Page 47 of Cultivating Caden
Hilda chuckled. “And he’s the baby of the family.”
“Have a seat.” Jack gestured to the empty chair. “We need to talk to you.”
Sitting down with a thump, Caden continued to stare. “How tall are you?”
“He’s tall enough to reach things on the top shelf for me. That’s the only reason I keep him.”
Caden’s laugh was lyrical, and it struck Quade how much he loved hearing it. How much he… loved Caden. When did that happen?Howdid that…? Ten. He’d been linking them all, so that Caden would get more comfortable in Sanctuary. He’d let Caden and Quade see memories, and now it was as if they’d shared those. What was that little bastard up to?
Jack’s booming voice pulled Quade’s attention back to the conversation. “Okay, we need to know, where were you born?”
Caden shifted in his seat. “I’m not sure. My mother adopted me. She told me she found me in a pumpkin patch, and that I was the cutest little pumpkin she ever did see. But she didn’t know where I was born either.”
Hilda and Jack exchanged meaningful looks. “I don’t think she was kidding,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“She may have embellished the pumpkin patch part, but I think she did find you somewhere.” Hilda leaned forward on the desk. “Do you remember having wings?”
“Wings? Why the hell would I have wings?”
But the expression that crossed Caden’s face told Quade he wasn’t being entirely truthful.
“Caden, you need to tell us anything you can think of so we can help. Even if you believe it’s stupid, you have to talk to us.”
In his seat, Caden looked down as he twisted his fingers together. “I’m sure it’s nothing. When I was five, I fell out of a pine tree and broke my arm. The thing is, there was literally no way I could have climbed that tree. It was so tall, and the branches didn’t start until halfway up. I remember looking up at it and wishing I could be up near the clouds, and then… I was. I looked down, realized how far it was to the ground, and got scared. When I woke up, I had a busted limb and my mother telling me I’d been foolish enough to try climbing it.”
“He flew, I’m certain of it.” Hilda reached out and took Caden’s hand. “What else? Anything you can tell us might help.”
“There’s nothing else. I had a pretty average childhood for the most part.”
“Any unexplained sickness?”
“Ten told me I got sick because my body was getting ready for puberty.”
“Ten told you that? When?”
“Last week, maybe the week before. I just thought it was a strange thing to say, but everyone tells me he knows stuff, so I assumed he was right.”
Jack glared at Quade. “Go see Ten and find out what the hell mumbo jumbo he’s spouting. If he knows something, I want you to beat it out of him if you have to.”
Quade got out of his chair and rushed for Margaret’s place. When he got there, he didn’t bother knocking, just opened the door and stepped inside. He found Margaret in the kitchen, stirring something in a pot. She glanced up, then pointed down the hall. “Ten said you were coming. He’s in the back bedroom.”
Doing his best to rein in the anger that was flooding his body, Quade stomped down the cluttered hallway. He could smell Ten, and he knew the boy was afraid. He banged open the door, but Ten didn’t jump. He sat hunched over at the desk, sniffling.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. You were supposed to go with him and your wolf was supposed to recognize him. The attack shouldn’t have come for months.” He whirled around and leveled his gaze at Quade. “Now everything is different! Itoldyou Caden needed you, and now he’s going to die and it’ll be your fault! I hate you!”
The vehemence in Ten’s voice shocked Quade. He rushed forward and grabbed Ten’s shoulders, the small body wracked with spasms as he sobbed and pounded his tiny fists against Quade’s chest.
“I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!”
Through it all, Quade let him cry. When it seemed that it had finally run its course, he knelt down and stared into Ten’s eyes.
“Wanna let me in on what’s going on up here?” he asked, tapping the side of Ten’s head. “What do you mean, he’s going to die?”
“You know.” Now the voice broke when Ten answered. “I can see you know what’s going to happen to him.”
“See, I don’t believe that. You told me that nothing is ever set in stone. I was a feral wolf, but you brought me back. I have to believe we can do the same for Caden. But you’ve got to tell me how we can help him.”
