“It’s not like James helped me by admitting his undying love,” Thomas growled.
James snarled back at him. “If you didn’t have your head shoved up your ass, I’m pretty sure you would realize I saved your fucking chance with her by giving her a reason to come fucking back,” he reminded their Alpha.
“Can we not have this argument again?” Tony grumbled, looking between them. “It’s just not important right now. She’s not here and you two giving each other shit doesn’t solve anything.”
“She’s going to be heartbroken to miss Riley’s gallery opening,” Thomas sighed. Tony knew that, they all did. She had been looking forward to it, scheduling her trip so she had time to get off the plane, get some sleep, and then make it to the opening. Now, those plans were going down the storm drain.
“We can get her something?” James offered, frowning. “Riley has a ton of paintings, and I’m pretty sure she’s got some of Abigail or us.”
“Nothing should be for sale tonight,” Thomas growled, looking mad at that. “I’m going to try anyways. She has a little coyote working there that I might be able to convince to sell me something anyway. She’ll bend to an Alpha.”
“Why don’t we just ask Riley?” Tony looked at his Alpha like he was crazy. There was no reason to harass Riley’s new employee.
“I’ll think about it,” he muttered. Tony was realizing his Alpha was pissed off. “Let’s get back to Wild Junction. There’s no reason to hang out at the airport if she isn’t getting on the plane. We need to make sure Finn is coming with us tonight. Abigail would want him to go.”
“Yeah,” Tony said slowly, still staring at Thomas, trying to figure out what his problem was. Thomas had been out incredibly late the night before after he let Tony and James head home. Tony wondered if it was just a lack of sleep.
They left quickly, trying to get through the Saturday crowds of the airport. Once back in Wild Junction, Thomas disappeared, and James went to the bar to make sure everything was covered for them to be gone for the evening.
Tony went to Finn’s, knocking on the door only once before entering. At this point, the fox was used to them showing up.
“Finn, my man?” he called out.
“In the kitchen,” Finn called back softly. Tony went around the corner and saw him making lunch for himself, a sandwich. He was glad to see the fox eating regularly again. In March, he’d been nearly forty pounds underweight, but it looked like he was starting to fill his clothing out again. The apartment was also still clean, not pristine but not trashed. Lived in. Tony looked into the living room and saw a new TV, new couch, and some entertainment equipment. He was glad to see the PS4. Kid was keeping himself busy, it seemed.
“You want to ride with us to the gallery opening tonight?” he asked without preamble.
“Yeah, sure,” Finn mumbled. “Abigail going?”
“Her flight from DC has been cancelled. It looks like she might be stuck on that side of the country for another day,” he explained, rubbing his face.
“Shit,” Finn groaned. “That blows.”
“Right?” He chuckled dryly. “How are things with you?”
“Getting better,” Finn replied, shrugging. “Abigail is a big help. I hope she keeps me as a patient.”
“If you need anything and she’s not around, you can always ask the Pack,” he reminded the fox.
“I know,” Finn whispered. “Thomas…Thomas asked if I wanted to join, just so I knew I had people to lean on.”
Tony tried not to act shocked. He had no idea that Thomas had asked Finn to join the Pack. He wondered if even James knew.
“I would love having you as a packmate,” he quickly said, hoping he hadn’t screwed up by being shocked by it.
“I told him I would think about it,” Finn admitted.
“What are the reasons you would say no?” He frowned at Finn.
“Huck and I used to travel a lot. We never settled down…this is the longest I’ve lived in one spot for…years,” Finn explained. He looked down at his finished sandwich and picked it up to take a bite. Tony waited patiently, even if part of him wanted to shake the fox to continue. “I don’t know if I want to stay in Wild Junction forever, ya know? Maybe one day I’ll want to leave again.”
“Any other reasons?”
“I’ve never been in a thing like a pack?” Finn shrugged again. “Foxes, we live in small family units and leave when we’re old enough to find our own way. Not like a pack of anything, just a family. We move a lot. It’s just how we are.”
“It doesn’t mean it’s how you have to be,” Tony said softly. “Look at Abigail. She’s a doe, in the Pack.”
“She’s also sleeping with all of you?” Finn chuckled, looking over to Tony. “Makes sense for her to be in the Pack.”
“It’s not why she joined the Pack though.” Tony laughed, nodding. “She is sleeping with us, but it’s not a requirement. She wasn’t taking care of herself, not shifting enough. It’s not safe for her to go out alone. We saved her from a fucking mountain lion. Thomas invited her in, James convinced her to say yes, and I just wanted her in. We wanted to move on with our lives and she…she came here at the perfect time.”
“You make it sound easy,” Finn scoffed. “It’s not, you know? Moving on.”
“You aren’t the only person who lost people in that place, Finn,” he whispered. Only the felines and Sheriff had walked out without losing someone important to them and even then, the bear had been shot.
“I lost my twin and he was…everything to me. Our parents…they haven’t spoken to me since I told them about what happened. They claimed his body from the SSTF and buried him. I wasn’t told when the funeral was going to happen. They haven’t even told me where they put him to rest.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Tony hadn’t known that. He felt shitty. Thomas should have talked to him and James about giving Finn an invite to the Pack, but now he didn’t care. This kid needed more than just some friends - he needed a damn family. Tony could be that for him. He loved to build family, he really did. This kid fucking needed one.
“I went to Rocker’s last night, got plastered, and told Thomas.” Finn sighed, seeming sad about it. “Then he invited me to the Pack. I think telling him has made it easier to…think about, talk about.”
Tony was glad for Thomas’ quick thinking and now realized why Thomas might not have brought it up. “Shit, man. You talk to Abigail about that kind of stuff?”
“No,” Finn whispered. “I just tell her how hard days are, how I keep dreaming of the moment Huck got shot. She doesn’t pry too much, which is the reason I like seeing her. She takes what I give her and works with it. She doesn’t force me to see her either, doesn’t drag me to appointments. Though she threatened to start recently. Said you guys would start coming to get me.” Finn gave Tony a weak smile, and he just wanted to hug the kid. He was so young. Not like the Pride, who were young and mature, with a whole lot of life experience to compensate for their mid-twenties to early thirties age. Finn was just young. He’d lived a free life with little to no responsibility, and now everything was crushed.
“Join the Pack,” Tony finally told him. “Look, Finn, you’re right. I didn’t lose a twin, so I can’t imagine how that feels. I lost five close friends that I saw as brothers. I lost my parents a long time ago to Pack fights. Before we were taken, before the hunting compound, the inner circle wolves were all I had. I’ve lost over half of them. If there’s anyone who can understand your grief, it’s us.”
“I know,” Finn mumbled. “I said I would think about it and I will.”
“All right, my man.” He sighed, trying to find a way to talk to the fox more. “Want to play some video games? Hang out for a while?”
“Uh.” Finn shuffled around, seeming uncomfortable. “Sure. I just got a PS4. New TV and all that. Needed something to do while here.”
“I noticed.” Tony chuckled. “You’re keeping it clean too, which means when you want
to bring a lady home, or a guy if that’s your thing, you’ll have a place to show them.”
Finn walked over to the couch and Tony collapsed on one end as Finn gave him a controller.
It was easy to just hang out and let the games take them somewhere else for a moment. Finn kicked his ass in every way, which impressed the shit out of Tony since he was the only guy in the Pack who played video games on the regular. They gave him something to do when he traveled, so his laptop had tons of them.
“So, this gallery thing,” the fox finally mumbled, looking over to him. “You in the thing too?”
“You mean have I let that cheetah paint me?” Tony wanted to laugh, remembering the day she came out with the camera and he had no choice but to sit model for her. “Yeah, I did. Thomas roped us all into it. You?”
“Yeah…” Finn nodded slowly. “She asked about Huck, too. The day you were here cleaning? She forced me to sit down for pictures and questions.”
“Riley can be a bit pushy.” Tony huffed. “I let Thomas deal with her. Honestly, she scares me a little.”
“She is a little scary,” Finn growled. “And the guys? Troy and Gabe are cool, sure. Andrew is too touchy-feely, and the last two? Zachary looks like he’d crush me if I said the wrong thing and Brenton likes ordering me around. It pisses me off.”
“He’s an Alpha. They just like ordering people around,” Tony reminded him. “If you can’t handle being ordered around, you need to really think about that when it comes to the Pack.”
“Thomas isn’t like Brenton. Brenton leaves no room for argument. Thomas discusses and offered me a place. Brenton…he’s never invited me to the Pride, but he still rides my ass.”
“Isn’t he your boss, though?” Tony liked hearing this kid complain about the little shit. The rebellious young man stuff, the angry youth. Tony was long adjusted to just following orders from different types of Alphas, but Finn had no experience in it. It was a little nostalgic.
“Yeah,” Finn muttered. “I’m looking for other jobs though. They don’t really need me. Troy and Gabe know what they are doing around engines.”
“Can you play an instrument?” Tony asked suddenly.
“Uh.” Finn frowned at him. “Why?”
“Just wondering,” Tony answered innocently.
“Piano and violin. My parents made Huck and I learn. It was one of the things we did to earn money, like quick mechanic jobs and other stuff.”
“You must have good hand dexterity,” Tony noted. It was probably why the fox was so good at video games.
“I guess?”
“Join the band at the bar. They’re always looking to expand their little act. They don’t plan on getting signed or anything. Most of them just play in their free time, practice and perform on their days off,” Tony offered, shrugging. “Think about it.”
“I was really looking at the auto shop in town, but thanks for the suggestion. I haven’t played since before.” He seemed reluctant about the idea.
“Hey, you said you’re looking. It’s just an idea.” Tony only sang for Abigail and himself now. He understood it, Finn’s reluctance. Going back to happy things could be hard when they reminded someone of all the things before the pain. And the pain.
“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the gallery opening?” Finn asked, looking at the TV again.
Tony checked the time on his phone and sighed. “Yeah, I should. I’m less excited about this than I was,” he admitted.
“Because Abigail won’t be going,” Finn said frankly.
“That’s right,” Tony groaned.
“Is Phoebe, that human, going?”
“I actually don’t know. I don’t keep up with all of Abigail’s friends.” Tony chuckled. “Why?” He knew the girl had somewhat of a crush on Finn. Every shifter in town had picked up on it. He didn’t think it was serious, probably more of a fascination since she was human and he was the only single shifter that she could talk to. Only single male, that was. Jessie was a pregnant female, which left Finn as the most available shifter in town. Similar ages, at that. If this were a different young man, Tony would tell him to go for it just to get it out of everyone’s system, but it didn’t seem like the fox was that into the idea of women or any sort of relationship.
Finn just shrugged. Tony laughed and patted his shoulder. He was now going to keep a special eye on this. Finn’s non-answer was interesting as hell. He had to get more information, see if Thomas knew anything else about it, or even James. If Abigail were around, he would even ask her for gossip.
“See you later tonight. I’ll ask around if she’ll be there tonight,” Tony teased, grinning as he stood up.
Finn groaned. “Please don’t.”
Tony was in his truck with Finn on the way to the gallery when he told the fox what he had learned.
“She won’t make it,” he chuckled.
“What?” Finn frowned at him. He frowned a lot, Tony realized.
Tony wanted to laugh at how serious the young man was. “Phoebe. She won’t be there. She agreed to keep an eye on the diner while the Pride was all in Denver, so Andrew didn’t have to worry,” Tony explained. He’d gone to the diner himself and asked Phoebe. “Why did you want to know again? I forgot your answer.” He was purposefully fishing, too curious about this for his own good.
“Because I didn’t answer,” Finn reminded him. “It was only a couple hours ago, dude. Stop playing stupid.”
“Caught red-handed,” Tony sighed. “We’re meeting Thomas and James there. When you want to head out, let one of us know and we’ll get you home.”
“Thanks. I’m not even sure why I’m being required to go.”
“Because you need to get out more and we promised Abigail to make it happen, duh. And don’t think about saying ‘it doesn’t matter,’ because it matters to her that you get out, so we’re going to get you out.”
“I thought you wolves only followed your Alpha’s orders,” Finn mumbled.
“Idiot. I will never not do what my girlfriend asks from me.” Tony snorted back. “You’ll learn when you’re older, kid.”
“I’m twenty-four,” Finn growled. “Stop calling me a kid. It’s not like I’ve never had a girlfriend. I’m not a virgin with no idea what I’m doing.”
“Stop acting like one then,” he taunted.
“Prick,” the fox retorted. Tony saw a crack of a smile on Finn’s face when he glanced over.
“We have a long drive to Denver, my boy. Settle in and get comfortable. This is my second time today doing this.” Tony chuckled, knowing he was about to torture this kid for the entire trip.
“You going to talk the entire time?”
“Probably.” He laughed evilly. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Please God, no,” Finn hissed, slumping back into his seat.
Tony wanted to be mad at Finn’s bad attitude, but he couldn’t. It was too much fun messing with the kid.
For the next two hours, Tony decided to talk about everything. From the farmhouse, to the bar, to his old life in the South Dakota Pack. He talked about his parents, his old dog, and then Fenrir. He talked about Abigail, which got some interest from Finn, and then the other women she hung out with. Riley, Jessie, and Phoebe, which made the fox cranky. Tony decided Finn must return the crush on the human girl but wasn’t ready for it.
When they hit Denver’s city limits, Finn finally snarled.
“Can we have five minutes of silence?” he begged.
Tony threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah man. Tell me one thing about you first.”
“What do you want to know?” Finn huffed, looking like he’d given up hope.
“I once heard that you’ve done a lot of odd jobs. What kind?”
“Quick jobs as a mechanic when we settled into a town or city. Played violin on the street. Huck used to hustle pool and I would help. A couple things I’m not really proud of.”
“Like? If there’s anyone who won’t judge you, it’s me.” Tony gr
inned his way. “I’ve done some shit. Screwed my way through ally Packs because I could, and no one wanted more from me.”
“Ah, so you were never paid for sex? Get on my level,” Finn scoffed.
“What?” Tony stuttered and gasped. “You…”
“I did some escort work,” Finn chuckled dryly. “I was good at it. Women like the muscular redheads who are tall. Like I said, not a virgin who doesn’t know what to do.”
“Well, damn, man.” Tony laughed because he wasn’t sure what else to do. Finn sold his fucking body. Tony was uncomfortable as hell now, but also didn’t want to make Finn feel like he did any wrong. Tony was stuck feeling a way he didn’t understand. Uncertain of how to proceed. “No shit. How did that get started?”
“Honestly? I met a chick at a bar and after the one-night stand, she asked how much she owed me. She’d been a cougar, like older woman looking for a younger man type, not a shifter, and she thought I was a prostitute,” Finn answered guiltily. “I didn’t take her money but…I was twenty-one and realized that people wanted me? It wasn’t something I did commonly. If we couldn’t find any other ways to make money, we did that. I have no problem with selling myself like that. It’s just another skill and as long as I was always honest with the women I met, and we kept it safe…It doesn’t really bother me.”
“Were you poor?” Tony was genuinely and insanely curious about the fox. Maybe this kid wasn’t as inexperienced as Tony had thought.
“No, we just didn’t want to use the money our old grandma left us. We were rebelling against the shit our parents wanted for us. Had a good time. They blamed it all on me. Huck was the calmer of us, while I fought with our parents all the time. When I decided to run at eighteen, he followed.”
“Damn.” Tony sighed. “I’m sorry I pried.”
“It’s getting easier to talk about,” the fox whispered. “I won’t go back to that stuff, by the way. I won’t ever show up at Rocker’s looking for a john or anything.”
“I wasn’t worried about that,” Tony replied. He’d figured after everything Finn had gone through, he wouldn’t be even looking for a hookup for a long time, much less the chance to make money off it.
Heart of the Pack Page 17