I didn’t know how to answer that. Nothing about us was normal.
“You gotta reinforce dose tethers, Gordo. Dey gotta be strong. Ou konprann? Even when all seems dark, dey need to rememba what dey have.”
“There’s nothing—”
He snorted. “Dose wolves. In Maine. Dey tink dey know all. Dey tink dere way is da only way. It’s not. Dere is more. So much more. We exist, little witch, to maintain da balance. Your place, your… Green Creek.”
“It’s different,” I said quietly.
“Oh yeah. Big big. Maybe da only place left in da world like it. Who wouldn’t want dat?”
The thought sent a chill down my spine. “My father—”
“Isn’t you,” Patrice snapped. “He made his choice. You made yours.”
“The choice was made for me.”
“Lies. Did you fight for what was yours? Or did you let da wolves do what dey wished?”
I didn’t know what to say.
“Thomas Bennett was a good Alpha,” he said. “But he made mistakes. He should’ve fought for you more den he did. You must now decide what he could not. What your daddy didn’t understand. You must decide to fight, Gordo. And what you’re willing ta do. What you’re capable of.”
“I don’t know how to stop this,” I admitted.
“Don’t know either. I’ll look. I’ll pray, Gordo. On my end. But you must do all you can. Yon sèl lang se janm ase. One language is never enough. We need dem. Dey need us. The wolves. Never forget dat.”
If only my father and mother had thought the same.
“BREATHE,” OX said in the clearing, Carter sitting across from him in the grass. His legs were crossed, his eyes closed. Hands on his knees. He looked tired. Lines of purple under his eyes. It felt blue and bleak. “What do you hear?”
“The trees. The birds.”
“What do you feel?”
“The grass. The wind.”
“This is your territory.”
“Yes.”
“You were made to be here. It was made for you.”
Carter whispered, “Yes.”
“Your tether,” Ox said gently. “What is it?”
Carter was struggling. His throat worked. His fingers dug into his jeans. His breath was a thick plume pouring from his mouth. The air was bracingly cold, and I shivered.
?
??Kelly,” he finally said.
“Why?” Ox asked.
“Because he’s my brother. Because I’m his protector. Because I love him. He keeps me sane. He keeps me whole. He’s not like Joe. He’s not meant to be an Alpha. Kelly’s not as strong as him. He needs me. I need him.”
“And he’s there, still?”