A night of pain

"What happened?!" Dylan stormed directly towards the first-year dorms and entered Max's room before seeing the bathroom door opened. There he saw Ernie holding the other door of the bathroom, sometimes jolting as the sound of slamming was heard.

He was sleeping in his room before, taking a nice rest as tomorrow would be his turn to watch Max who was supposedly 'slumbering' but was jolted awake while the feeling of pain manifested all over his body. Knowing that he wasn't wounded and that he now was linked to Max he immediately got up from his bed rushing here, thinking that Max was in trouble.

"I f***ed up! I showed him how to gather the moonlight element. The problem was that his affinity is extremely high and I've let him absorb them too much while watching him, I was too surprised to think about it." Ernie said truthfully while looking at Dylan. He was spooked out at first but now he understood that his appearance has something to do with Max being under him.

"You idiot! His body is evolving at an extremely high rate because of you!" He rushed to the bathtub where he saw Max crying, his tears being mixed up with all the water that was poured on him.

He saw the water turning to steam as it hit Max's body and that is when he realized how dire the situation was.

'Just how much heat is his body creating?!' He thought, keeping it to himself.

"It is better to have more ventilation of the room, open the door to the guy trying to get in and knock him unconscious before opening his window as well, this steam will only keep warmth inside the room and that is the last thing he needs at this moment" Dylan instructed rapidly after thinking for a brief second.

It was up to Max's body to bear the heat that was generated inside but that didn't mean that they couldn't help him slightly. Yes, it was barely increasing his chances at survival but any increase was better than nothing.

Ernie did as told and as he heard Mark coming in to slam into the door again his eyes changed colors, a blue hue appearing alongside a change in attitude. The door opened swiftly and Mark stumbled slightly, not expecting the door to open right before hitting it.

He tried recovering from the stumble but that moment was enough for Ernie to plant a strong hit on Mark, the sudden pain that jolted from the neck making the former pass out instantly. Ernie grabbed him before he managed to hit the floor, getting inside his room and opening the window before putting the unconscious body of Mark on the bed.

'This is done' Ernie thought before going back to the bathroom where he saw Dylan using his own water abilities to cool off Max's body.

"How is he doing?" Ernie asked, sincere fear and guilt showing on his face.

"Pretty bad, you are an idiot" Dylan immediately insulted him and Ernie didn't rebuke, feeling like it was well deserved.

"I-I am sorry, I don't know where to even begin. But I swear to you Dylan it wasn't intentional, I told you that I'll make an effort to accept him" Ernie pleaded, he didn't need to but knowing that Max might die because he was distracted from doing his job he had to.

"Keep apologizes for Max, I'll see how much you are in trouble after this situation dies down" Dylan clenched his teeth while doing so, he didn't want to look at Ernie anymore.

Ernie didn't know what to do, feeling like the situation is completely overpowering him, he thought of the only other person who could help at this moment.

'Bryce' He thought before dashing out through the open window, fast pacing toward the second-year dorms. Ernie got there in a matter of seconds and swiftly made his way through the hall and going up the stairs, arriving right before Bryce's door shortly after.

He opened the door which was not locked, jolting Bryce awake who shot up from the bed looking towards his door. He quickly nodded, seeing Ernie here meant that something happened and he didn't want to waste any second.

They left and as Ernie guided the way he explained to Bryce everything that happened so far.

"Are you dumb?! You should've let me sleep than waste your time coming here! Pick up the pace!" Bryce then fastened his pace, his eyes glowing red in the darkness that the world presented around them.

"Bryce!" Dylan said as he heard the door from Max's room open and shut itself in a fast manner.

"Yes it's me, he woke me up. Ernie use your powers to circulate the air around, this room feels like a sauna!" Bryce commanded and Ernie complied, instantly using his elemental powers to create a ventilation system.

The room changed as the inhaled air felt colder and less damp, and even the vision became clearer as Ernie brought wind from outside.

"This is a lot better" Bryce addressed no one before joining Dylan's side who was basically emanating stress and worry.

"It's going to be alright; he is strong and you know it, nothing will happen to him." Bryce comforted Dylan, understanding what he was going through.

Every alpha was told about the bond one shares with their direct beta's and especially the first ones was extremely powerful, and was a huge mystery for any of the shapeshifter races. Taking Dylan as an example, if Max would die just a week after being transformed then he would experience a high level of trauma which will most probably stop him from making betas for the rest of his life.

The Beta-Alpha bond was something that not a lot of werewolves could describe, it being a sacred bond that even enabled both the alpha and the beta to feel each other's emotions and sometimes even communicate through thoughts, things that normally wouldn't be possible for anyone.

"I don't know what to do Bryce!" Dylan said in a pleading voice as if asking the latter for advice.

"Be here for him and everything is going to be alright. Being together makes both of you strong so this is one way…" Bryce began recalling information but his line of thought was interrupted by Dylan who also began groaning in pain.

'Is he absorbing pain from Max?' He wondered, remembering what their leader said in the lectures they got about being alphas.

Sharing the pain through the bond was a scary thing but Dylan did it because he felt pressured by the situation. Hours passed by and both individuals began showing signs of getting better, things such as their heartbeats and breathing patterns improved greatly after the beginning of this whole deal.

"Dylan you should get some rest for today, I'll keep an eye on Max for today and you'll take my shift tomorrow." Bryce recommended in an attempt to show pity on the sorry state Dylan was in.

"It's alright, I can manage." Dylan rejected his offer taking heavy breaths. "I have to be here to explain it to him after all, it won't be right to let you or especially Ernie to do it"

Bryce sighed before letting it go, it was true that Max felt his body burning up in flames all night but that didn't mean that it will make him unreasonable, Dylan was just extremely protective of Max because of the sudden events that happened.

"I'll leave to get some sleep then, it's already dawn after all," Bryce said before looking towards Ernie, giving him a message to uncover.

"What do yo-, I should also get going then." Ernie wanted to ask Bryce but then he realized what he transmitted through his gaze and words.

Bryce and Ernie left together, leaving Dylan to deal with Max which was soaked from head to bottom, now shivering because of the cold.

"Let's get you changed Max," Dylan said as he grabbed Max by his armpits, holding him up with ease.