“Tove, I didn’t!” Tegan pulled away from the embrace. “He did something, he isnota good male.” Tegan’s glare for Cord was formidable.
“You’re shameless,” Cord hissed.
“Look at how they drift together,” Marcus murmured to Sloane who was nodding emphatically. Marcus met Tove’s stare, “Sister.”
“Sister?” Tegan asked curiously.
“We are pack, all pack are considered brother or sister,” Tove answered without meeting Marcus’s gaze.
“Wow, that has to be awkward considering you two used to… you know…” Sloane’s comment drifted off as the group turned as one and stared at him.
“You’ve been well?” Tove asked Marcus, in an effort to change the attention from Sloane’s idle comments.
“I have, and you she-wolf?” His voice was gruff as he too, failed to make eye contact.
“Good,” Tove nodded to Tegan and Cord. “Again?”
Both of them looked at each other in surprise, realising they had migrated together and were now side by side. As both started to protest, Michael pulled his sister away.
“I’ll take Tegan to her room.”
“I’ll stay with Cord,” Sloane offered as he stood beside his brother.
“I don’t need babysitting,” Cord grumbled.
“I’m hungry,” Tegan said softly to Michael, hoping to avoid attention.
“Why haven’t you eaten?” Cord snapped at her.
“Because I was training!” Tegan answered in exasperation.
“You need to eat first, train later.”
“I did eat first, I had a light breakfast,” Tegan protested. “Now I need my proper breakfast.”
“In the name of Harrian, what are you, a hobbit?” Cord snapped as he pulled Tegan towards him.
“What are you doing?” Tegan hissed as he started walking her to the door.
“Getting you breakfast.”
“I feel like we should stop them before one of them kills the other,” Sloane said quietly to the Elite around him.
“It’s amazing to witness,” Marcus watched them in fascination. “I would love to study this in more detail.”
“You know,beforethey get to the room with the sharp utensils,” Sloane continued as he looked between the elders.
“They were in a room withactualweapons,” Michael reminded him.
Sloane looked after where Tegan and Cord were heading through the training room door still bickering. “Yeah, well, I think I better go after them before anything important is broken.” He scratched his head as he hurried after them, shouting to the others behind him, “Like an arm, or leg!”
“I’ll go too,” Tove glanced quickly at Marcus before she followed Sloane.
“Me too!” Michael hurried to catch up. “I can take notes,” he called over his shoulder to Marcus.
Salem and Marcus looked at each other in the sudden peace, before Salem broke the silence. “Remember just a few days ago, when our pasts hadn’t turned up to haunt us?”
“Good times,” Marcus muttered.