Page 27 of Wolf Reborn

“If—” Gavin said, voice rough, and he stopped to clear his throat before going on. “If you want me to be. Even after—”

“Shh,” Miles said, putting a finger to his lips. Gavin raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and Miles smiled at him. “I guess I’m supposed to be more respectful of my alpha than that, huh?”

Gavin rolled his eyes and didn’t bother answering, even when Miles removed his finger.

“So does that make me a beta?”

Gavin gave a little groan, his head falling back as he glared at the ceiling. “I don’t know. Maybe? You don’t feel like an alpha. I’ve only been a werewolf for less than a year. What I know would fill a very slim pamphlet. Not even close to a book.”

“So there’s noHandbook for the Recently Bitten?” Miles asked, and Gavin shot him an exasperated look. He threw his free hand up. “Just asking. But it doesn’t matter. You were looking for the kid, who’s an omega and ran away because he was getting bullied. Why would he come here?”

“Graham is an omega too. They grew up in the same place. It’s—they’re basically one of those doomsday cults, but I guess they’re waiting for werewolf prophecies or something.” Gavin shook his head, like even he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Anyway. Graham left them, and they kidnapped him back. You remember in September when I got a call and had to leave a movie early?”

He did remember. Gavin wasn’t the kind of man who took promises lightly, so when he’d come back into the theater and told Miles he had to go, he’d assumed it was important.

“We had to go get Graham when he was kidnapped. And I guess we kind of left an impression on this kid when we showed up.”

Gavin looked embarrassed, but Miles could see it all as though he’d been there. Whatever an omega was, Graham and the boy were both it. And these white knights, Gavin and Ash and Dez, had come riding in to protect Graham, save him from the cult. Suddenly, that was the kid’s reference for perfection. He wanted to be Graham. He wanted Ash and Gavin and Dez to come save him from the cult too. From the bullying.

So when he broke down because the bullying was too much, he went to find his heroes. They would save him.

There was only one way to be sure it was the same kid, but there was no harm in giving Gavin the information he had. “They said the kid was between seven and nine. Longish blond hair, stained white shirt, ripped jeans. They didn’t get much detail, but they said he was moving like he was going somewhere, but he ran when they called him. He didn’t want to be found.” Miles sat up, cross-legged and facing Gavin. “It fits your missing boy, doesn’t it?”

“It does. Martingales run blond and pretty, and Graham said Lyndon is a Martingale.”

“So you went out looking for him, not even knowing if it was him, searching the side of the mountain for a kid you barely even know,” Miles pointed out. He wanted Gavin to see something good about himself, but instead, Gavin grimaced.

“The others will know I’m out of contact by now. I hope they don’t push a search. They know I can take care of myself.” He glanced over at the front of the cabin, like he could telepathically call to his fellow werewolves.

On a whim, Miles gave it a shot.Come back over here and kiss me, he demanded with his mind. Gavin turned back to him, but he didn’t look particularly amorous. Oh well.

“Hopefully Dez has them all back at the house by now. They can handle the snow.” Gavin looked down at where Miles still clung to his hand, but he didn’t pull away. No, he smiled. It was a small smile, but it was there.

“Wolves are good with snow, right?” Miles asked. He glanced over at the door again. Maybe if he could—it was such a bizarre idea, it was almost laughable, but—if he could turn into a wolf, they could get out of there. A wolf could make it through that snow.

Gavin bowed his head, and he gave a small nod. “They are.”

That was a concerning response. Obviously Gavin didn’t think that was a solution. “I, um, I can’t be one? Yet?” He hoped it was yet, if that was the problem.

“What? No, I’m sure you—okay, well I’m notsure, but—” Gavin rolled his neck, breaking eye contact and refusing to look at Miles again. Not anger or a lie, exactly, Miles decided. Shame. Gavin was ashamed of whatever was going on in his head. “You should be resting anyway. You just changed, and almost died before that. We have to take care of you first, and worry about getting out of here second. It’s not like we could go look for Lyndon at this point.”

Miles sighed at that but nodded. As much as he’d like to look for the boy some more, it wasn’t reasonable. And as much as he wanted to know what was going on in Gavin’s head, asking wasn’t the way to find out. He needed to give him time.

If anyone had been through more than Miles that day, it was probably Gavin. After all, Miles had been unconscious. He’d only had a few seconds to face his own mortality, not even full minutes. He didn’t know how long Gavin had dealt with the idea of losing him.

The vaguest notion of dealing with the opposite made pain lance through him, and before he even realized he had cringed, he was doubled over, Gavin wrapped around him.

“Miles?”

The only thing he could think of was the thing he absolutely had to have, before anything else could matter. “You are, right? You’re my alpha. You’re with me. You’re not—you’re not leaving.”

“Of course,” Gavin whispered. “Of course I’ll be your alpha. I’m with you, and I’m never leaving. Not until—unless you want me to. It’s all up to you, sweetheart. Everything is your choice.”

As though the words were magic, Miles felt his whole body relax into Gavin, leaning on him and breathing in his perfect scent. Sweat, wood, snow, wool, alpha, and just everything Gavin. If it was his choice, then there was no choice at all. He would stay with Gavin forever.

14

(I’ll Never Be) Your Maggie May

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