***
It was important to remind his friend that it was his murderous Ojah spirit that had maltreated Ryan and not him. And Philip did exactly that;
“The last thing you want is to remind Ryan of what he went through,” the alpha said fiercely.
“Well, I think feeling guilt is in order.” Stan drawled. “I mean thanks to him, the poor guy doesn’t have any good memories of his first wolfy experien…”
“Shut up, Stan.” Philip snapped. Then he turned his attention to Troy who had begun to groan beside him. “Hey, want some water?” He asked softly.
“No.” Troy moaned. He didn’t think he could keep anything down. “Why did you take off my clothes?” He looked down at his boxer-clad body.
“‘Cause they’re going to come off anyway.” Philip shrugged. “Why ruin perfectly good clothes?”
“Oh god…” Troy screamed suddenly and rolled onto his hands and knees. “You sure this is how it’s…aahhhhh…” He panted harshly until the pain passed. “Sure this is how it’s supposed to be?” He gasped.
“Some go through worse, buddy.” Stan quipped from where he stood. “I mean an alpha could have given you a painful and cruel bite and caused you to…”
“Enough already, Stan.” Philip groaned. Then to his mate, he said gently; “Could have been worse.”
Troy slowly got to his feet and leaned against the wall. He was sure he was going to die. In fact, he thought he would be better off dead because he’d never felt so much pain.
“Feels like my intestines are rearranging themselves.” Troy whimpered as he sunk back onto the carpet. “And my skin…it’s burning… crackling…as if I’ve been thrown into a furnace.” He moaned.
Philip leaned back against the wall and drew Troy into his arms such that Troy was straddling him. He combed his fingers through Troy’s wet hair as he whispered soothing words to him. For a while, Troy looked as if he was sleeping. Then suddenly, he was throwing up all over Philip’s chest. Philip didn’t look bothered at all but when Troy began to scream in pain, he groaned as if he was in pain too. He never once let go of Troy.
“Oh god, I can feel him.” Troy cried. He could feel something moving within him… taking over his very being. But he also felt an emotion that actually surprised him. “He’s…” He gasped. “Why…” He seemed to be asking himself. “Why so angry…”
“You would be too if we were suppressed for years.” Stan drawled. “Your brother is…” Stan turned to Jeremy as he spoke but his words ended in a gasp. Jeremy’s eyes were bloody red. “Oh my god, Jeremy…” Stan whispered shakily. No one in their right minds would want to be anywhere near a red-eyed Jeremy.
“I have to go.” The Ojah said quietly. “Call Joel to come.” With that curt directive, the red-eyed Jeremy turned to go.
But he hadn’t even taken three steps when the elevator opened to reveal Ryan. The Ojah froze. He stared at his mate, a myriad of emotions running across his face. There was shame, guilt, and utter dread on the Ojah’s face to the shock of Stan. To the best of his knowledge, an Ojah had no remorse.
“Come here, baby,” Ryan said softly as he opened his arms to his mate.
Ryan had felt his mate’s anguish. He’d felt Jeremy’s guilt over the fact that he hadn’t given him the help, care, and respect a mate of an alpha deserved during his premier-shift. Ryan had waited in their room, thinking the guilt would pass. But it had rather increased in spades as the minutes ticked by. He just knew he had to get to Jeremy before he completely broke down so he’d rushed to him in the basement where he knew Jeremy was, watching his brother shift. Ryan knew he was late the moment he saw his mate’s eyes.
The entity currently occupying his mate’s body was a clear indication that Jeremy had already broken down. Ryan was still glad he’d come to his mate because he knew that the Ojah needed him even more. After all, he was the real culprit.
The Ojah hesitated. It was almost as if he couldn’t believe Ryan actually looked calm. Truly, he knew he was in the presence of a better person.
“Ryan…” Just his name… But it told Ryan everything. The Ojah was in pain.
Ryan took a step forward. “Come.”
The Ojah didn’t need another prompting. He went to his mate and hugged him fiercely. “I’m so sorry.” He groaned.
“I know you are.” Ryan breathed. “And you should be.” Ryan gave a mock growl as he took in the beauty of the Jungle Room in which Philip and Troy sat. “I’d have preferred this room.” He added with a chuckle, drawing a groan from the Ojah. “Hey, look at me.” Ryan cupped the face of his wretched-looking mate. “You know I don’t give a rat’s ass what you did or didn’t do. That’s all in the past. I’m just glad to see you. Missed ya.” He grinned. “Come on.” The two stepped fully into the elevator and rode up, leaving a shocked Stan staring after them.
And inside the Jungle Room, Philip coached his mate. “Don’t fight it. Let go and allow him to take over.”
“Ahh…” Troy cried as his bones began to crack audibly. He tried to speak but all that came out were weird sounds. He writhed against Philip.
“That’s it, baby…” Philip breathed. “Let yourself go. You will be fine… I’m here. Come on…”
Troy felt the agonizing tingling in his gum first, then a sudden burst of extra teeth in his mouth. Next came the claws. His fingers and toes nails elongated into claws. Then the fur appeared, sprouting up all over his body. Troy knew he should be terrified at the change but surprisingly, he wasn’t. And that was because he felt he was in safe hands. Literally. Philip never once let go of him throughout his shift.
Joel got to Stan’s side just as Troy let out a howl. The elder gasped at the colour of fur on the wolf. It was the exact colour of Troy’s father and his best friend, Sylvester Stanton. He wasn’t called the Golden Alpha for no reason.
He was actually golden.