“Apologise.” Father’s voice was no longer his own, and Kol instantly backed Nova out of the room. “Now.”
“But Father—”
Those two words were all Nesi managed to say before Father attacked him. Mikoh and I reacted instantly when Nesi’s instincts forced him to respond to the threat upon him. I lurched forward for Father and Mikoh darted for Nesi. Father elbowed me in the face and stomach before I could get a proper hold on him. Pain surged through me, but it didn’t stop me from trying to break them apart. The longer Father fought without a submission from Nesi, the quicker he would reach the edge.
This was why I was so like him. I was the only one of his sons who shared his edge tendency. We reached the edge of sanity quicker than all Maji males. We spent decades learning how to rein it in and force control over the deadly instinct.
For Father to attack Nesi meant he took Nesi’s insult on Nova very personal. I took another couple of hits to my head and was suddenly put on my behind when Nesi speared our father into me and knocked me over. I hit my shoulder against the ground hard and snarled in annoyance that I was getting beat on when I was only trying to stop the brawl.
“Stop!” I roared to them as they fought viciously. “Yield!”
They did not listen. Mikoh and I had no choice but to step back and allow it to play out because neither of them was going for the other’s throat, which didn’t surprise me because they were only angry, not death hungry.
“Mother will be a force to be reckoned with when she—”
I heard the familiar screech of my mother, and before I could look at the doorway, she was suddenly on my father’s back sinking her teeth into his neck. Instantly, he ceased moving. Nesi rolled away and sprung to his feet. His orange eyes were wild as he glared at Father, but he instantly returned to his kneeled position near him, showing submission. He knew he was wrong. He didn’t want to fight Father, but his instincts didn’t care. I watched as blood rolled from a large gaping cut above his left eye. Blood ran from both his nostrils, and he already had black bruises forming on his face and chest.
A glance at Father showed one bloody nostril, and slight swelling under his eye, and that was it. Other than a thin sheen of sweat on his body, he looked untouched. I was impressed with his skill and made a mental note to ask him to spar with me in the coming days. I was strong, and though I was quick, I still felt like my agility could use some help. There was always room for improvement. Any male who didn’t constantly seek to improve his fighting was weak and not deserving to be one of the people. No female in her right mind would form a bond with such a male.
Not that I wanted to form a bond with a female.
“I’m done,” Father said to Mother, who still had him pinned on the floor with her teeth in his neck. “Feel me, faya. I am calm.”
She released him.
“Stupid male,” Mother snarled, positioning herself in front of a still kneeling Nesi. “You’ll not harm my son. I’ll send you to meet Kuat!”
The threat of Father reaching the edge vanished once my mother was in harm’s way. He straightened up, rubbed the blood from his nose, and didn’t blink as he watched her. I wanted to know what he was thinking, what he was saying to her in their thoughts, but I’d never know because it was a bond I had no understanding of. Only mated pairs knew what it entailed.
“Moonlight—”
Mother reached out and slashed him across the face, her sharp nails cutting into his skin, leaving claw marks in their place. Blood trickled from the wounds instantly. Father didn’t so much as flinch. He only watched my mother, who looked ready to defend her offspring to the death. Her instincts had made her irrational and blind to the fact that Father no longer posed a threat to Nesi. He was too focused on her, but she was only focused on protecting her young. We were all grown, apart from Surkah, but when her motherly instincts were tapped into during a fight, she behaved like we were all young, helpless, and needed her for everything.
That was the power of a mother’s love, and the bond she shared with her offspring. We all understood that, especially my father. It took a few minutes of Father’s crooning for her to dismiss him as a threat. She turned to Nesi, hauling him up to his feet. Father frowned as my mother fussed over Nesi, who winced heavily when she touched his bruised side.