Brothersong (Green Creek 4)

Gavin raised his arms above his head and crowed. It wasn’t quite a howl, but it was close. He looked over at me. “Carter. Carter. See that? Did you see that?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I saw that. Though you should probably stop gloating.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why? I just—oof.”

Jessie tackled him, knocking him off his feet and flat onto his back. She pinned his arms to his sides with her thighs. He was outraged as she leaned forward and kissed the tip of his nose.

“That’s why,” I said, and for a moment I thought I saw a white wolf in the trees beyond the clearing, eyes red.

And then it was gone, as if it’d never been there at all.

I WAS HEALING, though it was slow going.

The bonds were repairing themselves, and I felt like I could breathe.

I took meetings in town with the people of Green Creek, letting them fill me in on all that I’d missed. They scolded me for leaving. They told me that I should have asked for help. Humans all, and yet they had a fire in their eyes, and I wondered if they had the hearts of wolves.

“Monsters,” Will told me as we sat in the diner. Gavin was in the kitchen, trying to convince Dominique to give him more bacon. He told her it was for Gordo, but she saw right through his bullshit. “We all know about monsters now. Anything comes, we’re ready.”

I looked across the table at him. Before I left, he’d taken it upon himself to act as a sort of second, an intermediary. “Why?” I asked him.

“Why what?”

“Why do you do this?”

He tapped his fingers on the table. His nails were bitten to the quick. “Been here a long time. I knew your dad. Your grandpop. Always thought your family was a bit… eccentric.”

I snorted. “Eccentric.”

He laughed. “I don’t speak ill of the dead. Never have. But I always thought there was something a little off. That there was more to them than anyone knew.”

“You were right.”

He nodded. “Never thought it’d be shape-shifters. Aliens, sure. That was a big one. Or a cult.”

“Jesus Christ, Will.”

“But it didn’t matter to me, not really. They were as much a part of this town as I was. And now you are too. It’s in your bones. It’s in your blood just as it’s in mine. Green Creek belongs to us just as much as it belongs to you. We would do anything to protect this town.”

“Why?” I asked, suddenly needing to know. “Why have you kept all of this secret?”

He looked out the window next to the booth. Christmas lights blinked on light poles; thick wreaths hung in storefronts. The snow was gone, but the air was still cold. “Because we see the good in your pack. Our eyes were opened, and we now know how special this place truly is. Sure, you get uncontrollably hairy once a month, but don’t we all? You’re ours, Carter. Of course we would keep it a secret.”

I was touched. This strange man, this wonderful human. I said, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Don’t I know it,” he said. Then, “What happens next?”

“What do you mean?”

He waved his hand. “After… well. After it’s all over. After the beast is dead and gone, after there’s nothing else to chase after you. After there’s nothing left to fear. What then?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s all we’ve known for so long.”

He nodded as if that was the answer he expected. “I hope you get to find out. I hope we all do, but you especially. I won’t pretend to understand everything. Sometimes I can almost convince myself none of it is real. But then I remember Ox. And Joe. You and Kelly. Your mother. Still. Your pack is pretty gay.”

I choked on my tongue.

He leaned back against the booth, thumbs stretching out his ridiculous suspenders. He looked pleased with himself. “What does that mean for the future? I mean, sure, you can just bite people and make them wolves, but it’s not the same, right? It’s not Bennett blood. Joshua, he’s a handsome boy, but Rico was human when he and Bambi—” He made an obscene gesture with his hands. “Not a wolf. Just a little boy.”