Brothersong

by TJ Klune

  The other men laughed as if it were the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

  Will squinted at Gavin. “Wolf again, huh? Figures. If I were a werewolf, I doubt I’d ever walk on two legs again. Thought about asking Oxnard or Joseph for the bite.”

  I was slightly horrified at the thought. “You… did?”

  He nodded cheerfully. “Yep. But I decided against it. Your Alphas reminded me of the importance of humanity. And while I wouldn’t mind getting rid of these aches and pains, they’re mine. It’s a small price to pay for what I can do as a human to help the pack.”

  Thank Christ. I could only imagine what shit Will would get into if he was a werewolf, and none of it was good. “That’s exactly right. Listen to them. They usually know what they’re talking about.”

  “Getting back into the swing of things?”

  I shrugged. “Trying to. Look, Will. I’m sorry about—”

  He held up a hand. “Say no more. I understand.”

  I blinked. “You do?”

  He nodded. “Oh yeah. Jessie explained to me that our Gavin here is your….” He frowned. “What was it again? Oh! Right. Your mystical moon magic connection. Or something like that.”

  I was going to fucking murder her. “Oh my god.”

  Will leaned closer, his breath smelling like coffee. “I don’t pretend to know all that goes on,” he whispered as if it were a secret just between us. “Shape-shifters, you know? I’m a little out of my depth. But she said that you cared very much about him and that you needed to find him so your mystical moon magic connection could be solidified.”

  “Oh my god.”

  “Ah,” Will said. “So it’s like that, is it? Hell, boy. Are any of you straight? Jesus. No offense, but it’s probably best I didn’t take the bite. I wouldn’t know the first thing about what to do with a penis that isn’t mine.” He frowned. “Though I suppose I could figure it out. I mean, I know what I like, so how hard could it—”

  “Dominique!” I said, pushing by Will, who squawked. “Just the woman I wanted to see.”

  “Uh-huh,” she said. “I don’t know if I believe you.”

  “Save me,” I hissed at her.

  She rolled her eyes. “Will, sit your ass down and leave my customers alone.”

  Will looked outraged. “I’m his constituent. I have a right to know what’s going on in my local government, especially when it involves shape-shifters.” He blinked. “Huh. Of all the sentences that have ever come out of my mouth, that was one of the strangest.”

  “Hear, hear!” the other men agreed.

  “There’ll be time for that later,” Dominique said.

  “If we’re not all dead by some evil monster that wants to kill us all,” Will muttered, but he left it alone as he went back to his seat. He patted me on the back as he went by, and I looked for Gavin, sure he was going to be cowering near the door.

  He wasn’t. He was at the other end of the counter, sitting next to a man at the end. His eyes were wide and innocent. The man laughed as he handed over a piece of bacon. Gavin barely chewed before swallowing and huffing out a breath, ready for another.

  “There are clothes in the back,” Dominique told him. “If you want to shift. We put them all over town just in case. Should be something there that’ll fit you.”

  He cocked his head at her.

  “Come on,” I told him. “Stop mooching. We’ll get something for you. Leave him alone.”

  “I don’t mind,” the man said. “It’s like having a big dog.”

  Gavin growled at him.

  The man blanched. “Forget I said that.”

  Gavin snorted before standing up and following me to the back of the diner. I sat down in a booth. Gavin tried to climb in after me, but I shoved him off. “You’re too big. Either stay on the floor or go get dressed.”

  He wasn’t happy with that.

  I sighed. “Look. As fun as one-sided conversations are, I need to know you hear me, okay?”

  He sat down on his hindquarters, turning his head away from me.

  “Pouting’s not going to work.”

  One ear turned toward me, but that was it. I watched as his front paws began to slide along the linoleum. He brought them back, but they immediately began to slide again.

  “Just like a dog,” I said.

  He jerked his head toward me, flashing his eyes.

  “Doesn’t work on me, dude. Come on. Your brother’s going to be here soon. I know he’d like to see you.”

  He grumbled as he stood. Dominique held the door to the back open for him. She nodded toward me and followed Gavin through the door.

  I rubbed a hand over my face. The men at the lunch counter were whispering to each other, but I ignored them, especially when they kept sneaking looks at me as if they thought I couldn’t see them. Dominique reappeared through the door.

  I looked over.

  She was trying not to laugh.

  I arched an eyebrow at her, not sure if I really wanted to know.

  “Pants,” she said. “Not really a fan.”

  I groaned. “He can’t be naked in public.”

  “I’m not,” he said, sounding extraordinarily put out. He walked through the swinging door. I started choking when I saw what he was wearing. Oh, the jeans were fine, the ends rolled up around his ankles. He wore cheap flip-flops. But it was his shirt that almost made me fall out of the booth.

  It was pink.

  And had rhinestones on the front, spelling out the word DIVA.

  “What the fuck,” I said faintly.

  He frowned as he looked down at himself. “What?”

  “I don’t think that’s the right shirt,” I managed to say.

  He scowled at me. “Why? It’s shiny.” He poked the rhinestones on his chest. “I like shiny.”

  “It’s for girls.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Dominique said, squeezing his arm. “Toxic masculinity rears its ugly head yet again. You can wear any old thing you want. That one’s mine, so I know you’ve got good taste.” She tugged on the shirt, pulling it tight against his arms. “A little small, but you’re skinny. Too skinny. Go sit down. I’ll bring you out something to eat. And you better eat it all.”

  “Bacon?” he asked hopefully, and if he was shifted, his ears would have perked up.

  “Bacon,” she agreed. “Sit.”

  He practically strutted as he came back to the table. He looked ridiculous, and I was struggling not to laugh in his face. I wasn’t surprised when, instead of sitting at the other end of the booth, he crowded against me on my side, forcing me to scoot over. “There’s plenty of room over there,” I told him, knowing it was useless.

  “I sit here.”

  “I see that. I’m just saying you don’t have to. And don’t give me that look. You can’t be pissed off when you’re bedazzled. It doesn’t work like that.”

  But oh, he was trying.

  And the others in the diner were staring at him, wide-eyed.

  I bristled. “What? He can wear whatever the fuck he wants to.”

  Will shook his head slowly. “Of course. Just… this is the first time we’ve seen him walking around on two legs.” He grinned. “Looking good, Gavin. Might be something there after all to being a shape-shifter. Better watch out in case I decide to take the bite. Might have to make a little mystical moon magic connection of our own.”

  The other men cackled as I banged my head on the table.

  “Don’t,” he said, putting his hand between my forehead and the table. “Stop.”

  I sighed as I sat back up. “This is stupid. All of this is stupid.”

  “What is?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter. You’re not going to move, are you?” Our thighs were pressed together, and his arm brushed mine every time he moved.

  “No. I stay right here.”

  “Personal space is a thing that exists.”

  He grunted. “I’m a wolf.”

  “That’s
not an excuse.”

  “It’s a fact.”

  I gaped at him.

  He looked smug.

  Before I could retort, the bell rang overhead as the door opened. Gordo walked in, nodding at the men at the counter. The shop was closed, the others all still at the house, but he’d come into town to do some paperwork. He started to wave at us, but he must have seen Gavin’s shirt, and he nearly tripped over his own feet.

  It certainly didn’t help that Robbie entered the diner a moment later, rubbing his arms, a smile on his face. That smile froze when he saw us sitting in the booth.

  “I don’t want to know,” Gordo said, shaking his head. “I really don’t.”

  Unfortunately Robbie did. “What the hell are you wearing?”

  Gavin shrank away from him, but he had no place to go. I glared at Robbie. “Leave him alone. It’s shiny. He likes it. Nobody else gives a shit, so why should you?”

  Robbie balked but recovered quickly. “Oh, hey. Totally. I wasn’t trying to—sorry, Gavin. You look good. It suits you. I don’t think I could pull off something like that.”

  Gavin scowled at the table. I reached over and took his hand without thinking. His grip was tight.

  I sighed. “Just let it go, all right? What are you doing in town anyway? I thought you were at the blue house.”

  Robbie shrugged before Gordo shoved him into the other side of the booth. “Figured Gordo could use some help. Get done quicker that way.”

  “Pain in my ass,” Gordo muttered, but he was full of shit. They had a dynamic none of us expected. Robbie should have made Gordo want to pull his hair out. He sometimes did. But when Livingstone had taken Robbie, Gordo had been almost as bereft as Kelly, and twice as angry. “Didn’t need help.”

  Robbie snorted. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You’d be lost without me.”

  Gordo didn’t argue. He just ignored it entirely. He looked across the table at Gavin, then glanced at me. “All right?” He jerked his head toward the guys sitting at the counter, who were not hiding the fact that they kept sneaking glances our way.

  I nodded. “They’re harmless.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Gordo said. He raised his voice. “Though people should probably mind their own business and let others eat in peace.”

  The men at the counter turned away quickly.

  Dominique came to the table. “The usual, boys?”

  Gordo nodded. “Coffee too. A lot of it.”

  “Can do.”

  Gavin leaned over to me, dropping his voice to a low whisper. “Usual? Is that bacon?”

  “Yes.”

  He looked relieved as he turned back to Dominique. “Usual. Please.”

  Dominique smiled at him. “So polite. I like that. Maybe teach the others some manners.” She rapped her knuckles against the table before turning around and heading back toward the kitchen, already shouting back at the cook in diner speak.

  Gavin was fidgeting. He wouldn’t look up at me or at the others across from us. He was obviously uncomfortable, but he wasn’t trying to leave or take off his clothes to shift back. Small favors, and all that.

  “So,” I said.

  “So,” Gordo said.

  “So,” Robbie said.

  And that was it.

  It was a little awkward.

  Gordo knew it too. He cleared his throat, looking at his brother, then at me. “I heard from Aileen.”

  Gavin stiffened.

  “What did she say?” I asked. “Anything we need to be worried about?”

  Gordo shook his head. “No. He’s… they haven’t seen him.” Gavin raised his head in alarm, but Gordo held up his hand. “He’s still there. He can’t get out. The wards are holding. They’re making sure of it.”

  “It’s not going to last forever,” I said. “We need to figure out what we’re going to do. He got out once. He can do it again.”

  “He had Michelle Hughes last time,” Gordo said, leaning back against the booth. “Though fuck if I know how that happened. It bugs the shit out of me that we didn’t see that coming. Or even consider it.”

  “She lied,” Robbie said, voice flat. “It’s what she did. She lied about everything. She was good at it.”

  Gordo stretched his arm over the back of the booth, fingers against Robbie’s shoulder. “Not your fault, kid. You couldn’t have known. They made sure of it.”

  Robbie grimaced. “I know that. But she had everyone fooled. She got what was coming to her.”

  “She can’t hurt anyone again.”

  “He can,” Gavin muttered.

  Gordo looked hesitant. I nodded at him. There was a reason we were here, and it wasn’t just to have lunch. He said, “Hey, Gavin.”

  Gavin flinched, clutching my hand in his lap. “What.”

  “You doing okay?”

  “Yes. Doing okay.” He didn’t sound like it.

  “Is there anything you need? Anything we can do for you?”

  “No.”

  “That’s good. If you do need something, all you need to do is—”

  “Ask. I know.” He brushed his hair back off his face as he lifted his head. “You have questions.”

  Gordo startled. “That obvious, huh?”

  “You’re very obvious. Always have been.”

  Robbie coughed into his hand and then glared at Gordo when he smacked him upside the head. “I’m not obvious.”

  Gavin rolled his eyes, and it was such a Gordo thing to do, I had to bite back the laughter that threatened to burst out of me. “Sure. Okay.”

  Of course the universe would see fit to put me with this asshole. I didn’t know if I was being rewarded or punished.

  Robbie stared out the window, a smile on his face. He looked relaxed, more at peace than I remembered him being before I left. It stung a little to know I’d missed him coming back to himself and how he used to be.

  “Ask,” Gavin said. “Questions. Always questions with you. All of you. It’s annoying.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Gordo said dryly. Then, “Just gonna come out with it, okay? Do you hear him? Is he still in your head?”

  Gavin shrugged. “Not loud. Not like it was. Close to him. Heard him all the time. It’s… quieter now.”

  “Because you’re so far away from him?” Robbie asked.

  “Maybe. I don’t know. Territory.” He relaxed his grip on my hand. “Territory helps. Being here. Makes it quieter. Pack helps too.”

  That caught our attention. “Can you feel the pack?” Gordo asked.

  “Little bit. It’s quiet. Like Dad.” He scowled. “Like Livingstone.”

  “You can call him that if you want,” Gordo said.

  “You don’t.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve dealt with his shit for a little while longer than you have. Let’s just say I won’t be celebrating Father’s Day any time soon.”

  “Livingstone,” Gavin said again, almost stubbornly. “I call him Livingstone. Not Dad. I had….”

  “You had,” I said, squeezing his hand.

  He glanced at me quickly before looking back down at the table. “I had Dad. Mom too. Not real parents. But still good.”

  “What happened to them?” Robbie asked quietly.

  “Dead,” Gavin said in a dull voice. “Long time ago. Still human when it happened. Car accident. I didn’t know what to do. After. Then I was wolf. Then I was Omega. And now I’m here.”

  All those years broken down into a few short sentences. I wondered if I would ever know all that had happened to him or if it would be locked away in his mind. Memories hurt when you let them.

  “The cabin was theirs?” Gordo asked. “Yours?”

  He nodded. “Thought it was best place. I knew it. It wasn’t… here. But it was close. We left Caswell. I tried to stay away. But I needed it. It wasn’t home. Carter followed me. Stupid Carter.”

  “Stupid Carter,” Gordo agreed. “But you had to know that was going to happen.”

  “No,” Gavi
n said. “Didn’t know. Thought he was smarter.”

  Gordo laughed. “He’s a Bennett. They tend not to think before they act. I’d say it’s part of their charm, but it gets old real fast.”

  “I’m sitting right here.”

  They ignored me. Gavin said, “It’s not loud. Livingstone. Not like it was.”

  “You’re still an Omega,” Robbie said. “He acted like your Alpha, but your eyes are still violet.”

  Gavin showed him just how violet they still were. “Won’t hurt people.”

  “We know,” Gordo said quickly. “No one thinks you will. If we did, you wouldn’t be in town right now.”

  “In basement,” Gavin said. “Like Robbie. Carter. Mark. And the other man.”

  “What other man?” I asked.

  “The wolf. The one Elijah killed.”

  “Pappas,” Gordo said. “Gavin?”

  “Questions,” Gavin said. “More questions.”

  “More questions,” Gordo echoed. “You remember Pappas?”

  “Yes.”

  “And all of us.”

  “Yes.”

  “And everything that happened.”

  “Ye-es.” Then, “Sometimes. It’s…. I was wolf. All the time. Different than being human. Simpler. Good wolves. Good humans. Bad wolves. Bad humans. Eat. Shit. Sleep. Run. Carter, Carter, Carter. Thump, thump, thump.” He put his hand on the table, flexing his fingers. The tips of his claws appeared, black and sharp. “Can’t remember everything. But important things.”

  That shouldn’t have touched me as much as it did, especially since I was being lumped in with eating and shitting.

  “Question,” Gavin said. “I have question.”

  “Okay,” Gordo said. “Ask. I’ll answer it if I can.”

  Gavin looked up at him. His eyes were clear again, and the lines on his forehead were deep. “Did you know? About me?”

  Gordo never looked away from him. “No. I didn’t. If I had….” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I would have done. Especially if I’d found out before everything.” He frowned. “I was angry for a long time. At Mark. Thomas. The Bennetts in general. Wolves. Witches. Magic. I hated it. I hated it all. I was hurting. I’d been left behind, and I had to go it on my own.”