“Hey,” I say, “Omar isn’t like that.”
“He has the tattoo.”
“I bet lots of rogues have that tattoo; it doesn’t mean he was one of the people there that night.”
“It doesn’t matter; he’s just like the rest of them.”
“He’s not,” I say, letting go of Jasper’s arm.
Finally, he turns and actually looks at me. “How do you know?”
“I spoke with him last night. His family kicked him out because he’s queer. That’s why he’s a rogue: because he’s like us.”
Jasper’s eyes flash with some spark of emotion. Is it panic or recognition? Maybe it’s because for the first time I’ve identified something about him that he hasn’t been able to yet.
“He is?”
“Yahuh,” I say. “So stop acting like a bonehead.”
He rolls his eyes.
When it’s time for us to leave, Agatha loads me up with a couple of thermoses worth of pain-relieving tea, along with a crystal, a book on meditation, and of course, my wooden necklace.
She stands in the doorway of her cabin and I can’t help but give her a big hug.
“Thank you,” I say.
“You’ll be okay, blood wolf,” she says, patting me on the back. “That mate of yours will be a handful though.”
I grin so that only she can see it.
“Thank you,” Jasper says, coming forward and extending his hand; I step back to let him through. “And my apologies again. I should never have snapped like that.”
Agatha shakes his hand and smiles. “You were being protective of our little friend here. I understand. Though, you should try relaxing every now and then, you might like it.”
Blush rises in Jasper’s cheeks. “Yes, well, thank you again.”
Omar, who came back from fixing the car and went straight to work on something else, is now packing up the tent behind us.
He eyes Jasper for a moment as he gathers up the cable connected to the heater. I nudge Jasper’s side. He steps forward awkwardly.
“Listen, I’m sorry for earlier,” he says. “I shouldn’t have made assumptions.”
“No, you shouldn’t have,” Omar says, unimpressed.
“And thank you for everything you’ve done. I hope… I hope you find your people.”
Omar takes a breath and I can tell he’s rolling his eyes in his mind.
“Okay, you’re forgiven. Don’t drive too fast on your way back; I don’t want you crashing and showing up back here.”
They both laugh, sort of.
“It’s a deal,” Jasper says.
“You gonna be okay, cuz?” Omar says, looking in my direction.
I join him, and Jasper steps away in the direction of the car.
