Page 4 of Fractured Fang: Omega

“Yes. You must call each day and do the texting thing that seems to work for the two of you. Being honest with him is important also.”

“I know.”

Eventually, I needed to figure out how to get full, legal—in the shifter and human world—custody of Levi. I knew the council could help, but that would require proof that I could care for Levi. As a wolf, that generally meant I needed to be a part of a pack.

Morgan gave me a hug, and I hugged him back.

“I am excited for you to go. I know there’ll be great things for you out there. And selfishly, I want you to find your place in the world. It is people like you, omegas like you, who have been here and seen that what we do is good and necessary. Then you can do your part to help Asilo to continue to help others. This fledgling pack that you are going to is very powerful. They have unique skills and have friends in high places. So please keep us in mind if you can think of ways in which they can help us to continue our mission.”

“I’ll do that. I do appreciate the time I’ve spent here; it’s been… healing.”

Morgan smiled. “That is our goal.” He kissed my cheek. “Levi is leaving his lessons now; say a quick goodbye.”

Levi came running out and straight for me. He knew I was leaving and why. I tried to be as upfront and honest with him as I could. Sometimes things were best unshared due to his age, but I attempted to keep that to a minimum.

Levi was deaf, but not without some hearing. Not many knew that hearing loss was on a scale and you could be deaf without living in silence. I’d been one of those people and learned so much since Levi first came into my life.

“I need to go now.” I attempted to sign as I spoke. I still had so much to learn when it came to my ability to communicate with my hands. But if I spoke clearly enough and made sure he could see my lips, we managed to communicate pretty well.

“I know,” he said. Not everyone could understand all of what Levi said; his diction was not perfect. But I no longer noticed it when he spoke. “I will miss you.”

His words nearly broke me.

“I will miss you, too.” I opened my arms, and he walked into them for a hug. I waited until he stepped back to say and sign that I loved him and was going to find us a home— a forever home.

I reached into my back pocket and took out a tiny notebook I had there. On it, I had created a small book for Levi of drawings that created a story I was sure would make him smile. It was the tale of a powerful witch who grew up to make the world a better place—a powerful witch with two hearing aids, just like him.

“I made this for you. And we will phone every day.” Phone wasn’t a verb, but it worked, and I didn’t know how to sign some of the words I wanted to use in its stead. “I love you.”

He hugged me once more and then went to stand by Morgan. I waited until I was in the car and driving away before I let the first tear shed. I hated that we were being separated, but I had to find us a place to live, a safe place, one that would welcome Levi. But first, I needed to see my parents and try to set things on the right track over there.

Chapter 3

Macs

Mywolfwasjustbelow the surface, clawing to get out, though I had no idea why. There was a palpable tension in the air, a lead-up to… something? But what? Literally, nothing was happening except a newcomer arriving, and my wolf hadn’t reacted this way when any of our other new pack members came.

Was it just because Gabriel, Phillip, and Edith’s son would be arriving? Having a new potential pack member on the territory didn’t usually leave me feeling so unsettled. We knew we could trust him, or at least Phillip and Edith vouched for him. Jacob too. I trusted all of them. It wasn’t as if this anxiety that I had was negative. It felt the opposite. In fact, it felt as if I were anticipating something exciting to happen. The damn butterflies in my stomach made it hard to get chores done, though.

When I finally heard the engine of a small SUV coming up the drive, I came out into the open, where everybody else was standing and waiting. We had a nice, cleared area in front of the house, which served as our place for parking vehicles and our central hub. “Our town square,” as Franklin liked to refer to it as. I wasn’t familiar enough with human towns to quite understand, but I’d watched enough movies to get the gist. I’m not sure I’d ever been in a town with an actual square, though.

Phillip and Edith stood waiting with his arm around her. I couldn’t quite tell from their posture if they were happy-excited or nervous-excited. I wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“It’s been a few years since you’ve seen Gabriel, hasn’t it?” I asked.

Edith nodded. “We don’t know where he’s been these last few years.”

My brow furrowed at that. I thought they were like the perfect parents, and this whole thing with Gabriel had me reevaluating that. The entire “work” conversation from dinner still didn’t sit well with me. But then again, I’d been a grump-a-lump that night, so maybe I misinterpreted some of it. Goddess, I hoped so.

“With any luck, he’ll stick around here for a while,” Jacob said. His kids were off playing in the backyard. They would see their uncle later. From what I understood, they didn’t know him that well anyway. Plus, it was a gorgeous day. As a pup, I’d have chosen to do what they were doing over pretty much everything else except dinner.

The car came into view and stopped not too far from us. The driver, Gabriel, I assumed, turned it off and opened the door. The wind blew and ruffled his hair. Cinnamon and Lavender. It hit my nostrils full force. They weren’t scents I’d normally have paired together, but together they were magical in a way it took me a second to understand fully, and really, it wasn’t me who understood; it was my wolf.

Ding ding ding.

That was what my wolf was anticipating. This is what I was feeling. Everything that didn’t make sense suddenly did. Gabriel was the reason for it all.

Mate,my wolf urged.

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