Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,171

stalked toward me before thrusting his hand out, shoving the wolf against my chest. “I don’t know how to do this,” he muttered. “Take it.”

“Wow, romantic. Thanks. I’ll remember this moment for—”

“Stupid Carter. Take it.” He poked it against my chest again. “Now.”

I took it.

He frowned. “That’s it?”

I shrugged. “That’s it.”

“Huh. That was dumb. Why do we have to do that? Don’t need wolf. Have scar. That’s enough.”

“Tradition,” I told him. “It’s tradition.”

He blinked. “Like Sundays?”

I nodded.

“Oh.” Then, “Where’s mine? Give it to me. Tradition.”

I sighed. “It’s in the nightstand drawer. Go get it.”

“No. You have to give it to me. Tradition.”

“Pain in my ass,” I muttered, and I stumbled when he said, “Not yet I’m not. Time for that later.”

I opened the bottom drawer. There, lying in the back on its side, was my own wolf of stone. I said, “My father gave this to me. He said I’d know in my heart who it would belong to. I didn’t understand then what he meant. I got older, and I never met anyone who made me feel that way. I watched Joe find his own path. Kelly. Gordo. And even when you were there, right in front of me, I still didn’t know. But I figured it out eventually.”

“When?” he asked.

I stood up. “When you left to save us all. I knew in my heart because my heart was breaking.” I turned around and showed him the wolf. It wasn’t as nice as his. This had been my father’s first. It was clumsy, more a lump of quartz than an actual wolf, but the intent was there.

“I won’t leave,” he said.

“Never?” I teased him. “Even when I piss you off?”

“You always piss me off,” he retorted. “Still here.”

And I said, “Promise me.” It wasn’t fair of me to ask, but I was beyond caring.

He didn’t hesitate. “I promise.”

I gave him the wolf.

He held it as if it were something precious. He inspected it closely, turning it around to see all sides. He looked back at the wolf in my hands. “That’s it?”

“That’s it,” I said, my heart beating rapidly.

“Oh.” Then he grinned.

And tackled me.

We fell onto the bed and he kissed me like he was never going to stop.

I never wanted him to.

I had never felt more awake.

I allowed myself to have this. To have it last as long as it could. To pretend that there was nothing out there coming for us.

It didn’t last, of course.

A bright light arced through my head, like a comet.

I stiffened.

He did too. “I felt that. Is it…?”

I said, “The wards. Something just hit the wards.”

IT WENT LIKE THIS:

The sky was dark, stars like ice.

The moon was a sliver as the year hurtled toward its end.

They moved around me. My mother. Gavin. Mark. Jessie. Rico. Chris. Tanner. Dominique.

It was at the covered bridge that we found them.

Wolves all.

Betas. Their eyes were orange in the dark.

I counted twenty.

I recognized half from Caswell.

They would be the first. I would make sure of it.

One of the wolves said, “Where’s the king?”

I said, “I know you.”

He grinned. “Do you? Quite an honor to be known by a prince. It’s—”

“You’re Santos. Robbie told me about you. Always in charge of the prisoner you kept locked away like a good little lapdog.”

His smile twisted into something toxic and dark. “Yeah, I guess I was.” He looked back at the others gathered around him before he turned once again to us. “Got a bit of a promotion. And a new Alpha.”

I nodded slowly. “I heard.”

“I don’t see Robbie.” The wolves behind him laughed. “Where is he? Poor little lost boy. You don’t know how hard it was for me to keep from killing him every time he stood before me.” He spat onto the ground. “Thought we could take care of that now.”

I shrugged. “Don’t think you’ll get that chance.”

He didn’t like that. He looked to my mother and said, “I’m going to kill your sons. Green Creek will have a new Alpha. We’ll spare Gavin because that’s what our Alpha wants. But I’m going to save you for last. I’m going to take everything from you. And while they bleed out in front of you, begging for you to help them, Mommy, please, please, Mommy, I’m going to—”

Jessie said, “Bored now.” The crack of gunfire was loud in the dark. Santos stared at us with wide eyes as blood trickled down his face from the hole in his forehead. He fell to his knees. His eyes flickered orange and