The blankets were waiting.
The pillows thrown all over the floor.
I collapsed, putting my face into the pillows, breathing in the scent of pack and home. Kelly lay down next to me, yawning so wide his jaw cracked. Joe lifted my head before settling above me, letting me rest against his leg. The others came too, drifting in, blinking sleepily.
Bambi was upstairs with Joshua. I could hear their heartbeats above me.
Gavin stood off to the side, looking unsure.
I was about to call him over when Ox appeared beside him. He wrapped an arm around Gavin’s shoulders, pressing his forehead near Gavin’s ear. He whispered, “This is yours. This is your home. I know it pulls at you in your head, trying to take you away. I don’t know how loud it is, but I need you to remember. You don’t belong to him. You never have. You belong to me. To us. You’re our wolf. You’re our brother. Our friend. And no one can take that from you.”
Gavin closed his eyes, swallowing thickly.
For a moment I thought he’d turn and run.
He didn’t.
Instead he turned to Ox, arms hanging at his sides, his forehead against Ox’s.
He flashed his eyes. Violet.
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Ox did the same in return. Fire and rage contained. He squeezed the back of Gavin’s neck. “Pack,” he whispered.
And Gavin said, “Pack.”
Ox stepped back.
Gavin turned to look at us.
I held out my hand for him.
He came.
He curled up next to me, his knees against his stomach, his head resting on my bicep. The others whispered quietly around us as we watched each other.
“You see?” I told him quietly. “I’m different here, yes. But I’m stronger too because I need to be. For them. For you.”
He reached up and traced my eyebrows with the tips of his fingers. “For them,” he whispered. “For me.”
Eventually we slept.
be better/these scars
When I woke, he was gone.
Panic clawed at my chest. I shot up, already struggling to wake, half-convinced that he’d left and I would never see him again.
A hand grabbed my arm. I looked down. Kelly brought a finger to his lips. He jerked his head toward the kitchen and tapped his ear.
Joe was snoring above me, still curled into Ox.
Mom’s head lay in Jessie’s lap, Jessie’s fingers in her hair.
Mark and Gordo were out on the porch.
Dominique was upstairs with Bambi and Joshua.