Page 10 of The Lunatics

“He is my brother. I would support him in any endeavor. Isn’t that what you raised us to do?”

“Don’t throw my own words back at me,” she said, voice cracking like a whip. “What time will you be home tonight?”

“We have been…” Michael glanced over at me. “Delayed. Expect me home tomorrow.”

She made a sound of disgust, and then the line went dead. What kind of a mother hung up on their kid without so much as saying goodbye?

Michael slipped the phone back into his pocket. “Please, forgive her. Nathaniel’s decision has left her rattled.”

I glanced over at him. “Can’t wait to see how she reacts toyournews.”

“The wordcatastrophiccomes to mind.”

I laughed.

He didn’t. Not even a trace of humor played about his lips.

Shit. He was serious.

I spent the next several minutes battling back the tide of anxiety that threatened to drag me out to sea. We emerged from the path to see that his Range Rover was already gone from the parking lot, and I hoped his brother was faring better than we were.

“It’s open,” I told him when we reached my truck.

We climbed in and shut the doors. Michael’s scent quickly filled the cabin, much stronger than the smell of any other werewolf I’d met, testosterone and musk and maleness combining in a unique way that was all his own.

“Do the windows roll down?” he asked, leaning away from me.

I jammed the key in the ignition and turned it, and the engine thundered to life. I don’t know who was faster reaching for the window control, him or me.

“I don’t smell,” I said. “The bond just makes us hypersensitive to each other’s scents.”

He stared at me, silent. In my head, he felt a little freaked out. Good. About time he caught up to the rest of the class.

I put the truck in drive and pulled out of my parking space. The trip to my parents’ house was a short and quiet one. Ourpack’s land extended across two mountain ridges, and its members made their homes in the limited space of the valley between them. The warm summer night was cloudless. At this altitude, the stars looked close enough that I could reach out and pluck them from the deep expanse of black they were nestled in. Like diamonds on a jeweler’s cloth.

My gaze went to the moon.Why?I asked Her.

She remained silent.

Ten awkwardly silent minutes later, I pulled into my parents’ driveway, where I cut the engine and turned toward Michael. “I’m sorry if they say anything to insult you. They’re not great with surprises, and they’re both smart-asses by nature. The fact that I didn’t tell them I was going to the ceremony will annoy them. The fact that, regardless of the circumstances, they missed my bonding might break their hearts a little.”

He nodded. “I understand. You can trust me to keep my composure.”

Weirdly, I did.

We got out of the truck, and I led him up to my parents’ front door.

“Mom? Dad?” I called as we walked inside.

“We’re in the kitchen, honey!” Mom yelled back.

I found them sitting on barstools at the kitchen island. Mom held a glass of wine, Dad a beer. Mom wore one of her favorite summer dresses, Dad a new pair of jeans and a nice button-down. Their cheeks were rosy, like these weren’t their first drinks of the night, and belatedly I remembered that they’d gone on a date to celebrate my mom’s new promotion.

“I’m guessing no one’s told you yet,” I said by way of greeting.

“Told us what?” Mom asked, looking past me to Michael. “And who’s this handsome young man?”

I stood aside and made the introductions. “Mom, Dad, thisis Michael Kolbeck. Michael, these are my parents, Christina and Jonathan Fitzpatrick.”