always been the bottom of the pack and James had always been the popular one.

Clara frowned a little when Travis said that Louis had somehow found out what had happened to James, "Maybe one of the women told him" she said with a small shrug of her shoulders as she crossed her arms over her stomach comfortably as she walked. Staying quiet for a bit as they walked Clara glanced at Travis as she saw her motel coming into sight, "If you want, I know a warlock who can go and look at James to see if there is anything he can do for him to speak again" Clara offered knowing she would have to do a bit of pleading if Travis said for her to try it.

Travis kept his gaze ahead, his posture showing a constant state of awareness. "You didn't see what he did to them." He could feel that feeling of old anger and nausea creep up on him, and he took in a deep breath to help clear it from his mind. "James concentrates on his territory only. Louis is careful to keep his attacks on the other side of the marked border." He could feel a whirlwind of confused emotions come from his wolf, and a low growl could be heard from him to a moment. "He tried to take him down the last time... but we turned and attacked him."

Travis made a slightly strained laughing sound, shaking his head slightly. "Despite James' obvious reckless and stupid behavior back then... there is still something nice in him. He didn't even blame me. That was over a year ago, before the accident. Louis has somehow found out what happened to James. He's trying to test and see if he can draw James out..."

Clara couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Travis said how the pack that James ran was progressive. “I’ll take your word on it” she said sarcastically with a small snort, when he fell into step beside her she raised a brow before she sniffed at the air and caught a faint scent of a male, glancing at him she raised a brow “Look, I’m a big girl, I don’t need you to walk me to my motel. I’ve been looking out for myself since I was fifteen” Clara grumbled as her wolf rose up slightly to keep an eye on the danger nearby. “Why doesn’t James just force him to leave the area?” She asked with a frown curious if he just didn’t want to get involved in drama with mates.

Travis let out a laugh, the sound holding a bit of his wolf in it. "This pack is progressive, but there is one rule James' ancestor put in place, and no alpha since has abolished it." He walked into the hallway, raising his voice as she stepped outside the house. "Any male or female that is rejected by their life mate, has a place in our pack. Even should he or she be the alpha's One, they are still welcome."

The white haired male felt the hair on the back of his neck, and his wolf rose to the surface with anger. Stepping out quickly, he walked next to her, his irritation visibly shown in his posture and gait. "He is nearby... I will walk with you." His voice was gravely, showing that his wolf was in more control right now than his human side. "He occasionally comes along the pack boundaries, and has assaulted women that have left our area." His hands slowly turned into fists, over and over again. "Louis... I want him to die for the shit he has done... but we cant do it..."

Watching as James left to the infirmary she looked back at Travis with a raised brow, waiting until James had left she sighed a little and shook her head. "I have to spend the rest of my life without a pack, without a home because of him...and you might believe that no one would blame us if we didn't care if he got hurt but funny thing is, we would care" Clara said softly before she looked down at the kitchen floor for a moment and sniffed a little before she looked back up at Travis. "Well, its been a right blast from the past but I should get back to my motel. I normally don't linger in packhouses" Clara snorted a little before she took a bite out of the apple in her hand and started to make her way to the front door barefooted "Let me know if he ever speaks again" she couldn't help but joke a little as she continued to walk planning on leaving the house.

"You should...." Travis muttered, watching as James turned and left the kitchen, headed for the infirmary. He purposefully kept his gaze down from Clara as he past her and Travis. The white haired male crossed his arms over his chest, never having seen James act in what could be perceived as a submissive way to anyone before. "He was... delirious that first night. All he said... before he lost his voice... was 'She should be happy.' " Travis shook his head, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. "No one would blame you if you both didn't care if he got hurt..."