When I turned to help Sy with his jacket, I froze at the tears streaming down his cheeks. I stared at the heart wrenching misery on his face for a moment before going down to my knees in front of him.
"Hey." I reached over and brushed the hair back from his sweet little face. "I know you don't want to leave and I don't either, but—"
"We stay?"
"No." I shook my head. "We can't stay. You know that. If we stay, they might find us."
This had been our life since Sy was in diapers and I didn't expect to stop anytime soon, if ever. I wished I could say the people chasing us would give up, but that was a foolish thought. They wouldn't stop until we were dead. Or more specifically, until Sy was in their clutches or dead, and I wasn't going to let that happen, which was why we had to leave.
"We can't stay, Sy. It puts us in danger and it puts our friends here in danger." It was cruel of me to put that kind of guilt on a three year old child, but his world had been one of danger longer than he could remember. He understood what I was saying.
Sy sniffled before swiping his arm across his nose. "Okay."
My heart ached at the resignation in his voice. He was a small child who had known nothing but danger in his very short life.
He should be out playing with other little wolves and getting in trouble for stealing cookies. He shouldn't be sneaking out in the middle of the night because of the danger staying created.
"Come on, bro." I stood and then held out my hand. "It'll be okay."
"I like here."
"I know." I liked it here, too, but staying just wasn't possible. "Maybe we can come back and visit one of these days."
Assuming we weren't captured or dead.
Sy took my hand and then scooted off the bed. He stared at the tablet in his hand for the longest moment before turning it off and setting it on his pillow. His shoulders were slumped in defeat as he walked over to grab his jacket and pull it on.
"I ready," he whispered.
For a moment, I considered staying, even if for just a few more days. We had been safe while we were here, or at least, we hadn't been looking over our shoulders quite as much. I wasn't sure any place was truly safe.
And mostly, the main reason that I wavered in my decision, was that Sy had been happy here. That was something he hadn't felt in longer than I could remember.
But I knew the danger would come. It always did. I didn't understand how they kept finding us, but staying in one place longer than a few days put us in too much danger. Getting comfortable anywhere was just plain stupid.
I held my hand out to my brother again. "Come on. Time to go."
I doubted I had ever uttered more heartbreaking words.
Chapter Two
~ Radulf ~
I felt like a stalker as I forced myself to turn away from the house and run off into the woods. I tried to tell myself that I was only looking out for Ajag and Sy's safety when I stayed behind after the others had gone for a pack run, but even I knew that was a lie. I just wasn't sure why I was so intrigued by the man.
I was bordering on obsessed.
It was a new feeling for me. I was pretty much afuck 'em and leave 'emkind of guy. I didn't stick around long, no matter how good someone's ass was. I didn't like emotional entanglements. Staying here on the ranch was probably the longest I'd stayed in one place in years.
I kept waiting for my wolf to start growling at me, telling me it was time to move on. So far, it hadn't happened, and that was weird for me, too. He liked people even less than he liked staying in one place. For once, he seemed content to stay exactly where we were.
I just had no idea how long that would last.
I stayed to the shadows provided by the trees as I stalked through the forest. The pads of my paws barely made a sound as they beat against the hard ground and undergrowth.
Silence hung heavy over the forest tonight. I didn't know if that was due to the fact that I was racing to catch up with the rest of my pack or if it was because I was alone in this little patch of the forest.
When I reached the creek south of the ranch house, I stopped and looked around, scanning my surroundings for any signs of danger, before leaning down to lap up some of the cool, clear water.
