He was on the border of consciousness, where his mind and body seemed to be separate for just a tenth of a second. His body was on a hard surface, sore and somewhat cold and uncomfortable. His mind, on the other hand, was someplace warm and familiar. He could just see it, just see the swing set just outside his house, he saw himself almost as if he was watching from a distance yet he was the person sitting on the swing, swinging alone. There was another swing, it was empty and it made Brody feel utterly empty as well. Then he looked up and there was Hunter standing in the distance, just watching. Hunter who was so strong and kind and familiar and Brody smiled because his brother was back and he was okay

‘Hunter?’ he whispered out, and that was what broke it. He was no longer at the brink of consciousness, he was there.

He woke up to a painfully bright room. Light seemed to be shining from every corner, intent on making his head spin and his eyes hurt.

‘Brody, open your eyes again,’ a soft voice told him. He tried resisting, keeping his eyes closed so that he could imagine that he was back there with Hunter, back at the swing set where things were simple and his only brother was safe, yet he opened his eyes, knowing that this was the real world and he couldn’t fight against reality.

Brody’s eyes opened hurriedly and he tried to sit up, but a hand on his chest stopped him.

‘Brody lie back down for a second.’  

He did.

Brody realised then that he was in the nurse’s office, lying on a very uncomfortable bed. The woman standing next to him looked relieved when he met her gaze, smiling at him softly. The nurse was a plump lady in her forties, dressed in a dark blue dress. He didn’t remember ever seeing her before, but there was something motherly about her that put him at ease.

‘Do you know where you are?’ she asked gently.

‘Nurses office?’ He supplied, sitting up. This time she didn’t stop him and he was glad, the cold, hard bed beneath him was starting to feel like a coroners table it felt so uncomfortable. He took a glance around the room. The small room’s walls were painted an awfully bright shade of white, with white cabinets along the side of the room and a door on the other. The bed was placed in the centre of the room, the only real piece of furniture in the entire space.

‘How do you feel?’ she asked him, shining a light in his eyes. Brody recoiled slightly from the light, but the nurse obviously wasn’t too worried with the results as she put the pen light back down on the cabinet top.

‘Head hurts, and so does my arm,’ Brody looked down to see that his left arm was wrapped in bandages.

‘I assume so,’ the nurse told him, gently repositioning his arm against his leg. ‘You have a nasty break in your arm and you hit your head quite hard.’

Brody wasn’t exactly worried, the pain was uncomfortable, but wolves healed faster than normal people and he doubted that his arm would take more than a day or two before it healed.

‘Now, you are on bed rest for the next two days, just until your break is healed. Then you can return to classes.’

Brody sighed, ‘Is that really necessary?’

The nurse then gave him a look that rivalled his own mothers and he knew to shut up. ‘Yes, it is.’

‘Okay,’ Brody nodded. Two days wasn’t that bad, he guessed. It gave him more time to read those books he had borrowed out in the library, or more time to make out with his mate, either or.

‘You called out for Hunter before, is that your friend?’ The nurse asked, no idea that her words were like a slap to the face for the boy sitting on the bed next to her.

‘Uh,’ Brody muttered. ‘No.’

‘Oh,’ the nurse looked surprised. ‘There’s been a boy waiting outside since you got here waiting for you to wake up. I assumed that he must have been Hunter.’  

Brody smiled, ‘No that would be Nate, I assume.’

The nurse smiled back, ‘well, I’d say you’ve found a good friend in that one. The poor boy looked like he was going to faint with worry when he brought you in here.’

Brody felt blood rush to his cheeks, ‘Yeah that sounds like Nate. Did he look okay?’

‘Other than the fact that he was worried out of his own skin, he looked fine. What happened out there?’ she asked, and Brody thought about it for a second. What really did happen out there? Those two wolves had purposefully started that fight by jumping into Nate and Kayden. It wasn’t by accident, there was no temporary lapse in judgement, no. Those wolves had planned what they were going to do, Brody had seen it in their eyes.

‘I don’t know exactly,’ he replied, but he sure as hell was going to find out.

‘Well, you just keep yourself out of harm’s way, you hear?’

Brody nodded, ‘I will try my hardest.’

‘Good. Now, here are some pain killers for that wrist of yours.’ She said, handing a small pill bottle to Brody. He took them in his good hand and gently placed them into his pocket as she spoke. ‘Take two every six hours, and no more unless you think it would be fun to live without a liver.’

Brody laughed, ‘I will stick to the recommended dose.’

‘Good. I’ll go let your friend in, and you can tell him that he can take you back to your room, and if anything happens he has to bring you back here right away.’

‘I will,’ Brody promised her.

‘Okay. I’ll just be in the office next door if there’s anything else before you leave.’

Brody nodded, and the nurse left.

Only moments after the door closed, it was flung open, Nate standing in the doorway. His mate’s expression went from utterly stressed to downright relief in half a second, and he closed the door behind him.

Nate didn’t say anything, he just crossed the distance between he and his mate in two seconds, gently wrapping his great, big arms protectively around his mate. Brody leaned into his touch, letting his sore head rest lightly against his mate’s chest as he still sat on the bed. Brody felt Nate sigh as his mate nuzzled his nose into Brody’s hair.

‘I’m glad you’re okay,’ Nate whispered, pulling back for a moment, only to resume his stance when Brody wrapped his uninjured arm around his mate’s waist, pulling him back towards the side of the bed.

‘I’m just fine. What about you? You weren’t hurt, were you?’ Brody asked.

‘I’m just fine, got caught in the middle of the random fight is all.’

Brody pulled back so that he could look at his mate, ‘What do you mean caught in the middle? Those guys jumping into you was what started the fight?’

Nate shook his head, ‘They wouldn’t have done that just randomly. I’m sure that Kayden and I were just caught in the crossfire.’

Brody tilted his head slightly. Nate must not have seen what really happened, his focus must have been on Kayden. ‘Are you sure? From where I was standing, it looked like those two fighting next to you were intentionally starting that fight.’

Nate shrugged, ‘I have no clue. Well, what’s done is done. I’m just glad that you are okay.’ Nate pressed a kiss to Brody’s forehead.

Brody barely registered the kiss, his mind more focused on those other two wolves. Why had they started that fight? Whatever the reason, it had endangered Nate, and that meant war.

‘Who were those two guys who were fighting next to you?’

‘What?’ Nate looked confused. ‘Why?’

‘Just tell me who they were,’ Brody replied boldly.  

‘Brody, this is an Alpha camp, fights happen for no reason all the time. Today’s was especially stupid, but don’t stress yourself out digging into this.’ Nate pled, but Brody was not impressed.

‘Names.’ Brody demanded stubbornly.

Nate sighed affectionately at his mate’s obduracy, ‘Bruce and Mitchel. Happy now?’

‘Yes,’ Brody confirmed, slowly getting down off of the bed while being careful of his injured arm.

‘Should you be walking around?’ Nate asked in a panic, his hands coming out to support Brody.

Brody rolled his eyes at his mate, ‘I’m not an invalid Nate.’

Nate ignored him, ‘Are you allowed to leave the nurses office?’ he asked, looking over Brody again, his eyes raking his mate's body just to double check for any life threatening injuries.

Brody had half a mind to just push past him in a huff, but he recognised the worry on Nate's face and knew that this overprotective attitude would have probably been exactly what he would have done if it was Nate who had been hurt.

Brody reached over and squeezed his mate’s hand reassuringly, ‘Yes. I am going to be fine, please stop mothering me. Really, I am fine, just a little sore.’

Nate nodded, ‘Okay, Okay, I’m just looking out for you.’

Brody smiled at that. As annoying as this little over protective show of affection had been, Brody couldn’t say that he didn’t love the way that he felt when Nate showed how much he cared like that. Nate’s free hand was still unsure at his side, as if it was on standby for when Brody inevitably needed saving.

Brody let go of his mate’s hand, ‘Come on, let’s go back to one of our rooms and just nap, okay?’

Nate nodded, ‘Sure, we just have to go see Mr. Woods first.’

Brody had no idea why they would have to go see the man who ran the camp, and to be honest, he would much rather go snuggle up with his mate than go see Mr. Woods. ‘Why?’

‘I don’t know. Kayden came by to tell me just before the nurse let me in to see you. Apparently Mr. Woods wanted to talk to us to see what happened with the fight breaking out.’

‘Good. I can tell him that I saw Bruce and Mitchel starting the fight and they will be punished,’ Brody said. He was actually starting to see the silver lining in this impromptu meeting. Those two boys could have seriously hurt Nate, and Brody refused to let their actions slide.

Nate shook his head, ‘Are you even sure that it was them who started it?’

Brody huffed, ‘Is there a reason that you don’t believe me? I saw them jump into you on purpose, then I watched as all hell broke loose. It was their fault.’

Nate’s good nature kicked in once again, ‘Come on, you don’t want to get them in trouble, I doubt that they meant to do it. They probably just got overexcited with the whole transforming after so long, there’s no reason to punish them for a mistake.’

Brody looked at Nate like he had just betrayed him, ‘If it was you who got hurt,’ Brody raised his voice slightly, ‘I would do everything in my power to get the people responsible to pay for it. Why aren’t you doing the same?’

‘They weren’t the reason that you got hurt,’ Nate told Brody. ‘You got hurt because you ran out into a field of wolves in your human form. What did you expect would happen?’ Nate was chastising Brody as you would a toddler who had done something stupid. Brody couldn’t believe this. They were mates, when did Nate’s inability to see peoples faults get so bad that he would overlook something as important as this?

‘This is my fault? I ran out there because I was terrified that you were hurt!’ Brody said, accusation in his tone. ‘You know what, just get out of my way.’ Brody tried to push past Nate to get to the door, but Nate refused to move.

‘Where are you going?’ Nate asked.

‘To tell Mr. Woods the truth and to get those idiots kicked out of this camp,’ Brody said defiantly. He stepped around Nate and walked out the door, into the hallway.

‘Brody,’ Nate called out as he walked a few steps behind his mate down the hallway. ‘I didn’t mean that.’

Brody ignored his mate and yet a sort of ache seemed to develop in his chest. It felt like something was wrong and missing. Brody despised their mate bond for a millisecond, being content to just be angry at Nate without the influence of it seeping into his mind.

Nate caught up to Brody, matching him stride for stride. ‘Brody, please don’t ignore me.’

Brody didn’t want to listen to it, so instead he just walked faster. They reached the door to Mr. Woods office, and when Brody reached out to open it, Nate beat him to it, holding the door open for Brody.

‘I have one broken bone. I haven’t suddenly turned ninety five,’ Brody huffed, walking into the room.

They were now in the reception area for Mr. Woods office. Three black chairs were pressed up against the wall next to them, and a large desk in dark wood was sitting in front of them, a man sitting at the computer.

‘Can I help you?’ the man looked up. ‘

Yes, we are here to see Mr. Woods,’ Brody told him.

‘Mr. King and Mr. Lewis, correct?’

Both Nate and Brody nodded.

‘Okay, take a seat, both of you.’

Brody sat at the chair closest to the door, groaning internally when Nate sat in the chair directly next to his. Nate looked at him with pleading eyes, but before Nate could say anything, Kayden came out of the door to the office.

Kayden looked more than irritated, his face red and his fists clenched at his sides.

‘Kayden? Are you okay?’ Nate asked his friend, but Kayden didn’t respond, he just stormed out into the hallway.

The receptionist looked over at Nate, ‘Nate, you can go in now,’ he told him. Brody wondered if the receptionist saw this sort of reaction often, considering his blank expression at the scene that had just transpired before his eyes.

Brody looked at the wall while Nate stood up and walked over to the office. Brody looked down then at his injured arm which he was cradling in his lap. The pain was just bearable, but he knew that he would definitely be taking a few of those pain killers as soon as he got back to his room.

After only a few minutes, the door reopened and Nate stepped out. Nate looked at Brody, but Brody didn’t look back, instead he focused his attention on the receptionist. ‘Am I able to go in now?’

‘Yes,’ he replied, and Brody didn’t wait, stepping around Nate and walking right into Mr. Woods’s office.

Mr. Woods was looking down at the note pad on his desk when Brody arrived into the room.

‘Mr Lewis,’ he said when he noticed Brody standing in the doorway. ‘Come take a seat.’

Brody did what he was asked and slowly sat down in the deep brown chair which faced the desk. The desk was messy with papers and random stationary, with Mr. Michael Woods sitting behind it in a high backed chair. He had imagined this room to be much more organised, with expensive artwork and furniture, but the room was just as plain as the man who used it. The walls were bare, the surfaces messy.

‘How is your arm?’ Michael asked Brody in a tone that suggested that he really didn’t care, but that the question was more of a formaity than anything concerning actual caring.

Brody wasn't sure if this was how he usually spoke to people, considering the fact that they had only had one or two other interactions in the time that he had arrived at camp. Before that he had been in contact with Brody's parents, but never Brody himself.

‘It’s broken, but I’m sure that it will be fine,’ Brody replied smoothly.

‘Good. Now, you were injured in the fight that transpired during wolf combat class today?’ He clarified, quickly changing the subject.

‘Yes.’ Brody took a deep breath. ‘I saw-‘

‘You were in your human form, is that correct?’ Michal asked, his tone changing from uncaring to slight anger with every syllable. Brody had never seen anger in Mr. Wood’s face, he had seen annoyance, sure, but anger, no. Mr Woods ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked Brody dead in the eyes. ‘Is that correct, Mr. Lewis?’

Brody stuttered out, ‘Y-Yes, but-’

Michael slammed his hand down against the table, causing the loud sound to echo around the room. ‘We are the most prestigious wolf camp in this entire country, and we have a reputation to uphold. I have half a mind to kick the entire class out of camp for this.’ Michael huffed, ‘The council is already breathing down my neck, I don’t need out of control students to add to that.’

‘I wasn’t out of control,’ Brody told him. ‘I saw people starting the fight, I ran in to help my friends-‘

‘Mr. Lewis, the council has very strict rules, one of those includes us being responsible for your safety. An injury like this looks badly on the entire camp, but also on me. Now, I like my job, I have worked for this camp before you were even born, and so I am not going to include your injury into this report. Is that clear?’

Brody wondered how many other incidents had been swept under the rug for the sake of reputation. ‘You can’t do that!’

‘All I want to hear from you is that you didn’t see who started the fight so that I can file this report into a box I will never have to open again. Now, we have been lenient on you by just allowing you to join the camp in final year and not making you complete all year levels. I can easily make it so you have to start back in year one if you make this difficult. Is that clear?’

Brody sat forwards in his chair, ‘But I did see what happened! Bruce and Mitchel were the ones who started it on purpose!’ Brody could feel anger building up inside of himself, he couldn’t believe that this was happening. Those boys had put his mate in danger, and he was just going to sweep it all under the rug like a dirty little secret.

‘Bruce and Mitchel come from very high up families,’ he explained as if it gave him permission to do what he was doing. ‘So I trust their word over yours. They told me that someone else started it, and so that’s what I want to hear from you. Is that clear?’ Michael growled out.

Brody bit at his lip, trying to hold the anger inside. He bet that those two had told Mr. Woods that Nate was the one to start the fight. ‘I didn’t see what happened. I don’t know who started it.’

‘Thank-you.’ Michael then signed at the bottom of one of the papers in his desk before gently closing the file. Michael suddenly pulled his hands away from the desk and leaned back casually in his chair, ‘Is there anything else you want to discuss, Mr. Lewis?’      

Brody held his tongue, ‘No Sir.’

Michael motioned towards the door, and Brody stood slowly, making his way out of the room.

Mr Woods apparently cared more for politics than the truth. I guess I will have to handle this on my own, Brody thought. Those two had a reason for starting that fight, and Brody wasn’t going to stop until he found out what that reason was.