Page 24 of The Night Wolf
“I saw it. Dr. Frank thought maybe the legends were true, but I said no. What about it?”
Sean went to the bed and sat down. Gareth stood over him, his arms crossed over his chest.
“It showed up just before my fourteenth birthday. It was like a switch had been thrown, and I tumbled into the deep end of puberty. I tried to hide it, because I was afraid of people looking at me differently. When I was in school, someone saw the top of it under my shirt, and after class, they yanked my shirt off. Everyone freaked out. I went to my parents, begging them to help me. They told me they would, but then they sold me to Ryker.”
“But… I don’t understand. What does this have to do with—?”
“Ryker believes the legends. He thinks that if he bonds with me, he’ll have the power of the night wolf at his command.” Sean blew out a breath. At last he’d unburdened himself of the secret he’d kept close to his heart. “He’s insane and has no problem killing if it means he gets me back.”
Realization flitted across Gareth’s face. “That’s why you never shifted out of wolf form.”
Sean nodded. “It’s easier to hide as a wolf than as a human. It took stopping in a town and asking about a job to find out that Ryker has a bounty on me.” Sean swallowed hard. “A million dollars.”
Gareth’s jaw dropped. “A million…. That’s insane.”
“He thinks it’s a small price for what he believes I can give him.”
And now that Gareth knew, would he—?
“No.”
Sean startled and looked up, meeting Gareth’s dark gaze. “What?”
“No, I wouldn’t turn you in. Not for a million or ten million. You’re mine. A member of Lydon, and I promised that I would protect you, even if it killed me.”
He… wasn’t going to turn Sean over to Ryker? He would protect him?
“You’d… keep me?”
The hand was back as Gareth pulled Sean close. “I will always keep you, Sean. Lydon is your home. All you have to do is say the word, and I’ll give you my bite. You’ll forever be part of our family.”
It wasn’t even something he had to stress over anymore. “Please, let me come home.”
Everything was still. Sean could hear Dani and Caleb in the house. The streets of Lydon were mostly quiet. The sound of Gareth’s heartbeat was strong and steady, and Sean listened to it, allowing it to calm him. Then Gareth struck, sinking his fangs into Sean’s neck. It was sheer agony as Sean’s brain was rewired. The connection to his old pack—his old life—was torn out. Gone were his parents and Ryker, obliterated beneath the power that Gareth wielded. In its place was a blank space, aching to be filled. Then thoughts and emotions rushed in, squeezing into Sean’s mind. In the space of a heartbeat, Sean could sense the pack within him. He was one with them, and they with him.
“I can feel them.” He turned his gaze up to Gareth. “I can feel you.”
“Good. Remember that feeling, because it’s never going away.”
Tears trickled down Sean’s cheeks as the warmth of family once again brought him peace.
“The bite generally exhausts the wolf who receives it. You need food and rest. C’mon. Let’s go down and get our steaks.”
Sean chuckled, free from nagging doubts and fears. “This was all about the food, wasn’t it?”
Gareth cuffed him lightly on the head. “Of course. It had nothing to do with welcoming a new member at all.” Then he did the most curious thing. He wrapped his arms around Sean and held him tight to the broad expanse of his chest. “Welcome home, Sean.”
DINNER HADbeen everything Wolfgang said. Even though the steaks were way beyond rare, Gareth had loved his, and even Sean seemed taken with it. Still, he was too quiet, and Gareth wondered at what was going on in Sean’s mind.
After they’d eaten, Sean had said he was tired and asked if he could be excused. He got up and stumbled up the stairs, then closed his door behind him.
Gareth lay in his bed, the thoughts of the evening slingshotting through his head. Ryker believed the stories of the night wolf. He wanted to claim Sean.HisSean. No one would ever lay a hand on him, if Gareth could help it.
His wolf was in total agreement. Since Gareth had given Sean the bite, the wolf had calmed. It was no longer banging against Gareth’s mind, trying to get out. Now it slept in the deeper recesses.
“So you’re finally able to rest too, huh?”
A quiet chuff from the wolf was his answer.
