She slowly got up from the bed, went into her bathroom and returned with a clear plastic box. She sat down cross legged on the bed beside him and he held still, waiting patiently for the tears to come as she started bandaging him up. She spoke quietly, reassuring him as different cold liquids stung, but he wasn’t paying too much attention to her.
Had his dad ever really loved him? Had his mom? He liked to think that they had. But thinking about how they treated him and how Hannah’s dads treated her, he knew that there was no contest. They were still his parents though, for all their faults. And he should have been sad about them being in trouble. He knew that he was supposed to. But he couldn’t make the tears come. Or the words. He should tell Samson to stop, to spare them, even if his alpha wouldn’t listen. A good son would have tried to get his parents spared. But he didn’t even try to get up. Because he wasn’t a good son. And because he didn’t love them.
“You’re really quiet,” Hannah told him as she dabbed something wet against his temple before putting it into a neat little trash pile she was building on the comforter beside her. At least she’d put a plastic bag down this time, unlike when they ate popcorn up here and she got crumbs everywhere.
He shrugged, not knowing what he was supposed to say. I should care that they want to hurt my dad. But I can’t.
She stopped messing with him and pushed everything off the bed before lying down next to him and putting a warm hand on his shoulder. “Why should you? Aside from that he’s your dad, why? Are you upset by what might happen to him? Because I’m sorry, Ippy, I know he’s your dad and all, but he hurt you. And that’s not okay. If I could turn into a wolf like you I wouldn’t have been able to stop down there when he was yelling at you. No one messes with my friends, and since I’ve really only got you and Caelum, you’re stuck with me.”
Ippy gave her a weak smile and then looked up to find her dads in the doorway with Samson behind them. Hannah put her arm around him, but he got up anyway, knowing that they were likely there to see him by the way Liam and Samson were watching him. He was standing next to the bed by the time Liam waved him over.
“Ippy?” Hannah called to him from the bed.
He turned to see what she wanted to say. She’d sat up too, and her hair was in front of her eyes. He wanted to fix that for her, which was new for him, but he decided not to. Not when her dads were right there, anyway. And not until he knew how much trouble he was in.
“It’ll be okay,” she told him, offering him a smile which he tried to return, but he didn’t do a very good job of it. So instead of forcing a smile he gave her a little nod and went to Liam and Samson while Travis came into Hannah’s room. He heard them talking quietly as he followed the men downstairs and outside onto the back deck.
Liam turned to him first and sighed as he closed the back door behind them. “Phillip, are you strong enough to shift again so that we can all talk?”
Ippy shrugged and found the wolf in his mind. It was there waiting for him, he could feel it like Hannah’s old dogs had been waiting for her to get home from school before they’d passed a few years back. The wolf leapt at the chance to be out again and Ippy lay down on his side, figuring it would be easier for the wolf that way.
Samson and Liam surprised him by kneeling next to him, Liam in front of his chest and Samson behind him. He felt something warm come over him, comforting him, as the men leaned together. When he looked up at Liam he saw the man’s wolf looking back at him. No longer a shivering haze around his face, the wolf was clearer than the man as it looked down at him with the icy blue eyes of their kind. He turned onto his back and sure enough there was Samson’s wolf staring at him as well. Though the men were both in their skin, somehow the wolves had come forward. As one, the wolves above him tilted back their heads in a silent howl.
His wolf snapped into place on their cry and his own voice filled the air as paws took over where his hands had been and fur covered his face and neck. Becoming the wolf was easier this time and his legs didn’t shake as he stood up and shook his fur. The wolves around him regressed back into a thick haze around the faces of the men that kept them inside and when Ippy looked up at them through the eyes of a wolf they were only men again.
“Phillip, can you hear me?” Samson asked him, sitting down with his legs extended in front of him on the deck.
Ippy nodded. Samson was as clear as he ever was.
Liam got to his feet and touched Samson on the shoulder. “I’ll be inside if you need me.”
“Thank you for the help,” Samson said, giving his hand a brief touch before Liam went back inside. Ippy watched him go upstairs to Hannah’s room through the window in the back door before he gave his attention back to Samson who was staring at him.
“He’ll be back soon, but I wanted to talk to you now. I thought the two of us being here would help you with your shift. But it seems you did just fine on your own. You’re old enough to be able to shift on your own just fine, but there’s a reason that you don’t often do it by yourself. It’s hard for kids your age to get it right the first time and having older, more experienced, shifters there to help you through it is usually the only way to get it done correctly. And yet by my count you’ve shifted twice tonight already.”
Three times, Ippy corrected him as he sat down on his haunches.
Samson lifted his black eyebrows and his eyes widened. His mouth opened a little before he seemed to catch himself and stopped looking so surprised. “When you shift, do you feel the wolf and yourself, or is it just yourself and almost like you’re putting on a jacket?”
Ippy tilted his head to the side, wondering why there would be such a difference between shifting. My wolf is different than me. Did I do it wrong?
Samson shook his head and leaned forward as he put his arms on his knees. “No, that’s alright for your first time. I’m honestly just extremely surprised that you were able to do even that much. It’s rare, not unheard of, but rare, for someone your age to have that kind of grasp on shifting.”
Ippy was instantly pleased with himself and preened a little under the compliment. I don’t want to change it.
Samson’s mouth tightened. “That’s not how we shift though, Phillip. Our wolves aren’t separate from us. They’re extensions of us. Like putting on a piece of clothing.”
Mine isn’t, Ippy replied, bristling.
Samson released a loud sigh. “Fine. Tonight, you can have that. You’ve been through a lot and I won’t push you. But if you decide that you want to shift correctly—”
My way is my correct for me. Hannah would have said he was being stubborn, or maybe she would have jumped to his defense too. Either way, he knew that this was what he had to do. He’d just found his wolf and he knew that this was correct. His wolf was part of him and he wasn’t going anywhere. Samson couldn’t change that. He quickly shut his mouth before the wolf could growl at their alpha. Ippy realized that his wolf had been upset by the idea of having to leave as well. He felt like hugging the creature.
Samson shrugged and ran a hand over his shortly cropped hair. “Fine. That’s not the point that I wanted to talk to you about anyway. I need to know what happened tonight, in as much detail as you can remember, so that I can understand. Then we’ll decide what to do with your father.”
Ippy perked up. Then he’s not dead?
Shaking his head, Samson met his gaze. “No. He’s not. He’s badly hurt and being kept under guard at my house, but he’s not dead. How does that make you feel?”
Ippy dropped his head, unsure of the right answer to give. He didn’t really know how he felt. On one hand, that was his dad. And he was supposed to love his dad. On the other… He was my dad, but I didn’t like him, not as a person, Ippy finally said after a few minutes of silent thought.
“Tell me what happened please, Phillip. If you need to stop I’ll understand, but I do need to know the details,” Samson told him, his voice soft on the night time breeze.
&n
bsp; Ippy stared at the wood at his feet. This was going to be easier if he just focused on those grains of wood between his paws. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and then began. What Hannah said about me, how I’m bi, I think she’s right. Caelum can come into our dreams. Hasn’t been doing it long for me. Not as long as with Hannah. But when he comes, we’re together like we would be if we were on the beach in Ireland that he shows me. It feels real to me. We hold hands. We kiss. I like the kissing. I like kissing Hannah, too. So I guess that’s what I am. That I’m bi. My dad heard me whining in my sleep and he came into my room and woke me up. He looked through my phone and saw all the messages between Hannah and me about Caelum . He just started hitting me and I ran. I didn’t fight back. Not then. But then he caught up to me again and it hurt so much and then my wolf came forward. And he stopped my dad from hurting me anymore. I didn’t look but I heard and I didn’t like it, but I didn’t stop my wolf either. I wanted my dad to hurt. I wanted him to stop hurting me. My parents, they aren’t like Hannah’s. Her dads love her. I can tell all the time. It’s how they look at her, how they smile with her. My parents don’t do that with me. My wolf gave me back control and I ran here.
He lifted his head to look up at Samson and curiously Samson’s eyes were wet. It was strange. Don’t make me go back to them. If you make me then I’ll run away and come right back. I’ll hide in Hannah’s room and no one will be able to find me.
Samson’s mouth cracked into a smile, but it quickly fled. “Oh, you were serious about hiding out in her room.”
Ippy nodded. He had been. He even knew where he’d go. There was space under her bed since she kept it higher than any bed he’d ever seen. He could live there for a few years. Since her dads didn’t work outside of the house food might be complicated, but she had a mini fridge under her desk and he could take showers in her bathroom. It could work. Only he knew that Liam was a wolf and would likely be able to smell him. Except that Ippy had been in her house so much over the years that maybe he wouldn’t think anything was different since he was sure that his smell was everywhere in her room.
Samson touched the side of his face. “Is this the first time that your dad has hit you?”
Ippy nodded.
“But it’s not the first time you’ve felt unhappy at home. Is it?”
His response was slower this time, but he did manage to shake his head. He’d never really felt happy or wanted there. Mom got different after the doctor said I was autistic. Same with dad. They fight a lot. I know it’s my fault—
There was a growl and Ippy looked at Samson, surprised it was coming from him. “It’s not your fault. Not ever. You’re my responsibility. Everyone in this pack is. I should have known something was wrong. Why didn’t you come to me? I could have helped.”
You’re busy, Ippy replied, knowing it was the truth. His teacher had told him so often enough.
Samson shook his head. “I’m never too busy for you or anyone else in the pack when it’s an actual problem.”
That wasn’t what he’d heard, but Ippy didn’t say anything because he didn’t want Samson mad at him. His teacher always told him that Samson was busy. Everyone was too busy for him. Only Hannah really seemed to have time for him. That was how it felt.
“What do you want to happen?” Samson asked him.
When?
Samson shrugged and gave him a soft smile. It made him look a lot younger than he was. “Where do you want to be this week?”
Oh, that was an easy answer. And it never changed. With Hannah.
“And the week after that?” Samson asked him as he nodded.
Same thing. With Hannah.
Samson’s smile grew. “I’m glad she has you as a friend. You two seem good for each other.”
I love her, Ippy replied, feeling bold. And I love Caelum, too. When I’m eighteen we’ll all be living together and we’ll be happy. Together. Like we’re supposed to be.
Samson looked a bit startled. “That’s still happening? I thought Hannah grew out of that thought. She hasn’t mentioned it to me for a few years. Are you sure?”
Ippy turned his head toward the closed back door. Hannah? Are we still moving to Ireland?
He could hear her coming down the stairs, followed by two much heavier footsteps. She was out the door a minute later and had her arms around his shoulders before she was kneeling next to him. “Yep. We are. Soon as you’re old enough. We’re going to live in Galway Sound, just the three of us. We’ll go to a university, get jobs, you’ll make that awesome pasta thing you make with all the cheese and I’ll learn how not to burn toast.”
Ippy met Samson’s gaze. It’s still happening.
“So it is.” Samson looked up at Liam and Travis. “Did you two know about this?”
Ippy watched Travis take Liam’s hand and he leaned against Hannah. He knew that she’d mentioned it to her dads, but did they think that she’d grown out of it as well? Would she go through with it if they said that she couldn’t go? She loved her dads and they loved her. He knew that. It was obvious in everything they did together.
Travis was the first to speak. “We knew. And while we’re not happy about our daughter living on another continent, we know that she’s smart and she can decide what she wants to do. Caelum has been a part of her life since she was nine and saw him on a train platform. When she was fifteen she ran away to go save him. It’s been enough years that we figured out that this isn’t some little crush that she has on him and we’ll help her in whatever way she needs—Phillip, too. They’re inseparable. I didn’t expect things to work out like this for the three of them, but we’ve seen Phillip grow up and we know that their friendship is real.”
She was smiling up at her dads and if Ippy could have been smiling, he would have.
Liam spoke up as he released his husband’s hand and put it around Travis’ shoulders instead. “And, Hannah, you never knew this since Caelum asked us not to tell you, but the dreams you have of him where he comes in to talk to you? We have them with him, too. He talks to us at least once a week. We like him, I suppose. As well as any dads can like the man their daughter is in love with. He’s a decent guy, respectful, and seems to really care about you.”
Ippy ran his face over Hannah’s cheek, wiping away some of her happy tears before she released him and ran over to give both of her dads a hug. Ippy watched them for a few long minutes before turning back to Samson. He didn’t know what his alpha was thinking, but he was smiling as he turned from watching the little family to meet Ippy’s gaze as well. “I suppose things will work themselves out. If you two are sure about this, you’ll have the support of the pack behind you in whatever you choose. If you’d been moving to a different state to go to college in a few years the support would be the same—I don’t see why this has to be any different.”
Ippy nodded. What about now?
“Tonight?” Samson asked him.
Where do I go tonight? Ippy clarified for him.
Samson turned to look at Travis and Liam. “I’m not sending Phillip back to be at his home with his mother right now. Christopher and I have room in our home if you want him to stay with us, but I thought, given their connection, that maybe him staying here with you both and Hannah right now would be best.”
Hannah shrugged. “Sure, we used to have sleepovers all the time before his parents got prissy about it since, you know, we’re teenagers and all.” She crossed her arms over her chest and shot Ippy a grin.
Samson pressed his lips together. “Right. Well, that might not be completely appropriate after all. So—”
I’ll sleep in the TV room downstairs. There are plenty of pillows and blankets down there already, Ippy told them all. Then, just as quickly, he remembered that Hannah’s dads hadn’t actually said that he could stay with her yet. If that’s all right.
Travis didn’t look excited, but he didn’t look upset by the prospect either. Liam only shrugged and said, “Sure. Get ready for
bed. While you’re staying here, though, you’re both going to be good. This is our house and we’ve got rules. Namely, no sex. You two got that?”
Hannah blushed and nodded. Ippy easily agreed to that. He’d barely even started thinking about sex in general.
Liam’s expression softened a bit. “Good. Now that we have that settled, things will be okay here. Phillip, tomorrow we’ll go by your house to get the things you need. You’ll stay with us as long as you need to. Other than that, things will continue as usual. This is not an excuse to slack off, you two. Phillip still goes to school, Hannah, you still learn about finances from me during the day. There’s still homework, you still have to eat dinner, and your rooms must be kept clean. This is not a two year long party for you both.”
Hannah was smirking before her dad finished talking. “We get it, dad. And thanks. All of you. C’mon, Ippy, I’ll help you get settled in downstairs.”
Thank you all. He picked his shorts up between his teeth as he followed Hannah downstairs and into a room that they’d spent plenty of nights in, watching movies and laughing as they joked together.
He shifted quickly after gently pushing his wolf aside so that he could come forward. There was no pain, only warmth, and then he was getting redressed as Hannah turned her back to him to get down some of the pillows and blankets they kept in the closet.
I’m dressed, he told her once he was decent, although suddenly freezing standing in just a pair of her shorts.
She didn’t say anything as she came over and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in for a tight hug.
You didn’t ask permission, he chided her as he held her close, too.
Hannah didn’t even start to release him. “Do you mind?”
Ippy shook his head. No.
She kissed his cheek and he relaxed in her embrace. Samson was wrong, she wasn’t lucky to have found him. He was lucky to have her as his best friend.
Chapter Five
Irish Melody Page 6