Chapter Twenty-One
Arriving home was bittersweet for Seth. He had achieved so much in the few days he had been gone, and yet he was coming home to a fractured pack.
Shane greeted them as they got out of the car, his expression hard. He wouldn’t so easily forgive Seth for ignoring his instructions or for dragging Axel into danger and getting him injured.
Yet his anger seemed to melt in the face of Lucas.
“Uncle Shane!” His brother threw himself into his uncle’s arms as Seth’s mother ran out of the house, his siblings right behind her.
“Lucas!”
He let go of Shane and grabbed her, and they wound up kneeling on the ground as she hugged and kissed him. “My baby boy.”
“Mom! I’m not a baby.”
Sybil got to her feet, Lucas glued to her side, and opened her arms to Seth. Seth hugged and kissed her.
“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear. “Thank you.”
“How’s Dad?” Seth asked.
She didn’t answer, instead saying, “You should go in and see him.”
“We will. There’s just…” He stalled, suddenly unsure how to explain not just Hunter’s presence but Dara and Skye’s too.
“If it hadn’t been for Hunter, I’d never have found Lucas,” he said, turning his mom toward them. “And if it hadn’t been for Dara, I’d never have got Lucas out. We owe them both a debt, Mom.” He looked to Shane when he said it, a challenge in his eyes.
Sybil smiled. “Hunter, you’re family, you always have been. Nothing can change that.”
She opened her arms and enveloped him in a hug. Dara was just behind him, half-obscured by the bear’s frame.
“And this must be Dara?” She smiled uncertainly until she caught sight of the baby nestled in his arms and then her face lit up. “And who is this little one?”
“This is Skye, Mom.”
She stepped around Hunter. “It’s lovely to meet you, Dara, thank you for bringing my sons safely home.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too. You have two wonderful sons. And Seth didn’t mention it, but he rescued me first.”
“Seth changed into a wolf and fought everyone,” Lucas announced suddenly, silence falling over the group. “And he and Dara are getting married.”
Seth felt his eyes go wide with panic, looking to Dara. The omega was no help, staring back in shock for a moment before he started to giggle.
The laughter was infectious, Hunter succumbing to it next, then Seth, and everyone else.
“Seth?” his mom said finally when everyone had calmed a little.
“A lot has happened,” was all he could say, “and there’s loads to talk about. But, right now, I need to see Dad.”
Angus was lying on his back in his bed. His chest rose and fell slowly, his breathing sounding loud in the quiet room. Seth went in with Lucas, his mom watching from the door.
“Dad? Dad, it’s Seth and Luke. We’re home.”
His father looked weak and pale. Far from the strong leader Seth had always seen him as. Strong and stubborn.
“Seth?” His eyes cracked open, and he peered over at them. “Seth, my boy, there you are.”
“I’m here too, Dad,” Lucas said, reaching to tug at their dad’s hand.
“Lucas, be gentle,” their mom chided from the door.
“Sorry,” he whispered loudly. “Hi, Dad.”
“Luke. I’m sorry I let them take you.”
“You were brave and strong. When I grow up, I want to be able to fight just like you and Seth.”
“And you will,” Angus said, managing a smile. “Seth will teach you just like I taught him.”
“You’ll teach me too, right? Once you’re better.”
“Come up here,” Angus said, patting the bed. “Seth, could you give Lucas and me a few minutes?”
“Sure,” Seth said, “I’ll be right outside.”
His mother stayed in the room and Seth went into the corridor, leaning heavily against the wall. All of a sudden, all the strength he had seemed to desert him. He felt weak. No, not weak. Young. Like a kid again. He wanted his parents to fix everything.
“Hey.”
Dara was standing a few feet away, looking unsure. “Do you want some company?”
“Sure. Where’s Skye?”
“Angie’s cooing over him.”
“She’s good with kids. She’s had a lot of practice with our siblings. Though mom and dad never forgot that she was a kid, too.”
He slid down to sit on the floor and Dara sat next to him.
“Can it save him?”
“Can what save him?” Dara asked.
“What we did together. The mating, you helping activate my wolf. Will it be enough to save my dad?”
Dara took his hand. “I think you already know the answer.”
“From an omega to his mate, from an alpha to his pack.”
“It’s already starting to work. You can see it in Lucas. His senses, how he knew Skye was a wolf.”
“Because Dad is dying and I’m next in line. I’ll be alpha soon.”
“You can’t save him because his power flows to you and not the other way around.”
“It’s stupid,” he burst out, “so frigging stupid. And it isn’t fair.”
“No,” Dara said simply. “It’s not fair. But you’re the future, Seth. You and Hunter.”
“Out with the old, in with the new. I guess not all of what Zane said was crazy rambling.”
“The people before us have made mistakes, bad ones. But we can learn from it, do better. Create the kind of world we want our kids to live in.”
“I don’t have to become the next evil genius, do I? Because I would really suck at that.”
“It’s worse than that. You have to become leader of your pack. Of this generation of wolves.”
The door opened, Lucas slipping out and walking past them toward the kitchen.
“Seth?” his mother called. “Your father wants to see you.”
“He’s not a bad person, my dad.”
“No,” Dara said emphatically. “He’s not. He’s protected the Cove, raised you to be the wolf you are. The wolf I’ve fallen in love with. I owe him a debt.”
“I owe you a debt,” Seth replied, placing a kiss on Dara’s cheek. “One I’ll never be able to repay.”
He got up, meeting his mother at the door. She placed a warm hand on his shoulder. “What’s done is done. We can’t change the past, we can only look to the future.”
She walked past him, talking to Dara.
“Come on to the kitchen for some tea. I have lots of questions.”
Seth spared a thought for Dara being subjected to his mother’s interrogation techniques, and then he went into the room and closed the door.
It seemed like hours had passed before he stepped out again, hurrying to the kitchen. Hunter was there, sitting with Dara and Sybil, and hopefully sheltering Dara from the worst of the questioning.
“Hunter, Dad wants to see you.”
His cousin’s face lit up and he jumped to his feet, almost knocking the chair over in his haste. Seth went back with him, staying in the room but giving the two some space.
“My nephew.” Angus greeted Hunter, reaching up to cup his face. “The day your mother brought you here to us is one of my fondest memories. You had a wild look in your eyes, and I knew you’d be trouble. But I also knew you were family. Wolf or bear, it doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t have mattered. I’ve made mistakes, been stubborn and prejudiced like my father was before me, and it’s done us no good. When you were so brave as to tell us the truth, I should have at least listened instead of turning you away. I see that now and I can only ask for your forgiveness, with no expectation. You are as much my son as Seth is, and nothing will ever change that.”
Seth leaned against the wall, listening as they talked on, sharing stories. Hunter pulled out a phone to show Angus pictures of Cade and their litter.
“I see…” Angus coughed, the sound wet and painful. “I see your mother in Lily’s eyes. She loved you, you know, even though she was terrible at showing it. And Brody looks like our brother. He always had a scowl on his face, even as a baby. I miss him. He had such a fierce love for that omega of his. After he died, the omega wanted to stay but I wouldn’t let him. Another regret I’ve carried with me. So many.”
“Don’t think about that now,” Hunter said. “Think about all the good that’s come. If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. And neither would Seth. Today he saved not just Lucas, but all the wolf packs, and the dens, and even the shifter world itself.”
Angus grew tired and drifted to sleep. Hunter left, clapping Seth on the shoulder as he passed. When his father woke again, he seemed confused at first.
“Sybil?”
“No Dad, it’s Seth.”
“Seth. Sybil said you’d found a mate.”
Not wanting to burden him, Seth had left that out of their previous conversation.
“Yeah. His name is Dara.”
“Is he here?”
“He’s with Mom in the kitchen.”
“I’d like to meet him.”
Seth went to get him, returning to the room with a hesitant Dara trailing after him, Skye in his arms. Seth’s mother joined them.
“This is him?” Angus asked, trying to sit up.
“I’m Dara.” He stepped forward slowly. “You must be tired.”
“Very,” Angus said, his eyes slipping closed. “I wanted to meet the person who saved my sons.”
“Seth saved me,” Dara insisted. “And my son.”
“Then you’re on an even footing,” Angus said with a wry smile, opening his eyes. “And off to a good start. You have my blessing for your mating. Your little one, what is his name?”
“Skye.”
“Bring him closer.”
Dara did, holding him out.
“Does he have a wolf pack?”
“N-no,” Dara replied, glancing back at Seth.
“Then he shall be Skye of Moonrise Cove.”
“Skye of Moonrise Cove,” Sybil echoed. Seth added his voice to the claiming. Giving a shifter a pack meant a lot. It had changed the course of Hunter’s life. It made someone family, with or without blood.
Seth took his father’s hand. “Thank you, Dad. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” his father murmured, his eyes closing again.
“Your father needs to rest,” Sybil said then, shooing them out.
Sybil organized for them to stay in Seth’s room.
“You’ll have to share a bed,” she said with a smile, “which I’m sure won’t be a problem. But I do have a crib for Skye.”
Dara wasn’t bothered, he liked the closeness. And he was exhausted, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Seth slept soundly next to him, the result of all the energy he’d expended shifting and fighting.
It was early morning when Skye’s fussing woke him, and he lifted him into bed to feed him. After, he settled him back down into his crib and went to get himself a glass of water. When he neared the kitchen, he heard a noise in the distance, from the direction of Angus and Sybil’s room. He crept on quiet feet, seeing the alpha’s door ajar. He peeked in, the sound clearer now, and found Sybil with her head on Angus’s chest, sobbing softly. The alpha was still, no breath and no life left in him.
There was a sound behind him and he turned to see Hunter. The alpha pressed a finger to his lips and together they tiptoed back to the kitchen.
“Seth?”
“Still asleep,” Dara confirmed.
“Then let him sleep. There’ll be plenty of time to grieve.”
He returned to Seth’s room, climbing back into bed. As he did, Seth turned to face him. “My dad?”
“He’s gone, Seth.”
The alpha didn’t say anything, turning over onto his side, his back to Dara. The omega moved too, wrapping his arms around him and pressing himself against the wolf’s back, giving as much comfort as he could. The next while was going to be tough. Really tough. But after that, things would get better.