Chapter 6
Brighton
Brighton tapped his fingers against the armrest of the chair restlessly. Ivan and Gavi had gone with Josh to meet his friend who had the supplies for the roof he ordered. Aidan was on demolition duty with the old smokehouse, which he took a sledge hammer to with gleeful abandon.
Aidan let out a battle cry and swung the hammer, creating another hole in the roof. Brighton was almost worried at how much he was enjoying this. He glanced down at Jacob who was sitting in the grass beside him with a look of envy on his face.
"Hey, Aidan!" Brighton called. "Save a bit of wall, will you?" He glanced down and the kid meaningfully.
Aidan saluted him with his free hand before carrying on with his senseless destruction. Jacob seemed to perk up and lay back to watch the sky.
"Dad said you guys came from a pack," he said.
"We did," Brighton replied.
"How many wolves are in a pack?"
Brighton shrugged. "There isn't really a set amount. There can be anywhere between ten to fifty. Our old pack was pretty small, but they're growing."
"Are you a pack?"
"Sort of, I guess," Brighton said. It was something he'd lightly wondered about himself. "But not really. A pack would usually have a couple omegas as well. We're sort of half a pack."
"How come there aren't any omegas?"
Brighton looked around for Josh. He'd almost forgotten how curious pups could be. He wasn't sure just how honest he could be.
"Well, that's what we're look for. More omegas to join our pack."
"Why?"
He suddenly understood Jack's plight when trying to explain these things to Riley. Only Riley didn't have a parent that would kick Jack's ass if he said the wrong thing.
"Well, we want to have families of our own one day. We can't have kids without omegas."
"Dad's an omega," Jacob said, looking up at him. "Do you want him to join your pack?"
"We're back," Josh called, mercifully. "How's it going over here?" He took in Brighton's maroon face and gave him a questioning look. Brighton shrugged helplessly.
"He said that they're looking for omegas to join their pack," Jacob explained. "Are we going to join?"
Four sets of eyes turned to stare. Brighton slid further down into his seat, looking stubbornly ahead. It wasn't his fault if the kid liked to ask questions.
"Well." Josh scratched the back of his neck. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"Because I think we're doing pretty good right now, aren't we?"
"I guess," Jacob said.
"Hey, Jake!" Aidan called. "I saved you a bit of wall to smash."
All other questions forgotten, Jacob let out a laugh of delight and hurried to take the sledgehammer. Brighton slunk down further at Josh's questioning look.
"Kids just say the funniest things, don't they?" He flashed a cheap smile.
"Yeah," Josh muttered before walking into the house.
Brighton buried his face in his hands and groaned. Ivan snickered and patted his shoulder. "Real smooth," he assured him.
Smooth. Right. Brighton watched Aidan instruct Jacob on how to swing the sledgehammer and wished he could join them. For the first time, he felt bitterness creep in about his injuries. He wanted to tell Aidan that he was an absolute shithead. He wanted to tear Ivan and Gavi a new asshole for not backing him up at the bridge. He wanted to drive his fist through a wall.
Then the thoughts were gone, leaving Brighton feeling ashamed of his own thoughts. It was an accident. And despite Aidan's usual cheerful appearance, he knew his friend was feeling guilty as hell.
A glass of water was held out to him. Josh didn't quite meet his eye, but gave him a small smile. "Kids do say some crazy things."
Brighton sank back again, this time in relief. He nodded his thanks with a tentative smile of his own. As he reached out to take the glass, Josh's fingers brushed his wrist. A small shock of electricity snapped against his skin. His hand jerked slightly, sloshing water onto the grass. Josh pulled his hand away quickly, rubbing his finger. He blinked down at Brighton, before clearing his throat and walking off.
"Well that was the most awkward thing I've ever seen," Gavi said dryly.
"Shut it," Brighton snapped.
Gavi just smirked. "He likes you."
Brighton rolled his eyes. "I seriously doubt that. And keep your voice down."
"Well you've been out of it for the last couple days. You didn't see the way he was fawning over you."
Brighton was a second away from decking him. "So he's a nice guy. And he probably didn't like the idea of an alpha dropping dead in his house." He took a sip of water.
"You called him beautiful the first time you saw him," Gavi added.
Water sprayed across the grass. Pain shot through Brighton's ribs as he choked and hacked. He barely heard Gavi's "Shit! Sorry!" as he hunched over gasping. Gavi rubbed his pack.
"You're full of shit," Brighton said once he got his breath back. He dug his fingers into his hair, breathing through the pain in his chest.
Gavi chuckled. "Nope. It was the first thing he heard out of you."
"Great," Brighton rasped. "He probably loved that."
"I don't know. He seemed pleased to me."
Brighton wiped at his face, thinking. Josh was basically the omega that every alpha wants. He was smart, kind, and a great parent. Not to mention his delicate, soft face and gorgeous brown eyes. And Brighton wasn't going to lie and say that Josh's scent wasn't intoxicating.
He wondered what happened to Jacob's father. It wouldn't usually be a stretch to believe that the alpha had died, but he doubted that was all there was to it. And where was Josh's pack? There were so many scenarios that would explain why he might have left his old pack, but why wouldn't he join a new one.
Josh wasn't hiding from anyone as far as Brighton could tell. He wouldn't be so close to a main road otherwise and he wouldn't be friendly with the Foxhold pack.
Maybe it was like Brighton said. Josh just wasn't interested in finding an alpha and found it easier to live away from all that. Still, considering the trouble they'd had in the last few years, this was a risky way of living.
After finishing his drink, Brighton carefully got to his feet. He grabbed the thick walking stick that Aidan had found for him and carefully went into the house.
Josh was in the kitchen cleaning fish. He nodded as Brighton set his glass down in the kitchen sink. Brighton returned it with a smile of his own before hobbling into the living room. For the first time since he got there, he took a good look at his surroundings.
There were no photos, but there were drawings pinned to the walls. They were good, too. They were mostly of Josh and Jacob at varying stages of Jacob's life. They weren't photographs, but they were definitely the next best thing. In one sketch, Jacob was sitting at the edge of the river, holding a fishing rod in his chubby hands. He looked to be about four or five. There was one of a baby Jacob sleeping in his crib. There was a sketch of the house. It looked to be only half done.
There were more like this, and Brighton was able to piece together a very clear picture of what life was like here. At the same time, he wondered where Josh had learn to draw like that.
There were just as many drawings that were obviously drawn by Jacob. Their quality ranged from scribbles to somewhat decent sketches, showing gradual improvement.
Pulling his eyes away from the drawings, Brighton glanced above the fireplace. Lined along the mantle, there were pretty looking stones, a couple feathers, a few wood carvings, and what looked like an empty wasp nest.
"Whatcha doing?" Jacob asked, startling him.
"Nothing," Brighton said. "Just needed some quiet." He gestured to the walls. "Your dad's a good artist."
Jacob nodded, grinning. "He's teaching me! He says I'm going to be better than him one day."
"I don't doubt it," Brighton replied.
Jacob sat down on the couch beside him. "Why doesn't Dad want a pack? He wouldn't tell me."
Here we go again. "I'm sorry. I can't really answer that. But I'm sure he has his reasons." Brighton shrugged uncomfortably. "Did you have fun with Aidan?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"Yeah," Jacob said. "Do you think it's because he's embarrassed of me?"
Brighton's eyes widened. "Of course not," he said quickly. "Where would you get an idea like that?"
Jacob looked at the floor. "I dunno. It's all I could think of." He looked up at Brighton. "I like that you're here. I think it's less lonely."
"You feel lonely?" Brighton asked.
"A bit," Jacob said. "And I think Dad is lonely. I see him looking sad sometimes. Don't tell him I said that though."
"I won't," Brighton assured him. He wanted to say more, to reassure the kid that his dad was fine, but it would probably come across as hollow. Clearly the kid was more perceptive than they thought.
"You said you were looking for...mates?" he asked.
"Yes..."
"So you're supposed to mate before you have kids? So kids usually have two parents?"
Oh no. "Um..."
"How come I only got one?"
Brighton caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced through the doorway and into the kitchen. Josh was hunched over the sink, shoulders tense. He was no doubt listening to every word Jacob said. Jacob seemed oblivious to the eavesdropping.
Brighton took a deep breath. He had to tread very, very carefully. "Well, some kids only have one parent. There's nothing wrong with that."
Except those kids also had the rest of the pack to fall back on as well. They had other children to play with and other sources of guidance.
Jacob didn't say anything else. He just stared at the floor and kicked his feet slightly. He looked confused and upset and Brighton never could handle seeing someone that upset.
"I didn't get a good look at your toys. Want to show me how to play?" he asked.
It worked. The kid brightened slightly. "Sure. Kira brought me some dragons too." He jumped up to retrieve his box.
Brighton carefully slid down to sit on the floor while Jacob set the figures up on the small table. Each one had its own name and personality, and Jacob happily introduced him to each one. He carefully explained the rules to Brighton (though the rules constantly changed). Jacob commanded the wolf pack. Brighton chose the dragons.
Not for the first time, Brighton felt a twinge of impatience at his slowly healing leg and chest. Being a parent was going to be amazing and he wanted to find a mate as soon as possible.
He tried to ignore the way his chest tightened at the thought of leaving Josh and Jacob behind. A part of him whispered that Jacob would be better off with two parents. That if Josh really was lonely, then maybe...
Brighton inwardly rolled his eyes at himself and tried to focus on the game. He found Jacob's chattering a nice distraction and even found himself genuinely enjoying the epic battles Jacob came up with on the spot.
At some point, Josh joined then, taking control of the bears, and with the three of them gathered around the table, Brighton couldn't help but notice just how right it felt.