“His dad knows that he ran away, but not where.”
“Can’t he just track him here?” Owen asked, looking confused.
Elijah snorted and shook his head. When Owen looked at him he explained. “My dad has a terrible sense of smell. That’s why he always has Carter do any tracking he needs done. He pretends it’s because he’s too busy, but the truth is he can’t do it himself.”
That… was news to Carter. He should have known that Grayson would have tracked down Elijah himself if he could. The alpha hated anything that made him seem weak, and having his son constantly run away from him made him seem downright pathetic.
“I’ll tell him I lost your scent on the highway,” Carter said, the new information making it easy. “And that he should use Luke’s police resources to track him down if he really needs him found.”
Luke nodded, but Elijah still looked troubled. “What do I do in the meantime?” he asked. “I mean… I can’t stay here.”
Carter would have offered Elijah a place to stay in his apartment in Builder Falls, but he was reluctant to do so now that he’d just asked John to move in with him.
“I still have my apartment in Builder Falls,” Owen said, exchanging a look with Luke. They seemed to communicate telepathically. “You’re welcome to stay there.”
“In Builder Falls?” Elijah asked, eyes wide.
“Your dad wouldn’t think to look for you there. He’s terrified of Owen. It’s literally the last place he’d trespass.”
Elijah bit his lip, and then nodded slowly. “If it’s just for a little while, I guess that would be good. Thank you.”
That settled it. Carter was impatient to get going. The sooner he could drop Elijah off at Owen’s apartment, the sooner he could see John.
Luke looked at Owen, and the two of them shared another look in which a whole volume of information seemed to be exchanged. Luke turned to Elijah and spoke.
“We can take you there now. We can get you settled in and make sure you have everything you need, and maybe stay with you the first night. It can be tough to be away from Forest Hill if you’re not used to it.”
Carter hadn’t intended to do more than drop Elijah off, so Luke’s offer was clearly superior to what he’d been about to suggest.
“That’s nice of you,” he said, clapping Luke on the back. “Elijah, does that sound good?”
Elijah nodded, looking relieved that there was a plan. Carter couldn’t imagine what he must be feeling.
With everything figured out, Owen took Elijah out into the car while Carter called Grayson. The alpha was furious that Carter had failed, but when Carter suggested bringing in Luke he balked.
“He’ll come crawling back eventually. Just forget about it for now.”
“You’re the boss,” Carter said. He hung up the phone and shrugged at Luke. The other wolf had heard the whole conversation.
They walked out to join Owen and Elijah.
“So you and John, huh?” Luke said when they were at the door, making Carter lift his eyebrow. He wondered where Luke was going with this.
“What about us?”
“Nothing,” Luke said, grimacing. “Just… be good to him. He’s a nice person.”
“I know he is,” Carter said. He wanted to be angry with Luke for butting in, but he couldn’t blame him for looking out for his friend. “And I’m trying to be.”
“That’s all I ask,” Luke said.
Carter nodded, watching as Luke got into his car and drove away with Elijah. He hoped Elijah would be okay, but he wasn’t too worried. The young wolf was remarkably resilient.
Climbing behind the wheel of his own car, Carter checked the time as he turned the key in the ignition. He was only an hour and a half behind schedule, which surprised him a little.
It felt like longer.
Pulling out of his driveway, Carter started driving toward Builder Falls. It had been a long week, and an even longer day, and he couldn’t wait to be back with John.
It was where he belonged.
***
