by LynnLorenz
“Well, I know you’re wondering what I’m doing here. It’s been a couple of weeks, and I just wanted to see how everything was going.” Scott motioned for her to have a seat at the table. “I didn’t want to interrupt your dinner, though.”
“No bother, is it, boys?” Scott winked at them. “I just hope you’ll join us for some homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, and baked chicken.”
“What? No veggie?” Ginnie cocked her eyebrow up at Ted.
“They’ve been munching on carrot sticks all afternoon. Figured that counted.” He shrugged.
“I ate five!” Timothy held up his hand, fingers extended, to show how many.
“Wow! That’s great!” Ginnie winked at him. She looked around and pointed to the wall of the dining area. “Hey! Those are lovely paintings.”
“We did them!” Timmy got out of his chair and rushed over to the wall. “I did these. The flower and the pony. Charles did the wolf. It’s awesome scary.”
Ginnie nodded. “It sure is. I never knew you boys had such talent.”
“Ted taught us to paint.” Charles smiled shyly. “He’s a good teacher.”
Scott grinned at the blush rising on his mate’s cheeks.
“The boys are very talented. They just needed direction.”
“Well, you did a great job.” She nodded and then turned to Scott. “Can we talk real quick?”
“Sure.” He rose. “Boys, go ahead and keep eating. We’ll be back in a few.” He jerked his head at Ted, and they all headed outside to the porch.
Ted leaned against the railing, while Ginnie took one of the chairs and Scott sat in the other. From the look on Scott’s face, Ted could tell he was more than curious as to why Ginnie was here. It couldn’t be just to see what they were feeding the kids or to admire their art.
“Sorry to interrupt at dinnertime, but I wanted to let you know I’ve been talking to John and Rena Freeman, and they seem interested.”
Ted’s heart sank into his stomach, and he glanced down at Scott. Scott caught his gaze and held it. All sorts of messages shot from Scott’s eyes, but Ted read only a little surprise and a hell of a lot of fear.
“Uh, that’s good, right?” Ginnie looked from one to the other.
Scott cleared his throat. “Sure. We just didn’t expect…”
Ted jumped in. “It’s good news. Really. We’re just surprised, that’s all.” He looked at Scott, who nodded. “We thought no one wanted them, or at least, not Charles.”
“Well, I have to be honest. Charles is the sticking point. The Freemans are good people, but they wanted to sort of…negotiate.” She shifted in her seat and blushed.
“Negotiate?” Scott’s voice rumbled, and the hair on the back of Ted’s neck stood up. “About what?”
“About splitting up the boys.” Ginnie sighed. “They want Timothy, but…”
“Not Charles.” Ted frowned. “That’s just not right, Ginnie, and you know it.”
“But they have a point, sort of. If you kept Charles, the boys wouldn’t really be separated. They’d both be in the pack, go to the same school. Just not live together all the time. The Freemans would be more than willing to have the boys stay together during holidays, summer, even some weekends. Sort of like shared custody.”
“What do you think, Ginnie?” Ted asked. Scott’s hands clenched into tight fists, and Ted knew he needed to keep this chill. “It’s sort of an odd compromise.”
“But it splits them up.” Scott shook his head. “No. They need each other.” He ran his hands through his hair. “They’re still struggling with the death of their parents. Tell her, Ted. About the nightmares.” He looked up at Ted with pain in his eyes. Ted’s heart ached right along with his mate. It became clearer that neither of them wanted to let the boys go.
“Charles had a bad nightmare. Screaming and crying, and I couldn’t wake him up. It was terrifying.” Ted shook his head. “I’m afraid if they go through any more trauma…”
“Night terrors.” Ginnie nodded. “It’s not uncommon in kids, Ted. Scary as hell, but he didn’t remember any of it, did he?”
Ted shook his head.
“My son had them when he was about two. I’ve never felt so helpless.” She rubbed her arms with her hands as if soothing herself. “It’s not the end of the world, no matter how bad it seems at the time. But having those at his age? That worries me.”
“Me too.”
“So what if you talk to the pediatrician? Schedule an appointment and discuss it with him. Maybe that will ease your fears?”
Ted nodded. “Good idea. But in the meantime, we need to discuss the Freemans’ offer.”
“I don’t like it.” Scott grumbled. Ted put his hand on his mate’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Can we get back to you, Ginnie? Give us a few days, okay?” Ted gave her a warm smile, but inside he was dying. The last thing he wanted was to give either of the boys up, and especially not Timothy.
Ginnie pushed out of her chair, shook both their hands, and went down the steps to her car. Ted and Scott watched her leave.
“Hol-y shit.” Scott sighed. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Neither was I. Honestly, I don’t want them to go, and from the poleaxed look on your face, neither do you.” Ted plopped into the chair Ginnie had vacated and took Scott’s hand.
“What should we do?” Scott threaded his fingers through Ted’s fingers.
“I’m not sure, but we don’t have to decide right now.” God, how could they decide? Flip a coin? Heads they stay, tails they go. Maybe Rock, Paper, Scissors?
“What are we going to tell the kids?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we should let them decide what they want to do?” Ted gave Scott’s hand a squeeze.
“Yeah. Maybe.” Scott stood. “Let’s finish dinner.”
They went inside and sat at the table. The boys had almost cleaned their plates.
“What did Miss Ginnie want?” Charles frowned and gave Scott a hard stare.
“Just checking up on us, that’s all.” Scott shrugged.
“I’ll bet she can’t find anyone to take us.” Charles pushed a piece of chicken around his plate. He shot a glare at Timothy. “Bet no one wants me.” He sighed. “Can I go to my room?” He scraped back his chair and trudged away without waiting for an answer.
Ted reached across the table for him, but too late. “Charles.”
He and Scott watched the kid close the door.
“I don’t want to go anywhere without my brother.” Timothy’s voice choked, and his eyes filled with fat tears. They clung on his lashes and then, with a blink, fell. He jumped out of his chair and flew into Ted’s arms. Sobbing, he buried his head against Ted’s chest.
Ted pulled the child onto his lap and patted his back. “It’s okay, Timothy.” Ted looked over the child’s head at Scott and mouthed What now?
Scott sighed, flung his napkin at the table, and stormed to his feet. “I need some air.” Then he stalked across the room to the front door and left.
Timothy’s shudders quieted. “You’re going to keep us, aren’t you?”
Ted opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He shouldn’t make promises he couldn’t keep. “It might not be up to the sheriff and me, Timothy.” He let the boy slide to his feet and wiped the tears from his face with his napkin. “Why don’t you go see if Charles is feeling up to some ice cream for dessert?”
“Okay.” Timothy nodded and went to their room.
Ted wanted to go to Scott, but the kids needed him here. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Merde. This day couldn’t get any worse.
Chapter Eighteen
After dinner, the boys showered and changed into their pajamas. Ted let Timothy pick a game to play. He came back with a board game, and they gathered around the table to play.
Ted looked over Timothy’s head and mouthed to Scott Talk to Charles.
Scott shook his head and frowned. The last thing he wanted to do was have a
conversation about Charles shifting. The kid was in a pissy mood, and Scott figured that would only make it worse.
He hated walking on eggshells around the boy, but he understood how emotional a time this was for him. Scott had been insufferable when his father had died, and he’d been a teenager, so he cut Charles some slack.
Ted glared at him again. Fuck. Scott knew Ted was right, but he resented it, wished it were Ted who could talk to the boy. He seemed to do a better job of relating to the boys than Scott did. And wasn’t that a kick in the balls?
Ted didn’t want kids but handled them with ease. Scott wanted them, but every step he took was wrong.
Scott wiped his face with his hand and gave Ted a nod.
“Charles? Can we talk?”
Charles turned away from the game. “’Bout what?” Next to him at the table, Timothy perked up.
“Big-kid stuff.” Scott winked at Timothy, hoping he’d feel included. Timothy sighed and sat back.
“Okay.” Charles got off his seat as Scott rose and followed him outside. Scott closed the front door and pointed to the chairs.
“Have a seat.”
Charles flopped into a chair and put his feet up on the lower rung of the railing, mimicking Scott’s pose. He crossed his arms over his chest and tucked his chin down.
“No one wants me, right?”
“No. That’s not what I want to talk about, son.”
Charles muttered, “I’m not your son.” He huffed out a breath.
“No, you’re not. But for now, you’re my responsibility. And as alpha of the pack, we have some pack business to discuss.”
That must have caught the boy’s attention, because he raised his head and looked at Scott.
“Pack business?”
“Right. Usually, when a boy hits puberty, he has his first shift. And usually his father guides him through it.” Charles stared at him blankly. “Do you know what puberty is?”
Charles’s face went deep red. “I think…”
Oh God have mercy. Was he really going to have the Talk with this kid?
“Did your dad talk to you about how your body is beginning to change?” Please say yes.
“Yeah. He told me some stuff about sex.” Charles’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he crossed and uncrossed his feet.
“Good. Well, that’s the same time our wolves try to come out for the first time. The first time we shift. It’s all about hormones, you know?”
“Hormones. Right.” Charles stared straight ahead.
Scott paused to make sure Charles was listening. “But you’re in a bad place. Your father isn’t around to take you through it.”
“He’s dead,” Charles deadpanned.
“Yes.” Scott cleared his throat. “You can’t do it alone. It’s far too dangerous.” He sighed. “How much did your father talk to you about shifting?”
“A little.” Charles shrugged and tightened his arms around his chest. His jaw clenched.
“Had he been teaching you about it? Or just a ‘when you get older, you’ll shift’ sort of talk?”
“Just talk.”
Scott rubbed his hands together. “All right. So, like I was saying, as alpha, you’re my responsibility, and that goes for your first shift too.”
Charles didn’t speak. At least he wasn’t arguing.
“I figured we’d talk about it a couple of times, then I’d show you how I shift once or twice, and then we could try it together. What do you think?” He’d taken a page from Ted’s book, letting the kid make the decision and not forcing anything on him. If it worked for Ted…
“Sure.” Charles shrugged a shoulder in a “what the hell” way.
“Great. What do you know about shifting?”
“We think about it, and it happens?” Charles’s voice wavered as if he were guessing.
“Sort of. It’s more of a release. You let your wolf out and let it take over. It’s scary at first, because you’re losing control of your body but not your mind.”
“So even if I’m a wolf, I’m still…me?” Charles squinted at Scott.
“Yeah. I can think, but my wolf is mostly in charge. I have all the traits of a wolf, but in the back of my mind, I’m still Scott, just like you’ll still be Charles.”
“Okay.”
“Letting go, that’s the hard thing. Letting the wolf loose, letting something wild and foreign free, can scare you the first few times. But you’ll be with me, and I’ll keep you safe, even from yourself.”
“From myself?” Charles’s eyebrows rose.
“Yes. Once you let the wolf out, you have to control him. You can’t become the wolf totally, or you’ll be trapped.”
“Trapped?” Charles’s voice quivered. “As a wolf?”
“Yes.”
“Forever?” The boy’s bottom lip trembled. “What if I don’t want to ever change? Can’t I just stay a boy?”
Scott sighed. “No. Eventually your body and your wolf will force a change, and if you don’t know how to control the wolf, it’ll be bad. You could hurt someone, even yourself. Draw attention to the pack.” Scott leaned forward, his hands clasped between his knees. “What’s the first law of the pack?”
“Protect the pack,” Charles recited back to him.
“Right. A wolf running around the swamp, the town, down a road? The wolf could be shot or get hit by a car. If that happened, the pack would be in terrible danger. There’s no getting past this, Charles. You have to learn how to change.”
“Got it.” Charles twisted his lips as if he didn’t like the taste of it.
“I know you’re scared. I know you’d rather do this with your dad, but this is the situation.”
“I’m not scared.” Charles glared.
“Really? Because I was terrified my first time.” Scott laughed. “Man, my dad and my best friend Mike’s dad, they took us out to the swamp in the middle of the night. No flashlights, so it was real dark. They shifted, and it forced us into the change.” He shook his head. “We were both unprepared and out of control.”
“They forced you to change?” He sat back, eyes wide.
“Yes. When you’re young, a pup, and other older wolves around you shift, it can force you to shift, like when I use my voice to make you listen. It’s one of the ways we use to teach the pups to change until they can shift without help.”
“Are you going to do that to me?” Charles squinted at him.
Scott shook his head. “Hell, no. Not if I don’t have to. I didn’t think it was a good idea when my dad did it to me, and I still don’t. Both Mike and I think the shift doesn’t have to be scary or dangerous. Our dads could have been in big trouble if we didn’t shift back. Bobby would have killed them.”
“Bobby?”
“Bobby Cotteau, the alpha at the time. He would have had their hides if anything had gone wrong.”
“But it was okay for you?” Charles bit his bottom lip.
“Sure. And it’s going to be okay for you too. I’m going to make sure of it. I swear.”
Scott reached out and patted Charles on the back. The boy looked up at him, gratitude in his eyes. Wow. Scott’s chest filled with pride in this kid.
“Did you ever see your dad shift?”
Charles shook his head. “No. He always left the house with his friends. Mom thought it might scare Timothy.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll show you in the light of day. Nothing scary, okay?”
“Sure.” Charles got up. “Can I go in and finish the game?”
“Go ahead. I’m right behind you.”
Scott heard the door open and close behind him. He stood and leaned on the railing as he gazed out at the woods. Inhaling, he let the scent of the pines, cypresses, and oaks, mixed with the occasional blooming dogwood, rush through his nostrils, picking up all sorts of scents. It’d been a long time since he’d changed, and his body longed for it.
For a hard run, the chase of prey, the victory of the kill.
But for tonight, it would
have to wait. He’d have to rein it in until later. Maybe he and Mike could go for a run on the weekend.
Tonight, he had other prey.
His mate.
Scott crawled into bed with Ted.
“Fucking long day, babe.” Scott sighed and pulled Ted to him. He gave his mate a quick kiss on the temple and settled into the mattress.
“I hear you. How’d the talk with Charles go?”
“Good. He’s scared, but nothing he can’t get past.”
“I’m sure you’ll handle it fine.”
“Sure. I’m taking it slow. I talked to Mike about it, and he gave me some good advice.”
“But you’ve done this before, right? Your first time?” Ted turned to him, and they lay face-to-face on their sides.
“Yeah, but our dads just sort of threw us in the deep end. Scared the shit out of us.” Scott sighed. He’d never really talked much about his change to anyone. “The adults changed, and it forced us, without telling us what would happen to our bodies. That it would hurt bad for an instant. What it looked like. That we might get stuck in wolf form.”
Ted eased his arm over Scott’s waist and tugged him close. “That must have sucked.”
“Yeah. But I guess that’s how they did it back then. Adults didn’t really think about kids being shook up over it.”
“Were you? Shook up?” Ted ran his hand down Scott’s hip, stroking and soothing him.
“For a while. But after a half-dozen shifts, I got the hang of it, and then it was a sign of manhood. Of belonging to the pack. Like a rite of passage.”
“Being shook up would not be a good idea for Charles. He’s already…damaged.”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m taking it slow and easy. Make it clear what’s going to happen and do it during the day. Less scary.”
Ted chuckled. “It scared the hell out of me, first time I saw it.” He smacked Scott on the ass.
“Ow!” He rubbed his rump. “That’s why I’m doing it this way.”
Ted leaned in, giving Scott his lips, offering the rest of him for Scott’s pleasure.
“I know you’ll do your best, and Charles will be damn lucky to have you as a mentor and alpha.” Ted kissed him again. “I know I’m damn lucky to have you.”