Chapter 3Gavin
CHAPTER
THREE
GAVIN
The kitchen is silent despite the company I’m currently keeping. The normal front-end chatter from customers is a pleasant background hum, and from the volume alone I know Strange Brew isn’t all that busy. Nothing Altair can’t handle on his own, that he hasn’t handled a dozen times in the past.
When he drops off an order, he doesn’t comment on Callum’s absence. Or Jules’ presence in the kitchen. Just goes about doing his job. One day, Strange Brew will be his, and I’m sure he has ideas on how to improve everything from the wallpaper to the recipes same as I did when I took over from my mother, but that day is years away.
At least he won’t have to fight his brothers for it. Baz isn’t interested in taking my place at the grill. Callum is too young to really know what he wants, but by the time he has any interest in Strange Brew, if he ever develops one, Altair will have already earned full rights to it through long days and difficult customers.
Pulling a chicken bacon patty melt with a side of hashbrowns off the grill, I carry the plated food to Jules. Usually, Callum is folding napkins or refilling condiment containers if he’s not out front taking orders, but he isn’t here. For the next few days, he’s going to stay home, and away from his best friend. Just until he calms down.
“You want water? A Coke or something?” I set the steaming plate on the worktable in front of Jules. “Altair makes a pretty good latte if you’d like a coffee.”
He picks at a loose thread on his worn jeans. “Water is fine.”
“The Coke is as free as the water, Jules. So is the coffee, for that matter.”
“Oh...” He bites his bottom lip, and I have a sudden urge to free it from between his teeth to prevent further abuse. Even covered in days if not weeks of grime, he’s pretty. He’s also a good twenty years younger than me, if not more. Too fucking young for me to be noticing he’s pretty. “Okay. Coke, please.”
I get him a drink before returning to the grill to be sure nothing burns. Jules eats slowly. If I know what kind of prey animal he is, I can adjust what I feed him to better accommodate any tastes he may have, but I’m not going to ask. Not because it’s rude, but because we’re strangers, and he’s obviously wary of me. If he keeps coming around, eventually I’ll sniff him out.
As jumpy as he is, he’s not a rabbit. Something cute and fluffy for sure. I’m neither cute nor fluffy. And neither are my three sons.
“Gavin?” Jules’ voice pulls me out of my thoughts. Probably a good thing. I shouldn’t be thinking so hard about the young man I’m only feeding. “Is your son’s friend going to be okay?”
I glance back. “You mean Silo?” He nods as he runs his fingers through the condensation on his glass. “Honestly? I can’t say. His stepfather is a Naturalist. You’ve heard of them?”
The movement has grown in popularity over the last decade. Too many people believe there should be a return to the old ways. Alphas at the top, the dominant partner, to be obeyed without question; omegas at the bottom, the submissive partner, obeying without question. Betas shunned because they aren’t alpha, omega, predator, or prey.
“I’ve heard of them.” His shoulders hunch as he wraps his arms around himself. He’s too thin and clearly hasn’t been sleeping. If he keeps coming around, I can at least make sure he’s well fed. If I thought he’d accept, I’d offer him the vacant bedroom in my house.
“Not too many people in Pine Glen subscribe to the idea,” I assure him, because any omega who has heard of the Naturalists knows they’re to be avoided. “But Thane—Silo’s dad—remarried a few months ago, and the guy... Finnick... Let’s just say he’s not well liked by most.”
Including me.
I keep hoping Thane will come to his senses and divorce the man before he does real damage to Silo, but I also know it’s not that easy. For an omega, finding a well-paying job and keeping it is a challenge. Most employers fire omegas that don’t use heat suppressors after they miss too much work because of their heat. As if they control when it comes or how long it lasts. Or they fire them because an omega in the workplace makes the surrounding alphas uneasy.
“That’s good to know,” Jules says as I plate the last meal for table seven.
Altair swoops in with his six senses, grabs the plate and slips out of the kitchen.
I tell Jules the same thing I told Callum as I sit across from him. “I’ll talk to Thane.” His plate and cup are empty. I don’t know how long the stew and bread I gave him lasted, but clearly he was hungry when he showed up today. “If it comes down to it, Altair keeps an emergency pack of suppressors at home. He won’t mind passing them to Silo until we figure something out.”
“Good. I’m glad.” Jules picks at his cuticles. The skin is already pink and abused. “I really didn’t mean to listen in earlier, and I know it’s not any of my business but—” He shrugs. “I was worried. More so if the alpha-parent isn’t his father.”
I lay my hand over the back of his. “We look after our own in Pine Glen, Jules. Silo will be taken care of. I promise you that.”
I’m more worried about Jules than I am about Silo.
He pulls his hand out from under mine and stands. “I should go. Thank you for the food.”
I stand as well. “Any time. I didn’t say it before, but I’m sorry about Callum. He’s going to feel like shit once things calm down. He’ll be the one apologizing.”
He shakes his head as he edges to the door. “It’s fine, he doesn’t have to. I shouldn’t have listened in; he had every right to be upset.”
“Jules.” I cup his elbow to halt him. He jerks under my hand, but doesn’t flee when I release him. “It’s not fine. You can accept it or give him a hard time for shoving you, but he will apologize. I don’t care how upset he is, it’s not an excuse. There’s never an excuse for how he handled you.”
He moves closer to the door; further away from me. “He’s just a kid. It’s a tough age.”
Callum is sixteen—just a kid. But he’s also a predator and an alpha. If anyone gives him an inch, he’ll take a mile, and that won’t end well. Especially for any omega he encounters. I’m not raising that kind of alpha.
“Kids who aren’t taught better, don’t do better.”
Jules pauses at the door, his brown eyes curious before a smile pulls at his mouth. “He’s lucky to have you. You’re a good person, Gavin.”