I grin. “I’ve been called both. Once, you were quite the risk-taker yourself.”
“Really?” he asks as if he can’t believe it.
“Oh, aye. The pair of us were always getting into trouble, but we were always there to get each other out of it.”
Soren tilts his head. “Hang on. Just how long did we know each other?”
I give his knee a squeeze. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Chapter 10
Soren
I’m exhausted when Iarrive at the hospital the next morning. All night long, all I did was replay the day’s events. I second-guessed everything, from whether any of this was even real to how I’d reacted to Fergus. Had I been too hard on him? How else was I supposed to react? There isn’t exactly a self-help book for this stuff.So You Just Discovered You’re A Time Traveler: A Guide to Werewolves, Witches, and All Matter of Fuckery.
Maybe I should write one.
I’ve still got no idea what to say when I pick up Fergus from the hospital. He smiles, and I return the gesture, though it doesn’t feel genuine. All this time I thought we were related, that I was just an average guy who couldn’t hold down a relationship. Fergus kept so much from me, and I don’t think he had any intention of telling me.
It’s hard not to hold that against him, but the least I can do is hear his side of the story.
“Hey.” I wince at how awkward I sound. “Feeling better?”
Fergus nods. “Much. I am hungry, though. How about some lunch? My treat.”
I’ll accept the olive branch he’s offering. At the end of the day, he’s my family, even if we aren’t related.
A few streets down, we find a cafe to sit and chat in. Fergus buys us both a coffee and a couple of breakfast sandwiches. I unwrap mine and take a bite, melted cheese, bacon, and eggs exploding in a flavor bomb on my tongue.
Fergus doesn’t touch his coffee, eyes full of guilt when he looks at me. “Soren—”
“I’m sorry I got mad, Gramps.” It hurts to look at him and remember the pained look on his face.
“I shouldn’t have kept things from you,” he says. “I was selfish. I feared that if you knew the truth, you’d want to return to the past and stay there.”
I snort. “Why would I? I want to know, yeah, but my life is here. My job. My friends. My family.” I tap his foot with mine beneath the table.
Fergus smiles and gives my shoulder a squeeze. “I should have trusted you. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t have fallen ill.”
“What does all this time travel stuff have to do with you being sick?”
Fergus’s shoulders slump. Great. More secrets, I’m guessing. “I’ve used my magic to mask your presence from other supernatural creatures, but specifically the Eriksonpack. I couldn’t be sure they wouldn’t come looking for you.”
“Because I betrayed them.”
Fergus nods glumly. “After all these years, using so much of my magic reserves took its toll on me.”
Shit. Could he have died? “No more,” I tell him, looking him in the eyes. “You can’t do that to yourself. Okay?”
I can’t lose him.
Fergus smiles and pats my cheek. “No more,” he agrees. “But Soren, you need to be careful around that wolf. Is he still here?”
My defenses go back up. “He’s not dangerous.” The part of me that once knew and loved Lyall prickles with anger at my grandfather’s assumptions.
“You can’t know that.”
“I do, Gramps,” I say, voice sharp. Taking a breath, I try to calm down. Fergus furrows his brows, like I’ve grown a second head or something. “He and I… we were close. He loved me.”
