Ever wondered how the series got started? You can find out in the monthly extra!
(Link given as external link and in the first comment.)
A moment ago, there'd been a cat and a baby by my side; now, there was only a brown cub, its lupine grey-green eyes trained on a departing Luca. Front paws lowered, Ollie prepared to jump after the feline, but even though his moves were more fluent in wolf than human form, he was still no match for me. As soon as he lunged in the air, I caught him and brought him closer to me.
"No hunting," I ordered, bumping my brother on the muzzle and getting my fingers licked for my effort.
"He meant no harm; he just wanted to play," Everett said.
"I know."
For some reason my calm reply gave him a startle. Perhaps he still couldn't wrap his mind around just how familiar I was with wolf instincts. Granted, my ability to shift had shown itself when I was much older than Ollie, but I still remembered how I wanted to chase after things when in wolf form. It wasn't much different than how Dayer kids wanted to play-hunt (the word "play" probably lacking when it came to my own family) and would try to sneakily stalk humans around.
But I wasn't about to discuss the similarities between vampire and shifter instincts with Everett right now.
"I'll go get Ollie's spare clothes for when he turns back." My father rose.
"He can wear the ones I bought him," I said and Everett's eyes rounded again.
"You bought clothes for Ollie?"
"Why are you surprised?" I asked, my hold on my brother tightening while he tried to climb all over me and lick my face. "I buy him things all the time."
"Yes, but... You bring him gifts, but you preparing clothes for his visit..." Everett gave me a hesitant smile. "It's very thoughtful."
Encouraged that I didn't sneer at him, he went on, with a wave around the room:
"And you've baby proofed the penthouse. It's... It's..."
"Thoughtful?" I couldn't help a teasing smirk.
"Yes. Responsible too."
"Unexpected?" I offered and his smile wavered. He squared his shoulders before he continued:
"Yes. But in a good way."
We held each other's gaze, his grey-green eyes nothing like my pale grey ones, but the uncertainty and hope in them feeling strangely familiar and relatable. I knew it took effort for him not to give into his nerves and look away; once upon a time, I would've pushed him until he backed off, but now I wanted to give him a reprieve.
I turned my attention to the squirming fur ball in my hands.
"I don't suppose you'd make things easier for us and turn back human, huh?"
Ollie wagged his tail, perfectly careless of the fact that a baby was easier to handle than a cub.
At least for me.
Everett must've been used to dealing with both of Ollie's forms by now. After all, pureblooded shifters usually started switching between them mere hours to a few days after birth.
It would be years before they got the hang of the shift though.
Somehow, it took me just a few months.
I had always been a persistent bastard.
Everett sat back down, this time closer to us.
He opened his mouth, but reconsidered and closed it without a word. Instead, he extended his arm and petted Ollie while I still held on to the little beast.
"Might as well get it over with," I suggested and Everett turned back to me.
He retreated his arm and hesitated for a bit longer before he spoke his mind:
"I wanted this to be a pleasant visit with no quarrels or difficult topics, but I need to know what you plan to do."
"Do?" I asked, knowing where he was heading for, but not wanting to get there just yet. It had been an awkward, but indeed pleasant visit so far and I wasn't ready for a change of mood.
"With the Bullets," Everett elaborated. "You want to be able to come back to pack grounds, right?"
I sighed.
"Yeah, sure."
"Then what's your plan? What do we do now?"
The use of "we" sent a tiny shock to my chest. Something aching to appreciation reared its head, but I wasn't ready to acknowledge it so I chose to ignore it.
"I don't know, but it must be something grand."
The pack wouldn't take me back otherwise.
Huh, take me back.
As if I was actually one of them.
They had extended plenty of invitations, but every time they'd reached out, I'd made sure to do my best to push them away.
So, no, it wouldn't be "taking me back"; it would be "allowing me back on their grounds".
"You really have no ideas?" Everett prompted. "Even small ones?"
"Apart from donating money for the community fund?" I shrugged. "No clue. I'm not exactly known for apologizing."
"You apologized to Riley," he pointed out without missing a beat. "Something about a friend suggesting it...?"
He left the question opened, as if fishing for information he hadn't voiced. I couldn't help but tease again so I schooled my features and gave another shrug.
"A good friend?" He tried again, the awkwardness in his inflection giving him away.
I guessed we weren't at the point where he felt okay with asking me about having a boyfriend.
I pretended to ponder the question, letting him sweat it out a bit longer before I said:
"Yes, he's a good friend to me."
Everett studied me for a couple of heartbeats, but with my voice perfectly casual, he couldn't figure out if there was more to the story.
"Good." He finally said. "It's good that you have friends."
"Surprising too?"
"Yeah..." He reluctantly admitted. He then cleared his throat. "Do you need help with coming up with ideas? Concerning the pack, I mean."
"Do you have any?"
"None," he confessed. "I really thought that after seeing you've changed, they'd give you one more chance. I keep telling them how sweet you are to Ollie and I'll tell them how thoughtful you've become and how you've prepared for our visit, but the ones who don't want you there just keep saying that I'm biased."
"You kind of are."
I once again surprised him with my words. His mouth hung open before he adopted a very serious expression.
"I'm not lying, son. Or exaggerating. I really see a change in you, a positive change, and I think that now, with Ollie around, you could really feel at home with the pack."
"At home?" I couldn't help but laugh. "I don't care about most of the pack members. And I find all your rules suffocating."
Everett's face dropped, his shoulders slumping.
I exhaled loudly before I went to reassure him with a softer tone:
"I want back on pack grounds. I want to be able to visit. I just don't want to live there. Pack life isn't for me, dad."
Everett's head snapped back up, a tiny smile on his lips.
"I still can't used to you calling me dad. Without sneering, I mean."
I gave him yet another shrug; we were venturing into a way more emotional territory that I felt comfortable with.
Something like the lightest of electric charges buzzed in my hands and Ollie was back to a human form, giggling and stark naked.
"I'll go bring him some clothes." I said, handing the baby to Everett who immediately snuggled the little one close. "Be right back."
But once in my bedroom, I took a few moments to compose myself before taking the tiny outfit I'd prepared and laid out on my bed.
Everett and Ollie had left an hour ago. I'd washed our dishware and Ollie's baby bottle, cleaned up the leftovers of his clothes and put aside the toys and the new fluffy rug I'd bought especially for their visit. I'd considered removing the latches I'd installed for the occasion, but then decided to leave them on to bug Luca. With nothing else to do, I now rested on my couch, sucking on an ice popsicle while text briefing Adrian on how things had gone.
Everett and I had gone back to more lighthearted topics once I'd returned from the bedroom with the change of clothes for Ollie and we'd gotten the squirming little beast into them. They'd been washed with a lightly scented hypoallergenic washing powder and my baby brother seemed to enjoy the new smell as he spent a few minutes sniffing his new attire and giggling.
Everett had asked me more about the whole deal with the apologies and he'd almost hadn't tried to sniff out whether I was dating Adrian. I hadn't mentioned my friend's name as the two actually new each other from back when the Sentinel had been working on the serial killings case. Admitting that I had been the reason Adrian had been taken off that case was a can of worms I had no desire to open today.
Thankfully, Everett hadn't pried too much about who my friend was. What had surprised him was that Rhys was on my apologies list. Surprised, and delighted, and he'd been very eager to promise to arrange for me and his brother to meet.
By the end of his visit, Everett had been beaming, his smile only dimming when I'd invited them for another visit - maybe with Lisa in tow - and he'd remembered I couldn't return the favor. He'd promised to sing my praises to the Bullets and to try and find a way for the pack to let me back on their grounds.
My phone buzzed and I looked at the screen.
Adrian: Are we still on for tomorrow?
Alec: Sure.
I grinned and added:
Bring the mop.
And so, Everett and Ollie's first visit is over. Do you think Alec and Everett made any progress in their relationship?
Also, which do you think would be best: Alec figuring out on his own how to win the Bullets over, thus showing how much he wanted that and is ready to commit to that goal OR having Adrian come up with something OR having Everett somehow arrange it?
I've already figured out which it's going to be, but I'm curious about what you think.
And speaking of things I've figured out: seems like there will be 5-8 (okay, maybe 9) chapters before this story ends and I start uploading Kennedy's. Well, maybe I should say Kennedy and Horace's 'cause there's a lot of Horace in there too. Excited?
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