“And what if I do, too?” His breathing staggers. “What if it’s inme, too?”
I freeze. Tension settles into my spine, locking it upright. “Do you have the feral gene?”
His lips press together. “The paperwork said no. But my father fiddled Brett’s paperwork. He could have done the same to mine.”
Swallowing, I try to think around the panic that thought induces. And my breathing begins to settle. “Brett wasn’t feral when he took Kennedy up there.”
Theo pauses, his hands clenching his hair. “What?”
“He wasn’t feral,” I breathe. “He chose to do what he did. Feral alphas – yes, they’re violent, and dangerous. But Brett – he was already that, without the gene kicking in. He did what he did because he was a piece of shit, Theo. Would you ever do that to Kennedy? What he did?”
He sounds sick. “Of course I fucking wouldn’t.”
“Because you’re not him,” I try to make him see. “Get a new test, Theo. Reassure yourself. For Kennedy. For you. But don’t ever think that you’re anything like Brett.”
We should have known a long time ago that Brett was bad news. “We were kids. If he was still here, I don’t think he would have ended up part of our pack. Not in the end. We were starting to see it. We would have seen it.”
“But we were too late for her.” His gaze is sightless. “And look where we are.”
“Yeah,” I say heavily. “We were too late. But I’m going to be on time, every fucking time, for the rest of our lives, Theo. I’m going to put everything I have into her. And if you care about her, you’ll do the same. That’s what makes you different from Brett. Because it’s not aboutyou. It’s about her. And Kenny fuckingknowsthat you’re two different people. She always did. And if you’re still thinking it – now is your chance to prove that you’re not him.”
He considers my words in silence, then changes the subject. “I’m surprised you’re not there.”
Remembered irritation tightens up my shoulders, pulls a scowl to my mouth. “They threw me out. Twenty-four hour visiting ban. I can’t go back until tomorrow.”
Theo’s head snaps to me, shock widening his eyes. “They what?Why?”
I stretch out my legs. “I… lost my temper.”
“Why.” It’s a demand, not a question. His voice lowers, threading with something… darker. “What. Happened.”
Blowing out a breath, I tip my head back. “That whole set-up… it’s bullshit, Theo. She’s not going to heal like that. They’re treating her like an animal. And one of them… I saw him copying her. Laughing.”
So I tried to put his head through the window.
“Fucker.” Theo jumps to his feet, a new mask of anger tightening his face. And fear, too. “What thehell?”
“He was fired.” And I was banned.
Worth it.“We can’t leave her alone in there. Oscar’s fighting for twenty-four-seven visitation, so we can stay with her. She needs us, Theo.”
And we need him. He twists, staring as if he’s about to take off through the forest on foot. “Let’s go, then.”
My lip almost twitches. “You gonna get in the truck, or run there?”
He’s already prowling toward the truck, yanking the door open and muttering to himself. “He’s not still there with her?”
“Nope.” I stay where I am for a moment, studying him. “He won’t be coming back.”
Jaw tight, he nods. It takes me less than a minute to grab the small cases with her things and place them into the back of the truck before we start making our way back.
The lights are on at home, a tall figure poised in the window. Oscar looks up as we stride into the kitchen, answering the question already forming on my lips. His eyes slide to Theo. “We got some of it. But we need to talk.”
We take a seat, none of us bothering with drinks. Oscar flicks through the paperwork in his hands. “One of us stays with her at all times. Max is staying tonight.”
I take the list he hands me, scanning through it. “These are the only things we can take in?”
Nothing hard, I notice. Nothing sharp, or breakable. Blankets, Throws. Pillows. Clothes.
