And while I had a feeling our get-together was more Wolfie’s idea than Chase’s, the gathering did seem like safe, neutral ground to hash out our differences, so I acted enthusiastic about the opportunity to meet up with my “old friend.” Keith didn’t even try to feign excitement, but unlike his dining choices, the volunteer work wasn’t optional. “You’re going,” Dale said simply, and Keith rolled his eyes before returning to his study of the last cheerios melting in the bottom of his bowl.
“I hate to miss the cleanup,” Dale continued, returning his attention to me, “but I have to do my rounds at the hospital tomorrow morning … .”
“I can take Keith,” I offered quickly, my guilt making me want to simplify my brother-in-law’s life, at least a little bit. I was eating the guy’s food and planning on stealing his son—the least I could do was a bit of ferry duty. But Dale had other plans.
“No, that’s all taken care of,” he replied. “I didn’t want to try to give you directions since it’s a bit tricky finding the place, so Chase will pick you both up tomorrow at ten.” The gangly doctor smiled at me as if he was doing me a big favor, and he probably thought he was—giving me an opportunity to spend more time with my old friend Chase.
Unfortunately, the last thing I wanted was to be stuck in a car with Wolfie, depending on the alpha’s good will to get me home. But there didn’t seem to be any way to wiggle my way out of the appointment, so I pasted a smile onto my face, thanked Dale for dinner, and did up the dishes like a good house guest. I might have been trying to turn his son into the heir of a bloodthirsty werewolf alpha, but I didn’t want Dale to think I was a layabout.
***
My basement room felt like a retreat after running the gauntlet of Keith’s indifference and Dale’s kindness during dinner, all while my wolf gnawed soundlessly but very noticeably at my bones. I sank onto the pull-out sofa with a sigh, ignoring the way the bar in the center dug into my back. As a ranger, I’d learned to sleep on anything, and since I was 100% sure the roof didn’t leak, this room met with my instant approval.
It was nearly dark outside and I could easily have fallen asleep, wiping the trials of the day away, but I had one more problem to overcome before I’d earned my rest. My father had given me a month to do his bidding, but he wasn’t a patient man, and I wanted to deliver Keith well under deadline. That meant teaching the kid to shift ASAP, and I was unlikely to do a good job as a mentor unless my wolf and I were on speaking terms. Our run today had given me hope that I might be able to push myself into a shift at will, and there was no time like the present to test that hypothesis.
After making sure the door was locked and the shades were drawn, I lay back on the couch and slowed my breathing. My most recent change had been the wolf’s idea, and my failure while searching for Melony could easily be dismissed as caused by stress during a difficult day. The truth was that I hadn’t tried to pull up my wolf in years except for those recent endeavors, preferring instead to act as human as possible while forced to live in a non-werewolf world. So I had no clue how hard or easy the shift would be.
Two hours later, I was forced to admit that the shift was neither hard nor easy—it was simply absent. My wolf refused to nibble at the bait, and I felt entirely as human when I finally gave up and flipped on the lamp as when I’d first laid down to meditate. The only change was that now I was 100% frustrated.
A soft tap on the door drew me away from my brown study. The room was small enough that I could turn the knob without leaving the bed, and I pulled the door open to reveal my nephew’s tall form. Keith was built like his father, but was even more awkward-looking since his muscle development was lagging behind his bone growth. There was another difference too—Keith was obviously more clueful than his father, as was evidenced by the first words out of his mouth.
“There’s a lot more going on than you’re telling Dad, isn’t there?” he asked.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. No way did I have the mental energy to have the Talk with an uninitiated werewolf right now. I was exhausted from my run and from the mental gyrations of the last few days, but I also didn’t want to blow Keith off when he was giving me an opening into his teenage psyche. Dale’s disjointed dinner conversation had proven one thing, at least—teenagers talked so rarely that you should listen when they did.
“Have you been sitting out in the hall all evening hoping my light would turn on?” I asked, stalling for time as I tried to decide on a plan of action.
Brooke’s son jerked one shoulder up into a shrug, then his mouth quirked upwards as well. “I had a feeling you weren’t sleeping,” he answered, and I couldn’t help smiling back at him. In that minute, his eyes looked just like my sister’s had when she’d stolen the last piece of pie that was supposed to be our father’s, then had shared it with me instead. The hint of innocent mischief was enough to raise a lump in my throat. Was I really going to turn this kid over to my father to be turned into a monster?