Page 54 of Same One
“Seriously? Why do you have a gun. You have a wolf. A big one. Why would you need this?”
Bayen seemed serious, so Tabian reached over and shut the glove compartment. “A while back my Pack was at war. We were booted out of the government land and stripped of our ranks, our identity, our Pack name, the works. My Alpha was glue. He kept us together. It came with some bloodshed though while we carved out our place here.”
“With a rival Pack?”
“And with the Elders. We are operating outside of their power now. I don’t know how much you know about the Elders, but they don’t really like losing control.”
“I’ve seen Elders before. They’re assholes.”
“Language.”
“You cuss.”
“I’m not a sixteen-year-old boy.”
“My dad said I can cuss as long as I don’t suck at it.”
Aaaah. There it was—the first mention of Tru’s ex.
“Well, then who am I to tell you to stop?” Tabian asked.
Bayen was staring at him with a deep frown etched into his face.
“What?” Tabian asked after a minute.
“I’m waiting for the punchline. You’re trying to be the new stepdad, right?”
“Hell no. You’re annoying, and rude, and your wolf is out of control. I’m not trying to claim that as my problem. You would fight me every step of the way if I tried. I was like you once. I would’ve done the same thing if another man came in and tried to tell me what to do.”
Bayen finally looked away from him and back out the window. He was quiet now.
“I’m not looking for a stepdad position with you, kid. I could just be Tabian, same as Tru is Trudy to you. I’m going to be around though. You’ll fight it, clearly. You’re going to insult me and distance yourself and make Tru pay for being happy, and we will see how long you carry on. You won’t chase me away though. I like her.”
Bayen tossed him a dirty look, then back to the window. “I can get rid of you.”
“You think so? You mean if you give Tru ultimatums? Maybe. It would hurt Tru though. Why would you want to hurt her?”
“Look, we both know why you are here,” Bayen snapped. “Tru has something that draws in the damn werewolves. She has a giving heart and she gets taken advantage of easily by you deadbeats. She has something you want or something you need, and you will do whatever it takes to get it until she is drained, and a shell of herself. Only you got to her too late. You arepicking up scraps. She doesn’t have any money. Do you know how much life she used to have in her? When I first met her? I was in middle school and she took me on so many adventures. She was always smiling. Always laughing. Always talking to her friends on the phone, and they were hilarious. She was hilarious. She could light up a room without even trying. You couldn’t be in a bad mood around her, because she would drag you up and have you laughing, even if you wanted to be mad. The Tru you think you know isn’t her at all. This is the leftover Tru after my dad deconstructed her. He took his time too. He made her doubt herself, stole her smile away, and chased her friends off. I watched it. He only came around to keep her in line with these stupid controlling rules only he understood, and then he left, and he dumped me on her and now I’m…I’m…fuck.”
“You’re what?”
“I’m the one that drains her now. She can’t take any more. Do you understand? She can’t take another one of us. I’ll be eighteen in two years. I’m looking for a part-time job now. I’m going to save up for a truck, and get through high school, and work up in my job, and move out, and she will be free to find herself again. She has two years, bro. Two years and she’s free of what my dad did.” He jammed a finger at Tabian. “Youare going to mess that up.”
And there it was. There was where the anger came from.
Bayen wasn’t just some idiot kid who only thought about himself. He had self-awareness. He had a plan. He wanted a good future for Tru and he saw Tabian as a threat to that.
Okay.
Okay.
“My dad left when I was ten,” Tabian admitted low.
“Is this the part where you bond with me over our sad childhoods?” Bayen asked sarcastically. “No thanks.”
“Nah. It’s an awful thing to bond over. I just know from personal experience that sometimes when a parent leaves, a kid takes on a lot of stuff that isn’t theirs to take on.”
“Yeah, now think about how it is for Tru. She didn’t even have me. She didn’t even know me when I was little. She came into my life when I was in seventh grade. And now she has to deal with all my shit because my dad didn’t feel like putting in the effort.”
