Chapter 3
Josh
When Josh heard them approach, his heart had nearly stopped. For years, he and Jacob had lived undisturbed by the outside world. Other than the couriers, traders and occasional travelers along the road, the woods had remained quiet. The only other shifter that had stepped foot inside his house had been Kira.
Now there were four alphas walking up to his door. Well, three. One was draped over the back of another. Josh had wondered if he could possibly pretend that no one was home, but he had already lit a fire in the hearth and Jacob had peeked out the window before Josh could stop him.
There was a knock on the door and all Josh wanted to do was grab his son and run. Instead, he grabbed a large kitchen knife and held it behind his back. Some rational part of him scolded him for being so paranoid, but paranoia had kept them alive this far. He gripped the doorknob tightly, trying to keep his hand from shaking.
"Who are they?" Jacob asked from the living room.
"I'm not sure," Josh replied, trying to keep his voice even. "Go upstairs."
"But-"
"No arguing," Josh said. "Go upstairs and don't come down until I tell you."
His voice must not have sounded as calm as he had hoped, because Jacob just nodded and hurried up to his room. Josh took several deep breaths, willing himself not to think the worst.
This was the downside to living in the forest. It could be nearly impossible to tell whether someone was a friendly face or if there were dangerous intentions buried under their smile.
Heart in his throat, he cracked the door open and peeked out.
Though they were in their human form, the smell of wet fur lingered. The wolf that was being carried looked up at him with glassy golden eyes. His raven colored hair was wet and stuck to his forehead. Something was clearly wrong with him. The one carrying him only looked slightly better. His cheek was red and starting to swell. They both had bruises forming on their arms and legs. They looked like they'd gone a round with an angry grizzly.
The other two looked fine if not worried. One of them was huge. Taller than any alpha Josh had ever seen. He was hunched over with his hands in his pocket. The one in the front just looked tired and irritated.
"Hello?" Josh was proud that his voice didn't crack.
The shifter that had knocked on the door gave him a polite smile. "Hello. My friends and I were traveling and ran into some trouble. We were wondering if we could sleep in your barn for the night. It looks like it's going to rain."
Josh blinked and glanced up at the darkening clouds, then back to the alphas at his door. "Um..."
"Yeah." The man scratched his head, looking awkward. "I'm sorry to bother you, but we had some trouble with an old bridge just up the river-"
"You tried to cross that thing?" Josh interrupted before he could stop himself. He knew which bridge they were talking about. It was a ratty old thing and he'd more than once thought about just cutting it down.
"I tried." The shifter that was carrying the injured man looked embarrassed. "It didn't turn out so well."
"I can see that," Josh muttered. He started to calm down. They didn't seem like they were dangerous. He winced as he glanced at the injured one again. "He alright?"
"Not really." The first alpha held out his hand. "I'm Ivan, by the way."
"Josh," Josh said, reaching out to shake it.
"That's Brighton," Ivan said, poking the injured shifter. "This is Aidan." The one carrying Brighton gave a small, awkward wave. "And the big guy is Gavi."
"Hey," Gavi grunted.
Josh waved politely. The injured alpha looked terrible once Josh could see his face. One eye was starting to swell and blood was smeared near his hairline. The whole little pack looked battered and exhausted. They also looked completely friendly, and while Josh knew how deceiving looks could be, he didn't pick up on any dangerous vibes.
His ears pricked as thunder clapped in the distance and he sighed. Maybe, it would be okay if he let them sleep in the living room? Just until the storm passed. He knew it was stupid. That he didn't know anything about these wolves. They could be rogues or thieves or something even worse.
But they'd knocked first. Would they really do that when they could easily overpower him? The injured one let out a wet cough and Josh winced. No. He wasn't going to sleep well knowing that they were sleeping in the drafty old barn. He sighed, setting the knife down on the stand beside the door. He let the door swing open and did what he considered to be the dumbest decision in his life.
"You can sleep in the living room tonight," he said, kicking himself the whole time. "And I'm frying some fish for dinner if you're all hungry."
Looking at the astounded and relieved looks on the alpha's faces, he finally let himself relax slightly. They weren't going to harm him or his son. He was almost sure of that. Still, he'd have Jacob sleep in his room tonight.
The alphas all trudged inside. Aidan immediately bee-lined to the couch and gently laid Brighton down in it. Brighton let out a small grunt of pain, eyes squeezing shut.
"What's wrong with him?" Josh asked.
"His leg's hurt," Ivan said. "Might be broken. He's definitely got a concussion and a couple bruised ribs. There's a nasty cut on his head too. He just needs a bit of rest and he'll be fine."
Josh immediately went to the kitchen and washed his hands before fetching a cold cloth. He went back to the living room and knelt down by the injured alpha. Brighton blinked up at him and gave him a weak smile.
"Hey, honey." His speech slurred slightly. "You're beautiful.
Josh flushed bright red. Yeah, this alpha was definitely concussed. He ignored the snickering from behind him and carefully ran the cloth over Brighton's forehead to clean the blood, carefully brushing through his hair until he came to a rather nasty looking gash. He bit his lip. "This is going to need stitches," he informed them.
Standing up, he went to the bottom of the stairs. "Jacob! You can come down now. I'm going to need some help."
The usual thundering of footsteps was soon followed by Jacob leaping down the stairs. Josh caught him easily and set him down. "Can you get me the kit? And wash your hands, please."
"Can do." Jacob disappeared for a second and reappeared with the canvas pouch in hand. "Are we playing doctor?"
"Something like that," Josh said.
He led Jacob into the living to Brighton's side. "Now, I need you to hold his hair back while I stitch this up."
Jacob nodded. Josh could have asked any of the alphas to help, but Jacob was smaller and Josh could work around his small fingers much easier. He also wasn't exactly comfortable with a large alpha wolf looming over him. Besides, Jacob was no stranger to blood. Josh had had to stitch the little guy up a couple times himself. Never mind all the times Jacob had helped him clean deer and fish.
He tried to work quickly. Brighton for the most part, was a good patient. He didn't shake his head or complain. But his face was scrunched slightly and he dug his fingers into the couch so hard that Josh was almost worried he'd rip it. Jacob stood still and watched carefully the whole time. Right up until Josh cut the suture. Josh wiped the cut again and Jacob let the hair settle back into place.
"Done," he announced. "Now let me take a look at the leg."
"Taking my pants off?" Brighton mumbled.
"You wish." Josh rolled his eyes. Carefully, he rolled Brighton's pants leg up and winced at the red and swollen flesh. He examined it carefully. "Looks like a fracture," he said.
Josh's medical supplies unfortunately didn't include a brace, which was what the limb needed. There wasn't much he could do other than elevate it and make it comfortable.
Lastly, he carefully rolled up the alpha's shirt. His eyes widened slightly and he winced in sympathy at the red and purple bruising. "Nothing looks broken but he's definitely got a couple bruised ribs. Not much to do but wait for them to heal on their own." Sighing, he stood up. "Sorry I can't do more."
Ivan shook his head. "No. You've been great. Thank you."
Josh pinked slightly before pulling a small bottle of pills out of the kit. "These are the strongest I have. Give him a couple of these for now. Jacob, come on."
He led his son into the kitchen. "Can you peel and chop the potatoes for me?"
Thankfully, Jacob was eager to help in the kitchen today. He tended to rotate between loving housework and despising it. He sat down at the table and began to carefully work on the pile of potatoes Josh dumped in front of him. The large knife looked odd in his tiny hand. Josh had taught him how to use knives at a very young age. Keeping their small homestead running while constantly watching after a toddler was nearly impossible and Josh wasn't going to wait for an accident. Jacob had been helping him cut vegetables since he was five.
Josh's ears pricked at the whispered conversation in the other room. He picked out his name once or twice but mainly it was grumblings about their trip being set back. He tried not to be too curious but even he had to admit that they were an odd bunch. Barely a pack and no omegas in sight. And the way they just appeared out of the forest like a bunch of rogues.
He knew by now that they definitely weren't rogues though. Rogues would never have put on a charade like this. Josh hoped they weren't on the run from some pissed off pack. He didn't want any trouble.
"Done," Jacob said proudly. "Can I go back to the living room?"
Josh chewed the inside of his cheek. "Why don't you..." he had nothing. He sighed. "Yeah, sure."
He watched his son's back disappear into the living room. There was a rattling sound and Jacob's voice followed. "Who wants to be the bears?"
The shifter Aidan responded enthusiastically. Josh couldn't help the tug at the corner of his mouth. He turned back to the stove, working quietly as the two voices carried over. The bears and wolves were locked in a deadly battle.
He glanced out the window. At some point it had started raining and now it was coming down in buckets. Thunder grew nearer and the wind had picked up. It was going to be a rough night. Josh hoped nothing got damaged.
While the stew was cooking, he grabbed an empty pot and hurried upstairs to the spare room. As he predicted, the leak was worse than ever and the pot was nearly full. Josh quickly replaced it and dumped the water out the window.
On his way back to the kitchen, he glanced into the living room. Aidan and Jacob were on the floor with Jacob's toys scattered between them. Apparently the dragons had sided with the wolves.
Brighton was awake now, smiling in amusement as he watched. He caught Josh's eye and gave him probably the warmest smile Josh had ever seen. Now that he was lucid and not covered in blood, Josh was almost startled by how handsome he was. With his youthful face and dimples, he looked warm and inviting. Yet he looked wise, like a leader. Which Josh was almost sure he was.
Josh was suddenly aware that he was staring. His face reddened and he hurried back to the kitchen. The stew was starting to bubble.