Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,162

okay?” as Ox’s face crumpled. “We’ll do what we can to hold them off until you get here.”

“Please,” Ox whispered. “I can’t lose you too.”

“You won’t,” Tanner said, stepping up next to Chris, standing shoulder to shoulder. “You’re our Alpha. You’ve taught us well. You and Joe both. We always knew it could come to this. Trust us, okay? Have the faith we have in you.”

“I’m coming,” Ox said, and we felt the pull of our Alpha. “I’m coming for all of you. Do what you can. But if it’s too much, you run. I don’t care what happens to the town. You take the people and you run.”

The screen went dark.

“Fuck,” Joe snarled. “Kelly, get on the—yes. Now. Robbie, go outside. Get as many people together as you can. And if anyone gives you shit, you tell them you’re speaking for me. I’ll be out there in a minute.”

“But—”

“Go.”

We heard them running.

Joe said, “Mom.”

“I’m here,” she said quietly.

“I can’t lose him,” he whispered. He sounded like a little boy again, telling us about a boy he’d found on a dirt road in the middle of the woods.

“You won’t,” she said. “Get home.”

“I love you.”

“We love you too. We’ll see you soon.” She disconnected the call. She stared down at the screen a moment before shaking her head. When she looked up at us, her eyes were orange. “We’re not going to let this happen. Whatever comes, we face it, and we face it together. We—” She stopped.

“What?” I asked.

Mom looked from the door back to me. “Where’s Gavin?”

I whirled around.

He was gone.

I TORE THROUGH THE HOUSE, shouting his name.

He didn’t answer.

I flew into our room, the door slamming against the wall. On the bed underneath a stone wolf that had once belonged to my mother was a note written in familiar block letters, two words that screamed at me.

I’M SORRY.

I whirled around, running from the room and back down the stairs.

Mark was on the first floor, eyes wide. “What’s wrong now?”

I ignored him, bursting from the house. I jumped off the porch and landed on the ground, looking around, listening to the sounds of the forest. “Come on,” I muttered. “Come on. Come on.”

There. Behind the blue house. A rapid heartbeat.

I ran toward it.

I rounded the house and skidded to a stop.

In the trees near the blue house, I saw a flash of color.

A timber wolf running through the trees.

My fangs descended.

My claws grew.

A powerful beat thundered in my head, urging me to chase and hunt and bite.

My clothing tore as I

i

i

i am wolf

run

run fast

stop him

gavin

gavin

gavin

hear me

hear me i need you to hear

me you can’t do this

you can’t leave

not

there you

are i see you

you’re fast

but i’m faster

i

I shifted back as I tackled him, sliding along the ground. I ended up on top of him. He was on his back, paws kicking up into me, scratching my skin. He tried to snap at me. I gripped his snout with my hand, holding his mouth closed before turning his face into the ground. I roared at him, eyes flashing as I lowered my face to his.

He stopped struggling. He whined, eyes violet and scared.

“Shift back,” I bit out.

He didn’t.

“Shift. Back.”

I felt the muscle and bone grinding against me. The hair receded, and all that remained was the man I’d come to know. He scowled as he shoved me off him. I fell to the ground at his side but was up on my feet before he could move again.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Stupid Carter,” he muttered, pushing himself up. “Stupid, stupid Carter.”

“Fuck you.” I shoved his chest. He took a stumbling step back. “Where are you going?”

“Not your business,” he snapped. “You don’t own me. I go where I want.”

I could barely think straight. I was so goddamn angry. Bile rose at the back of my throat, and I choked it down. But hidden under the fury like a great, lumbering beast was something bigger.

Fear.

I was scared.

Not of him, but of what he was doing. Of whatever was going on in his head.

I’M SORRY the note said.

“Running away?” I asked, a nasty curl in my voice. “That it? First sign of trouble and you’re running?”

He glared at me but didn’t speak.

“Fucking coward.” I grabbed him by the arm and started pulling him back toward the houses.

“I’m not a coward,” he growled at me, struggling to pull free. My grip was too strong. “Shut up.”

“I don’t want to hear it. What the hell is wrong with you? How could you think this