not…. Ox.”
He shook his head. “You decided to take matters into your own hands. You left us all because you thought it was the right thing to do. That if you could find Gavin on your own, the rest of us would be safe. Is that right?”
My mouth felt dry. He was still serene but there was more to it now, an undercurrent that pulled at me. I didn’t want it as much as I had only a moment before. He could be scary when he wanted to be. “That’s… yeah. I guess it is.”
“So, like your father, you made a choice. I thought at first it was a selfish one, that you were only thinking about yourself. But that didn’t last because that’s not who you are. I know you, Carter. I know you very well. You would lay down your life for anyone in this pack without question. Once I remembered that, I had to look elsewhere. Do you know what I found?”
I couldn’t speak. I felt ashamed that I could think so little of him, even if only for a moment.
“I found that you were as you always are. You carry the burden of your name as the oldest son to a king and queen.” He turned his head to look at me. His dark eyes held no hint of red or violet. “I had time to think about all of this. How we came to be here. All that we’ve lost.” He glanced at Gavin, still hiding behind me, before settling his gaze on me again. “I found that we fight because if we don’t, no one else will. Some of the people in Caswell may not like Joe. But they still look to us to save them. Is it fair? No. But how can we turn them away?” And then he said, “Gavin. I recognize you. It took me a long time after Caswell to figure out why, but then it hit me. You came to Green Creek once. You were part of the group of Omegas that took Jessie all those years ago.”
All the air was sucked from the room. Mark frowned as he sat forward in his chair. “You what?”
Ox turned around fully, arms across his chest. I stepped back into Gavin without thinking, like I was shielding him from Ox. “He didn’t—”
Ox held up his hand. “I’m not accusing him of anything. It’s a statement of fact. He was here.” Ox tilted his head at me. “And you know that too, don’t you?”
“He was looking for Dad. He joined up with the Omegas to try to get here. Nothing more. He didn’t hurt anyone.”
Ox nodded slowly. “Gavin, I’m not trying to scare you. If I thought you were dangerous, you wouldn’t be here. Please remember that.”
Gavin muttered something behind me, and I had to fight the urge to pull him away from all of this. Even though the office was bigger than the cabin had been, it felt like the walls were closing in.
“What did you say?” Ox asked lightly.
Gavin tightened his grip on my shirt. It pulled against my chest and stomach. He said, “Didn’t want to. Hurt. I was… lost. Wolf. Omega. I remembered Thomas. Said if I needed help to find him. Didn’t know he was dead.” He pressed his forehead against my back. “Wouldn’t hurt Jessie. Wouldn’t hurt anyone. Not if I didn’t have to. Just trying to survive.”
“We know,” Mom said, and I was grateful when she glared at Ox. “No one here thinks you would.”
“Of course not,” Ox said, and I could see he was fighting a smile. “But it’s a circle just like Mark said. We’re connected, all of us, and it goes back longer than we even thought. We can’t keep making the same mistakes. We need to be better than we were before.” He looked at me pointedly. “We have to trust each other. After Robbie was taken from us, we forgot how to do that. We were divided. We found our way back, yes, but we can’t let that happen again. All the cards on the table. No secrets, not anymore. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I get it.”
“Good,” Ox said. “I’m happy to hear that. Which is why I want you to listen to what I have to say next. Listen, okay? And know that I’m not speaking to you as your Alpha. I’m speaking to you as your brother.”
“Okay.”
He squared his shoulders. “You’re a fucking moron.”
“Hey!”
He shook his head. “Of