“And you know all the witches?”
“Handpicked dem myself.” He paused. “Couldn’t hurt to talk to a couple of dem. Make sure dere on da up-and-up.”
“Do that,” Ox said. “Let me know what you find out. If I need to come out there, I will.”
“It can’t keep like this forever,” Patrice said as Aileen muttered her agreement in the background. “It’s a stopgap. Whatever you’re planning, you gotta do it soon, Alpha. He can’t get to Robbie like he used to, but dat don’t mean he won’t try. And den dere’s Gavin.”
“I know,” Ox said as Gavin cowered behind me.
THE FULL MOON CAME ON A SUNDAY.
We ate until we thought we would burst.
The moon was singing here i am here i am run run run.
Bambi stayed at the pack house with Joshua. She told us she’d be fine, that all of us could go, but Jessie wasn’t having it. “I’ll stay here with her. Better to be safe than sorry.” She kissed Dominique before shoving us all toward the door. “Go. Do your wolf thing. I’ll set up the blankets and pillows for when you all get back.”
“Thank Christ,” Tanner said, already pulling off his clothes. “I need to fucking kill something.” He dropped his pants and kicked them off before standing with his hands on his hips. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”
“I really wish you hadn’t gotten so used to being naked,” Rico muttered. “I’ve seen more dick in the last few years than I ever have in my entire life.” He shook his head. “My kid is going to be so fucked in the head, I tell you what.”
“You’re already naked too,” Bambi pointed out.
Rico looked down at himself. “Huh. How about that. I didn’t even notice. You like what you see?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.
“Oh yeah,” she said. “Ox is hot.”
“Hey!”
Gavin was standing away from the rest of us. He was wringing his hands and gnawing on his bottom lip. I went over to him, pulling his hands apart before he broke his own fingers. “All right?”
He nodded jerkily. “I stay here too.”
I frowned. “What? You don’t have to do that. Jessie can handle herself.”
“Not that.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then what is it?”
He grimaced, looking over my shoulder at the others. He leaned forward, dropping his voice. “Full moon. Run in forest.”
“Yeah, man. That’s what we do. You know that.”
“Pack pack pack.”
“And?”
He looked miserable. “I’m not… it’s not….” He scowled as he began to hit the side of his own head.
“Don’t do that,” I scolded him, holding his hands so he wouldn’t hurt himself. “Stop.”
“Words hard,” he muttered. “Still can’t use them all. Tongue gets heavy. Brain not working right.”
“Your brain works just fine. It’ll take some time. You’re still getting used to being human again.”
“Omega. I’m Omega.” He flashed his violet eyes.
“I can see that.”