56, Fight between brothers

Adina’s POV

Adina woke up snuggled into Sean. She was feeling much better today. She hoped there weren’t any long car rides in store for the day. Sean pulled her closer and kissed her.

“What time is it?” he sleepily asked.

“Just after five,” Adina smiled.

“Five? Are you trying to kill me? Go back to sleep,” he told her.

“We went to sleep too early yesterday. I’m not tired,” she said.

“Then we will have to fix that,” he told her with a wicked smile.

Two hours later, they were walking into the dining hall hand in hand. Adina was bracing for another day of keeping herself from killing all the single females in the pack.

“Morning my…, Adina, Sean,” Liam greeted them.

“Good morning, alpha Liam,” Adina smiled.

“Please, just Liam,” he smiled back.

Adina liked Liam. He was a good alpha. She had paid attention to their tour yesterday and saw that despite the recent attack and losing their former alpha. The pack was in good condition; the wolves respected their new alpha, and their pack bond was strong and healthy.

“Sean, good morning, and you too, Adina,” Sean’s mother smiled.

“Good morning,” Adina said, placing a smile on her face.

“Ready to be humiliated, little brother?” Liam laughed as they collected their breakfast and sat down.

“In your dream, you have become old and slow,” Sean huffed.

“And you have become cocky. I will enjoy beating some sense into you,” Liam smiled.

Adina enjoyed her breakfast and listened to the two brothers’ banter. She could see that Sean was enjoying himself and more relaxed than the day before. If you wanted to get that man to relax and have fun, you offered him a fight, Adina thought.

“Shouldn’t you stop it?”

Adina turned to her side to see who had spoken. Tia was sitting on the other side of Sean’s mother.

“Stop what?” Adina asked.

“This fight, someone could get hurt,” Tia said nervously. Adina smiled at her.

“Liam seems to be a good fighter; Sean is definitely, and it’s not a real fight; it’s sparring. Sean loves things like this; I would never take it away from him,” she said.

“But what if he gets hurt?” Tia asked again.

“Accidents happen,” Adina agreed. “But Sean’s a wolf; all small scratches heal within an hour,” she added.

“I think she is worried about serious injuries,” Sean’s mother said.

“I would never let that happen, and if it did, I would heal him before it got life-threatening,” she smiled at the two women.

Sean listened to their conversation as he lifted and kissed Adina’s hand.

“One perk of being mated to a doctor and a healer,” he smiled.

“You are exaggerating. I’m not a doctor,” Adina reminded him. He shrugged.

“Ready to head out?” Liam asked Sean. Sean nodded.

“How about you ladies? Do you want to watch, or will it be too much for you?” Liam asked seriously.

“There is no way I’m not watching Sean,” Adina smiled. The other two women also agreed to watch.

Liam led them out to the training grounds. The rings for sparing were located under a roof that provided shading. As Sean climbed into the ring, he took off his t-shirt and gave it to Adina.

“Should I let him win?” he asked her.

Adina smiled. Sean was a fighter, unlike anyone. His training and dedication had made him stronger, faster, and more flexible than most alphas. He was specifically trained to protect her against opponents that a wolf usually would have problems fighting.

In the packs they had lived in, the alpha always enjoyed asking Sean to spar with them at some point. Most alphas had a fragile ego, especially when it came to fighting. An unstable pack could also turn against their alpha if he lost in a fight and appeared weak. Sean would, therefore, almost always lose on purpose.

Adina knew he hated doing a hit; it went against his alpha nature. Even so, he did it, and he did it without complaining or arguing.

“No, I think his ego can handle a loss. The pack definitely can. He might get teased for it, but they have more than enough trust in your brother,” she said. There was a spark of excitement in Sean’s eyes as he was permitted to go all out.

“Go and get him; make me proud,” Adina said and kissed him.

She walked over to the other two women and saw that several pack members had gathered around the ring.

“They would do this when they were children before Sean left. Liam would always win, and Sean would be upset and train harder. I hate to see how Sean will take a loss as an adult,” Sean’s mother said.

This rubbed Adina the wrong way for two reasons. First, his mother made it sound like Sean had left voluntary. Second, she assumed he would lose.

“What do you know of his life after he was sent away?” Adina asked her.

“Well, he has been your bodyguard, basically,” his mother said.

“Yes, that is the basic. But to be my bodyguard, he has trained. The best fighter of all races has trained him, except humans, of course,” she said.   

“In every pack, tribe, coven, and nest we have stayed at, Sean has trained with them. He has trained with me. He is simply said the most skilled and well-trained wolf that has walked this earth in a long time,” Adina told them. She could hear the pride in her voice. She was proud of Sean.

Sean’s mother and Tia looked at her.

“Oh,” his mother said.

“He will not lose this fight,” Adina smiled and

“Classic fight style?” Sean asked as he and his brother circled each other in the ring.

“No way. I’m not having you whine about how you could have won if you could have used your special moves. All styles, but stay in human form,” Liam smiled.

Liam was the first to attack. He tried to feint a kick but swung at Sean with his right hook. Sean saw it coming, blocked it with his right hand, and punched his left fist into his brother’s ribs on the right side.

Tia let out a small gasp. Adina looked at the woman. She was around the same age as Adina. But she was so innocent and sheltered. Even after the attack, that almost destroyed their pack. Was this the person Sean’s mother thought he needed for a mate? Next to her, Adina felt tired and old.

‘Morning, baby’ Colin sent her a mind link.

‘Morning, honey,’ she replied and smiled.

‘I enjoyed our phone call yesterday,’ he said.

‘So did I,’ she admitted and felt herself blush.  

‘Are you blushing?’ Colin asked.

‘No,’ she lied.

‘Liar,’ he chuckled.

‘What are you doing? Sean has blocked his mind link,’ Colin asked.

‘He is sparring with his brother,’ Adina told him.

‘Ah, then it makes sense. Who is it going?’

‘He is toying with his brother, that thinks he is winning. But Sean looks like he’s having fun,’ Adina smiled.

‘Good, I’m happy to hear it. And you, are you having fun?’ Colin wanted to know.

‘Not really. But this trip isn’t about me,’ Adina said honestly.

‘What’s up?’ Colin asked.

‘Sean’s mother doesn’t like me. She doesn’t think I’m good enough for him,’ Adina said. She heard Colin laughing.

‘Little dove, you are the Beloved one. The gods literally love you above all other mortal beings. If you aren’t good enough for her son, then no one is,’ he told her.

‘Oh, she has already chosen someone for the job. She is standing right next to me,’ Adina said.

‘What? Baby, should I be worried? You aren’t going to be sent one of their pack to Jupiter or something?’ he asked, worried. The idea made Adina giggle and sent her irritated looks at the two women next to her.

‘Thank you for the idea. But no. I know his mother is doing it to keep him here. She misses her son,’ Adina confessed.

‘You know that’s not what Sean wants,’ Colin reminded her.

‘I know. But I still feel sad that this all happened because of me,’ she told him.

‘Don’t think like that, baby. You know Sean wouldn’t have it any other way than to be with you,’ Colin said.

‘With us,’ she corrected him.

‘Yes, the three of us. Even if he grew up in his pack, he would have to leave it to be mated to us,’ Colin told her.

‘Yeah, you are right. There is no scenario where the three of us are together where he could stay in his pack,’ she admitted.

‘Does that make you feel better?’ he asked.

‘A little. But at the moment, my feelings aren’t as important as Sean’s. I don’t want to come between him and his mother,’ Adina said.

‘It will all work out,’ Colin told her with the calm confidence typical of him.

‘Thanks, honey,’ she smiled.

‘No problem. Has he won the fight yet?’ Colin asked.

‘No, he is still toying with this brother, but Liam is getting tired, so I’m guessing it won’t be long now,’ she smiled as she watched the fight.

‘Congratulate him to me and have a nice day. Keep in touch. I love you,’ he said.

‘Love you too, Colin,’ she told him and focused on the fight again.

Sean was winning; he was barely breaking a sweat while his brother looked like he had stepped out of the shower. Sean was smiling, and Liam had a look of determination. Adina smiled at the look on Sean’s face. He was enjoying himself.

“You love my son, don’t you?” Sean’s mother asked Adina.

“Yes, more than I can describe,” Adina said, taking her eyes off Sean to look at his mother.

“And you would do anything for him?”

“I would,” Adina nodded.

“Good,” his mother said and looked back at her two sons again.

Adina turned around just in time to see Sean give his brother a series of kicks and hits that left him kneeling. Sean quickly put his hand on his brother’s neck. That signalled the end of the fight as it showed that Sean could have delivered a deadly blow if it was a real fight.

Adina ran to the ring, and Sean met and kissed her. She could taste the excitement and adrenaline in the kiss.

“I’m so proud of you; nicely done. Colin says congratulations,” she laughed.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Sean grinned.

“Are you hurt?” Adina asked.

“A couple of bruises and maybe a cracked rib. I’ll survive,” he smiled.

“I’ll take care of you, love. Let me check on your brother first. He got it worse,” she told him and kissed her mate again before walking over to where Liam was sitting on a bench, holding his side.

“Well fought,” she said as she knelt before him.

“Not well enough,” he smiled. “Since when is my little brother such a badass?” he asked.

“Since I needed to protect Adina,” Sean said as he walked up to them, holding a water bottle to his brother.

“No hurt feelings?” Sean asked.

“No, I’m not pretty enough for that. A couple of hurt ribs and sore muscles, though. I think me hobbling around like an old man will be more humiliating than actually losing a fight,” Liam confessed, and Sean laughed, flinching and rubbing his side.

“Happy to see that I got a punch in at least,” Liam smiled. His mother and Tia came walking, looking worried.

“I knew this was a bad idea,” Tia said. “Sean, are you alright?” she then asked.

“I’m fine,” Sean said, walking to stand so that Adina was in between him and Tia.

“Liam, would you allow me to fix things?” Adina asked him.

“I guess so. I’m not sure how you will do that,” Liam said, uncertain.

“If your scares, she can treat me first, and I’ll show that it’s nothing to be scared about,” Sean grinned.

“Go for it,” Liam said to Adina. He didn’t want to be outdone by his little brother for the second time.

“Just relax and breath,” she told him as she placed a hand on his forehead and a hand on his chest.

The injuries were minor but painful. Adina had healed them within five minutes. She stood up and smiled.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

“Amazing, I don’t feel any pain,” Liam said, standing up, stretching.

“Your turn,” she told Sean and placed her hands on him. He was even less injured, and two minutes later, she lowered her hands and kissed him.

“As good as new,” she said.

“Unfair, I didn’t get a kiss,” Liam joked. Sean let out a low growl.

“Geese, touchy,” Liam laughed, and Adina chuckled and placed a kiss on Sean’s cheek.

Sean put an arm around her.

“You need a shower,” Adina pointed out, scrunching her nose. That made Liam laugh harder.

“I think I could use one as well. Let’s meet up for lunch in an hour,” Liam suggested as he had stopped laughing.

“Sounds good,” Adina smiled.