Forge lets off another growl, but a softer one this time.
I fight back a smile and slide my hand into Forge’s. “Civilized might be a stretch,” I say, but inside, I’m glowing like a lantern. Is it really possible that I’ve changed Forge for the better? I hold onto that thought to digest later.
Forge squeezes my hand. “Let’s go,” he grunts.
We ridefor a couple more hours. When it starts to get dark, we stop at a motel for the night. We freshen up, then meet Griff for dinner at a place across the street.
He’s easy-going, but Forge is growly and possessive all evening, and I like it more than I should. I love the way he has me sit beside him in the booth, and keeps his arm around me all night long, showing the world I’m his. I love the little kisses he keeps pressing to my temples, and the murmured compliments in my ear that make me tingle all over.
“Are you in Forge’s pack?” I ask Griff, halfway through dinner. But that turns out to be the wrong thing to say, because Forge gets all snarly again, until I expect smoke to start pouring out of his nostrils.
“What is it?” I look from one to the other. But suddenly they’re both busy studying the dessert menu.
I can’t stand it anymore. I slap my hand down on the table.
Two pairs of startled eyes lock onto mine.
I rest my elbows on the table, tent my fingertips together. “So, there’s probably a bunch of politics I don’t understand here. But I know Forge is a good guy—because he saved me from his pack before I was even his mate. And I’m gonna guess you’re a good guy, Griff, since you’re about to ride into a ton of danger to rescue my nitwit brother. So, what gives? Why d’you all hate each other’s guts?”
There’s a shocked silence.
And then Forge grunts and knocks back the remainder of his scotch.
“Griff, here—” Forge points at him. “Is my cousin. We were born on the same day, so people used to call us the twins. There was a lot of rivalry and competition between us. Then, when we were teens, Griff uncovered an old pack law that allowed one child per generation to leave the pack. You know what my pack’s like. This was a big deal.
“But this asshole—” He stabs a finger at Griff. “Kept it quiet. And on our sixteenth birthday, he announced that he was leaving. Turned out that whoever made the announcement first got their wish.”
Griff raises his hands, looking guilty. Now I know they’re cousins, I see the family resemblance—the broad jaw and cheekbones. But where Forge is full of fire, Griff seems to belong to another element. His blue eyes are calm, not stormy like Forge’s. Maybe it’s a consequence of having left the pack, I think and I squeeze Forge’s hand as sympathy floods through me.
“I’m sorry. You know I am. But what can I say?” Griff says. “It was me or him. We both wanted out.”
“We could’ve fought, wolf to wolf,” Forge growls.
I raise an eyebrow. “Would that have helped?”
“Yeah. I would’ve flattened his ass.” The bones in Forge’s face are broadening and I see his animal close to the surface.
“So, you were more deserving of freedom, because you were better at fighting?”
Forge gives a snort of disgust.
“Not true,” Griff mutters, also looking kind of feral.
“Seems like either way, one of you had to lose,” I venture, wondering if I’m getting into dangerous territory. But I feel like this has to be said. I hate that there’s so much animosity between them. “You could’ve flipped a coin… or anything. But one of you was going to get your freedom, and the other… well, the other had a different destiny.” I lean over and plant a kiss on my mate’s lips.
At first his mouth is unyielding, but gradually he softens, leans into the kiss.
“The problem is with the pack, not you, or you,” I say.
“I’m trying to make it up to you now, bro,” Griff says.
“I know,” Forge replies, staring down at the table. “Guess I would’ve done the same.”
At last, the two werewolves make eye contact. Forge stretches his hand across the table, and Griff takes it.
My heart lifts. And finally, I understand how much it cost Forge to recruit Griff’s services to help me find Demetrius, and I’m even more touched.
“Thank you for tonight,”Forge says as we walk back to our motel room, hand in hand.