Brothersong (Green Creek #4) - T.J. Klune Page 0,72

at me.”

He did, though he looked as if he tried to fight it.

“You can’t leave,” Joe said slowly. “You have to stay. Why?”

“Father,” Gavin said. “Big. Strong. Powerful. I hear him. In my head. He says stay, stay, stay. He’s wolf. He’s beast. I stay, he stays.”

“You’re keeping him here,” Joe said.

Gavin nodded, head jerking up and down.

“Away from everyone else.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“Because he has you, and that’s all he ever wanted.”

“Yes, yes, yes.”

“Is he your Alpha?”

And Gavin hesitated. He looked confused. Unsure.

Joe stood. “He’s not, is he? He thinks he is, but he’s not.”

Gavin was breathing heavily, chest rising and falling.

“You know he’s not,” Joe continued, sounding sure of himself. I was in awe of him, how different he was. Oh, he was still Joe, but there was more to him now. “He’s not your Alpha, because you already have one. Two, in fact. Isn’t that right?”

Gavin bumped into me, and he turned his head to look at me. He grabbed my hand, his grip crushing. I didn’t try to pull away.

“Gavin,” Joe said, voice deeper. His eyes filled with fire, and in my head, I heard the faint whisper of pack and pack and pack. “You were never his. No matter what he told you. No matter what he did to you. You were never his.”

Gavin hung his head, mouth slack as he panted.

Joe put his hand under his chin, lifting his head until he could look him in the eyes. “I don’t know what’s happened to you. And I don’t know what you’ve been through, but an Alpha isn’t supposed to hurt his pack. An Alpha is supposed to protect them. To keep them safe and whole.”

“In my head,” Gavin said miserably. “Always in my head.” He screwed up his face. “I hear him. Always calling. I keep him here. I stay, he stays.” He let my hand go, pulling his face from Joe’s touch. “You go. Take Carter. Leave. Go far away.”

“And leave you here?”

Gavin nodded. “Yes.”

“What if I don’t want to do that?”

“Then you die,” Gavin snarled. He pushed Joe away. “All of you die. He’ll know. He’ll know you’re here. Magic. It can’t last forever. Not your pack. Not my Alpha. Don’t want this.” He glanced at me before looking away. “Don’t want any of this.”

It stung more than I expected it to. And I was tired. “Maybe you should shift back. It’s easier when you’re a wolf. At least then you act like you give a shit about me.”

“Carter,” Joe snapped.

“I don’t,” Gavin growled. “I’ve told you. Over and over. You don’t listen. You never listen.”

“Whatever, dude. All I’ve done is try to help you. I left my pack behind to go after your sorry ass and you pull this crap? Go, then. Go back to your fucking father. See how long you last. I don’t care anymore. You want us to leave you? Fine. We will.”

Kelly grabbed me by the arm, pulling me toward the door. “Outside,” he said. “Now.”

“Child,” Gavin spat at me. “Still a child. And don’t call me dude.”

“Oh, fuck you, man,” I said, trying to get Kelly to let me go. “I’m not a child. We’re probably the same goddamn age. You don’t know shit about me. You don’t know—”

Kelly shoved me through the door and out into the snow.

I RANTED.

I raved.

I paced back and forth, throwing my hands up in anger.

I said we should just go.

I said we should just leave him here.

I was tired. My back hurt. My leg hurt. My head hurt. I couldn’t focus. Kelly and Joe and Gordo were knots in my chest, and I couldn’t untangle them no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to shift. To run as far away as I could.

I wanted to forget Gavin existed.

I said, “And who the fuck does he think he is? That fucking asshole. Ungrateful. That’s what he is. He’s ungrateful. We took him in. We gave him a home. We—”

Kelly said, “Bambi had the baby.”

I stopped and closed my eyes. The air was cold and burned my nose when I inhaled.

“She got big, though please don’t tell her I ever said that.”

I laughed. It sounded like I was crying.

“End of August,” Kelly said. “She worked at the bar all the way up until her water broke. And even then she poured a few more beers before she called Rico to let him know. He wasn’t allowed at the bar those last few weeks. He would growl at anyone who got within a