“Of course you can, Liam, but this is about the short term.” Rory gave him a bright smile. “You know that.”
“I do. I just…” He needed to talk to Rory alone. “How’s Xander doing?”
“Great. Here, I want to peek at the new baby.”
“Is he done eating, Niall? I can put him back down.” Liam grinned at Rory’s let’s-have-a-discussion face. His brothers could always read him.
“Yes.” Niall handed over the baby for him to burp and carry back to bed for a bit. Not that they would bother Theo. They would just find a not-crowded space to sit and talk.
They settled with the babies in a quiet little corner with the sun pouring down on them.
Rory sat there and stared at him for a long second before finally blurting out. “What is going on?”
“I don’t know!” And that was absolutely one-hundred-percent the truth. He had no goddamn idea what exactlywas happening to him. He knew that there was something undeniable and wonderful about Theo, something magical he couldn’t deny. “You know how I’ve been wanting to go up the mountain?”
Rory nodded to him, offered him a wry grin. “Of course. It’s all you’ve talked about for months.”
“Yeah.” Sue him. “Okay, so. All of a sudden, it was all I could think about. I mean, literally—I couldn’t think about anything else but going. We went up there, and there he was—Theo. And he’s?—”
“A wolf.”
“Yes, and—this is just between us, right?” Because he needed someone he could trust with this. Someone who would understand.
“Absolutely.”
“I saw him, and I couldn’t… there is no way I could have ever walked away from him. Not ever.”
Rory pursed his lips and shook his head. “Well, I’d tell you I don’t know what that feels like, but that would be a total lie. I totally know what that feels like.”
The wink was supposed to make him feel better and he knew it, but he was worried. “But what I’m not really clear on is… you know that I’m not a wolf.”
“Well, I knew I wasn’t a wolf, and look where I am. I have Xander.”
“I’m a little worried,” he admitted, and Rory shook his head a little.
“You’re just a little worried? Dude. If it were me, I would be extremely worried.” Rory chuckled softly. “I was there. I was worried.”
“Yeah.” He sighed and shook his head. “All right. So I will totally go with extremely worried too. I have to tell you, though, I don’t think I get this.”
“You don’t think you get what?” Rory’s lips quirked, and Liam wanted to smack him. Just a little.
“Well, one, I don’t get how we ended up having wolves in our family. I mean, it’s not like we haven’t met our parents.”
Rory shrugged. “I don’t know any more than you do.”
“I know. I do. But someone has to, right? And there’s no one to ask anymore. I mean, maybe Dean?”
Expression doubtful, Rory sighed. “I would say not, but who knows? There are clearly a lot of secrets floating around.”
Liam scoffed. “Tell me about it.” He shook his head. “One way or the other, I’m not willing to give him up.”
“I can’t wait to meet him.” Rory tilted his head. “The rumor is that maybe he’s related to Fen?”
“He looks as though he could be. We’ll introduce them when Theo gets up. Are you staying the night? If not, I can wake him, but he was so exhausted I would like to let him rest.” Poor Theo was running on empty. It was super obvious.
“We are, yes. So no worries. This way, we can hang out some.”
“Good.” He was feeling at odds without being able to bounce things off his brothers. “I can’t believe how Xander is growing. He’s beautiful.”
