Chapter Seven #2
Her lips tingled from their kiss. Cyrus was right about one thing—whatever happened, whatever this was between them wasn’t over.
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Cyrus raced though the forest fighting the urge to go back to Vinnie. Leaving her alone felt wrong, but allowing their son to suffer was equally wrong. And right now, only one of them was facing a matter of life and death.
“She can handle herself.” He wasn’t lying when he’d said he’d never met a woman more capable of taking care of business. Part of him worried she wouldn’t need him once Adam was safely at home, assuming he made it through his first transition.
“Suck it up,” he muttered. It was pure supposition on his part that Adam would be forced to try to shift under tomorrow night’s full moon.
But he couldn’t shake the knowing in his gut or the drive his wolf had to hunt down the boy before then.
Instinct had always guided him. Right now, it was urging him to hurry.
He stopped and listened intently. Sound traveled more easily at night, but he heard only the whisper of the nocturnal animals hunting, the swoop of an owl as it dove through the air in search of prey, and the hum of the insects.
Adam was smart, he’d give him that, but Cyrus was a full-blooded wolf who’d been tracking his entire life.
There was nowhere he could go that Cyrus wouldn’t find him.
Now that he didn’t need to worry about Vinnie keeping up with him, he stripped off his clothes, bundled them together, making sure the stuffed bear was safe inside, and set his wolf free.
His wolf leaped forward, eager to begin the search. He shook all over to settle his fur and sniffed the air, sifting through the layers of Adam’s scents until he found the strongest. With the bundle of clothes clutched in his jaws, he set a brutal pace.
He wound his way over rocky terrain, splashed through a narrow creek, and raced through the woods, leaping over downed trees. The scent was growing more powerful by the second. Adam had to be close by.
Rather than race headlong into an unknown situation, he forced himself to stop. A whisper in the air had him going flat on the ground. A knife slammed into a tree directly above him. If he hadn’t ducked it would have hit him.
He dropped the bundle of clothing and snarled, exposing sharp teeth.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Rather than retreat, the tall, lanky teen held his hands out in front of him and bent his knees—a fighting stance.
Cyrus stared into the fearful but determined eyes of Adam Grant, his son.
The reality of it slammed into him, momentarily knocking the wind from his lungs.
The similarities between them were undeniable—the square jaw, the razor cheekbones, and shaggy brown hair.
He’d seen the school picture, but that was nothing compared to the reality.
Adam licked his lips. “Get away. Shoo!”
Cyrus shifted, going from animal to man in a heartbeat. His son’s eyes widened and his breathing increased. He was scared out of his mind but holding his ground. Like mother, like son.
Adam stumbled back, ramming into a tree. “What the heck! You were a wolf!”
“Yes, I was.” He crouched down, dug the stuffed toy from the bundle, and held it up so the boy could see. “Your mother sent this, said his name was Benjamin.”
Rather than put him at ease, the boy’s agitation increased. “I don’t understand. Who are you? What are you?”
There was no easy way to explain this, no telling how he’d react. To give them both a bit of extra time, and put his son more at ease, Cyrus pulled on his jeans and the rest of his clothes. While werewolves were casual about nudity, he didn’t make a habit of walking around naked.
Adam’s eyes darted to one side. He was thinking of running. “I’ll catch you. You’re fast, but I’m faster.” Best to get the hardest part over first. “As for who I am, I’m your dad.”
Adam shook his head in immediate denial, his hands clenched into fists by his sides.
“That’s a lie. Mom told me she didn’t know his name, that he was some one-night stand.
That she was young and did something out of character, but how she never regretted it because it gave her me.
” The boy’s voice cracked at the end, but his fierce defense of his mama pleased Cyrus.
His son’s denial hurt, but that was his problem, not Adam’s. “I’m not lying and neither was your mom. After the searchers couldn’t find you, she set out to hire a private tracker. That’s how she found me. I had no idea I had a son until she told me.”
The teen gave a howl, more animal than human, and ran at Cyrus, fury unleashed. His fist slammed into Cyrus’s face, turning his head with the force of the blow, but it didn’t move him from where he stood. He didn’t even try to defend himself. He figured his son was owed this.
Breathing heavily, Adam backed away, shaking his hand as he went. “You bastard. You left her alone.”
“She left me first. You must understand, I assumed the chances of her becoming pregnant were so small as to be virtually nonexistent.”
Bitter laughter rang out through the night. “You were wrong about that, weren’t you?”
Cyrus swallowed heavily. “If I’d known, if I’d had any idea, nothing would have kept me away.
” Regret was a bitter pill to swallow. No amount of remorse would ease the gaping wound in his heart or replace the years he’d lost with both Vinnie and his son.
The ache in his chest expanded, the pain relentless.
“Your mother is special. I knew if I came back here and found her, I’d never let her go.
It wasn’t safe for her to be with me, because of what I am.
I was protecting her.” That truth was the only thing that had gotten him through the long, lonely years.
“You were protecting yourself.” The words struck harder than the punch had.
“Yes, I was.” He wouldn’t lie to his son. “I also had responsibilities I couldn’t shirk. People depending on me.” He wouldn’t apologize for the hard decisions he’d had to make. It was time his son faced some harsh truths. “Do you have any idea what I am?”
The boy’s throat rippled as he swallowed. His rage had momentarily driven away the fear, but it was back with a vengeance. He shook his head in denial.
It was too much to expect a kid to handle, especially one who’d been raised human, without an inkling of his heritage. If things hadn’t been so dire he’d have tried to soften the truth, but they were running out of time.
“You know what I am. You just won’t say it.”
“It’s not real. It can’t be real.”
“You sense the wolf inside you, don’t you?
” He wanted to drag his son into his arms, but any overture on his part would be rejected.
Adam was angry and scared and confused. His wolf growled, unhappy with the situation.
“That’s why you ran, isn’t it?” Ready or not, he had to force Adam to face the truth.
“Hybrid children are extremely rare. Most live normal lives with enhanced senses and excellent health.” He wanted to shield his son from the truth but that would do more harm than good.
“Legend whispers of the rarest of the rare, ones who are gifted by the wolf, who feel their wild call.”
Adam clutched his hands to his head and yanked on his hair. “I don’t want this. Make it stop.”
Cyrus had lost both his parents young and shouldered responsibilities that would have crushed most men.
He’d also killed. Those experiences had made him harder, stronger.
He thought he’d understood pain, but nothing he’d been through in his thirty-eight years equaled this.
It ripped at his heart and tore at his guts.
There was nothing he could do or say to stop what was coming for Adam.
“I can’t,” he whispered. “But I can help you get through this. Your mom and I can both help you.”
“Why won’t she go home?” A lone tear trailed down his cheek.
“She loves you more than life itself. She’ll never stop looking.” Taking a chance, he tossed the stuffed bear at Adam who snatched it out of midair.
“I can’t believe she brought this with her.” He rubbed the beloved toy against his face and sniffed. “I can’t go back.”
Cyrus nodded in agreement. “No, you can’t. Tomorrow night is the full moon.”
“You can’t be serious? Assuming I’m not hallucinating all of this, you were a wolf and the moon isn’t full tonight.”
“Our kind always makes their first transition under the light of the full moon. After that, assuming you survive, you’ll be able to shift at will.”
His eyes widened and he paled. “Assuming I survive?”
“I won’t lie. It’s rough on full-blooded werewolves.
” And not all of them made it. Adam needed to listen, to believe him if he wanted to live.
“That’s why you need me. It’s why you need your mom.
You’re only partially human. Wolves are pack animals at heart.
She’s not only your mama but your alpha.
You’ll be able to draw on her strength, my strength. ”
“I don’t know what to do.”
Scared and exhausted from running from himself, his son had outwitted all the searchers. It was time he let someone else help him.
“You’re not alone. Not anymore.” He held out his hand, every nerve ending in his body jumping.
“You have your mom. You have me. You also have uncles who are going to love you.” They’d protect Cyrus’s son with their lives.
And it might come down to that at some point, but that was for the future.
First, they needed to get past this hurdle. “Let me help you.”
“Why do you care?” Fatigue and belligerence echoed in the question.
“Because you’re my son.” That was the beginning and end of it. Taking a chance, he closed the distance between them and rested his hands on Adam’s shoulders. “Because you’re mine.”
His son stood like a statue before he suddenly lurched forward and grabbed him.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Cyrus wrapped his arms around Adam, closed his eyes, and swallowed heavily when emotion threatened to overwhelm him.
His wolf gave a growl of contentment. It was a beginning, the first step in the rest of their lives.