Page 41 of The Bull's Head

“Da. I am certain of it. Theodore, you have never known the love of another, and I know this must scare you so, but know that I am here, the rabbit is here, Damon and Cece are here. The boys are here. You are not alone. You will never be alone.”

“Damon and the family came?”

“How is it you say? Duh! You are their family as well, little brother. They care about you very much, and they know you need people around you can lean on.”

For years, Teddy had thought no one wanted him around because of his shame. He feared that they would shy away from him, as to not be tarnished by his failure. Cece and Damon refused to allow him to wallow, though. Cece would drag him and Ivan out onto the mat, then proceed to show them they weren’t the toughest or strongest, and therefore were not in charge of their destiny. She reminded them often that they could only do their best and hope things would work out right.

He hated to admit it, but she became like a surrogate mother to him. Always making sure that he and Ivan ate, that they took care of themselves, that they washed behind their ears and brushed their teeth.

He would never take her love for granted, nor would ever not cherish Byk’s love, if he should be so lucky to get it.

“Are you thinking about Cece?” Ivan rumbled.

“Yeah.”

“She is a good devil bear,” Ivan said with a chuckle. “I praise the Maker that we were allowed to be found by her and Damon.” He exhaled sharply. “And also that we did not die thinking we had shamed ourselves.”

Well, Teddy still wasn’t sure about that, but he was finding reasons to live every day now. Byk was a good one. He made Teddy feel as though the darkness that dwelt within him was being pushed away, made better, being replaced by the light Byk brought to his life. Even before he heard what Byk had said, Teddy was grateful to have him as a friend. Should he be worthy of Byk’s love, he would forever cherish it.

“I shall let you get back to your search, brother. Please, for your sake, as well as Byk’s, find something.”

Then he was gone. Teddy glared at the offending boxes, each of them holding a trove of information, and tried to will the one he needed to plop into his lap. When it didn’t, he sighed and heaved the next box closer so he could look through those for the information they so desperately needed.

“Stop, Cooper!” Callum cried as Cooper shoved him down again.

“Stop being a fag,” Cooper taunted.

“I’m not!” Callum refused to get up, because he knew he’d just end up on the ground again.

“Yeah, right,” Cooper scoffed. “Don’t think I haven’t seen you staring at my friends.”

He wasn’t! Well, maybe Daniel. He was beautiful. He worked out every day, and the results were spectacular. Even if Daniel was only sixteen, his body was that of a man. A chest that stretched any shirt he put on, a stomach that you could count the ripples on, pants that were so tight, you could see the outline of every bulging muscle. He also gave off that odor of hard work and sweat that made Callum weak in the knees. And if he even so much as looked at Callum with his lopsided grin, he popped a boner.

Daniel was the epitome of manliness, at least as far as Callum was concerned. He was never overtly mean to Callum, but then again, he wasn’t exactly friendly. More… indifferent. Which was still better than any of Cooper’s other friends. They would tease him, knock him around, and say it was all in fun, and Callum was a pussy if he couldn’t handle it.

“So, I am back. Have you missed me?”

That voice again. But now Callum knew it. Teddy’s brother, Ivan. It was good to hear, even if he’d much rather have Teddy with him.

“I spoke with my brother. He is hard at work, doing everything he can to find out what is wrong with you.”

There was something wrong? Everything seemed fine.

“However, he believes in you. He knows you are good man and will make excellent mate.”

Mate? Teddy wanted to mate with Callum? Why?

“He believes you are all that and a bag of chips, I think the saying goes.”

Hazy visions of Teddy floated in Callum’s mind. He was strong, quiet, considerate. Everything anyone could ever want in a mate. Callum yearned for his bite, wanted—needed—to be linked to Teddy.

“My brother is such a faggot.”

That word burned in Callum’s brain. It wasn’t Ivan speaking—it was Cooper. That didn’t make any sense. Hadn’t Teddy told him that Cooper was dead? Why was it all so hard to remember?

“Well, maybe if you were a little less of a prick to him.”

“Oh, fuck off, Dan. How would you feel if your brother was queer?”

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