Revelations (Brighton Wolves #1)

by Samantha Hoffman

  *****

  In the morning, she forced herself to go downstairs, even though eating a civil breakfast with her father was the last thing she wanted to do. Her feet pounded the stairs in frustration, but when she saw Gabe leaning against the kitchen counter, she stopped in her tracks as a giant smile spread across her face. She probably looked like an idiot just standing there and smiling and staring at him, but she didn’t care. Last night, she had begun to fear she might not ever see her brother again. And even though they fought or got on each other’s nerves sometimes, she couldn’t imagine life without him.

  Sandra was dutifully cooking breakfast, just like she had every morning since they’d arrived just over two weeks ago. This morning, Geoffrey was on toast duty, buttering each piece as it popped out and stacking them on a plate near the toaster. She noticed that her uncle’s shoulders appeared tense while her aunt seemed distant. She thought it was probably from the truth coming out yesterday, and figured they might be a little awkward with one another as their past was resurfacing. Geoffrey’s back was to her, but he greeted her anyways. “Good morning, Gwen. Breakfast is almost done. Have a seat anywhere while you wait.”

  She glanced at the table, where her father was sitting silently with his head in his hands. She didn’t feel like sitting beside him, but she took the open spot on his right anyways. He looked up when she scooted the chair in, and a smile almost graced his face. Gwen looked at her father, studying the lines in his face that she was sure hadn’t been there two weeks ago. His eyes had never been that vibrant and lively, but now they looked so tired, like his very soul ached and it was a struggle just to survive day to day.

  She felt a rare moment of pity for her father, which took her by surprise. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to know that you were hated by everyone in your family in one way or another. That had to take a toll on your mental health eventually, and she wondered if her father would ever be the same after this. She never thought she’d admit it, but she missed her moody father that always had to have the last word, who seemed like his temper was close to exploding at any given second, who could manage to pick a fight over the stupidest and most trivial things. Even though he had never been perfect—far from it on a good day even—he had been familiar.

  The man sitting beside her was little more than a stranger, someone she didn’t know anymore. Was there such a thing as a familiar stranger? She thought one of them might be staring at her right now, looking at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. She felt uncomfortable under his gaze but wasn’t sure why. Grant was her father, no matter what terrible things he had done in the past, and she would always love him. He had to know that, right?

  If the look in his eyes was any indication, she wasn’t so sure about that. Does he think I hate him?

  Sandra interrupted her thoughts, placing heaping plates of food in the center of the table. Even though Gwen hadn’t been planning on eating much, the smell wafting from the warm plates was enough to make her mouth water and her stomach growl. She was the first to reach for any of it, heaping a giant helping of scrambled eggs and peppers onto her plate, along with a slice of buttered toast, three strips of crispy bacon, and half of an orange. If anyone thought she was being a pig, they didn’t say anything, though she noticed Geoffrey watching her with an adoring smile on his face that lit up the room.

  Not to be outdone, Gabe heaped his plate with eggs, several pieces of bacon, sausage, toast, and fruit. She couldn’t believe how much he was planning on eating, and he continued to pile it on until he needed a second plate. Everyone sat quietly and watched until he was done, but all of them knew better than to say anything about his increasing appetite. When he was finally done, he took his plates and left the room, heading back up the stairs to his bedroom without a word or glance to any of them. Gwen flinched as the door slammed, and her shoulders slumped. Suddenly the food on her plate didn’t seem so appetizing.

  “Gabe will be fine,” Geoffrey said. “He’s a strong boy, Gwen. We just have to be patient and wait for him to get out of this funk. It’s a lot to take in, especially at a time like this. Just give him some space.”

  To Gwen, that sounded like a terrible idea. She knew Gabe better than anyone at that table, and she knew that being alone was the last thing he needed right now. Being alone with his thoughts would be torture, and it was her job to rescue him from himself. They had always looked out for each other, and she wasn’t going to shirk her duties now just because they were all treading on foreign ground.

  She ate in silence just like everyone else, though she could hardly remember what any of it tasted like. While she chewed, she thought about all of the new information that had been presented to her recently. It was a lot to take in, but she felt like she still didn’t have the whole picture. She was still missing something, and she still wanted answers. She knew after a quick glance around the table that nobody in this house was going to give them to her. If she wanted to know everything, she would have to find a source outside of her secretive family.

  Immediately her thoughts flashed to Skyler. She had no guarantees of where his loyalties truly lay, and he hadn’t been the most forthcoming with information last night, but he had still given her more than her own family. If he truly wanted to prove he was on her side, she might be able to get him to open up about even more than he already had. The only problem was being in a position to have a calm and easy discussion with him, one that didn’t end with him fleeing into the night.

  How am I going to find him and convince him to explain everything to me?

  An idea came to her, but she wasn’t sure if it would work. If it did, she would finally get all of the answers she was so desperately searching for. And if she was getting her answers, she wanted to make sure Gabe got his, too. She excused herself from the table, putting her dirty dishes into the sink on her way out of the kitchen. She cautiously made her way up the stairs and stopped at Gabe’s door. She wasn’t sure what she should say to convince him to come with her, but she raised her hand and knocked anyway, knowing that the words would come. Before she could say his name, his voice came through the door, sharp and clear, and very angry.

  “Go away!” he yelled. “I don’t wanna be bothered by any of you people. That includes you, Gwen. Just leave me alone!” She could hear him pacing back and forth in his room, and she could tell from the heaviness to his footsteps that he was clearly agitated. Her heart pulled at the thought of him suffering alone in his room, and she refused to let his anger and fear fester until he became as unrecognizable to her as their father had.

  “Gabe,” she called, her voice soft and sad. “Please talk to me.

  “Gwen—”

  “We’ve always been there for each other, no matter what was wrong. Now isn’t the time to change that, Gabe. We need to stick together, no more than ever. I wanna help you Gabe. Just open up the door and let me in. I promise everything is gonna be okay—it has to be. We’ll make it okay…together.”

  Her lungs ached as she held her breath, waiting for an agonizingly long moment for the door to open. When it finally did, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Gabe looked down at her, seemingly taller than she could ever remember him being. Perhaps that was the werewolf coming to the forefront?

  “I’m sorry, Gwen. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings or anything,” he said, looking down at his feet sheepishly. He may have shared their father’s temper, but Gabe had always been one to apologize when he was sorry instead of pretending it hadn’t happened. “I’m just…under a lot of stress right now,” he said, his voice sounding alarmingly defeated and out of character.

  “I know. I just thought you might want some real answers, not this watered down, redacted crap we’re getting from our family.”

  His eyebrows rose and his eyes widened a fraction. “And how are you going to get that?”

  “I wanna meet with Skyler and press him for some real information.” Gabe scoffed in shock, his mouth nearly dropping open as h
e searched and failed to find something to say. “I know how that sounds, believe me, but I think we can trust him. At least, more than we can trust anyone in this house right now.”

  Gabe shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’d even consider meeting with this guy. He’s a stranger, a dangerous one at that! He’s a werewolf, Gwen. He could turn on us in an instant. What would you do if that were to happen? You think you could fight off a werewolf? Besides, how would you even find this guy? He could be literally anywhere.”

  “I’m gonna walk around town until I find him,” she said, sounding far more confident than she felt. “He’s gonna be keeping an eye on us.”

  “And how do you know that?” he asked, the skepticism clear in his voice. She almost thought he sounded amused.

  “Because he told me he was watching us.” Before Gabe could get angry, she hurried to explain. “He visited me last night and told me that Roman ordered him to watch us and report everything we’ve been doing. But he’s been keeping some things secret from Roman. He’s been telling him white lies and harmless information, things that don’t matter. He’s been protecting us, Gabe. He promised Ginny he’d keep us safe.”

  “He didn’t keep her safe though, did he?”

  “He says he tried his best, and I believe him. He wants to help us, Gabe. I think we can trust him, but I wanna meet with him again to be sure. He can tell us things that Dad and Uncle Geoffrey can’t. Maybe he knows why Roman is so hell bent on using us to hurt them.”

  She could tell Gabe was considering their options, and she knew the second he decided she was right. He gave her that familiar look that told her she’d gotten her way, and he sighed in defeat. “Alright, we’ll go find this Skyler guy and ask him some questions. But if I think for one second that it’s a setup or he’s there to hurt us, we’re gone. Got it? Promise me, Gwen. If things get suspicious, we’ll leave and come back home. I want answers as badly as you do, but I will not put your life in danger to get them.”

  “Okay, fine. I promise we’ll leave if things turn sour. Now get dressed so we can go.”