Chapter 321
Chapter 321
Avery’s POV
Bjorn’s door was still closed when I reached the top of the stairs. It was silent inside, which was somehow worse than if he had been throwing a tantrum or playing loud music to drown me out. I knocked twice, and when there was no answer, I pushed the door open a crack.
“Can I come in?” I asked.
He was sitting on the floor with his back against the bed, knees pulled up to his chest. He didn’t lift his head from where it was tucked into his knees, but he didn’t tell me to fuck off, so I took that as permission.
Entering the room, I set the plate of cookies on his nightstand and sat down next to him. Neither of us said anything for a while.
“You want to tell me what the kid said?” I finally asked.
Bjorn’s jaw tightened. “It doesn’t matter p>
“It matters to me p>
He didn’t answer for a long moment.
“He said I didn’t have a real family,” he finally muttered. “He said wolves don’t have fathers. That I was probably born from some random rogue in a ditch somewhere p>
I felt the words land right in my heart. “And you hit him for that p>
“I hit him a lot,” Bjorn said, without a trace of remorse.
I should have scolded him again. I’d given the same lecture so many times by now that I practically had it memorized. But sitting here, looking at the dried blood on his knuckles, all I could think was that I understood why he’d snapped.
“You can’t keep doing this,” I said. “You put him in the hospital, Bjorn. Two broken ribs p>
“I know,” he muttered. He reached up and grabbed a cookie off the plate and took a big bite. “Did my dad ever lose his temper like this p>
There it was. The question I’d been waiting for, dreading for years, the one that had been creeping closer and closer as Bjorn got older and started asking more things I didn’t want to answer,
I chose my words carefully. “Your father had a strong wolf,” I said. “That’s where
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Chapter 321
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you get it from p>
“But who was he p>
“I’ve told you as much as I can,” I said. “He was a wolf from the packs. No one worth knowing p>
That was a lie. It was the one major lie I’d always kept from my son. I kept telling myself that he could find out who Gideon was once he was older and could fully understand, but then the years kept coming and I never found the strength to say it.
Bjorn leaned his head back against the bed frame and stared at the ceiling. “I don’t fit in here, Mom. I never have, even before my wolf came out p>
“You’re still figuring things out, honey p>
“I’ve been figuring things out my whole life and it hasn’t gotten any better.” He huffed. “The kids here don’t like me. The teachers are scared of me. The headmaster just kicked me out. And it’s not going to change, because I’m not human, and I’m never going to be p>
“Bjorn p>
“I want to go to the packs,” he said abruptly
The room went very still. I stared at him, and he stared back, a silent challenge.
“No,” I finally said.
“Why not p>
I stood. “We’ve been over this. It’s not safe in the packs p>
“But the packs are where wolves live. Where we’re supposed to live. Why would it not be safe for wolves to go where wolves live p>
“It’s complicated,” I said carefully, “The packs have their own rules. Their own hierarchies. It’s not like the human world. There are Alphas, Betas, Omegas, and every single one of those rankings comes with its own set of expectations and dangers. You weren’t raised in that world. You don’t know how to navigate it p>
D
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