Page 20 of Wolf Found

He didn’t look at Joey again. Let Gavin be angry and question him later; it didn’t matter. Ash didn’t owe anyone anything when it came to the Martingale pack. His past was his, and that was where Joey belonged. He would tell Gavin later that they should talk to the Shane pack about people who might want to take Joey in. At the very least, his presence was likely to make Graham and Hannah uncomfortable.

Someone called after him, but he kept walking.

11

Hold Up

Graham wasn’t used to cooking without a strict schedule, but it wasn’t too hard to move things around. When they heard Gavin’s Range Rover pull up in the drive, he put the garlic rolls in the oven to brown.

Sawyer was still muttering about how making bread from scratch was witchcraft, but he froze with his wine halfway to his mouth and set the glass down. Aloud, he said, “Honey, that’s not Ash. I think you need to explain that before whoever it is comes in the house.”

The door opened, and Gavin sort of... sneaked inside, stepping lightly and biting his lip. “So something has come up.”

Graham’s first thought was that they wanted to leave for dinner, not eat his spaghetti, but then Gavin took a deep sniff of the air and sighed. “Oh my god, that smells amazing.”

“Focus, G,” Sawyer said, and even Hannah gasped at the disrespect.

Gavin, on the other hand, sighed and nodded. “So the other Martingale, the one from last night?” Sawyer curled up his nose a little but nodded, so Gavin continued. “He’s asked for asylum.”

Immediately, Sawyer slipped into a scowl. “Uh huh.”

“I did say I’d accept any adult member of the Martingale pack who asked for asylum.” Gavin looked at all of them. “I’m sorry if this is a problem. I can contact Denver—”

“Who is it?” Hannah asked, but Graham already knew. It was Amos Martingale’s shadow. Joseph. He was one of Graham’s cousins; their mothers were sisters. He’d never spoken to Graham, but Graham’s own mother didn’t speak to him either.

Joseph was standing outside, and Graham could feel his nervousness. Not that it was new. The man lived in a state of terror, had in the years since he’d been assigned to his mentor. Amos was impossible to please, and Graham could understand why he would want to leave.

He was surprised that he’d actually done it, but it was completely understandable.

“His name is Joe,” Gavin said, and Hannah rolled her eyes.

He opened his mouth to continue, but she waved him off. “Amos’s shadow, got it. Cute, scared, kind of sad, definitely not interested in girls. Who can blame him wanting to escape that scumbag?”

“Scumbag?” Graham asked.

She paused in sipping her drink and shrugged. “Human term. It means he’s an asshole. A jerk. Amos is pretty much all the bad things about the enclave in one person.”

Graham couldn’t deny that at all. Amos was the worst wolf Graham knew.

“Is it okay if he comes in, then?” Gavin asked.

Hannah turned to look at Gavin speculatively. “What did Asher say?”

Gavin’s eyes narrowed. “History, I take it?”

“Dunno, but there weren’t a lot of gay guys in the enclave in any age group, and Joe’s definitely one.” She motioned around the kitchen. “Dez and Sawyer are obviously together, and no one here bats an eye. Asher?”

Gavin nodded. “All of us.”

She sighed and shook her head sadly. “I’m... gonna need some wine. And for you to maybe invite some straight wolves into the pack if I ever want to get a date.”

“Wait,” Graham held out his hands in front of himself. “What?”

Hannah smirked and was about to say something, but Joseph poked his head into the foyer right then, followed by a distrustful Dez.

He looked so nervous Graham couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. He motioned to the empty seats at the counter. “Come sit down, and we’ll get you some dinner.”

He marveled at his own confidence, giving an enforcer’s shadow an order like that, even if the man looked like an especially long shadow might make him turn and run for it.

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