Grady
said. “You have to come home.”
He turned his attention to his
cousin. “The hell I do. I like the life I have. I don’t have to answer to
anyone but myself. And I sure as shit don’t have to worry about archaic laws
that say we have to remain hidden from humans and werewolves.”
“You have a responsibility to the
family,” Jase said.
Taylor shook his head. “Haven’t you
been listening? That ended when my father banished me. I’m no longer in line to
take over.”
Blaise sighed. “That’s changed.
Father wanted me to take his place and I refused. You were always better suited
for the position than I’ll ever be. It didn’t take much for me to convince Dad
that you were still the one up for it.”
He met his brother’s gaze. “That’s
too bad. I don’t want it anymore. So that means you’ll have to take it, Blaise,
or some other member of the family will have to.”
Blaise slammed his fist on the
table, drawing the stares of the humans around them. His brother took a deep
breath, then said in a quiet tone, “This is not something you can just say no
to. There is no one else. After Dad decided you were once more in line to take
his place, no one else in the family would dare to step up.”
Taylor cursed under his breath.
Once the head of the family made a decree, it was final. That was why Taylor
couldn’t understand why his banishment had been overturned. It put him in a
spot where he didn’t want to be. Blaise was right. Taylor couldn’t tell them to
fuck off and go on as if they’d never spoken to him. Now that he’d been found,
others would come and take him back to Anchorage where his family lived, by
force if necessary.
Having lived in close proximity to
the werewolf sentinels, the very first werewolves, Taylor preferred the wolves
over the company of his kind. Edensaw, the alpha of the sentinels, didn’t rule
over his wolf brothers with an iron fist. He also didn’t think humans needed to
be kept in the dark about them at all costs. Christ, all of the wolf brothers’
mates had been human—or mortals as they called them—before being turned.
A cougar shifter having a human as
a mate was unheard of. Taylor had no idea what would happen if a male or female
of his kind ended up with one. That human sure as hell wouldn’t be welcomed
with open arms like the sentinels’ mates.
Taylor saw the determined looks on
his brother’s and cousins’ faces. They weren’t willing to let him walk away. He
had a feeling they were more than ready to drag him to Anchorage, no matter how
he felt about it.
“You’re not going to walk away and
leave me to live my life the way I want,” Taylor said as a statement rather
than a question. He already knew what the answer was.
“We can’t,” Blaise replied. “Father
wants you back home…before the end.”
“He’s that bad?”
His brother nodded. “Yes.”
“How? He isn’t close to his time.”
They weren’t as long-lived as
modern-day werewolves, who could reach the age of three thousand, but they
lived longer than humans. A cougar shifter’s life didn’t end until he or she
was close to two hundred years old. His father was only sixty-five.
“Caleb doesn’t know. It’s some kind
of illness he’s never seen before. It makes Father grow weaker almost by the
day, and nothing Caleb does counteracts it. Father is wasting away before our
eyes.”
Caleb was another cousin, and a
doctor. Taylor scowled. An illness? Their kind never got sick. Ever. Human
ailments like cancer and other diseases of that nature didn’t affect them
either. “How can he be ill to the point of dying? It shouldn’t be possible.”
“We don’t know how. We just know he
is, and has been for over six months now. So you’ll come home with us?”
Taylor sighed. “You really haven’t
left me much choice.”
Jase smiled as he placed his
now-empty coffee cup on the table. “Then let’s go to your place, pack up your
stuff and be on our way home.
said. “You have to come home.”
He turned his attention to his
cousin. “The hell I do. I like the life I have. I don’t have to answer to
anyone but myself. And I sure as shit don’t have to worry about archaic laws
that say we have to remain hidden from humans and werewolves.”
“You have a responsibility to the
family,” Jase said.
Taylor shook his head. “Haven’t you
been listening? That ended when my father banished me. I’m no longer in line to
take over.”
Blaise sighed. “That’s changed.
Father wanted me to take his place and I refused. You were always better suited
for the position than I’ll ever be. It didn’t take much for me to convince Dad
that you were still the one up for it.”
He met his brother’s gaze. “That’s
too bad. I don’t want it anymore. So that means you’ll have to take it, Blaise,
or some other member of the family will have to.”
Blaise slammed his fist on the
table, drawing the stares of the humans around them. His brother took a deep
breath, then said in a quiet tone, “This is not something you can just say no
to. There is no one else. After Dad decided you were once more in line to take
his place, no one else in the family would dare to step up.”
Taylor cursed under his breath.
Once the head of the family made a decree, it was final. That was why Taylor
couldn’t understand why his banishment had been overturned. It put him in a
spot where he didn’t want to be. Blaise was right. Taylor couldn’t tell them to
fuck off and go on as if they’d never spoken to him. Now that he’d been found,
others would come and take him back to Anchorage where his family lived, by
force if necessary.
Having lived in close proximity to
the werewolf sentinels, the very first werewolves, Taylor preferred the wolves
over the company of his kind. Edensaw, the alpha of the sentinels, didn’t rule
over his wolf brothers with an iron fist. He also didn’t think humans needed to
be kept in the dark about them at all costs. Christ, all of the wolf brothers’
mates had been human—or mortals as they called them—before being turned.
A cougar shifter having a human as
a mate was unheard of. Taylor had no idea what would happen if a male or female
of his kind ended up with one. That human sure as hell wouldn’t be welcomed
with open arms like the sentinels’ mates.
Taylor saw the determined looks on
his brother’s and cousins’ faces. They weren’t willing to let him walk away. He
had a feeling they were more than ready to drag him to Anchorage, no matter how
he felt about it.
“You’re not going to walk away and
leave me to live my life the way I want,” Taylor said as a statement rather
than a question. He already knew what the answer was.
“We can’t,” Blaise replied. “Father
wants you back home…before the end.”
“He’s that bad?”
His brother nodded. “Yes.”
“How? He isn’t close to his time.”
They weren’t as long-lived as
modern-day werewolves, who could reach the age of three thousand, but they
lived longer than humans. A cougar shifter’s life didn’t end until he or she
was close to two hundred years old. His father was only sixty-five.
“Caleb doesn’t know. It’s some kind
of illness he’s never seen before. It makes Father grow weaker almost by the
day, and nothing Caleb does counteracts it. Father is wasting away before our
eyes.”
Caleb was another cousin, and a
doctor. Taylor scowled. An illness? Their kind never got sick. Ever. Human
ailments like cancer and other diseases of that nature didn’t affect them
either. “How can he be ill to the point of dying? It shouldn’t be possible.”
“We don’t know how. We just know he
is, and has been for over six months now. So you’ll come home with us?”
Taylor sighed. “You really haven’t
left me much choice.”
Jase smiled as he placed his
now-empty coffee cup on the table. “Then let’s go to your place, pack up your
stuff and be on our way home.
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