by TJ Klune
And though now she didn’t recognize it for what it was, she still followed him out the door.
She said, “Wait.”
She said, “I think….”
She said, “He didn’t recognize me. But I recognized him.”
She said, “And I think I know where he’s going.”
The man climbed back into the truck, the bench seat creaking under his weight. He tapped the envelope against the steering wheel, trying to gather his courage.
A flutter in the back of his mind, an old memory hidden away. A little thing his father had told him. A bit of a poem. He couldn’t remember it exactly, never having been one for poetry, but it’d always stuck with him. Something about promises to keep, and miles to go before he could sleep.
He opened the envelope carefully, almost lovingly.
He set it aside as he unfolded the piece of paper.
Six words in large, blocky letters.
But it was enough. He traced his finger over the words, already committing them to memory, as he had the ones that’d come before.
STOP FOLLOWING ME. GO HOME ASSHOLE.
He stared at it for the longest time.
Eventually he put it with the others in the glove compartment.
He looked down at the dash.
There, resting against the odometer, was a photograph.
Three boys with blond hair and bright blue eyes, all smiling widely.
Brothers.
He reached out and touched the faces of the younger two.
“Soon,” he whispered, and it was a promise he would keep.
A moment later the truck started up.
He pulled out of the parking lot.
Before he headed north, he turned on the radio.
An old rock song was just beginning.
He thought the band was called Rainbow.
The song was “Run With the Wolf.”
Carter Bennett laughed until there were tears in his eyes.
And then he drove on.
Brothersong
On August 18, 2020, the saga of the Bennett Pack comes to an end
In the ruins of Caswell, Maine, Carter Bennett learned the truth of what had been right in front of him the entire time. And then it—he—was gone.
Desperate for answers, Carter takes to the road, leaving family and the safety of his pack behind, all in the name of a man he only knows as a feral wolf. But therein lies the danger: wolves are pack animals, and the longer Carter is on his own, the more his mind slips toward the endless void of Omega insanity.
But he pushes on, following the trail left by Gavin.
Gavin, the son of Robert Livingstone. The half-brother of Gordo Livingstone.
What Carter finds will change the course of the wolves forever. Because Gavin’s history with the Bennett pack goes back further than anyone knows, a secret kept hidden by Carter’s father, Thomas Bennett.
And with this knowledge comes a price: the sins of the fathers now rest upon the shoulders of their sons.
About TJ Klune
TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) of over twenty novels and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include Wolfsong, The Lightning-Struck Heart and Bear, Otter and the Kid. Being queer himself, TJ believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.
Also by TJ Klune
The Bear, Otter and the Kid Chronicles
Bear, Otter and the Kid
Who We Are
The Art of Breathing
The Long and Winding Road
Tales From Verania
The Lightning-Struck Heart
A Destiny of Dragons
The Consumption of Magic
A Wish Upon the Stars
Green Creek
Wolfsong
Ravensong
Heartsong
Brothersong
At First Sight
Tell Me It’s Real
The Queen & the Homo Jock King
Until You
Why We Fight
How to Be
How to Be a Normal Person
How to Be a Movie Star
Immemorial Year
Withered + Sere
Crisped + Sere
Standalones
Burn
Olive Juice
Murmuration
Into This River I Drown
John & Jackie
Look for more about all of these books on TJ’s site