“These are…” Eli trailed off.
“Graves. My parents are here,” he said.
Liam’s heart always felt heavy as he gazed at the burial ground. It had been years since they passed away and yet Liam wasn’t over their deaths. Not completely.
During his bad days, he still blamed them for leaving the three of them all alone on this mountain. Liam and his brothers had to fend for themselves. Since he was the oldest, he had to act more like Lucas and Logan’s father more than their older brother.
“Lucas always shuts down when you mention your parents,” Eli said.
“There’s a reason for that.” Liam took a deep breath. “Don’t you find it odd that we’ve had no other guest but you over the past three days?”
“I did.” Eli chewed on his bottom lip then spoke up. “When I drove up here, I asked two humans for directions. They warned me not to come here. Why did the townsfolk act like dicks?”
That got a laugh out of him.
“Our family doesn’t have a stellar reputation in town.” Liam explained.
“How come?”
“My mom was human. My dad was deeply in love with her. They built the lodge together, ran it for a time. We had a good childhood until my mom was run over by a drunk driver. The driver was coming home from a bachelor party with his friends.”
Liam paused. He still got furious when he thought of the thoughtless asshole who thought it was a good idea to drive when he was hammered.
He started to shake. His grizzly wanted to tear out of him. Even now, rage festered inside of him. Anger lived in him, in both of his brothers like a terminal disease that had no cure.
Eli turned sheet white and clutched at his arm. “Oh my God. I’m so sorry, Liam.”
“My father wasn’t right after that. He started to drink, to slip. He couldn’t control his shifts anymore. My brothers and I took turns watching him. One night, he slipped our watch. He hunted down the human who ran my mom over. My father wasn’t satisfied with just one death. He killed all of them, all the humans in that car.”
Claws slid out of his hands but he wiled the change back.
“He went Rogue?” Eli whispered.
A shifter turning Rogue was no better than a monster. His father abandoned his humanity. The bastard chose to let his beast ruin his life and the lives of his sons.
That tragedy happened five years ago but the entire town never looked at them the same way. They were treated like outcasts, which was fine by them. Liam and his brothers only went to town if they ever needed supplies.
“Once my brothers and I learned our dad left the lodge, we immediately went to town but it was too late. Dad turned Rogue. He wanted more blood. He wanted to kill everyone in that car, not just the driver. It took all three of us to put him down. I dealt the finishing blow.”
“Did you get the scars on your arm from that fight?”
Liam nodded. The old injury still hurt at times, even though Liam knew it was only phantom pain. Eli hugged him, a strange sight to behold but Liam welcomed the comfort Eli offered.
“That’s awful, Liam,” Eli whispered. “But I don’t understand. You three stopped your dad. Why aren’t the townsfolk grateful?”
“Because they only see the sons of a murdering monster,” he finished. “Some asshole reporter wrote about our father on the local paper. Tourists and locals stopped coming to the lodge.”
“Pricks,” Eli said under his breath. Eli grasped his hands. “Thank you for telling me this.”
“You’re not frightened?” Liam asked. “You have every right to be. None of us know if our dad passed his madness to us. The same blood runs in our veins. Some day, all three of us could turn violent. We could devolve into Rogues.”
“Madness?” Eli asked, frowning. “Liam, your father was grieving. I’d feel the same if my mate was torn apart from me. Won’t you?”
Liam imagined Eli being ripped from him and saw red. No, he was like his father in so many ways. Liam would fight and kill for the one he loved, for his mate.
“I would do the same,” Liam admitted.
Fat droplets of rain splattered on their faces. They started for the lodge again. Liam didn’t mind the rain so much or having to walk through the puddles. He felt incredibly light, like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
The entire town turned on them even after they took their father down. In the eyes of the townsfolk, the Griffin brothers were irredeemable, monsters like their old man.
It was nice to find someone who would take his side. Eli didn’t see Liam as a villain. In Eli’s eyes, Liam was his white knight, although Liam didn’t deserve the label. He wanted to do all sorts of filthy things to Eli that weren’t considered honorable.
“Can you shift?” Liam asked Eli.
“I could.”
“It won’t harm the baby?”
Eli shook his head. “Not at this stage.”
“Then let’s change forms. We’ll cut the walking time in half. I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
8
Eli
Sweet bear. Liam was impossible at times. The werebear could be growly and demanding but Eli liked both sides of him. The rough and the tender parts.
Eli peeled off his clothes, all too aware of Liam’s heated stare. For the past few days, they’d stolen away in the corners of the lodge. They’d kissed and touched but did nothing more. Eli was beginning to wonder if Liam was slowly losing interest in him.
It struck him at that moment that he was mistaken. Liam was only waiting, but waiting for what? Eli was more than ready to jump Liam’s bones. Once he slid out of his pants and underwear, he stood in front of Liam, completely naked.
What sounded like a growl of appreciation rumbled from
