Gillham Pack 19 - Calvin Read online

  “That’s not what I asked you to do. I’m just afraid you’ll get hurt.”

  Calvin shrugged. “I probably will. I’ll stick with him, though.” He chuckled. “Did Kameron tell you his name?”

  “Ah, no. He just said to bring you over because you apparently have a brother.”

  “Let’s go, then. Not that I don’t like making out with you in the snow.” Calvin blushed and looked down at Alex’s chin rather than straight in his eyes. “But I have a brother, and I can’t wait to meet him.”

  Alex nodded and kissed the tip of Calvin’s nose. “Let’s go then.”

  They started walking again, and Alex wondered what would happen. They’d meet Calvin’s brother, then what? Was the kid going to move in with them? Was he here alone, or did he have his foster family with him? What had happened to Calvin and his brother anyway? To their parents?

  Calvin hadn’t known he had a brother. The kid was three years younger than Calvin, so Alex guessed it was possible they’d been separated when Calvin was young and he couldn’t remember the kid. Alex didn’t know how the foster system worked, so he wouldn’t know if brothers were kept together or not, although at least in this case the answer was obviously no.

  And why had the kid landed in Gillham? Had he made his way here like Calvin had? He had to be a Labrador shifter like Calvin, but did he know that? Was that the reason he was here?

  “I can see the smoke coming out of your ears,” Calvin said in an amused voice.

  Alex shook himself. “What?”

  “You’re thinking too hard. It’s almost as if this guy is your long-lost brother rather than mine.”

  Alex shrugged. “I’m just thinking about the future.”

  Calvin’s smile softened. “I know. I’m trying not to think about it, though. It’s no use, not before we find out what’s happening.”

  “You’re obviously smarter than me.”

  Calvin snorted. “I don’t know about that.”

  They stepped into the clearing where Kameron’s house stood, and they both fell silent. Calvin was almost vibrating with nerves, and no matter how much Alex wanted to help him calm down, he knew it would be no use. Calvin would feel better after meeting his brother, and only after that.

  They walked in, left their jackets and boots by the door, and made their way toward Kameron’s office. The door was open. Alex wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t the sulky, younger version of Calvin pouting on the couch.

  Damn, there was no way the kid could deny he and Calvin were related. His brown hair was shorter, he was wearing glasses, and he was obviously younger, but he looked like what Calvin must have looked like at sixteen.

  Kameron cleared his throat from where he was sitting on the other couch, and Alex finally moved again. He pulled Calvin along, because Calvin seemed to be just as frozen as he’d been seconds before.

  They both sat down, and Calvin never looked away from his brother. Alex decided he should probably be the one to start talking, because they’d still be there next year if they waited for Calvin to do it. “What happened?”

  Kameron leaned forward. He looked amused, and he kept looking from Calvin to his brother. “Well, Bran got a call yesterday evening. A teenager shifted in school yesterday afternoon, and people were freaking out. Apparently, they wanted to dump the kid in a police station or something, but the police had no clue what to do with him.”

  “The kid has a name,” Calvin’s brother muttered without looking at Kameron.

  Kameron pressed his lips together, but it was obvious he wanted to smile. “Of course you do. As I was saying, Josh’s teachers had no idea what to do with him, but some of his classmates’ parents got louder, saying they didn’t want him to be around their kids. They had to get Josh away before things got worse.”

  “And they called Bran?”

  “Not directly. He was just the last person to be called, and the only one who decided to do something about it. He went to see Josh at his parents’ house.”

  “Adoptive parents,” Josh spat out, and okay, he obviously had problems with them.

  “Adoptive parents,” Kameron agreed. “They were sorry, but they didn’t feel they could keep him. They have another four kids at home.”

  “They thought I was going to hurt them!” Josh cried out, and Alex hurt for him.

  He looked even younger than his sixteen years now, and like he was trying very hard not to cry.

  “My foster family kicked me out when I shifted in front of them,” Calvin suddenly said.

  Josh clamped his lips together and stared at him. “They did?”

  “Yeah. I guess they thought the same thing, that I’d attack them or something. I didn’t have a clue what was happening, and neither did they. It was two years ago, and the news about shifters wasn’t out yet. I guess I was lucky they didn’t call the cops or anything. Who knows where I’d have ended up if they had?”

  “What happened to you after they kicked you out?”

  Calvin shrugged. “I lived on the streets.”

  Josh looked horrified. He looked around, and his gaze stopped on Kameron. “You’re not going to kick me out, right? I don’t want to have to live on the streets.”

  Chapter Six

  “You’re not going to end up on the streets,” Calvin blurted out before Kameron could answer Josh’s question.

  He wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t allow his brother to have to go through what he’d gone through. He didn’t know how he’d manage that if Kameron didn’t want Josh to stay with the pack, but he’d find something. He could get a job, and he knew Alex would stick with him.

  “No one is going to end up on the streets,” Kameron said. “Calvin, you’ve been here for two months. You should know I wouldn’t do something like that.”

  Calvin sighed. “Sorry. I just... panicked, I guess. It’s just so similar to what I went through.”

  “I know, but I want both of you to know that you have a home with the pack.”

  Calvin nodded. He knew that. He’d known it, but hearing what had happened to Josh had reminded him of what had happened to him. It was scary, and he’d reacted without even thinking.

  “So Bran was the one who sent Josh here?” Alex asked. Calvin was thankful for the diversion, and he listened to Kameron’s answer.

  “Yes. He went with one of the enforcers to check what was happening, and when Josh’s adopted family told him they couldn’t keep him, he decided to bring him here. I think he suspected Josh was somehow related to Calvin. They look incredibly alike. It’s like you and Iggy, Alex. You could be two pairs of twins.”

  Alex snorted. “I don’t look that much like Iggy.”

  Calvin thought he did, from the few times he’d seen Iggy around pack territory.

  “Once Josh and Bran got here, I asked Mihaja to do a little research for me,” Kameron continued. “He was able to hack into the databases he needed, and he found out Calvin and Josh are brothers.”

  “Do you know what happened?” Calvin asked. He’d never gotten an answer when he’d asked his foster parents or the lady who’d been assigned to his case. “I mean, to us. How did we end up in the system? What happened to our parents?”

  Kameron sighed. “Yes, I know what happened. Mihaja found both your files and forwarded them to me.”

  Calvin swallowed. He’d always wondered how he’d ended up alone in the world. Had his mother been a teenager? Had she felt she wouldn’t be able to take care of a child on her own? But no, that couldn’t be true, since Calvin had a brother. His parents had to have been married, or mated. What had happened to them, though? And to the rest of their family?

  Kameron looked sad as he looked first at Calvin, then at Josh. “Do you want to know?” he finally asked, and Calvin was suddenly scared.

  He hadn’t wanted to find out about his past and his family for a long time. He’d wondered, of course, but he’d always thought it didn’t matter, because
it wouldn’t change his life in any way. It hadn’t been worth the hassle to ask, and it wasn’t like any of his foster parents would have been able to answer his questions.

  Now he had that possibility, and he wanted to run away. What would knowing change? He still wouldn’t have parents. He still wouldn’t know anything about his family, his past, except for names.

  But Josh deserved to know, if that was what he wanted.

  “Please,” Calvin said, and he wasn’t sure if he was begging Kameron to explain or to stay silent.

  “It took Mihaja quite a bit of digging and the best part of last night to find out everything,” Kameron said. “He had to piece together info from both the human foster system and the shifters grapevine. Your mother was shunned from her pack when she went against her alpha’s orders and mated with your father. He was human, and even though we don’t know much about your mother’s situation, it’s not hard to imagine what happened.”

  Calvin knew a bit more about shifters now, and he knew how the pack had been before Kameron had become alpha. He knew arranged marriages had been the norm, especially when one’s mate hadn’t fit the same-kind-of-shifter, opposite-sex, and same-skin-color mold.

  “So she didn’t have anyone,” he said, and even he could hear the sadness in his voice.

  “No, she didn’t.”

  “What about our father?”

  “Like I said, he was human. He was an only child, his parents had died a few years before he met your mother, and as far as we know he didn’t have other family members. That’s why you ended up in the system when they died in a car accident. You were three, Josh was just a few months old.”

  Calvin looked at his brother. It was so fucking weird to think that. He wasn’t alone in the world anymore, would never be alone again. He shared his blood and his past with someone, no matter how Josh took it, no matter what he decided to do, whether he decided to leave once he was eighteen or if he wanted a family with Calvin.

  Kameron got up. “I’m going to leave you alone to talk. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.” He paused next to Calvin and clasped his shoulder. “You’re the one responsible for the decisions when it comes to Josh now.”

  Calvin opened his mouth to protest, because the last thing he wanted was to make decisions for anyone. He barely was able to make them for himself.

  Kameron shook his head. “Mihaja is already smoothing things over with the authorities, and you’re Josh’s only family. You’re responsible, whether you like it or not, but you’re not alone. You have Alex, and I’m sure Alex’s parents will be delighted to find out about Josh. You also have me, and the entire pack. There’s no need to rush, but you need to know you’re in charge now.”

  “But I’m only nineteen. How am I supposed to do something like that?”

  “It’s going to be hard, but I have faith in you. You know right from wrong, and you have us. You’ll be fine.” He looked at Josh. “You both will be. Let me know when you leave, please.”

  Kameron walked away, and Calvin resisted the urge to call him back. He looked at Alex, hoping he would get out of making decisions, but one look at him was enough for Calvin to know Alex wouldn’t help, at least not like Calvin wanted him to. Alex wouldn’t make the decisions for him, but he’d be there for Calvin.

  “Do you want me to leave?” Alex asked softly.

  Calvin didn’t want him to, but he looked at Josh. “Do you want Alex to leave, or are you comfortable with him here?”

  Josh looked back, his head cocked. “Are you gay?”

  That wasn’t the answer Calvin had expected, but he owed his brother the truth. “Yeah. I hope it’s not a problem.”

  Josh took a while to answer, and Calvin could feel himself panicking. Was him being gay going to be a problem? Was he already going to lose his brother only minutes after meeting him for the first time?

  Then Josh shrugged and looked at Alex. “Nah. I don’t care what you do in your bedroom. So, are you his boyfriend?”

  Alex looked at Calvin and Calvin shrugged. Alex nodded at Josh. “Kind of. We’re mates.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You know about shifters?”

  Josh snorted. “It would be hard not to know about shifters since I shifted in the middle of my chemistry class. I became a freaking dog, man.”

  “I was asking what you knew about shifters.”

  “Then you should have been more specific. What I know about shifters? Nothing.”

  Calvin wasn’t sure what to say. How was he supposed to behave with Josh? Was he supposed to hug him or something?

  “You saw the video?” Alex asked, and damn, Calvin was so fucking relieved that at least one of them seemed to know what they were doing.

  “I think the whole world saw that video,” Josh answered. “Even though it was taken down fast.”

  “And that’s the only things you know about shifters?”

  Josh huffed and raked his hand through his hair. “Look, I don’t know anything about shifters, okay? The only thing I know was that that guy became a wolf. I thought he was a werewolf or something, but then yesterday I was at school, and this guy was fucking with my head. I got angry, and the next thing I know, I’m fucking barking at him while he cowers in a corner and screams at me to leave him alone. I’ve got to say becoming a dog was nearly worth seeing the look on the guy’s face, if it hadn’t been for the whole getting kicked out of school and the family I’ve live with all my life thing.”

  Damn, Josh was angry, and Calvin understood it. He just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  * * * *

  Alex hovered in the entrance, trying to listen to what was happening upstairs. They’d taken Josh home with them, and Alex had let Calvin go upstairs to show Josh his room. He’d thought giving the brothers some alone time was a good idea, but he was anxious. He felt like a mother hen.

  He snorted and shook his head, heading to the kitchen. He might as well start on lunch. They had leftover roast beef in the fridge, and he hoped no one would object to sandwiches.

  His phone rang as he was taking everything out of the fridge, and he wasn’t surprised to see Iggy’s name on the display. “Yeah?”

  “A little birdie told me something interesting.”

  Alex rolled his eyes and pressed the phone between his shoulder and his cheek so he could open the bread. “A little birdie? I thought it was a big wolfie.”

  “You’re right, Kameron would probably have a fit if he knew I called him that.”

  “What do you want, Iggy?”

  “When am I going to meet my new brother? Mom’s already chomping at the bit.”

  “God, does everyone know? What the fuck?”

  “Not everyone.”

  “But Mom does, and that means Dad does too, and Christian and Clea. Were you the one who told her about this?”

  Iggy was silent long enough for Alex to reach the conclusion that yes, he’d been the one to spill the beans.

  Alex groaned. “I hate you.”

  “You don’t. I’m your favorite brother.”

  “That’s not hard, considering Christian is the other one.”

  “True. So, what happened? I don’t really know much.”

  Alex sighed. “His name’s Josh. He shifted in school yesterday and his adoptive parents said they couldn’t keep him. No one knew what to do with him, so they called the police, who called whoever they called. Bran ended up being the one to make the decision to bring Josh here even before he knew for sure Josh was Calvin’s brother. They got here yesterday and Josh slept over at Kameron’s while Mihaja used his magic computer powers to find out more about him.”

  Iggy hummed. “It’s kind of scary.”

  “What? Josh isn’t scary.” If anything, he made Alex want to wrap him up and hide him from the world after what had happened to him. Alex knew it would take him a lot of time to be able to trust again after the only family he’d ever known had kicked him o
ut for something he couldn’t help. He’d found out he had a brother, of course, but it didn’t mean the pain was gone, or even soothed. It would take Calvin and Josh a while before they were comfortable with each other, before they really considered each other brothers.

  “No, I meant the thought that some of the kids in the system are shifters. Do we have a way to find them before something like this happens again?”

  That wasn’t something Alex had thought of yet, but Iggy wasn’t wrong. How many kids were out there, not knowing they were shifters? How many of them had found out like Calvin and Josh had and had been kicked to the curb by their families? How were they surviving, alone and not knowing what they were? What was going to happen to them?

  Calvin had been beaten up when he’d been seen shifting in that alley the first time. The same man had beaten him almost to death the second time they’d met. He’d been lucky, because Alex had happened to walk by, but what about the kids who weren’t lucky?

  Alex wasn’t sure what the broadening of knowledge that shifters were real would do. Would it mean more families would keep their kids, or the opposite?

  “What do you think we can do about it?” Alex asked. He suddenly needed to do something about it, to help those kids out there.

  “Eh. I don’t know. I’m not sure there’s a way to avoid those kids being kicked out, but maybe we could, I don’t know, create a website or something. That way the kids would have someone to contact, and we could go get them.”

  “We should talk to Kameron about it. Maybe we also need a phone number the kids can call? Although I’m not sure they can call anyone if they live on the streets.”

  Thin arms wrapped around Alex’s waist from behind, startling him. He managed not to drop his phone, but the knife he’d been using to slather the bread with mayonnaise clattered onto the counter.

  “Fuck, Cal. You scared me,” he muttered, straightening the phone.

  “Sorry,” Calvin said, his voice soft. “I just heard you talking about this stuff, and, well, I needed to hug you.”