Vicissitude: A Beast Within

"Harder!"

Abram punched with full force on Lucian's command, which he swatted gracefully before sending a kick to his ribs.

"Harder!" Lucian barked and Abram charged at him again, with his beast surfacing a little.

Lucian was faster and evaded his attack without even breaking a sweat. Abram winced when Lucian's hand connected with his back, knocking the air out of his lungs. He coughed and clutched his sides as his breath wheezed.

"Take a break, Abram. Nate! Your turn," Lucian's order came next and Abram sent a lopsided grin to Nate. Nothing was happiest in this world like watching your friend and partner in crime go through the same tough routine as yours.

Soon, Nate was eating mud and Abram doubled up with laughter. Every day Nate would place a bet he would last longer than Abram in the field with Lucian and lost graciously for past three years.

While Abram had good reflexes, Nate was stronger than him, but easily got distracted during the fight.

"Looks like someone's having a good day," Alexa commented as she waddled toward him with her ever-growing baby bump.

"Mhmm... Nate is losing the bet once again."

"I can see that," she muttered and sat beside him on the log with great difficulty.

"Having a hard time?"

She grunted. "Try carrying a pair of twins in your belly for nine months. I couldn't even sleep at night with all their fights going on inside."

Abram chuckled at his sister and turned his attention to the field.

"Nate! Your enemy won't be going easy on you. You'd be dead in a beat if you give an opening," Lucian yelled as he choked Nate.

When he released the hold Nate ducked and went for his legs trying to swipe his feet off the ground. But, Lucian just stood unmovingly.

"Nice moving, kid. But, you'll have to do more than that to knock me down," Lucian growled before twisting his leg. If he applied any more pressure it would break.

"Lucian! Let the boy go. You're hurting him," Alexa called from the log.

Lucian let go of Nate's leg and was near Alexa in a blink. His hands went to cradle her belly as he pressed a kiss against her mark, making her shiver.

Abram shook his head as he went to help Nate who panted on the ground, literally with his tongue out. Lucian has gotten so protective over Alexa the moment he discovered her pregnancy. Alexa mostly stayed indoors as Lucian's beast went all defensive when someone besides their family tried to speak to her.

Last time they went to the mall to buy her some maternity wears Lucian almost ripped the poor sales guy, who was trying to help Alexa choose the right size. It took a combined effort of Abram and Nate to remove Lucian before he shifted.

After that incident, Alexa ordered everything online and never went out. Lucian's beast was always on the edge and it reflected on their training as well. His protective nature has gone to the level that he slept in his beast form next to Alexa during the nights.

Abram couldn't blame Lucian. It was likely for Lycans to protect their mate and children. Also, the pregnancy left Alexa very vulnerable to the attacks if it came. She couldn't use her Qistina powers like before. It drained her ten times faster than before and Lucian has forbidden her from doing anything.

Though Lucian's uncle Dominick suggested him to stay in the supernatural realm until childbirth, Lucian didn't agree with it as he felt safer in the human realm. According to Lucian, his beast felt as if someone was watching them in the supernatural realm. He was restless and was always at someone's neck trying to rip them apart.

When their healer confirmed the childbirth was similar to that of humans, Lucian immediately brought Alexa to their lakeside home in Hinesburg. 

Abram took a swig from his water bottle as he looked at the couple engaged in some conversations. The ever-growing love in the eyes of Lucian was something he admired. He always looked at his sister like she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

He wondered if he would be behaving like Lucian if he ever found a mate. Now that he was nineteen years old, many girls tried to gain his attention. But, his beast would just shrug them off as if they were nothing. 

Abram's human side liked to drool over the beauty of the girls, his beast was a different case scenario. He just swatted them like they were nothing more than flies. No one entranced his beast-like Alexa did Lucian's. He sighed as he got up and walked home with Nate, leaving the couple alone.

-----

"Abram! Baby, have you got everything you need?" Amanda hollered from the hall.

"Yeah!" Abram replied as he packed the last piece of his clothing.

"Come on now, we're going to be late," Nate grunted.

"I'm all done," Abram muttered as he zipped his duffel bag before loading it on his shoulder.

When he went down, his parents along with Nate's were standing with a proud smile while Alexa sniffed into Lucian's shoulder. Abram hugged his parents and went to Alexa, who burst out crying.

Abram threw an apologetic glance at Lucian before embracing his sister. "Hey, I am just going to be a few hours away and can always come see you," he whispered into her hair.

"I know. It's just- I'm gonna miss you," she sniffled.

"It's going to be okay. I'm just going to the university and will talk you to every day," he said soothingly. Though he was now in the second year of the college, Alexa behaved as if this was the first time he was leaving. Her pregnancy hormones got the best out of her.

"Okay. Take care of yourselves," she hiccupped as Nate went to hug her.

"We'll miss you," he whispered and she nodded.

"You both, no more pranks this year, okay. Just let that Bentley kid in peace will you?" Alexa chastised.

"Can't promise that," Abram grinned. Bentley was Delilah's brother. He also was in the same class as Abram. Delilah once used to be the queen bee and made his sister cry at every chance she got. Now, Abram was just repaying the favor.

The fact the Victor no longer worked for Delilah's father worked in their favor. Victor with Arthur started a business a few years ago and they were doing well on their own with Lucian's dad to back up their finances.

Abram and Nate could play any prank as they saw fit. With their Lycan abilities they had perfected the stealth mode over the years and now, they were invincible.

Victor chuckled as he patted Abram's shoulder. "Alright, time for you both to leave. Drive safe."

"Sure dad," Abram grinned.

Arthur and Raelyn hugged both Nate and Abram asking them to behave. Soon their luggage was loaded into their brand new Wraith-Rolls Royce. They bid their goodbyes and were soon on the road. 

They went to the Burlington University, the same Alexa and Lucian studied in. They had their own apartment in Burlington and life was good. Though Nate was a year elder to Abram, he graduated a year earlier so they were in the same class.

Abram and Nate were considered as twins despite their differences, because they were always together and did everything together. While Nate had a blonde hair with blue eyes just like Raelyn, Abram had inherited a dark brown hair with rich coffee brown eyes like Amanda.

------

Abram yawned as Nate parked the car in their usual parking slot. 

"Hey sleepy head, we're home," Nate called excitedly and Abram growled.

"Home my ass."

Nate chuckled. "Whoa! Did you see that?" He asked, pointing out the cheerleaders practicing on the ground nearby.

"Yeah," Abram grinned. "Man, she's hot." His beast let out a displeased growl and Abram snorted. "The bastard won't even allow me to look," he complained.

"Same here. At this rate, we're gonna be virgins forever. Man that hurts. We didn't even have our first kiss yet," Nate grumbled.

"I wish we found our mate soon. My beast is horny all the time and yet it won't allow me to do anything about it," Abram agreed.

"You see that chick over there," Nate pointed out.

"Who Tia?"

"Yeah! You know, I almost kissed her in the locker last month. Then, my beast had to butt out and threaten me to rip her throat if I didn't stop. Gosh, you know the look she gave me like I was some loser," Nate muttered. Just like Abram, Nate's beast was very adamant and didn't like the company of girls.

"Eww... Nate, you sure you don't have any trouble with your eyesight?" Abram asked.

"No, why?"

"Dude, look at her. Your choice sucks. I don't know how you could even think about kissing her with all those chemicals on her face. My nose itches every time she passes by," Abram said in a mocking tone.

"Hey, don't say like that. Though my nose gets itchy by her scent, she is still sexy," Nate defended.

"Well then, I challenge you to visit her in her dorm and see how she looks without any paint job," Abram challenged.

"No, you didn't?"

"Yeah, I just did," Abram smirked.

A knock on their car window distracted them before Nate could respond. They turned to see Amber leaning against their door with a hand on her hip.

"Oh, no... Another nose itch," Abram grumbled under his breath as he rolled down the glass. "Hi, Amber," he greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Abram, I was waiting for you from the morning," she drawled in a sexy purr with his beast lift his snout showing his sharp fangs into his mind.

"Gosh... Abram, please get her out of here. My eyes are burning..." Nate called through their mind link.

Abram grimaced as the spicy mix of her perfume assaulted his sensitive nose. "My nose will go numb sooner at this rate," he replied as he got out of the vehicle.

"Oh, really?" Abram asked with fake enthusiasm as he looked around them.

"Yeah. Gosh... I missed you so much," Amber launched herself to Abram and he swallowed the loud growl that almost escaped his throat in dismay. Underneath all that perfume, he could clearly smell the scent of the other male on her.

She was intimate with one of the football jocks not less than twenty-four hours ago and now she was here behaving as if she was his girlfriend.

Abram pried her hands off him with a grimace. "I think you forgot whom you slept with yesterday. I believe you've mistaken me for Theo."

Amber stepped back as if her hands were burned. "Wh- how?" She thought no one knew about her little escapade last night.

Abram shrugged. "Words travel faster than sound, you know." 

Amber blushed in embarrassment as his smirk widened. "Nate, we're getting late," he called over his shoulder as she left her there in the parking lot.

"That went smooth," Nate commented through their mind link and Abram could feel the laughter that bubbled within him.

"I know right," Abram chuckled as they proceeded to their locker.

"Wake up!"

"Wake up!"

"Shut up!"

"Wake up!"

"Shut it, Abram!"

"No. Wakey... Wakey..." Abram sang in a tone that always irked Nate and his beast.

"My classes won't start until ten. What's the problem with you?" Nate whined.

"Because I have a detention and I don't want to go alone."

Nate rolled onto his back and huffed. "As if you haven't gone alone to college before."

"Come on, it's already a quarter past eight. Move your ass," Abram nudged him.

"I'm up. Remind me, I'm never going to share a room with you ever again."

"You say that all the time. Now, go and get ready. Aunt Raelyn called in the morning," Abram informed him.

"And?"

"Well, I told her that you're snoring your nose off, and she wanted you to call her once you're up."

Abram ducked in time to escape the assault of the towel that flew past his head.

"You need to work on that aim of yours. Ouch!"

Nate just smirked when his hairbrush hit its target. "Overconfidence always sinks the ship."

Abram being the mature beast he was stuck his tongue out at Nate, who just shook his head at his antics.

-------

The college campus was full of bright colors like every other day. Abram and Nate walked side by side evading the girls who puffed their breasts suggestively at their sight.

A few could be seen sucking each other's face, oblivious to the world around them. The hornier pair would simply slip into their cars or an empty classroom for a quickie.

It was not like there were no good girls on the campus. There were too many. Sadly, they belonged to a category of people, the ones who close their eyes and scream their guts while watching horror flicks. They would either faint at the sight of his beast or just at a mere thought of him being one.

They will have no option, but to choose a mate from the Lycan or Elven females. Again, there was a problem there too. The Lycan females were very less in number when compared to the males. So, most females were already mated or a male had his hots for her, making her out of limits for the other males.

Then, as for the elven females, they lived more like the humans. They valued the mate bond, but before choosing a mate, they could be with whoever they liked. This doesn’t sit well with the Lycan males, who were always territorial about their mates. Mating with an elf was possible, but there was no guarantee that her mate won’t go hunting for her previous lovers.

“What’s going on in that thick skull of yours?” Nate’s voice chimed through their mind link.

“About our future mates,” Abram replied honestly. Nate was his one and only friend. There were no secrets between them. “I was thinking that we have no option, but to settle down for one of the elven or Lycan females.”

“All the hot stuff is already off limits. We have two choices, either wait for a Lycan female to birth a female child or choose from the abundant population of elves. Man, you’ve gotta admit that they are the hottest than the Lycan females.”

“Yes. I guess I don’t mind them having affairs as long as they stay true to us,” Abram mused. “The love we have for each other is what we need to care for, isn’t it?”

“I don’t care for that either. But, Kieran said that it was tough for our beasts. Though our human self is ready to let go of their past, our beasts would want to rip the throat of the male that touched our mate.”

“Hmm...Let’s see,” Abram nodded.

“If you had listened to me, you wouldn’t have ended up with detention.”

“No, Nate. Put it like this. If you’d listened to me and accompanied me, we would have had gone to the detention together,” Abram smirked.

Nate shook his head at his cousin. They were always like this from the childhood. His gaze scanned boringly at the crowd before choosing a spot for him to spend time until his class started. “Alright, kiddo. Go on, meet me back here.”

“As if I have a choice,” Abram mumbled as he walked away.

A girl caught Nate’s gaze and waved from her group. Nate contemplated a moment before waving at her and groaned internally when she jogged toward him, wearing a short dress that showed her long toned legs.

------

Nate looked at the items stacked in his locker and took out the books he would require for the class. The girl Marcy was not a bad company as he thought she would be. The floral perfume she wore was bearable for him to be around her and they just talked.

Abram was supposed to be here earlier, but the Mr. Hendrickson was keeping him longer than expected and he linked him to meet him back at the class with his books.

“Excuse me.”

Nate whipped around at the sound of girl, which was barely above a whisper. Sure enough, there stood a girl he had never seen on the campus before. The small paper in her grip and her unsure attire told him she was new here.

“Yes.”

“Um… Can you show me the way to Class 24-A?” She asked in an unsure voice again, her eyes never meeting his eyes directly.

Nate frowned. The girl was so different from the girls he had met before, his beast stirred from within. An overwhelming surge of protectiveness washed over him. “Sure. Just walk with me. I am going there too,” Nate replied. Her eyes briefly met his blue ones and something in her expression had Nate wonder about her life.

“So are you new here?”

“Yes.”

“What’s your name?” Nate asked as he walked beside her.

“Serenity.”

“Nate, where are you?”

“On the way. There is a new girl in our class,” Nate informed.

“Oh, good. What’s she like?”

“Sad. She won’t meet my eyes and when she did, I have this uneasy feeling about her. My beast stirs within me and wants to protect this girl. I am not sure why he feels about her that way.”

“Um… Are you attracted to her?” Abram asked.

“Definitely not. I can’t explain how I feel. I just feel protective of her.”

“Okay.”

Abram dropped the issue as he waited for them to show up. Nate rarely felt like that with any other girl and this one intrigued him. He wanted to see the girl for himself. He perked up when Nate’s familiar scent neared the classroom, his eyes trained on the door expecting the girl to show up.

His breath hitched when his eyes landed on the new girl, who entered the class after Nate.

“This way.” He heard Nate’s voice faintly inviting the girl to sit on their desk.

“Abram! You’re staring.” Nate’s voice boomed making Abram avert his gaze. The girl took a seat next to Abram muttering a thank you to Nate and Abram once again looked at the girl.

She was beautiful. She looked pure like the morning dew. Her golden brown mane was weaved neatly into a braid that now lay on her left shoulder. She had a pale smooth skin, which made him want to run his hands along her skin. Her thick brown eyebrows were trimmed forming an arch above her eyes framed with long lashes.

Again, she hadn’t met his gaze yet, which made him wonder about the color of her eyes. “Hi, I’m Abram,” he introduced.

“Serenity,” she replied briefly meeting his gaze. A soft gasp left her mouth before she averted her gaze back to her book.

Abram got a glimpse of her hazel eyes with his beast stir. He inhaled deeply trying to memorize her scent and was glad she used no perfume. The floral scent of her soap teased his nostrils and he could smell a human male on her.

Though he was not sure, who was he to her the fact didn’t sit well with him. He could be her brother or father for all he knew. However, his Lycan senses told him otherwise. He suppressed the displeased growl that threatened to emanate from his throat and averted his gaze, for he was sure it would be dark, that belonged to his beast instead of his warm brown ones.

“Abram! Calm down. You don’t want to frighten her.”

“I’m trying. What is so different about her Nate? I smell a male on her and I feel like I want to rip his head off.”

“I’m not sure, Abram. But, whatever it is, you got to take slow. We’ll discuss this later, okay?” Nate asked and Abram gave him a curt nod.

She was a human for sure. But, something about her intrigued him, stirred his protective tendency and the smell of the male irked his beast. He cannot even blame her if she had a boyfriend, she was a stranger to him and he couldn’t blame if she did.

What was he thinking? And, why would he think like that?

Like Nate said, he must take this slow. Once again, his gaze swept through her form before settling down on the textbook, not concentrating on what was written.

------

“So what’s that about?” Nate asked once they were out of the class.

“Don’t know. Whatever it is, it is weird and possessive as hell,” Abram replied.

“You need to handle this situation carefully. I believe something about that girl intrigues your beast and he feels protective of her,” Nate observed.

“Could be. Hell, we don’t know anything about this Lycan mating. Alexa and Lucian grew up together and was in love ever since they met,” Abram said in exasperation.

“Uncle Antonio and Giselle’s mating was arranged. Uncle Dimitri though fell in love with the portrait of Aunt Mira in that medallion,” Nate added. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out.”

“You too felt something similar to this, don’t you?” Abram asked.

“I did, but not as strong as you. If you wonder I feel about her romantically, definitely not,” Nate cleared.

Abram nodded as they headed to their next class. “This is between us. Let’s see where this is going. If she has a boyfriend, I don’t see the point of having this discussion in the first place.”

Nate chuckled under his breath. “Don’t look, Tia and Amber in three o’clock,” he warned.

“Those girls just won’t give up. But Nate, you and Tia, seriously dude,” Abram snickered.

“It was a one-time mistake, but I barely kissed her before I stopped. So, stop rubbing it on my face,” Nate grumbled.

“Sure…” Abram drawled and growled playfully at him before both halted when their eyes landed on the football jock. “Nate, are you thinking what I am thinking.”

“When did I ever think differently?” Nate smirked.

With a sly smirk, they both took off. The football jock did not understand what was coming to him as he shamelessly flirted with one of the cheerleaders.