Page 30 of The Rabbit's Foot
She reared back in horror. “Oh, no. We’re only bringing a few next time. We have 238 nieces, nephews, grandkids, and cousins that live within five miles of us. A lot more farther out. Do you know how much bringing everyone here would cost?” She shivered dramatically. “A few at a time. We’ll have to draw straws, because everyone wants to see Alpin again.”
“Then I can’t wait,” Mal said honestly.
He turned to Deacon, unsure if he should shake with him or hug him. That choice was taken from him when Deacon pulled him into a tight embrace.
“You’ve given us back a part of our world,” he said, his voice dripping with emotion. “We’ll never forget that.”
“Well, if it helps, you’ve actually given me a world, so I think it’s me who owes you.”
He nudged them in Alp’s direction, and the three of them went to the table, the remainder of the bag of freeze-dried fruit in front of them, and talked. Mal stepped outside and walked over to what was probably one of the few remaining payphones left in the state. He fished out a handful of coins, then lifted the receiver. Once he dropped his payment in, he dialed the number he’d committed to memory years ago.
“This is Damon” came the gruff reply.
Just like that, Mal was transported back to his youth, when the First needed nothing more than his voice to bring pups to heel.
“Hi, First.” Mal wasn’t sure what else to say, so he went with the social skills he ordinarily lacked. “How are you?”
There was a sharp intake of breath. “Malachi? Is that you?”
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry I waited so long to call. I…. I need your help.”
Chapter 11
“Let me see if I understand this, whelp,” Damon said, his voice dripping with bitterness and anger. “You snuck out like a fucking polecat into the night, and now you’re going to call and ask me for help?”
“Yes.” Mal wasn’t going to be cowed. He needed this if Alp was going to survive. “If you don’t want to help, that’s fine. Say so, and I’ll find someone else.”
Even if there wasn’t anyone.
Damon was quiet for several long moments, but then he sighed. “Why did you leave, Mal? I thought you wanted to be a First.”
“I thought so too, sir. But then I watched you, every day, tending to the pack. Never having time for yourself. Never having a chance to just be. The pack grew fat and happy and lazy, and why? Because you were out there busting your ass every single day for them.” He swallowed. “For us.”
“Oh, Mal. That’s what a First is. Our lives will never be our own. We belong to the pack—we will live and die for the pack.”
It was something Mal was coming to understand. “I’ve recently become aware, sir.”
“Tell me.”
Even though he was no longer Mal’s First, Damon Walker was a powerful man. His voice reverberated through Mal, letting him know it wasn’t a request. So, Mal told him everything, starting from the night he’d gotten off his motorcycle, to finding out he’d claimed Alp.
“A bunny? You’ve mated a rabbit?” Walker burst out in peals of laughter. “Oh, that’s too rich.”
“Fuck you!” Mal snarled, his grip on the handset tightening. “Don’t disrespect Alp, you son of a bitch.”
The line went quiet, and Mal feared he’d done something irrevocable by telling Damon off.
“You’ve learned,” he finally said, sounding oddly happy. “It doesn’t matter who I am—all that matters is your pack. You’re willing to throw down against me to protect them. Well, him. You’ve finally figured out what it means to be a First.”
A deep sigh rolled out of Mal. “Yes, sir. I guess I have.”
“Then you’ve learned the lesson I don’t know that I could have ever taught you. My father did the same to me. He threw me to the wolves, pretty literally. I had to sink or swim, so I chose to swim. Even though it was against a raging river, I fought every fucking day to make it a little farther. At first, I hated the people in the pack, because they were a stone that had been chained to my ankles and were slowly pulling me under.”
Damon had never spoken of this to Mal. He’d only told him of how important the pack was. “I… didn’t know.”
“No, you didn’t. But the thing is? As I settled into my role, I discovered that it wasn’t me who gave the pack strength. It was them who infused me with it. Their commitment to me and to each other is what made the difference. And it was a lesson you had to learn on your own.”
What he said slammed into Mal. “You knew I’d leave.”
