Chapter 52
Brandon would have described the feeling coming over him in the next few moment as fear.....if he was ever tortured into admitting it.
But as Ezekiel turned on him, and stalked across the kitchen, with claws, eyes and teeth looking far too ready for use Brandon actually found himself backing away from him. But he didn't get far, before the prick of claws closing around his upper arms and the pressure of being pulled were being applied and he stumbled into the furious gaze of the Shifter.
"And are you insane!!" Ezekiel hissed. His voice distorted, but still smooth at the round of each word that he spoke. "Don't you ever EVER do that again?"
"What!?....Don't do what!?" Brandon panted trying to pull back, but it was hopeless. All he managed to do was get blood on the backs of Ezekiel's hands as he tried to push his hands off. But unfortunately his attempts to pull away only seemed to incense the Shifter more.
"We talked about this the other night!" Ezekiel growled. "I told you never....ever attack a Shifter, especially not one of my family members." He rumbled, sounding far too disgusted for Brandon's liking. It wasn't like Brandon was responsible for what had just happened.
Ezekiel's slit gaze seemed to burn like a blue candle as he glared down at him and Brandon struggled with an intense need to turn away. "Lander, Mantilo...and even me...Do you not understand that we can and will kill you!?" he snarled the question, his tone so heavy that it made Brandon respond.
"Threaten me all you like, but He started it!" Brandon barked back. "I was just finishing what he started!"
"I'm not threatening you! But we are the son's of the man who wanted to drop you in the wilds to die three days ago!" Ezekiel pointed out far too pointedly for Brandon to easily counter. "And my brother is not the most stable Shifter in this place if you hadn't noticed!" He would have happily put you in your place if I hadn't stopped him just now!"
"He would have died trying." Brandon mumbled back coldly, but instantly regretted his words when Ezekiel nearly bit his head off.
"You aren't going to kill anyone. He's my brother.....and this is our home." Ezekiel snarled and punctuated the sound with a small shake. Not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to make Brandon flinch. "How dare you! Don't you ever threaten any of them again!! Do you understand me!!?" Ezekiel hissed releasing Brandon so suddenly that he almost slipped then he turned and marched away. "Sit down Brandon!" He growled.
"All right....All right.....Stop yelling at me." Brandon moaned slightly then swallowed as a swarm of nausea hit him in the stomach. "Shit, I'm goona be sick." He mumbled as he anxiously watched Ezekiel pace his side of the kitchen restlessly. Bright blue eyes, viscous teeth and nails flashing as Ezekiel pivoted in an overly amped up fashion. It wasn't hard for Brandon to see that the Shifter was struggling. And surprisingly witnessing his anger....made Bandon fell...bad.
He looks like he wants to tear the damn place apart.
Brandon thought.
"Ezekiel..." Brandon tried to move, but Ezekiel's hiss crawled up his skin stopping him cold and when he looked up Ezekiel's gaze was locked on him and there was a cloud about the edge of his gaze that made Brandon fell oddly trapped for a few seconds, until Ezekiel slowly blinked and spoke.
"Just...stay in your seat." Ezekiel seemed to mumble in an automatic hiss that made Brandon even more uncomfortable.
"Ezekiel....Hey....Calm down." Brandon tried to sooth, more than a little disturbed for some reason by Ezekiels took his seat and glanced away from the agitated Shifter towards the mess that had become of the kitchen after all of the heightened arguments. Not particularly liking the mess or the cloud of rage floating off of Ezekiel, Brandon sucked a pained breath in through his teeth as he once more forced himself to stand up. "Ezekiel come on, listen, lets clean all of this up....I'll help. Okay?"
Suddenly Ezekiel stopped pacing, his eyes going form unfocused to laser point in seconds as he registered the fact the Brandon was standing up. He snarled at Brandon. "Brandon sit down." he said. Then he cast his blue gaze about the kitchen, seeming to notice the whirlwind of papers he was standing on top of for the first time. His gaze went back to Brandon and for the first time he took a deep breath.
"Just sit still." Ezekiel rumbled after he exhaled. Nearly moving with a grace that didn't seem natural to the eye he walked over to a cabinet and jerked it open. The movement still a bit agitated, but far less aggressive than any other moment before.
When he turned around his teeth were almost unnoticeable aside from the tips of his fangs peeking when he spoke. "Here." Ezekiel commanded and tossed a bright white hand towel on the counter top before Brandon's seat.
"That will slacken the blood flow until my cousin arrives to put in the fresh stiches...She'll be here in the next half hour...." he continued then cut off and turned. He quickly kneeled onto the tiles and began to shuffle the papers together, but as he worked he mumbled a comment. It should have been too low for Brandon to hear, but he heard it anyway. "The smell of blood is suffocating me." Ezekiel said to himself.
Brandon instantly inhaled, but all he smelled was pine needles and clear air. "The smell of blood is suffocating you? Is it really that bad....cause I can't smell a thing." he asked the Shifter, fully aware that Ezekiel hadn't meant for Brandon to hear him.
Brandon was confused when Ezekiel literally freeze for a good three seconds, then Ezekiel shook his head and went back to gathering the papers and striating the kitchen.
"Never mind." He responded. And then a silence settled over the both of them that lasted all the way through Ezekiel straightening out the kitchen and fixing two cups of steaming tea. He sat one mug before Brandon and retreated to a counter top three feet away.
But after another few minutes had passed, Brandon was both surprised and disgusted to realizes that both him and Ezekiel hadn't made a move to sip from their cups and had instead both sat staring into their cups.
"Ezekiel....are you still mad." Brandon mumbled, shattering the silence. He watched Ezekiel blink, but he didn't look up from his cup.
"Yes. I'm still mad." Ezekiel almost hissed, looking at him for only a second before he turned his eyes back down to the cup in his hands.
Brandon rolled his eyes at the silence that enveloped them once more. He reached out and pushed his luke-warm cup of tea away with a flick of his writs. "Well I'm not....so if you can get over yourself, I'd like to ask you a question now."