Page 49 of Never Trust An Alpha
“But Harrison is on a whole different level.”
She sighed, and I got the sense that the conversation wasn’t all that pleasant for her. I got it, though. We were talking about her brother, after all, and I could imagine how she’d be compared to him at every turn.
I’d gone through that with my siblings as well. I was the fuck-up, and I couldn’t have attended a single gathering without someone looking at me and treating me exactly that way.
“He is different,” she admitted. “When his powers started to show, when the clan realized just how strong his powers were, they separated him. They even took him out of our household to be raised by the previous clan head.”
“So he wasn’t raised with you?”
“Nope. They didn’t want anything to risk his powers or change his mind. They wanted to mold him into the perfect leader. I saw him every few months when he got to come home for a weekend, but it was different. He’d always been trying to live up to that standard, to the things that everyone expects from him. I don’t think he’s had a single real friend in all these years.”
“And no one knows why he became the way he is?”
“Not exactly.” She said the words slowly, giving me a sense that there was more to the story than she told me. Then again, I sure as fuck knew how that was. No one ever told the entire story, because it was usually far too painful.
Part of me wanted to ask, to know more. It felt like craving pieces of his past that he held close to him, like the little bits of information were shiny baubles my crow wanted to collect. However, in the same way, I really didn’t think I wanted to know. Knowing would mean making it my problem, would mean seeing Harrison differently, and that was the sort of thing I couldn’t put back afterward.
So I let it go, not pushing her. If I needed to know, later, I’d find out. Until then, I might as well ignore it and respect Harrison’s right to privacy.
“The thing about Harrison,” she said, her voice quiet as though she weren’t sure she really wanted to say this next part. “He’s never had anyone to take care of him, anyone who was there for him because of who he is, not because of what he is. Even his family handed him over to strangers to raise. Then, because of his powers, he’s been isolated most of his life. He’s used to people using him, to them not giving a damn about him, and I don’t think he knows how to accept help. Even though he has no idea what it’s like to have people behind him, people willing to help, he’s always putting himself out to do that for others. He’s pushing himself, working ungodly hours, ignoring anything for himself to take the load off of others. Maybe you staying with him isn’t so bad, not for either of you…”
I swung my feet, tapping my heels against the brick of the planter. “Yeah, well, don’t start planning the wedding just yet. I’m fun to have around for a few days—especially if someone has a reason to deal with me—but it gets old fast.” That took me back to all the people who had walked away from me.
I’d learned one important lesson throughout my life, over and over again. A small amount of time with me was one thing, but once anyone stuck around for long, they ran in the other fucking direction. A little of me was fine, but more than that?
Too much.
Sure, I’d had fun the other night, and given that Harrison had come, I had to assume he had as well, but fun like that didn’t mean much in the long run. It meant I needed to get this shit settled and out of here as soon as possible. The longer I stayed, the closer I got to Harrison walking away, and I had a feeling that would hurt. That strange fondness he had for me morphing into annoyance then hatred?
I didn’t want to see it.
“Grey.”
I jerked my gaze up, startled to find the same voice speaking to me that I’d just been thinking of. Harrison stood there, looking rather professional in the sports coat. Sure, he looked more like a model playing a teacher than an actual teacher, but I’d bet it helped keep the girls in line in his classes.
“Sorry, I’ve gotta go,” I said to Ignis, not waiting for a response before ending the call. If I told Harrison who I’d spoken to, I felt like he’d figure out the content, too. He was far too observant to give him any additional chances at guessing my thoughts and feelings. If anything, I really needed a handicap. “What’s up? Is it time to go already?”
“It’s ten in the morning, Grey.”
“Boring,” I muttered and crossed my arms after sliding the phone into my pocket. “So what are you doing here now?”
He glanced toward my pocket, the curiosity obvious in his expression. Still, he didn’t ask about who I’d been on the phone with. Maybe he didn’t want to know, not really. I mean, I had fucked him with another man there, so maybe he knew better than to ask too many questions. “Trey didn’t come to school today.”
“Trey is a drug dealer. I don’t think skipping school is really that crazy a thing for him.”
Harrison shook his head. “I called his home, and I was told he never came home over the weekend.”
“And his parents didn’t call anyone?”
“He doesn’t have parents anymore, Grey. He is a Were, infected young.”
“So call Galen.”
“He isn’t a wolf—not all Weres have such pack structure. He is a Werebear, and they are solitary Spirits. Besides, it isn’t the first time he’s run off. I don’t think the people he stays with are that concerned about him.”
I frowned, a tension inside my chest. Could something have happened to him?
Could it be my fault? What if the supplier we were searching for found out I’d stolen his dealers and wanted to make an example out of Trey? What if he were suffering all because of what I’d asked him to do?