broken, that he’d find you. And if you had any sense in that head of yours, you’d listen to him.”
“More sense than him,” Gavin muttered. He handed me the photo. A young woman smiled up at me, standing in front of a card catalogue drawer. She was wearing jeans and a black shirt with a skull and crossbones on the front. She looked so young.
I handed it back to him. He looked at it again before setting it back on the desk. “I look like her?”
“A little bit,” Mom said. “Especially your eyes. You can see her in your eyes.”
“I like that.”
“I thought you might.” She took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I have two more gifts for you. And remember, you always have a choice. Whatever happens between you and—”
“Jesus Christ, Mom, we get it.”
“Oh, hush,” she said. “I saw that poor raccoon you slaughtered and brought to him at the full moon. You looked so proud of yourself.”
“Mom!”
“I ate it,” Gavin said solemnly. “All of it. Even the tail.”
“I saw,” Mom said, fighting back her laughter. “Carter was prancing around you.”
I groaned into my hands. “I wasn’t prancing.”
“Skipping, then. On four legs.”
“I’m leaving.”
“You’re staying right where you are.”
“Yeah,” Gavin said. “Stay there.”
“Fuck you both very much,” I muttered under my breath.
She said, “Gavin. Do you know why you’re still an Omega?”
I couldn’t speak. But she didn’t even look at me.
Gavin looked down at his hands. He shook his head, though it seemed forced.
Her voice was soft. “It’s not an admonition. I can’t imagine all that you’ve been through. Your life hasn’t been easy. Believe me when I say I know what that’s like. Maybe not the particulars, but our paths are more intertwined than even you may know. I’m not just speaking about Livingstones and Bennetts. Set that aside for a moment.” She smiled, and it was a quiet blue. “If you’re anything like me, you wonder sometimes how any of this could be real. It feels… too good, sometimes. Yes, we’ve known the limitless depths of grief. But we’re still standing. You can have this, if you want. This pack. These last two gifts are not meant to sway you one way or another. You are free, Gavin. I know it may not seem like it with all that’s hanging over us. But you are free. Do you understand?”
He nodded, shoulders stiff.
She reached into the drawer again. She pulled out an envelope. My mouth went dry. She set it on the desk before sliding it over to Gavin. On the front of the envelope, I could see three words written in a familiar hand.
FOR CARTER’S FUTURE
“Mom,” I croaked out. “Is that….”
“Yes,” she said. “It’s a letter your father wrote. And I think he wrote it for Gavin.”
Gavin jerked his head up. “Me?”
She nodded. “Not specifically. But yes, you. I don’t know anyone else it’s meant for more than you. Would you like to read it?”
He reached out as if in awe, fingers shaking. He touched the envelope in reverence, tracing the words, stopping on my name. He pulled his hand back, and my stomach twisted harshly.
He said, “My eyes. They don’t… work. Like they used to. Words are hard. Getting better, but hard to read.” He glanced at me, flushing. “I’m not stupid. I know how to read. Just gets jumbled up. Not there yet.”
“Oh,” my mother said. “I know what that’s like. After Thomas left us and I only knew the wolf for months, the first time I shifted back, my head was jumbled too. It was confusing.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled. The air burned with his shame. “I guess like that.”
“It’ll get easier,” she said. “I promise. Be patient. You don’t have to read it now. It’ll be there when you’re ready. It’s—”
“Can you read it for me?”
My mother looked startled. “Are you sure?”
He nodded tightly. “I want to hear it.”
She said, “I’m sure Carter would like to—”
“Please.”
She looked to me. I shrugged helplessly. I was hungry. Greedy. I wanted to tear through the envelope and read what it had to say, to hear what my father thought of me. I was scared. It was like the moon was full once again and calling for me.
I fought. It was harder than I thought it would be.
She said, “If that’s what you want.”
And Gavin said, “Yes.”
She lifted the envelope. She opened it carefully before pulling out the folded paper inside. Her eyes were wet when she opened the pages, and I marveled at her. This