There were raised voices he couldn’t quite make out, a door slamming, and then a violent fist pounding on his front door.
Like a prisoner heading to his execution, Gabriel stood from the couch and crossed his condo to pull the front door open, knowing full well who was on the other side. He unhooked the chain and opened the door, ready for his house of cards to finally collapse.
“Madeline,” he greeted, seeing her face-to-face for the first time in his life.
“Madeline? What? How the fuck do you know my wife, Gabriel?” Thomas interrupted, shouldering his way in front of his wife, standing toe-to-toe with his brother for the first time in over twenty years.
“Oh, I know a lot of things, Thomas,” Gabriel sighed. “Can you keep it down, though? You’re being rather loud.” Gabriel tsked, doing his best to use his body as a barricade between the hallway and his condo.
“Gabriel?” Madeline's face registered her shock. Gabriel saw Joel in her face. The shape of their eyes was the same, her hair a shade lighter than Joel's natural color. “You live here? Where the fuck is my son?”
“Mom?”
Joel's questioning voice behind Gabriel turned all three of their heads. Joel stood there, as he had earlier in the evening, with that t-shirt on, and his favorite jeans, though this time they were unbuttoned, and his hair was decidedly tousled from the sex they’d had.
Gabriel debated his next move, unsure whether he should continue using his body to keep his brother and his wife out of his home, or if he should go to Joel. He wanted more than anything to protect Joel from what was about to happen. It was Gabriel's own doing, though, and he had never hated himself more than he did in the current moment.
Joel took the choice away from him, striding across the room and coming to stand behind Gabriel, close enough that his chest grazed Gabriel's back as he breathed. Gabriel was certain he could feel the erratic pace of Joel's heart as he tried to figure out what his mom was doing there. Gabriel shouldered his frame more solidly into the open doorway in a last-ditch effort to shield Joel from the truths about to unfold.
He turned his head over his shoulder so he could see Joel clearly. “Remember earlier, how I said there were things I hadn’t told you?” Gabriel searched Joel's eyes, and all he found was a sleepy lust from their earlier pairing being quickly overshadowed with confusion and fear. Joel nodded his head, the movement barely noticeable.
Thomas barked out a laugh, breaking the tense silence before he opened his mouth to speak. “I think you should invite us in, oh brother mine.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Joel Meets His Uncle
Joel watched Gabriel's face turn a pale shade of green as the words left Thomas’s mouth. It took a moment for the weight and meaning to register with Joel, then before he could fully comprehend, his stepdad shouldered past a silent and frozen Gabriel and forced his way into the condo. Instinctively, Joel reached for Gabriel's hand, but his mother was also pushing her way inside and swatted it away. With his eyes, Joel tried to implore Gabriel for some answer, some sort of explanation, but Gabriel couldn’t, or wouldn’t meet his gaze. His shoulders slumped and he looked utterly defeated and very much unlike the man who had taken Joel so assuredly and completely only a few minutes prior. His poor wolf, declawed and defanged. He hated seeing Gabriel look like that.
“I see you’ve met your uncle.” Thomas broke the silence with an eyebrow raised in question before turning his eyes to his wife. “And I’m curious, Madeline, how you knew that.”
Joel's mother braced herself for a fight, stepping closer toward her husband, which felt to Joel like a momentary reprieve.
“He wasn’t hard to find, even using his mother’s name and not your father’s,” she scoffed, gesturing at the space around them. “Besides, he has all of this, and we don’t. He’s your brother and he should contribute to our family.”
“I don’t want his help, Madeline. He chose to walk away from my family when he was outed because he knew we didn’t want his kind around. I still don’t want him around, and I don’t want his queer money.” Thomas raised his gaze to Gabriel before shaking his head and glancing back toward Madeline.
“I asked him for money to send Joel away! He could have helped us fix him if you weren’t so stubborn and pig-headed!” Madeline screeched at him.
“He doesn’t need to be fixed, Madeline.” Gabriel finally spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. He repeated himself, “He doesn’t need to be fixed. He’s perfect.” With the last words, he turned his body toward Joel, finally allowing their eyes to meet.
Joel's entire body shook, overwhelmed with confusion, and something inside of him cracked. “Heis standing right here,” Joel said, his voice coming out shaky, but sure.
“Oh, we’re aware of where you are, Joel. Mother let us know you were staying with the ‘oh so sweet stranger’ from across the hall, Gabriel Hunter.” Madeline shifted her attention to Gabriel. “You know, Gabriel, I never knew you weren’t a Russell, but I knew you moved when the last card was returned. But to move across the hall from my mother? That's an interesting move for a man who supposedly wants nothing to do with his family. Now, aren’t you going to offer us a drink? We’ve come so far, after all.”
“No.” Gabriel's answer was abrupt and echoed in the silence of the room. “I think it’s best if you go.”
“No, I don’t think so, brother dear.” Thomas looked between Joel and Gabriel and must have seen the pleading intent behind Gabriel's eyes, as well as the way Gabriel's body seemed to lean toward Joel in a silent plea for support. Gabriel's eyes darted down to the open button of Joel's pants before flicking back up to Joel's face.
“Jesus Christ, did you fuck him?” Thomas’s voice was shrill. “Did you fuck your own nephew? You filthy fucking queer. That's disgusting.”
“Gabriel, did you? That’s a new low, even for someone likeyou.” This, from Joel's mom. “I can't believe you touched my child. You're a monster.”
All eyes were back on Gabriel, whose eyes were still on Joel, and Joel alone.
Joel looked around the room at everything and everyone but Gabriel. Gabriel was his uncle? It didn't seem possible, but Thomas kept calling him “brother.”
Joel crossed the few feet to stand before Gabriel, tentatively reaching out to graze his finger along the back of Gabriel's hand. “Is it true, Gabriel? Are you my uncle?”
