Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,141
was the most important thing.
Gavin looked up at me from the bed. Usually by now, he’d shifted to his wolf. Most nights he’d sleep on the bed, stretching out until I was hanging off the side, trying to protect the little corner I’d made for myself. I’d tried pointing out that the floor was readily available, but he’d just yawn at me and turn his head away.
But here he was, still human.
I was nervous for reasons I didn’t want to focus on.
I threw my clothes in the laundry bin, looking down to see a pink sweater sitting on the top. The scent of the old-growth forest was thick. I tried to breathe it in without him noticing.
Which was apparently not the best idea I’d ever had.
“You smell me,” he said.
I stiffened. “What?”
“You smell me,” he said again, as if that explained everything.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He snorted. “Yeah, okay.”
I shook my head. “You need to stop hanging out with Gordo. You’re starting to talk like him.”
“He’s my brother.”
I sighed. “Yeah. I guess he is.”
“What does it smell like? Me. To you.”
Shit. “We really don’t need to talk about this.”
“Why not?”
“It’s late.”
“Tomorrow’s Christmas.”
“It is.”
“I haven’t had Christmas in a long time.”
I turned around. He was looking down at his hands. He was wearing a pair of sleep shorts. They belonged to Joe. Rico had bought him new sleep clothes along with everything else, but Gavin had yet to wear them. I didn’t ask because I understood. They smelled like an Alpha. Like pack. It was comforting. “Well, you can have one here. Tomorrow. I don’t know how big it’s going to be. Ox and Gordo are leaving in a couple of days. Joe and Robbie too.”
“Kelly going.”
I blinked. “What?”
“Kelly,” he said. “Going to Caswell with Joe and Robbie.”
I hadn’t known that. I scratched the back of my neck. “Makes sense. Robbie doesn’t have the best history with Caswell. Kelly wouldn’t want to let him out of his sight. We’re… weird that way.”
Gavin watched me, a curious look on his face. “Because they’re mates.”
I shrugged awkwardly. “Yeah. That’s part of it. A big part, even. But it’s also probably for Joe. Wanting to make sure someone has his back.”
“Joe is Alpha.”
“Your observational skills are exceptional.”
He sneered at me. “Alpha of all.”
“He is,” I agreed, wondering where he was going with this while also trying to figure out why the bed looked much smaller than it had this morning.
“Powerful,” Gavin said. “But I don’t know if he likes it.”
That startled me. “Why do you think that?”
“My observational skills are exceptional.”
I groaned. “You’re such an asshole.”
He grinned at me. “Your words.” The smile faded slightly. “Why does he do something he doesn’t like?”
It was too late for this. I was exhausted, but he wasn’t moving. I leaned against my desk. “Because he has to.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s who he’s supposed to be.”
He nodded slowly. “But you said I could be whoever I wanted.”
“You can.”
“Then why can’t he?”
“I…. It’s blood, Gavin. It’s in our blood. We’re Bennetts.”
“What would you be?”
“What do you mean?”
He frowned in concentration. “If you… trying to find words.” He hit the side of his head.
“Hey, don’t do that. Just take your time, man. It’ll come to you.”
He said, “If you could be. Anyone else. Would you?”
“No,” I said, surprising even myself. “I don’t think I would.”
“Why?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek before answering. “There’s this… history. Here, in Green Creek. And it’s not always a good history. A lot of shit has happened here.”
“But?”
The house creaked around us. I could hear my mother singing as she got ready for bed. Ox laughed downstairs at something Joe said. Jessie and Dominique were in the kitchen, drinking tea and talking quietly. Gordo and Mark were on the porch, close together and wrapped in blankets, sipping beer from cans. “But this is our home,” I said quietly. “It’s not perfect. I don’t think it ever will be. There’s always going to be something. And yet, even when I was gone, even when I was slipping, I thought of this place. Kelly and Joe. Mom. The others. They’re here. They’re home.”
“You came after me,” he whispered.
“I did.”
“Like Kelly went after Robbie.”
I swallowed with an audible click. “I suppose it’s kind of like that.”
And then he said, “What do I smell like to you?”
“Do we really need to—”
He said, “Grass. Lake water. Sunshine. That’s what Robbie says Kelly smells like to him.”