Chapter 10
Brighton
"So are you going to just lie there sulking forever, or what?" Ivan asked.
Brighton ignored him and rolled over in his bed to face the wall. Ivan sighed. "I talked to one of the couriers. Apparently, there's a pack farther west. Lots of omegas looking for mates. A bit close to bear territory than I'd prefer, but what can you do?"
"Didn't know you were anti-bear," Brighton said. "Let me know when we're leaving."
"I figured we'll leave this afternoon, and no, I don't hate bear shifters or anything like that. It's just...come on. Their weakest omegas could still knock me on my ass."
A smile tugged at the corner of Brighton's lip, but it died as quickly as it came. He listened to Ivan shuffling behind him again, like he was waiting for Brighton to speak. Finally, Ivan broke the silence. "Breakfast is almost ready. Winnie's gonna be upset if you don't come down."
Winnifred and Al were the elderly shifters who had put them up for the night. Al spent most of his time sitting on the porch and yelling at the younger kids in the pack. Winnie baked mostly, and Brighton had to admit she was a pretty awesome cook.
"I'm not hungry. Save me a bagel or something," Brighton said.
"Look, I know you're upset about Josh-"
"-I'm not!"
"-but lying in bed all day isn't going to make you feel better," Ivan continued. "I'm sorry about how that went. I really am, but you're scaring me, man."
Brighton's fingers curled, twisting into the sheets. "I'll be down in a few minutes, alright? My head hurts. I just need a moment."
"Yeah," Ivan said, relief in his voice. "See you in a few."
With a groan, Brighton buried his face back into the mattress. He wasn't "sulking". He was taking a mental health day. And he wasn't upset about Josh. In fact, he couldn't care less. He was just tired. That was all. He just needed to sleep a bit longer.
But Ivan was right. He at least owed it to their hosts to appear for meals. Last night they'd been tired and he hadn't properly thanked the couple yet.
The smell of pancakes wafting down the hallway perked him up slightly. The others were already at the table stuffing their faces. Brighton nodded and sat down. He let Winnie fill his plate with pancakes, sausage, and eggs. "We really appreciate you putting us up like this."
"More like putting up with us," Gavi muttered.
"It's no trouble at all. It's been a while since I've had kids in the house," Winnie replied.
Brighton ate slowly and deliberately, determined to keep his mind from wandering. The food was good, but every bite seemed to get harder to keep down. Suddenly the room was too small, too crowded.
"I'm going outside," Brighton said.
The others didn't try to stop him as he hurried out the door. He practically collapsed into Al's chair. Breathing deeply, he raked his hands over his face. This had to stop. He had to get over this. He had to stop thinking about it.
But every time he closed his eyes, he could see Josh's face. Sometimes, he could hear Jacob's laughter around the corner. When he took a bite of Winnie's bread, he thought that Josh's tasted better.
He was truly starting to get worried that he was going to go insane if he didn't put this out of his mind.
"You alright?" Gavi asked.
Brighton shrugged. "Fine."
"Mm hm." Gavi sat down beside him. He didn't try to correct Brighton, or try to reassure him, and Brighton was grateful for it.
"So we're heading east, huh?" Brighton said.
Gavi nodded. "Looks like we'll have a good time there. If it doesn't work out, we could try Morra."
Humans. Brighton wasn't sure how to feel about that idea. Not that he had anything against humans, but they weren't like wolves. They didn't live in packs. And Brighton wouldn't be able to shift like he'd usually do. No. Unless he could convince said human to move into the wolflands with him, he doubted it would work.
Lost in thought, Brighton almost missed the sound of commotion. He raised an eyebrow and stood up. He could hear voices at the entrance. He glanced at Gavi, who shrugged. They stood up and headed toward the gate.
As they drew closer, a familiar voice reached Brighton's ears. His eyes widened. He broke into a run, pushing through the small pack, almost snarling.
Jacob was shrinking away from concerned shifters. Someone had given him a shirt that stopped just at the knees. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were red, puffy, and glassy from exhaustion.
Brighton didn't hesitate as he dove forward and pulled the kid into his arms. Jacob sniffed and wrapped his arms tightly around Brighton's neck.
Heart hammering, Brighton bit down on his lip hard. If Jacob was here, then that could only mean that something really bad had gone down.
Gavi's eyes were as wide as his own. Silently, the larger alpha gave him a small nod before hurrying back to get the others.
"Hey, Jake," Brighton said, trying to keep his voice calm. "What're you doing here?"
The kid sniffled into his shoulder. "Dad..." It was all he could get out before he started to cry. It was all that Brighton needed to hear to know that Josh was in trouble.
They had to move. Now.
The pack alpha, Michael, looked at him questioningly. "Can we borrow the van?" Brighton asked.
Michael appeared to think it over, but Brighton knew he would already say yes. Summerwood had helped them out too much in the last couple years for him to refuse. He also knew that the pack was familiar with Josh's place.
"Adrian," Michael called. "Can you escort them to Josh's home?"
"Thank you," Brighton said, relief filling him. He begrudgingly had to give humans credit for that invention.
He rested Jacob on his hip and started back toward Winnie's place. "Can you tell me what happened?" he asked. "Did you run all the way here?"
Jacob nodded against his shoulder and took a deep, shuddering breath. "A man came. He wanted me and Dad to go with him."
"Who?" But Brighton was pretty sure he already knew the answer.
"He said he was my father?" Jacob finally lifted his head. "I don't want to go with him."
Brighton wiped Jacob's nose with his sleeve. "You don't have to. Alright? How-" He cut himself off. He was about to ask how Jacob got here so quickly, but the answer hit him like a brick.
"Did you shift?"
"I think so? I had four legs instead of two. It hurt."
Fantastic. Brighton hugged him close and tried to push back his growing fury. A first shift was supposed to be done when the child was ready, with their parent's careful coaching. It almost never worked completely on the first try. It usually took several tries for the child to shift successfully.
It was never, ever supposed to be forced or done out of fear. Brighton swallowed the lump in his throat at how terrified Jacob must have been.
He was going to fucking kill Slade.
"I'm going to get your daddy. Don't you worry. My friend Winnie's really nice. You can stay with her, alright?"
Jacob let out a sob and tightened his hold on Brighton's neck. "Wanna come," he said. "Please?" He looked at the alpha with impossibly large wet eyes.
The yes was on the tip of Brighton's tongue, but he caught it. Instead, he asked, "Were there any other wolves there?"
Jacob shook his head and Brighton sighed. "Fine. But you have to do what I tell you, alright?" He thought of something. "When was the last time you ate?"
As if it heard him, the small shifter's stomach rumbled. As much as Brighton wanted to get going, he had to get the kid taken care of first. It was what Josh would want.
They approached the house where Gavi got the others ready. Brighton quickly explained the situation before taking Jacob inside, where Winnie immediately started to fuss over him.
"I don't suppose you have any spare clothes lying around?" Brighton asked.
"As a matter of fact, I think I do. I'll go check the attic." She looked at Jacob. "Poor little thing."
Brighton brought Jacob to the kitchen and grabbed a muffin off the counter. Jacob shook his head, but Brighton pushed it into his hand. "I'm not letting you die of starvation. Eat."
It took what felt like an eternity before Winnie came back downstairs with a pair of pants, shirt, and jacket. Brighton thanked her and quickly helped Jacob get dressed. He left the shirt on the couch. Winnie would probably know who it belonged to.
"Can we go get Dad now?" Jacob pleaded.
"Yeah, kid. Let's go."
Jacob walked with him to the gate where the van was ready. Adrian sat at the wheel, tapping his fingers anxiously. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Jacob.
"You sure it's a good idea, bringing the kid along?"
"Probably not," Brighton admitted. He turned to Gavi. "Don't let him out of your sight."
Gavi nodded. He was the biggest and strongest out of the four of them. If anyone could keep the kid safe, it would be him.
"Hurry, please," Brighton said.
He quickly regretted it when Adrian grinned and slammed his foot on the gas, and Brighton was reminded why he never went on trade runs.
Taking his words to heart, Adrian drove like a madman. The van didn't look like much, but it left a cloud of dirt and dust behind them. Brighton dug his fingers into his seat hard enough to tear the vinyl. Out of the corner of his eye, Aidan was hanging onto the side, looking green. Jacob just giggled, thoroughly enjoying the ride.
After what had to have been a hellish night, anything that could make the kid smile like that made the discomfort completely worth it. Brighton found himself smiling along, though it vanished quickly when the van hit a pothole and his head hit the ceiling.
It was the longest wait of Brighton's life. He tried to stay positive, but couldn't stop the dark thoughts from slipping through. Even if Josh was still ali -- no. Not going there -- what kind of state would he be in? Brighton cursed himself for not asking if they could bring the pack's medic along.
"Why did you leave?" Jacob suddenly asked.
Brighton closed his eyes. He needed to keep himself together, and answering Jacob's questions hadn't led to anything good so far. "We were done working," he answered evenly.
The kid's head was lowered, bangs covering his eyes. "Dad didn't want you to go, you know."
Please stop talking. "He tell you that?" Brighton asked. He was aware of how everyone had gone silent. He could feel eyes burning holes into him.
"No," Jacob said, "but he was really unhappy when you left."
Ten different ways of explaining that away crossed Brighton's mind, but they disappeared when he opened his mouth. He closed it again, thinking. He wanted to tell himself that Josh had just grown used to having other shifters around. That it was just an adjustment, but somehow, that just felt wrong.
"Hey, guys?" Aidan said, cutting off Brighton's train of thought. He was staring out the window, wide-eyed.
Brighton followed his gaze and his heart stopped. "Oh gods," he whispered.
A large plume of smoke was just starting to billow over the trees.
Jacob saw the smoke and let out a startled cry. Brighton pulled the boy onto his lap. "It's alright," he soothed. "It's going to be alright."
He was lying of course. Nothing about this fucked up situation was alright. The red haze came back. His wolf howled for blood.
When this was over, and they had gotten Josh back (and they would get him back), Brighton was never letting either of them out of his sight again. He knew now, without a doubt, that the only place in world that he belonged was right by Josh's side.
Josh would just have to deal with it.