“I’m going to assume you’ve already told him to go to hell,” Winter said, his gaze not lifting from the table.
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
“Really, brother? That’s all you have to say?”
Winter dropped his hands and smirked at him. “Sorry. When it comes to you, the threats are usually coming from the Ministry. Not much I can do about that. It’s Marcus’s domain. But the wolves, that’s something new for me. I don’t think I have any useful contacts in that realm who could help, but I’m happy to do some digging. See what I can learn about this pack.”
“Thank you,” Bel said on a sigh.
“Will you come up with a new formula that will work against the wolves?”
Bel glared at his brother. “You know that I’m not truly this mad scientist you and Rafe like to paint me as. The formula I used to stop the Black Wolf clan was discovered purely by accident.”
“Yes, and maybe you could accidentally discover a paralytic that could keep the wolves from shifting.”
“I don’t see how that would be helpful at all.”
Winter shrugged before pushing to his feet. “I don’t know either, but it sounds as if it would be scary as hell for the wolves.”
Bel groaned and rose as well. He hugged his brother, trying to push aside his worries for Winter. He didn’t like such dark thoughts in his brother’s head, but his brother was accustomed to thinking such dark things over the years because of the threats to their family.
“I need to go. Apparently, I have some new and interesting things to dig into.” Winter pulled away, but he continued to hold Bel’s upper arms. His younger brother was a few inches shorter, but there was a fierceness in his artic blue eyes that held Bel captive. “Do not give up hope, and do not give up on our family. If this is what you believe is right, we will find a way to support you.”
Hope and love surged in Bel’s chest as he pulled his brother in for another quick hug. “Thank you, Winter.”
He walked his brother out and locked the door behind him. Wandering to the living room, he sat on the couch again. He’d been angry at his family for not immediately siding with him, but he hadn’t taken the time to see their side of the dilemma. He didn’t want to be the one adding more danger and threats to their lives. The very idea of any of them being hurt made him sick. And if he were the reason they were hurt…
But he couldn’t turn his back on Wyatt and River either.
There had to be a solution he just wasn’t seeing yet.
13
Wyatt heard Winter leave, but he waited in the kitchen for a while, giving Bel some time alone with his thoughts. It didn’t help that he was torn over the position he’d put Bel in. If it was just him, Wyatt wanted to believe that he’d have the strength to walk away, to leave Bel and his family in safety.
But with River at his side, he hesitated.
River was smart, strong, and resourceful. But he was also young when it came to their kind, and he’d already suffered too much between their former clan and life on the run.
And as much as he hated to admit it, Wyatt was struggling to keep him safe by himself.
“Stop,” River said sharply.
Wyatt looked up to find River standing opposite him at the center island, brushing the crumbs off his fingers as he chewed up the last of the second sandwich he’d devoured. Wyatt’s appetite was missing, his mind on what Winter and Bel had been discussing when they left.
“What?”
“Whatever you’re thinking in that crafty brain of yours, just stop thinking it.”
Wyatt forced a smile. “What if it’s—”
“It’s not,” River said, cutting him off. He plopped his hands on his hips and frowned. “You think I don’t know you after all these years, but I do. You’re worrying about Bel and his family. You’re worrying about the danger we’ve put them in. I wouldn’t put it past you to be thinking of slipping out during the day.”
Wyatt’s smile became a little more genuine, even if it remained sad. “You do know me.”
“And it’s not fair to Bel to take the decision out of his hands after we were the ones to drop it in his lap in the first place.” River sighed. “If you think we should leave, then…then I think you should tell Bel. Give him a chance to make a choice.”
Walking around the island, he pulled River into his arms and kissed him slowly. He was so fucking lucky to have found River. He’d known from an early age that he was gay, but he’d thought he’d hide it, bury it down deep inside of himself and just pretend. The pack was everything. It was life. And being gay in the pack wasn’t an option.
But then he’d met River. It had been such a freak, unexpected moment. Wyatt had been living on the edge of pack land, so he could more easily commute to and from school. A friend of his family had asked him to help with adding a deck to their house one summer, and River had been there to work as well.
Young and full of life, River had been a sparkling shaft of light in his otherwise gray existence. Their eyes met, and it was like a bolt of electricity had surged through him. And by the answering smile spreading across River’s lips, he knew the young man had felt it too.
Being together was impossible.
Wyatt did what he could to avoid River and the temptation he represented. In the beginning, they went an entire year without seeing each other, but then fate would bring them back together. Accidental encounters at grocery stores. Running into each other at pack meetings. Tripping over each other at weddings of mutual friends.
When Wyatt finally broke down and grabbed River for that first stolen kiss, he’d known he found home and he never wanted to let go again.
“You know I love you, right?” Wyatt murmured, his lips brushing against River’s.
He could feel the wolf’s answering smile. “Still? After all this time?”
“Forever.”
River tilted his head up, kissing him. He nibbled at his lower lip before plunging his tongue into Wyatt’s mouth. The young wolf moaned softly, and Wyatt eagerly swallowed the noise down.
“I don’t say it often enough, but thank you for taking care of us. For always working so hard to keep us safe.”
“I’ve tried.”
“You’ve succeeded. I know it hasn’t been easy, and you’ve had to make some very difficult decisions. I think you’ve done a wonderful job. I would be lost without you.”
“And you are my everything.” Wyatt kissed him again, loving the little growly sounds rumbling up River’s throat. He was such a vocal and generous lover. Just touching him lit a fire within Wyatt.
“Well, almost,” River corrected. Wyatt pulled away to take in River’s smirk. “There’s also a vampire who is quickly becoming your everything.”
“You don’t mind?”
River shook his head. “Of course not.” Wrapping his arms tighter around Wyatt, River pulled him closer so he could snuggle into his neck. “You know this isn’t just sex. For fun in bed, we don’t need to add a third. Beltran Varik is ours. He fits us perfectly. He needs us, and we need him.”