Chapter SIX

That night had really been a low blow for both Hayden and Max. Both males spent the night together as they needed to seek comfort from one another.

This time, instead of Hayden feeding Max...

Max fed Hayden.

There were no words spent between them, just needed each other's strengths. Bridgette felt so upset that they were in that state, as the coven's female leader— she decided to step in. She hugged them both, kissed their foreheads and told them that they didn't have to get involved in something they didn't want to. They could leave the patrolling to the rest of the coven.

But Bridgette would be damned if she thought Hayden and Max were cowards. They knew she was coming from a good place so they were grateful but they knew they'd be able to handle themselves when the time came.

They just needed a little comfort.

By the next day, the whole sad vibe seemed to be lifted. That was the thing about Max, something would bother him till the end of the earth on the day of the incident but he would completely forget about it the next day.

"Max... What was that last night though? You were on edge." Rose brought a mug of steaming tea and urged the smaller male to take a hold of it after much resistance. Max was hard headed but he was seen as a baby by his coven, he just needed a little more work in order for him to loosen up around you.

The said vampire looked up from the substance in the cup and eyes every person standing in the room. The rest of his coven staring down at him. Hayden and him we're currently getting questioned by the coven, none of them wanting secrets kept between them.

"Did you guys not smell him? He smells different." Max spoke, his legs folded beneath him, a blanket over his shoulders in an attempt to feel any type of warmth... Warmth was something he couldn't feel unless he stuck his hand in a fire.

The coven exchanged confused looks, it was Tyler who spoke up this time.

"What do you mean? If anything, that wolf doesn't have any kind of smell." Tyler shrugged and he was backed up by the girls saying 'yeah.'

Max narrowed his eyes at them.

"What? He does. He does have a scent and that's basil and grass dew, how can you not pick up on that?" The brunette darted his eyes from face to face in complexity. He lifted the mug to his lips and took a sip, it was a bit hot but he swallowed past the burn of his tongue and downed the substance.

"We don't know Max, you were always faster on picking up on things so maybe it will take some time for us to completely get it. I just wonder where he came from and why the pack hadn't said anything. We brushed it off but ... Now that I think of it, it's kind of suspicious." Benji stood up straighter, his face contorted into confusion.

"Try not to think so hard brother, one of your brain cells might pop." Tyler teased at seeing his elder all serious and productive.

"Think you're funny?" Benji spoke and just to back up his statement, he reached over and pinched Tyler's love handles quite harshly and this caused for the male to help and quite literally jump into Ada’s arms.

The female wrapped her arms around him and giggled when Tyler pouted his lips and gave her puppy eyes in order to shout Benji.

Ada laughed but looked at Benji with a serious expression and clicked her fingers,

"Hey you... I'll bite you." She teased, watching as Tyler have a smug smile before he puckered for a kiss— to which she gladly obliged.

"And you, Hayden. You're our leader, why didn't you tell us that something's been going on between you and the wolf alpha?" Rose spoke respectfully, they didn't like questioning their leader but they all needed answers and they wanted them now.

Hayden sighed before he took a seat next to Max, his index and thumb going to pinch his nose bridge in frustration or relief from a head pain.

"You see, Chase and I were friends from the time we were little. Like years and years back, our families lived here in this exact forest, in this exact town. Forks." Hayden gestured for everyone to sit down, to which all of them complied immediately.

"His pack and my coven were at peace. We never fought— in fact, sometimes we would have annual suppers together to celebrate our familiarity and our hostility toward each other. Chase and I met when we were... Ten? Maybe." Hayden seemed to be deep in thought, trying to gather up as much information as possible.

"We really hit it off man, like we were brothers born in the wrong places but hell.. we spent everyday together. It was fun, we grew up together... Years and years passed till we both reached the age of 20 and that's when our invulnerability came into effect. We both got ready to take our places as coven and pack leader but..." Hayden paused for a few seconds and scrunched his face in thought.

"But?" Tyler prodded.

"Chase wanted something else. He fell... In love with me." Hayden sighed out and instantly gasps filled the atmosphere. Max didn't seem all that surprised but it was definitely there, he had picked up the clues each time the two males fought. Saw the way Chase looked at Hayden... With anger, longing, sorrow.

Sometimes he'd see Hayden filled with regret.

"What about you Hayden?"

The question had stifled something within the vampire, his body stiffened. His eyes trained onto the floor with a hard gaze, Max knew he hit a nerve but he couldn't back down now.

"Yes... Yes I loved him too." He sighed again.

"Then... What happened? Did you reject him?" Max asked softly.

"No, I didn't... Just when we had turned 20, Chase professed his feelings to me one day in the woods. It was intense and there was this tension between us... I remember opening my mouth to speak to him and tell him I feel the same when all hell broke loose."

"There were screams and commotion and I don't know what told me to just ... Run. I did, I ran so fast.. until I came face to face with what had happened. My father was slain by Chase's uncle out of revenge and ignorance and all I can remember.... Is that I took it out on Chase." Hayden sighed, his eyes becoming slightly teary eyed.

Bridgette didn't seem the slightest bit jealous or angry. If anything, she was sympathetic towards him... She reached out and squeezed his shoulder... To help him keep going.

"I refused to speak to him, I put a rift between us and I wanted revenge and I held it against him because I didn't know who else to blame... I was in turmoil. I was so foolish, and I lost someone I loved in the process... He tried many times to rekindle what he had lost but each time, I turned him down. Again and again... At first, it was anger and disgust but eventually... It was guilt... I couldn't face him." Bridgette had now embraced him, lending him her strength. The coven even seemed to hurt, no one felt anger... Just sadness.

"What about the... Scars? Do you have one?" Benji asked quietly, Rose holding onto his lithe form. Her head on his chest, eyes filled with sadness like she was ready to cry.

"He and I got scars from each other years later after the break up. Chase was frustrated and we ended up having a brawl, I hit his neck and he dug his claws into my thigh. A daily reminder." Hayden laughed bitterly and in that motion, Bridgette seemed to register the mark from past... Sexual endeavours.

"He has a mate tho? Why is he still so angry?" Ada asked in confusion.

"It's not a love bond, it was forced. He needs an heir and Wendy needed status. They care for each other, yes but it's similar to that of a friend's relationship." Hayden spoke and Tyler shook his head, eyes shook as he stared at the floor, whispering a soft messed up underneath his breath.

Yes, Tyler, messed up indeed.