HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 86

Chapter Eighty Six

The gates of the D'Agostino manor had been repaired and, to my surprise, the ancient tree that had fallen from the mile-long symmetrical path leading to the house had been righted somehow and even healed from the look of things. It was still there and alive.

My attention was elsewhere, though, since my dad had been pretty much silent since our talk.

I couldn't really blame him since, upon reflection, my request was selfish and rather cruel, but I had my reasons... mostly just this unshakable feeling that I needed to know, that maybe once I knew the full story something would slide into place, a sensation in the back of my head.

I stared up at the impressive plantation house as we pulled closer. It had taken a beating during the hurricane but repairs were already being done and from what we'd heard, the security system that Bash had spent millions on was back up and running. I was glad since the only reason they'd been successfully attacked was because it had been offline.

I let out a sigh through my nose when my dad turned the engine off. We sat there for a few minutes together in silence, looking at the sun dappled porch. We were pretty much walking out of one stressful situation and right into another, but I was prepared to deal with it since I had to talk to Bash about Echo's mother and siblings.

I took a breath and let it out, then turned to glance at Jak, who was staring at his hands and fiddling with his long claws.

"Do you think less of me?" he suddenly asked, and I froze. "When you think of what was done to me... do you think... that I am weak? That I am incapable of protecting anyone? Or a failure?"

"No, to all of those stupid questions," I flatly replied, not even bothering to dignify him with a second glance. "You're not a weak person, Pop... sure, you may not be as supernaturally adept as a guy like Sebastian, but so what? It's not even a fair comparison because of how old he is."

"Oh?" Jak snorted, sounding surprisingly amused. "Is that what you think?"

"Well, yeah," I snorted, and this time I did look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Dude fought literal wars and survived. He's over five hundred years old and formally recognized in the underground as the oldest and strongest werewolf on this continent. Just because you're not as strong as him doesn't mean you're weak, and anyway, its like I've been saying for years--you have me, Pop... and I will never stop watching your back, for any reason. If you're ever feeling helpless, you have the right to lean on me."

His eyes flashed gold before darkening and he nodded, clenching his jaw.

"I will tell you, then," he said, then took a breath and whispered, "after the full moon."

"Wait, what?" I asked, startled. "But... that's on the eighteenth! That's over a week away!"

"I know," he hoarsely confirmed, and turned to look out the windshield again, "but I also know that you're very hot tempered near the full moon, and I want to wait until after its passed."

I didn't really like it, but I wasn't about to argue. This wasn't, after all, something I was entitled to and he was being really fucking wonderful for even daring to tell me about this shit. I could recognize that very easily so I didn't push it, I simply nodded and patted his arm.

"I'm okay with that," I said; simple, clean. "Let's go in and say hi."

"Yes," he agreed, looking rather relieved. "I've heard that Richard has been asking about how you and Jun are doing lately, so perhaps you could check in on him and give him an update in person after we've gotten settled in."