I wanted to tell him that we had yet another thing in common, but the words died on my tongue.
“You don’t know this world, Ox. Not yet. If you did, you would know my father’s name. He was very powerful. He was strong and brave and people worshipped the ground he walked on. Hell, I did too. But he wasn’t a nice man.”
My father had been a great man. I’d thought him strong and brave, and I’d worshipped the ground he walked on. But he’d never been very nice.
Dumb as an Ox.
Because I was gonna get shit.
“Packs like the Bennetts—old packs with long histories—have a witch brought into their folds. It’s meant to create peace and balance and add to the power of the Alpha. My father… he was Abel Bennett’s witch. Thomas’s father. The Bennett pack was bigger then. Stronger. Revered and feared.”
“What happened?” I asked quietly.
“He lost his tether,” Gordo said. He chuckled bitterly.
“Your mother?”
“No. Another woman. She… it doesn’t matter. She died. Werewolf. My father killed many people after that.”
I felt numb.
“I took his place,” Gordo said. “I was twelve.”
“Gordo—”
“I wasn’t ready. For the responsibility. I made mistakes. My father disappeared. Fuck knows if he’s even still alive. But I had a home. A place.”
“Gordo?”
“What.”
“I’m your tether.”
“Yeah.”
“Who was your tether before me?”
“It doesn’t matter.” He looked away.
But of course it did. “How long?”
“Jesus Christ.”
“How long were you without a tether?”
I didn’t think he’d answer. But then he said, “Years.”
“You fucking asshole,” I said hoarsely. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“I didn’t think—”
“No shit you didn’t think. You could have gotten hurt.”
He lit his cigarette. Inhaled deeply. Blew out the smoke. “I had it under control.”
“Fuck you and your control.”
His eyes snapped to mine. “Just because you’re in this now doesn’t mean you know shit about it, Ox. Don’t forget. I’ve had a lifetime of all of this. You’re a fucking child.”