The Beast and His Tamer

Chapter 21: Hope

"I wanna go! I wanna go!" Everett jumped up at them.

"No, sweety," Genevieve shook her head, pulling the boy towards her. He was always hard to pull away when he was being stubborn. "They have to do this alone."

"Why?" Sebastian asked, smiling at the little boy. He always looked so joyful when he was talking to the boy. "I'm sure he wouldn't be a bother."

"It's dangerous," Rhett shook his head, diminishing the idea. There was no way he was going to risk his nephew's life. He already made enough mistakes. "Sorry, Everett, but it would be best if you stayed."

"But I wanna help look for Daddy," his eyes were the size of saucers, made to look as watery as possible on purpose, he was sure. That look always tore him apart. Whenever the boy would use it, Rhett would cave in. Gulliver got mad at him so many times for letting the pipsqueak get away with so many different things.

He couldn't be the reckless man that he was before, though. Rhett refused to let anything happen to the boy. If something did then his brother would never forgive him.

They still didn't even know if he was still alive, his brother. It hurt to think of such a horrible thought as a fact, but it was a possibility. One that Rhett couldn't deny. Even Odin understood the possibility that his family could be dead. They were all just hanging on a tiny sliver of hope that none of them were. That they could find them.

That's what this search party was being set up for. They were going to be gone for a whole day, just running around the territory to see if Gulliver was still in the vicinity. Rhett highly doubted it, but it was a start to the search. Besides, this way he could still stay within range to hear if anyone in the pack needed assistance.

"He has a noble cause, you know," Sebastian looked at Rhett. "Why not let him come with?"

"Are you insane?" Rhett asked. Then he shook his head. "No, never mind," he put a hand up. "I don't want to hear your answer for that."

Odin chuckled a little at him. Rhett glared at him for a second before looking back to Sebastian. The werebear had somehow befriended Noah again, which was shocking. Noah had hated him ever since Gulliver came back bloodied. He was almost as mad as Rhett was that night. But Noah was a little more level-headed than him. As the second to both of them, he had to balance them out sometimes. Between Gulliver, who was cautious, and him, who was impulsive, Noah and Genevieve helped to find the happy medium in their reign.

Rhett and Gulliver fought all the time. There was no harm meant in any of it, but it happened. Most of the time, they would argue for hours in the meeting hall, and then walk out like nothing happened and just laugh at something dumb that was going on like a bird crashing into a tree. Genevieve thought it was the craziest thing. She never understood it, and probably never would.

"It's not like he would be in danger," Sebastian said. "I mean, he has me and two of the strongest beasts of the forest with him. Not to mention this is still within your territory. I don't see a problem in a young brave warrior marching onward in search of his father."

Why did he have to sound like he was a knight at the round table when he said that. Rhett sighed. Sometimes, he was still in disbelief that Sebastian was his mate. He was childish and rash. He didn't think about the future at all, or what was to happen. He just thought of the now and his own wants of now.

He was exactly how Rhett was, minus the temper. Rhett didn't need someone who was impulsive like he had been just the year before. He needed to proceed with caution, just like his brother would. Every step they took was important to the pack's health.

"I'm with Rhett on this one," Odin said, nodding towards him. "As much as I love the tike, he's too small for an adventure like that. Not with the forest being so dangerous."