Page 45 of Brutal Alpha

“We don’t have a daughter, not yet anyway. Boy, would that be a blessing.”

To my surprise, Ethan appeared at my side, crouching beside me. Adopting the same calm, pleasant tone I’d been careful to use, he said,

“Her name’s Sadie, Joe. Your daughter Sadie, with red hair just like her mom?”

Joe’s frown deepened.

“Red hair like Minnie?” he asked. It looked like he was on the cusp of something, but couldn’t quite grasp it. It was a delicate moment: we couldn’t push him too far, but the right nudge might get him moving.

“Just like Minnie,” I assured him. “You wanna come see her?”

“Where?”

“At home, back in town,” said Ethan. “Here, take my arm.”

For a faltering, uncertain moment, Joe only stared at Ethan’s outstretched arm, then he blinked. He nodded.

“Thank you, I feel turned around all of a sudden.”

“It’s a warm day,” said Ethan as he helped the old man up. “Have you been drinking enough water?”

I let Ethan take the lead as we headed back through the forest, walking slowly to make sure Joe didn’t trip. As we walked, Joe asked me several questions about Lapine, telling me more than once that he’d been to Lapine for the Solstice a few years previously. He was a sweet old guy, and I enjoyed answering his questions, even when they repeated themselves, just to see the excitement on his face with every “new” piece of information he learned.

The sun had almost set by the time we arrived back in town, and Ethan led us to a homey-looking cottage, where a woman in her fifties, red hair salted with white, waited anxiously in the doorway.

“There you are, Dad,” she said with a relieved exhale, dashing forward to take her father’s free arm. Together, she and Ethan helped him up the ramp to the cottage door, ushering him inside and into a comfy chair in the living area. I lingered in the doorway, not wanting to intrude.

“Thank you, Alpha,” said Sadie. “He just took off while I was making lunch.”

“Don’t sweat it, Sadie. These things happen,” Ethan assured her. “Besides, Julia here did most of the work.”

“Hi.” I gave Sadie a little wave and received a tired smile in return.

“Thank you,” she said.

“My pleasure. He’s a great old guy.”

“He is,” she agreed. Her eyes flicked between me and Ethan, as if expecting an explanation for my presence. Ethan didn’t offer it.

“Is there anything else you need before I go?” he asked. The exhaustion was plain in his voice, and Sadie must have heard it too, because she shook her head.

“Absolutely not. Go home and take care of yourself. Good to have you back.”

Ethan gave her a weak smile, and the pair of us waved at Joe as Ethan guided me through the door by my elbow. Behind me, I heard Sadie give a little gasp, but Ethan didn’t seem to notice.

“Careful,” he said gently. “There’s a plant pot right there.”

I let him guide me around the pot on my blind side, uncertain of why I didn’t feel prickly and defensive. His hand remained on my elbow as we moved through town, heedless of the looks it garnered us, and my wolf purred with satisfaction. It wasn’t a mark, not a full claim, but she knew what the touch signified just as well as I did.

Along the way, we passed males coming home, kids playing in the street, and females bringing in laundry; every one of them received a tired but genuine smile from the most unsmiling man I knew. Once, he caught a stray ball and rolled it back to a group of kids who seemed entirely unafraid of him. It was so far removed from the Ethan I thought I’d known that by the time we reached his home, I felt dazed and unmoored.

Between that and our shared exhaustion, we were quiet as Ethan shuffled around the house. Food had been left out for us,but we were too tired to do more than pick at the cold cuts and bread and cheese.

“You want a tea?” were the first words Ethan spoke after we got inside.

“I was gonna head to bed soon, but thanks.”

“It’s chamomile,” he clarified. “For sleep.”

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