Stag and the Ash

by Sam Burns

  “Sounds like your dad. Hopelessly optimistic and romantic. He’s pretty great.”

  Andrei grinned, then noticed Hana was standing beside him, looking amused and exasperated. “Back to work?” he asked.

  She looked around the diner, which was starting to get lunch patrons, then back at him. “I was talking about what a hard worker you are, and here you are, lounging around during the lunch rush.”

  “Don’t know I’d call it a rush, Hana,” Jesse said.

  Hana pointed a finger at him but didn’t say a word, then shooed Andrei back into the kitchen. She came over to the table with the coffee pot, poured Jesse another cup, and surveyed the plates. “Carrot cake, then?”

  Anthony’s eyes went wide, and he looked at Madison. She bit her lip again.

  “It’s on us,” Jesse told her. “Consider it a welcome-to-town lunch.”

  Hana nodded. “Always good to have new people around.” She sized Madison up. “I could use a waitress on the evening shift, if you’ve got the inclination.”

  Madison’s eyes went wide, and she nodded. “Yes, definitely. I don’t have any experience, but I can learn.”

  “Drop by tomorrow afternoon around two, and we’ll talk,” Hana told her. “It’s Andrei’s day off, so no one will be distracted.”

  “His name is Andre?” Madison asked in a whisper when Hana had gone. She was trying to be subtle about looking toward the kitchen, but failing completely.

  “Andrei,” Jesse corrected, stressing the “i” at the end. “Andrei Volkov. If you guys are staying, I imagine you’ll be seeing a lot of him.”

  “Can we?” Anthony asked, eyes beseeching his sister.

  She looked at Jesse, then toward the kitchen, then at Joshua, who nodded. “We can try. If we’re welcome, that is.”

  “Dude, I practically invited you.” Jesse waved at her lunch. “And you should eat instead of worrying. We’ll work out details later. Right now, you guys need more food.”

  A tiny voice in Jesse’s mind reminded him that the town was under a threat. He considered his guests, looking at each one in turn. They seemed like harmless kids, thoroughly shaken by tragedy and in desperate need of hugs. It was possible that he was missing something, but that seemed unlikely, too.

  Why would someone who wanted to murder a town for its supernatural entities work with a tiny, broken pack of werewolves? Their instinct would more likely be to murder lost kids like this. They were an easy target, unlike Rowan Harbor.

  As his mother would say, he couldn’t turn away fellow creatures in need, regardless of other circumstances. Jesse and his friends would keep an eye on them while they acclimated, and that should keep any possible shenanigans in check. If they were what they seemed to be, and Jesse turned them away into danger, he’d never forgive himself.

  It was always better to be in danger with a clean conscience than safe but a horrible person.

  The only question left was where to keep them. For the short term, Jesse decided on his place. It wasn’t ideal, since he only had one extra bedroom. The spare bedroom was big, but not three people big. Still, he couldn’t bring strangers into anyone else’s house until he was sure that they were no danger.

  He thought of Sean and worried for a second, but dismissed that quickly. Sean was more than capable of protecting himself, and only an idiot would try to attack a man six and a half feet tall who looked like he could throw a person.

  Jesse drifted off for a second, picturing Sean on the day they’d met again, shirtless and sweaty, the dirt of a hard day’s work under his fingernails. He sighed.

  “I hope you guys don’t mind squeezing into a small space,” Jesse told them. “I’m not going to offer up somebody else’s house, and I’ve only got one spare room. Plus the couch downstairs.”

  “We’ve been sharing skeevy motel rooms for weeks,” Joshua told him. “It’s not going to be a problem.”

  Anthony’s shoulders shook with repressed mirth. Jesse recognized it for what it was: something he had to laugh about, so that he wouldn’t cry. “Some of those motel rooms were okay. That one in Wyoming didn’t even have cockroaches.”

  “Yes it did.” Madison scowled at her milkshake. “And I’m pretty sure when they find out that’s what I used my student loans for this semester, I’m going to get in some kind of trouble. Not to mention having to drop all my classes.” Her voice cracked at the end, and she sucked in a deep breath.

  Anthony looked like he wanted to hug her but hesitated to move.

  Without even considering, Jesse reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

  “Sorry,” she whispered. “Don’t mean to be a drama queen.”

  Jesse blinked at her. “What? Dude, your parents died. Drama queen away. You guys have had a shitty year. But we’ll get the thing with your school sorted. If you decide to stay, you can transfer into a distance program.”

  She blinked back tears and looked at him. “I could. I could do that. I had good grades till this semester.”

  “You have good grades,” Jesse said. “They don’t give grades for classes you drop. You did drop, right?”

  She nodded.

  “There ya go. You’ll take the spring and summer to acclimate and find a place, wherever that is, and get started again in the fall.” He felt a little hypocritical, since he’d never gone back to school after dropping out, but he would live. It was obviously more important to her than it had been to him.

  “We’re gonna be okay,” Anthony said, slowly, and in a tone of voice that seemed to imply the words were a shocking revelation. “We’re gonna be okay, aren’t we?”

  The tears Madison had been fighting back burst forth, and suddenly Jesse was surrounded by crying teenagers.

  He looked helplessly over at Hana, but she smirked at him. She handed him a bag that looked like it had a whole boxed cake in it. “Might as well go introduce them to Sean and get them settled in right away.” She caught his eye and pulled her phone slightly out of her pocket, raising an eyebrow. He interpreted it as, “Should I call anyone?”

  He shook his head. He didn’t know about the long term, but at least in the short term, he had this under control.

  Well, except for the crying. He didn’t know what to do with that.

  “Why don’t we head over to my place, guys? I can plate up this whole freaking cake, and we can watch TV.”

  “Dude,” Joshua breathed, “do you have cable? That sounds freaking amazing.”

  Jesse nodded. “Hell yeah, I do. Let’s do this.”

  As he climbed back into his car, Jesse had the foresight to text Sean and warn him that he was bringing unexpected guests. He didn’t think his boyfriend would be thrilled, but hopefully it wasn’t too big a deal.

  New wolves in town, staying with us at least a day or two while we get stuff sorted. Sorry.

  That seemed to get the idea across without being demanding or down on the kids. He didn’t want to put in a text how pitiful they were, or that he felt ridiculously protective of them.

  It was partially guilt, he knew. He couldn’t go back and fix what he’d done with Charles or keep the man from killing Sean’s mother. He could never make up for what he’d done. But he could help others who had been through a tragedy.

  His phone buzzed as he drove back to the house, but it would be his luck to drive by his brother while checking it and end up with a ticket for driving distracted. Just the impression he wanted to give the kids.

  He grabbed the phone when he pulled into the drive. Sure enough, it was a text from Sean.

  Guess I should put on some pants.

  Jesse snorted.

  Now that’s a real tragedy. We’re here.

  He grabbed the bouquet and the bag with the cake as he climbed out of the car, even more thankful for the tiny purple blooms than before. They looked pretty good despite the hours out of water.

  The kids followed him out of their own car; the boys looking excited and Madison nervous. She was probably feeling the whole “someone e
lse’s territory” thing even more keenly, since they were at his house. She may not be a natural leader, but she cared about the boys. Jesse didn’t doubt for a second that she would put herself between them and danger, and wandering into a strange wolf’s territory was dangerous whether you believed in magical pack hierarchy or not.

  He tried to keep his stance loose and casual, moving slowly and not looking anyone in the eye too long. He wasn’t sure if it worked, but he gave it his best shot.

  As they approached the door, Sean opened it.

  Both boys stared up at him.

  “Holy crap, you’re huge,” Joshua told him.

  Jesse bit back the instinctive “that’s what she said,” and stepped past them to put a hand on Sean’s shoulder. “Guys, this is my boyfriend, Sean.” He handed over the flowers, which earned him a raised eyebrow. “What? Miss V said you like lilacs, and these were the first of the season. She also said a bunch of other stuff about varieties or something, but I didn’t really listen.”

  Sean rolled his eyes and looked back at where the kids were standing awkwardly on the walk.

  “I thought he was your mate?” Anthony asked.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Jesse waved the term away. “But this is the real world. We don’t go around calling each other things like that. He doesn’t get the vapors or anything.”

  “Probably because I don’t wear a corset,” Sean said, and turned to the kids. “Hi, I’m Sean. And you’re new werewolves in town.”

  Jesse pointed to each and named them. “Sorry for not warning you they were coming to stay ahead of time. They just got here.”

  Sean wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed him on the cheek. “Stop worrying so much. Come on in, you guys. There’s not a lot of extra room, but the guest room has a queen-sized bed, and the couch is long enough for me to lie down, so there’s at least a spot for everyone to sleep.”

  “We don’t want to be a burden,” Madison said, biting her lip again.

  If anything was causing a burden, it was Jesse’s position, not the kids, but he didn’t want to say that, since it validated the idea that they were a problem. He figured they’d dealt with enough.

  “I’m not the one who’s going to share my bed or sleep on a couch. All I have to do is make a little extra dinner.” He leaned on Jesse as they turned and headed into the house. “Speaking of which, I should go to the store. We don’t have enough for us, let alone guests.”

  “You want me to go?” Jesse asked automatically, mind drifting to the mayor and chocolate sauce.

  Sean looked at the kids, then back at Jesse. “Nah, I should visit Dad anyway, and I’m sure he’ll be there. He’s changed the endcaps ten times in the last month.” He turned to the kids. “Any preferences? Allergies?”

  They all shook their heads.

  “You don’t have to—” Madison started, but Jesse held up a hand.

  “You’re our guests. We feed our guests. When you’re settled, you can do the same for someone else. Not that we get a lot of new people in town, but the point stands.”

  Sean leaned over and kissed Jesse on the cheek. He handed the flowers back. “You get them set up, and these in water, and I’ll be back in a while.”

  “And avoid the mayor’s wife,” Jesse added.

  Sean flipped him off on his way out of the room, grabbing his car keys from the bowl next to the door. “Or maybe I’ll buy some chocolate sauce.” The door closed behind him, and Jesse sighed. It felt weird, being alone with strangers in the house he’d started to think of as his and Sean’s.

  “Okay, so who’s sleeping on the couch?”

  “Me,” said Joshua and Madison at the same time. Then they looked at each other.

  She shook her head. “It’s fine, Josh. I’d rather be down here, anyway.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Jesse agreed. “I’ll grab you a pillow and blanket from the linen closet, and then I can show you guys upstairs.”

  Jesse left them alone to discuss it if they wanted, but he suspected Madison was going to win any argument. Jesse would have done the same. Maybe she wasn’t a leader yet, but he could see her growing into one. She definitely had the required protective instinct. He put the cake in the fridge and the flowers in a cup of water, then went to the linen closet. He picked a midweight blanket, draping it over his arm, and two pillows, in case she wanted an extra. Two was all they had, so he hoped she didn’t want more. He doubted she’d ask even if she did.

  When he got back, Anthony was bringing a few bags in from their car while Madison and Joshua had a rather loud whispered conversation in the living room about whether or not he was her responsibility to protect. It wasn’t heated, but Joshua did sound annoyed. Jesse imagined it had to chafe a teenage boy, going from being independent to being part of a pack, and without asking for that change. He couldn’t conceive of being utterly independent. It sounded a lot like being alone, and Jesse wasn’t a huge fan of that.

  Anthony looked a little embarrassed as he met Jesse’s eyes. In a nearly silent voice, he told Jesse, “He’s gotten used to having better hearing, but he’s struggling to understand that we all have it.”

  Jesse had to try hard not to laugh at that, so he just nodded. It reminded him of little kids who thought if they couldn’t see you, you couldn’t see them. Still, he shouldn’t make fun. Becoming a wolf had to be a huge change, and if Joshua hadn’t wanted to be bitten, that sucked.

  If Madison was going to be head of their family, Jesse couldn’t butt in, so he settled in to wait for them to finish the conversation, leaning on the wall next to Anthony. “How old are you guys?”

  Anthony looked surprised by the question, blinking repeatedly. “Huh?”

  “You and Josh seem pretty young to be on your own. I know you’ve got Madison, but there’s the whole legal-custody thing.”

  “Oh, no,” Anthony said, shaking his head. “We’re eighteen. Josh is almost nineteen. He graduated high school last year, and I, um, should have in a couple months. Had to leave last month, though.”

  “I’m sure Mrs. Cormier would be happy to get you into summer school to finish anything you need to graduate.” Jesse set the linens on a table in the hall, then took one of the bags from the kid’s shoulders and set it down on the floor. It smelled like Madison, so he figured it was a safe guess it was hers. “Why don’t you and I take your stuff up to the guest room, so you can put it down? Give them a little privacy.”

  Anthony gave a sigh of relief. “That would be good. All of that would be good. I’m sorry about them.”

  Jesse waved it away. “Don’t be. You guys have been under a lot of stress. I’m amazed no one has been injured.”

  “Honestly? At this point, I think that’s mostly because Josh ran into a guy who said he used to live here. It was getting bad back in Nebraska. Mads feels responsible for everything, and Josh has always been really independent, so it pisses him off a little when she tries to mother us. He doesn’t like his own mother, so he doesn’t want another one.”

  “Doesn’t like her?” Jesse asked. He felt more and more out of his league with them as he went. He couldn’t imagine not adoring his mother, even when she was annoying as hell.

  Anthony leaned in. “I know, right? I’d give anything to have my mom back. Anything.”

  It was hard to question. Jesse thought he’d be in the same camp, in Anthony’s situation. “My best friend doesn’t talk to his mom much,” he conceded. “She’s not the nicest person.”

  Anthony nodded. “I think Josh mostly wanted to get away. That’s why he didn’t have a problem coming with us, even if he doesn’t like Mads being in charge. But we don’t have an alpha anymore, and we didn’t know what to do. I don’t even know what it means to be an alpha.”

  Jesse chuckled at that. He wanted to say something like “you and me both,” but that didn't seem helpful. Instead, he decided on, “I don’t think it’s as complicated as you’re worried it is. Madison’s been doing pretty well. She got you here.”


  “She did. And it wasn’t easy. She’s better at taking care of people than Dad ever was. Is that what it is?”

  “I’d say that’s the biggest part.”

  “So that’s why you’re helping us?”

  Jesse opened the guest-room door and motioned Anthony in. He was glad he hadn’t been living in the house long, because he wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who cleaned, and it was starting to get a little dusty. “I guess that’s part of it. But if I hadn’t helped you, my best friend would have, and he’s not a werewolf at all.”

  He didn’t know why, but something in him insisted that he not mention Devon being fae. His instincts were wildly uncomfortable with how much he’d shared with complete strangers already, especially allowing them to come into his home and meet Sean. The town was under threat from outsiders, and they were outsiders. Could it really be a coincidence, even if it seemed like it had to be?

  He shook it off, but he didn’t mention Devon.

  “So the people in town, they know about werewolves and don’t care?” There was a dubious note in Anthony’s voice.

  “Yep. Everyone in town knows about us. I’m sure they’ll know you’re werewolves before they even meet you. They’re gossipy.” He sat down on the end of the bed. “You and Josh don’t mind sharing?”

  “Nah, we’ve been having sleepovers together since we were, like, six. Back when we had a house.” Anthony put their bags down and sat next to Jesse, the bed depressing with his weight. “We lost it when Dad ran off. Couldn’t pay the mortgage. Mads had to come back from college. We sold most of the stuff in the house to pay off the car, so we wouldn’t lose it too. I think it’s all we have left in the world.”

  “Yeah?”

  “She doesn’t talk to us about money and stuff. I know that she’s been eating less and less in the last week, so I figured it must be money. I tried to eat less too, but I kind of suck at it.” He leaned in and whispered, “I stole a sandwich from a gas station in Idaho.” He looked like it was the most shameful thing he could think of, and he didn’t meet Jesse’s eyes.