“Pieces, Ox,” Gordo said, opening his eyes. “He was found in pieces outside Cottonwood. In a shitty Motel 6. His head was placed in the middle of the bed.”
“When?”
“A few weeks back.”
“Richard.”
“Probably. There was a message written on the wall in his blood. I saw the photos. Four words. Yet another fallen king. Joe. Well. Joe lost it. Just a bit. It had been a long time in coming. There were deaths in Washington. Nevada. California.”
“All around Oregon,” I muttered.
Gordo nodded. “David was the last. It was like Richard was taunting us. Joe. He—we headed home. After that. We needed to make sure—” He shook his head. “You need to talk to Joe. He’d tell you that—just talk to him. My turn. When did you become an Alpha?”
Not how, but when, like he knew that it was only a matter of time. “Omegas came,” I said.
“The wards.”
“Jessie was outside them. She smelled like us. Like me. They took her. Tanner, Chris, and Rico were already part of us by then. We went to the Omegas. We fought. They lost. The others, they looked to me. And since there was no one else here to lead them, I did what I had to do.”
“You always did,” he said.
“I’m not a wolf.”
“No,” he said. “But you’re something. Last question.”
So many things I needed to ask. About the last three years. About where we stood now. About the state of his mind. If he was the same Gordo he used to be. If that Gordo was dead and buried. If we could ever be what we were to each other.
But there was only one question, really.
“Am I still your tether?”
His eyes widened.
His hands shook.
His bottom lip trembled.
He took a great shuddering breath.
When he spoke, his voice was cracked and wet.
He said, “Yeah, Ox. Yeah. Of course. You always have been. Even when things got dark, even when we were hundreds of miles from home sleeping on the side of the road, yeah. Even when I was tired and didn’t think I could take another step. Even when I found places in my magic I didn’t think were possible. Yeah. You were. You are. I thought of you because you’re my home. You’re my pack too, okay? I don’t care if you’re an Alpha. I don’t care if you’re my Alpha. You’re my pack too.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
He said, “My turn. Ox. Ox. Am I still your friend? Because I don’t know if I can stand not being your friend. And your brother. Please say that I’m still your brother. Because I need you to be. I need it so bad. I don’t know what to do if you’re not. Ox, just please say I’m—”
And I put my head down on the desk and cried.
THEY FOUND us sometime later, Gordo crouched down at my side, rubbing his forehead against my shoulder, both of us sniffling and wiping our faces.
“Jesus Christ,” Tanner muttered.
“It smells like feelings in here,” Rico said. “Is that what I would say if I was a werewolf?”
“Are you guys crying all over each other?” Chris demanded. “I thought we could still be angry at him! Ox, you traitor!”
I laughed wetly. At the rate I was going, I’d never be a man like my daddy said a man should be. I didn’t think that was such a bad thing anymore.