It was the night of the full moon, and Carter couldn’t wait to shift into his wolf. A night of letting his animal side have free rein over his human worries was exactly what he needed.
He parked his truck in the clearing where the pack always started their run, climbing out from behind the wheel and walking to the edge of the woods. He was one of the first to arrive, and he used the opportunity to close his eyes and breathe in the scent of the forest.
For a second he imagined what it would be like if John were there; his wolf rising up in excitement at the thought of chasing his human through the trees and playing with him once he caught him.
Carter groaned. He’d hoped that being in the woods, as far away from his human side as possible, he’d stop thinking about John. He should have known that it was a stupid hope. His wolf was just as besotted by John as his human side.
It wasn’t like he and his wolf were different beings. They were just two sides of the same coin.
Carter smelled Luke Wolfman before he heard him, and his back tensed with discomfort. He hadn’t talked to the other wolf since his realization that Luke knew about him and John, and he had no desire to do so now.
“Peterson,” Luke said, walking up to him and stopping a respectful distance away. He looked just as uncomfortable as Carter felt, and Carter felt a flare of resentment.
“Wolfman,” he replied, his voice clipped. He forced his shoulders to relax.
“Ready for tonight?” Luke asked, nodding out at the forest. Carter followed his gaze, turning back to him with a raised eyebrow.
“Was there something you wanted?”
Luke took a step back, looking like he regretted coming over. Carter felt a small flicker of regret. Luke was probably just trying to show that he was okay with Carter and John, even though it was none of his business.
“It’s going to be good to get down on four legs,” Carter said, deciding that he should be friendly—if for no other reason than that Luke could really fuck up his life if he started telling people what he knew.
That John would want him to be nice to his friend didn’t figure into it, or so Carter tried to tell himself.
“I know what you mean,” Luke said, nodding. They didn’t say anything, and when Grayson’s car pulled into the clearing Carter had the excuse he needed to say goodbye.
Not that Grayson was even remotely better than Luke.
“How’s it looking?” Grayson said, jumping out of his car and slamming the door behind him. He crossed his arms and looked at Carter with a barely repressed smirk.
Ever since his supposed win in the matter with the Texas pack, Grayson had been unbearably smug.
“Everything is looking good,” Carter said. “I checked with Owen this morning and the wards are holding strong, and the forest rangers have put up the usual warnings. We’re all ready to run.”
The passenger side door of Grayson’s car opened, and Elijah stepped out. He winced as he got out of the car, but Carter might have imagined it because when he walked to stand next to his father his gait was steady and he looked fine.
“Carter,” Elijah said, nodding.
“Hello, Elijah,” Carter said. The sight of Elijah was like a bucket of cold water. He hadn’t seen the younger wolf since he threw caution to the wind and started spending as much time with John as possible, and now that the boy was right in front of him he realized that he simply couldn’t go through with his plan.
He didn’t want to lose what he had with John, and trapping Elijah in something fake would be an injustice unworthy of him as both as a wolf and a man.
Fuck.
“Everything okay?” Grayson asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Carter schooled his face into a neutral expression and shrugged.
“I just remembered I forgot to call one of my clients before I left work today. It’s nothing important.”
Grayson nodded, satisfied with the explanation, but Elijah was looking at him with worried eyes. When Carter walked back to his car, pretending he needed to make a call, Elijah followed.
“Are you sure you can’t challenge him?” Elijah asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He sounded desperate. “Please?”
Carter looked down at the younger wolf, taking in his nervous fidgeting and pale face, and then over at Grayson standing across the clearing. The alpha was watching his son suspiciously, eyes darting between him and Carter like he was trying to figure out what they could possibly have to talk about.
“I’ll talk to you after the run,” Carter said, giving Elijah’s shoulder a squeeze. The gentle touch made Elijah wince, and Carter had to swallow a growl. If Grayson was beating his son hard enough that it was taking him this long to heal, then things were bad. “And tell your dad you were apologizing to me for the last time I had to come out and get you. He won’t think that’s unusual.”
Elijah nodded, licking his lips and hesitating before walking back to his father. Carter watched Grayson interrogate him, but he seemed content with the answer Elijah gave him. He looked over at Carter and Carter shrugged.
