Marcus and William watched him approach. He walked up to them and came to a stop, crossing his arms. His instincts told him to hug his brothers, but he held back.
“How are you holding up?” Marcus asked, his voice careful.
“I’m fine,” Steve said. He looked between them, studying their expressions and body language to see if they were angry with him. “What about you guys?”
“I’m furious and depressed,” William said, wrinkling his nose and crossing his arms. Something caught his attention and his expression hardened. “Mom’s not even trying to hide how happy she is.”
Steve turned to see what William was looking at, and to no surprise, it was their mother. She was talking to their father’s enforcers, Bruce and Cain, and the two of them looked deeply uncomfortable at her cheerful expression.
Marcus’senforcers, Steve corrected in his head.
Their mother caught William and Steve looking at her, and her cheerful expression gave way to something more somber and appropriate. She lifted her hand and waved but made no move to come over. After a second, she angled her body away so that they couldn’t see her face.
Steve wouldn’t make an effort to talk to her before he left, he decided.
“What about you?” Steve asked, looking at Marcus. “Are you okay?”
Marcus tightened his jaw and nodded. “My place is secure. No one is going to be challenging me any time soon.”
That wasn’t what Steve had asked. He frowned, trying to think of what he could say to make his big brother feel better, but nothing came to mind. He settled on apologizing.
“I’m sorry for not letting you handle Dad when I finished school.”
Marcus sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that. I was frustrated and it wasn’t fair to you.”
“I’m still sorry,” Steve said.
“I wish you weren’t.” Marcus reached out and squeezed Steve’s shoulder. “I didn’t think he’d do something like this. I underestimated how unbalanced he was.”
Steve nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat and not saying anything.
“Is Dylan okay?” Marcus asked, looking like he was dreading the answer.
“He seemed okay this morning,” Steve said, his mood lifting the tiniest bit. He had braced for panic attacks and delayed shock, but when he woke up, Dylan seemed fine. He was a little subdued, his expression careful whenever they looked at each other, but not nearly as traumatized as Steve had expected. The bite on his neck had healed faster than Steve could have hoped. “I don’t think Dad’s bite is going to leave much of a scar.”
“Dad’s claim didn’t take?” Marcus said, sounding relieved. “That’s good at least.”
“It is,” Steve agreed.
The three of them stood there, none of them quite sure what to say. The funeral pyre was still going strong, heating the clearing and chasing away the cold, and for a while they watched people approach the flames, throwing small offerings into the fire to wish their departed alpha a good journey on to the next life.
“What did you guys offer?” Steve asked, glancing at his brothers. “I just grabbed something I made as a kid.”
“A moonstone rock,” Marcus said.
That was a valuable offering, though impersonal to the point of being inappropriate. Steve and Marcus looked at William for his answer. Their youngest brother shrugged.
“An anger management self-help book.” Marcus’s brows drew down with displeasure, but before he could say anything, William hurried to defend himself. “I wrapped it! No one saw what it was. And it’s not like he doesn’t need it, wherever he ends up next.”
If Steve hadn’t been feeling so shitty, he would have laughed. He reached out and pulled William under his arm, hugging him.
“That’s pretty funny,” he said, rubbing his arm. He looked at Marcus, who sighed and then offered up a small smile of his own.
“I guess it wasn’t entirely inappropriate.”
“So what’s happening now?” William asked, looking at Steve. “Are you guys staying for the gathering tonight?”
“No, we’re heading back to Fort Plainslac.” Steve swallowed, looking between his brothers. “You guys should visit, when you get the chance.”
