Page 16 of Wolf Reborn

As he put the car into gear, he lifted the fingers of his left hand from the wheel in the most pitiful wave of all time. In return, Gavin gave him a tiny smile and wave of his own.

So werewolves were a thing and Gavin was one. Was it really a complete deal breaker?

8

Butterfly in Reverse

Dez scowled out the window. “Seriously? You made him tea, and he just... left.”

“His radio went off,” Sawyer pointed out. “He must have been called to work.”

“Coulda come in and thanked him before driving off, at least,” Dez muttered, but he didn’t fixate, just grabbed a rag and started wiping the counters down with extreme prejudice.

That little wave—even the fact that he’d shown up at all—had been so much more than Gavin expected.

The whole pack had spent the week saying that Miles would be back, that he loved Gavin and he wouldn’t stay gone. Gavin had spent the week thinking they had no idea what they were talking about. They couldn’t.

He’d lied to Miles, and that could never be acceptable. How could Miles forgive him? He hadn’t even told him the truth in the end; he’d been discovered in his lies.

A gentle hand pressed into his shoulder, and he wasn’t surprised to find that it was Graham, their resident baker and soft touch. “You didn’t just lie to him for no reason. You were protecting people.”

Gavin sighed and nodded, trying not to stare at the spot where Miles’s car had disappeared down the street. “I know. I know I had to do it, and given the same choice, I’d do it again. But isn’t that half the problem?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t feel bad about lying, only that it hurt him. I’m notsorry.” Gavin had grown up in a world of “sorry your feelings were hurt,” and similar fake apologies given in the name of civility over honesty, and he didn’t ever want to be the person to offer such a disingenuous faux-pology.

Graham leaned his head on Gavin’s shoulder and sighed. “You’re too hard on yourself. You are sorry. You’re not sorry you did it, but you’re genuinely sorry you had to. You’re sorry your actions hurt him.”

How could that be enough, though?

“You should go to him,” Graham added after they had been silent a while.

Gavin had been torn on the subject all week. Did he give Miles space and let him be the one to approach—if Miles ever wanted to—or go to him in supplication, asking if there were some way he could make it right? Every time he’d decided on one or the other, his uncertainty got in the way, and he’d start talking himself into the other.

And everyone thought he was some kind of great leader. He snorted in disgust. He couldn’t even make his own simple life decisions.

Graham frowned up at him. “No, I mean it. You should.”

Obviously, Graham had thought the snort was meant for him. No reason to tell him the truth, since it only complicated things, not to mention giving the pack anxiety over the fact that their supposed alpha was a wishy-washy teenager in love.

Apparently, Gavin didn’t tell anyone the truth anymore.

“I was giving him space,” he answered instead.

“That made sense before,” Graham agreed. “It was a good idea. But now he’s made the first move, hasn’t he? He obviously wanted to come in, but it’s not easy for him either. So it’s your turn to give a little.”

As much as Gavin wanted to disagree, Graham was the most sensitive among them. The most empathetic and understanding. If he thought Gavin should go to Miles, then he probably should.

Still, he hesitated for a long while before nodding. “Okay.”

“Thank fuck,” Dez muttered under his breath. “The pining was going to kill us all.”

* * *

The next afternoon,Gavin spent a ridiculous amount of time preparing to go see Miles. He wasn’t going to tell anyone he spent half an hour in his closet looking at every piece of clothing he owned. It hadn’t been about the clothes anyway. It had been another way to put off facing things.

If he went to see Miles, that might be the end of their relationship. If Miles turned him away, that was it. Gavin wasn’t some kind of stalker who would follow the man around trying to convince him they belonged together.

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