“Why?”
“I don’t know,” Mark said. “Maybe his work isn’t quite finished.” He chuckled. “Or maybe he’s just a stubborn asshole Alpha who doesn’t know how to let things go.”
It wasn’t just him. I remembered the woman. Madam Penelope. And Robbie telling us of his visions in Caswell. How he’d seen other wolves aside from Joe and Ox. Mom’s dream of Dad, and how she’d woken up with her stone wolf in her hand, though she’d buried it long before.
Snow began to drift down from the sky. It was nothing more than flurries, small flakes that spun around in the air. “He’d have liked Gavin.”
“Yeah,” Mark said as he sat back, keeping his hand on the back of my neck. “He would have. Very much, in fact. He would’ve been curious about him. Marveled at him. Told him how proud he was that he’d survived all that he’d been through. And he would have welcomed him with open arms. It pulled at him, I think. Which is why he went to Gavin as he did to tell him the truth.”
“He still should have told Gordo.”
“He should have,” Mark said. “But then he should’ve done many things that he didn’t do. Maybe that’s why we still feel him. Maybe that’s why he’s still here. Or maybe we’re just both out of our minds still. Little residual Omega stuck in our brains.”
“That was a weird time.”
“No shit. Look. Here they come.”
Gavin and Gordo were walking back toward us. Both of them had their hands in their coat pockets, their breath streaming behind them. Their elbows brushed together. I was struck then by just how similar they were. They even walked the same, though it might have been Gavin trying to be like his brother more than anything else. They were both scowling.
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered. “There are two of them now.”
Mark sounded like he was choking. “I didn’t even think about that. Holy shit. I have someone to talk to now about that motherfucker.”
I was horrified. “No. No. You do not get to talk to me about your sex life. I’m already scarred enough as it is. What in the actual fuck?”
Mark stared at me. “Why on earth would you think I was talking about sex?” Then he grinned, and it was evil. “You’ve got something on your mind, Carter?”
“Boundaries!” I yelled, and Gavin and Gordo’s heads snapped up at the same time. “We need boundaries!”
“I’m your uncle, Carter. And also your better. If you need some advice, I’m sure I can give you—”
I threw open the door and got out of the truck. I glared at Gordo. “Your mate is terrible and you should feel bad.”
Gordo shrugged. “I don’t. He’s a big boy. He can handle himself.”
I gagged. “Stop talking about how big he is! I don’t need to know that!”
Gordo rolled his eyes. “Come on, Gavin. Apparently it was a bad idea to leave these two idiots alone.”
“Yeah,” Gavin said. “Those idiots. Did you know Carter is stupid? He almost dies a lot.”
“I know. It’s a Bennett thing. Trust me, you think you can stop them or even get used to it, but then they go and do something ridiculous and you have to save them. Again.”
“And again,” Gavin said, scowling at me. “Don’t know why they can’t see it.”
“Right?” Gordo said. “You’d think they’d learn after the eighth or ninth time.”
I gaped at them.
“What?” Gordo snapped.
“Yeah,” Gavin said, that familiar scowl on his face. “What?”
I turned my face toward the sky. “This is all my fault. I deserve this. I should have seen this coming.”
“What’s he talking about?” Gavin asked his brother.
“I stopped listening a long time ago,” Gordo said, pushing him toward the truck. “If you’re going to stick around, you’d probably best start doing the same.”