“But you’re still trying to find your brother.”
Eric’s blinding smile, his golden hair gleaming under the sun, filled his mind. “Not so much actively trying to find him as hoping he’s still out there. I wouldn’t risk Adam or any of you to find him. It’s more like a daydream, I guess.” He swallowed thickly, a knot of grief suddenly choking him. “Deep down, I know I’ll never see him again.”
“I’m sorry,” Jacob whispered.
“At least we managed to talk on the phone that night that everything went to shit. He was in London, going into a bunker with his crazy rich boss. I was in the forest outside campus with Adam. A total stranger I didn’t like. Who didn’t like me.” He shook his head. “Life is so fucking weird. I guess it always was, but especially now. Anyway, yeah, I still dream I’ll find my brother one day, as impossible as I know it is. But I guess stranger things have happened, right?”
“I was supposed to Skype with my grandma,” Jacob blurted, his eyes filling with tears. “That weekend before. She’d just learned how it worked, and she wanted to try it. But my friends got the new
Star Wars
game and I blew her off. Emailed and said I had to study for a test, and she said that was okay, and schoolwork had to come first, and maybe we could do it next weekend.” A sob tore from his throat and he curled into himself, burying his face and muffling his words. “But next weekend never came. I should have told her I loved her.”
Parker squeezed Jacob’s ankle gently. “She knew. Your mom did too, and your dad. They knew you loved them. I promise. And your mom loved you so much.”
After several deep breaths, Jacob nodded, swiping at his eyes. Parker kept him anchored with his hand, wishing he knew if he was saying the right things. For a few minutes, they stayed like that, the boat rocking gently on a set of swells. It was full light now, and they needed to get under way, but Parker didn’t want to leave Jacob just yet.
Finally, he said, “You can’t go searching across the country. We have to move forward. I know it’s what your mom wanted. All right?”
Sniffing, Jacob nodded. Then he bolted upright and pressed his mouth to Parker’s in a clumsy, wet, haphazard kiss. He jerked back against the headboard, breathing hard. “Sorry. I just wanted to do that once before I die.”
Parker scooted off the bed, taking a deep breath. “Okay. It’s okay.” He smiled softly. “I definitely remember that feeling.”
Jacob smiled tentatively. “Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. Now come on. Time for cereal. No arguments.” He turned and walked to the kitchen, retrieving the can of milk from the fridge, as well as a bowl and spoon. “Can you grab the cereal?” He climbed up the few steps to the deck, his pulse ticking up a few notches as he waited.
A minute later, Jacob appeared with the box of Coco Pops, blinking into the morning sun.
“W
e should be
getting close to Daytona, right?” Craig asked. He stood at the kitchen sink, washing dishes and handing them to Lilly to dry.
In the door of the master cabin, Adam ran a towel over his damp hair. They were anchored in the relative protection of a little inlet, the wind and rain howling, the boat rocking. As the day wore on, he went up to patrol regularly, insisting the others should stay dry. He didn’t wear a shirt, and his surf shorts were quick dry, at least.
“Should be,” Adam agreed. Lilly peeked at him, and he smiled. She ducked her head, drying a plate vigorously.
She avoided Adam’s gaze whenever she could, her little heart beating faster whenever he tried to talk to her. He understood—and needed to fix it—but couldn’t help the sliver of hurt from digging in.
He heard Parker’s heart skipping as he examined the charts at the saloon table. “Yeah. Pretty soon.”
Adam came to sit down beside him on the bench. “Is there an issue?”
“No,” Parker answered too quickly.
Raising an eyebrow, Adam asked, “Are you sure?”
Parker kept his gaze on the charts, although his pulse raced. “Yep.”
Jacob sat on his bed in the other cabin, staring out a porthole. But at least he was up. Since the previous morning, when Parker had a talk with him, Jacob seemed a little more engaged.
Adam had tamped down the fiery surge of possessiveness when he heard Jacob kiss Parker. He shouldn’t have been eavesdropping on their conversation, but couldn’t help himself. For a moment when he’d heard the unmistakable sound, his vision had gone gold, his eyes glowing before he regained control in the next breath. Fortunately, Craig and Lilly had been focused on a book of crosswords.
Adam watched Parker with a swell of pride at how well Parker had handled the whole thing and how good he’d been with Jacob. But he was distracted now by the way Parker’s heart was still beating too fast, agitation obvious—to Adam, at least—in his movements as he examined the nautical charts.
“What?” Adam asked quietly.
With a noisy exhalation, Parker sat back. “This is crazy. Stupid. We should keep sailing south offshore. If we’re going to cross the Gulf Stream, do it at its absolute narrowest and head to the Caribbean. Or we just keep going south. There are islands off South America. We have other options.”
The radio burst to life. “This is Salvation Island. Calling any and all souls still listening.”
“Oh my God, it’s like they’re eavesdropping!” Parker stalked to the radio and flicked it off, interrupting the woman’s now-familiar entreaty. “See? It’s creepy.”
“Or they send out the messages on a set schedule. It was the same time last night. Parker, we talked about this.” Adam glanced at Craig and Lilly, who watched from the sink with dishes in their hands. “We’re going to investigate Salvation Island. At a distance.”
“But there’s nothing there! It’s such an obvious trap.” He sat down again and jabbed at a chart. “It’s too far north to be part of the Bahamas. I’ve never heard of an island there. For all we know, it’s a flotilla of boats waiting for us to show up so they can trap us, throw us overboard, and take
Bella
.”
“Throw us overboard?” Lilly whispered. “With the sharks?”
“No, of course not.” Craig glared at Parker. “That’s not going to happen.”
“It might!” Parker ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not trying to be a jerk, but we have to be realistic here.”
In the cabin, Jacob was watching now, his eyes wide. Adam raised his hands, trying to tamp down the growing anger scratching at him. “Okay, let’s take a breath. Parker, it could be a private island. Couldn’t it?”
“I… Sure. I guess it’s possible.”
“And we agreed that we’d try it. Remember?”
Parker cut him a scathing look. “Yes, I remember. I’m not brain damaged, thank you.”
Adam grit his teeth. “Then why are we having this conversation?”
“Because this is a stupid choice!” He leapt up from the table, scattering the charts, his pencil going flying. “Just crossing the Gulf Stream is dangerous. You have to check the weather reports religiously and keep vigilant and make sure you do it with plenty of sunlight and the right winds. And guess what? We don’t have weather reports anymore. So at best, we’re guessing we’ll have a window to cross. If the wind shifts and we’re in the middle of the stream, we could be totally screwed. I’m not an expert sailor. Do you know how big the waves can get? You haven’t seen anything. That storm that nearly took out the other boat? Those waves weren’t even that big.”
“It’s really that dangerous?” Craig asked.
“Yes. It can be.” Parker paced. “It definitely can be. If we still had YouTube, I’d show you videos. The more I think about it, the dumber a decision it seems to take the risk when we can’t know the weather. And that’s aside from the potential risk at this so-called Salvation Island.”
“We have faith in you,” Adam said. “You can get us there safely.”
“What if I don’t want to? I’m the only one who can get us across the stream. I’m the only one who understands all these charts and nautical terms.” Parker jutted out his chin. “What if I say no?”
The simmering frustration boiled over, and Adam’s nostrils flared. “You agreed! We have to try. We have to find a home.”
“We’re never going to have a home again!” Parker shouted. “Not the same way we did before. It’s a fantasy.”
“Maybe it is!” Adam shouted back. “But we have to try. It was a fantasy that you’d be able to find your parents on the Cape. But we tried.”
“That was different.” He shook his head. “You’re putting your faith in a voice on the radio. We hear plenty of voices. We can’t trust these people.”
Forcing control, Adam unclenched his hands, his fingers sore from preventing his claws from extending. He stood and spoke calmly. “We’re not putting our faith in that voice. We’re putting it in you. We trust
you
to get us there safely. And we’re not going in blind. You know we have an advantage.”
“What does that mean?” Craig asked, holding a quivering Lilly to his side.
Hell, maybe it was time to put all their cards on the table. Adam looked to Parker, but he was still pacing around, too wound up. The boat rocked from side to side in the wind.
Craig added, “And Adam’s right, we agreed. We need to find a place to live. To have stability. This is what Abby would have wanted. I know that.”
“But it has to be a lie!” Parker stabbed the air with his hands. “Safety and food and water and singing kumbaya. Don’t you see? It can’t be real. It’s impossible. This isn’t the world we live in now. We live in a world of death and infection and evil people.” He shuddered, and Adam wanted to go pull him into his arms.
Parker shook his head. “If I let myself believe that we could find a good place, and then it all goes to shit… I can’t. I won’t.”
Jacob rocketed off his bed and into the saloon. “You said we were a team. Was that all just bullshit?”
“
Jacob
,” Craig bit out.
“What?
Language
?” Jacob laughed with a tinge of hysteria. “Give me a fucking break.” He glared at Parker. “You gave me that whole spiel about moving forward. But you’re the one who wants to stay in the same place. Sailing around forever might feel like doing something, but it won’t actually get us anywhere. You’re full of shit.” He slammed back into the stern cabin, sliding the door shut behind him with a resounding
clang.
“Good work,” Adam muttered.
Parker pressed his lips into a thin line, but before he could retort, Lilly stepped forward and blurted to Parker, “Don’t make him mad!”
Heart sinking, Adam’s anger drained away, shame licking at its heels. He dropped his head.
“Lilly, it’s okay,” Craig said. “Adam and Parker are upset right now, but we’re going to work this out. Everything will be all right.”
“But you don’t understand! He’s—” She broke off, and Adam stared at his bare feet on the wooden floor, his face hot. He could hear the words she didn’t say as if she’d shouted them.
A monster.
“He’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and you don’t have to be afraid,” Parker said quietly. Adam lifted his head to find Parker watching him, his eyes full of love and his agitation vanished. “Lilly, you saw something, didn’t you? After Abby… Afterward, when Adam came back, you saw him looking scary.”
She nodded, her wide eyes going back and forth between Adam and Parker.
Craig stared between them. “What on earth are you talking about?”
Parker nodded, and Adam took a breath, trying to block out the memories of his foster parents’ faces, their horror as he’d tried to explain. First he called, “Jacob, can you please come back out?”
There was silence but for the driving rain.
Parker went to the cabin door and slid it open. “Please? I’m sorry. And you need to hear this.”
Jacob followed, slouching into the doorway, his arms crossed and eyes red. Parker came to stand beside Adam, taking Adam’s hand and threading their fingers together. Adam squeezed gratefully. No matter what happened, and no matter how they might disagree sometimes, he knew in his heart he’d always have Parker in his corner. Profound gratitude washed through him.
I can do this.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just… I’m a werewolf.” He forced himself to keep his head up and gaze at Craig, Lilly, and Jacob squarely. All three gaped back.
A furrow formed between Craig’s brows, and he laughed uneasily. “Is that supposed to be funny? I don’t get it.”
“It’s not a joke. I’m a werewolf. I was born that way. It has nothing to do with the moon, or being bitten. Werewolves are born, just like humans are. We’re like you in most ways.”
“I don’t…” Craig shook his head. “Is this your way of diffusing tension? I’m still not following.”
“Werewolves are real,” Parker said bluntly. “I know, it’s crazy at first. But trust me, this is awesome news. Adam’s super strong, and he can see and hear long distances. He can heal almost right away if he gets hurt. When he transforms, he grows claws and fangs, and gets furry. Other than that, he’s the same as us. He feels the things we do.” Parker squeezed Adam’s fingers. “His feelings get hurt just like ours. He’s not a monster, or a freak.”
Jacob stared. “But werewolves can’t be real.”
“I saw it,” Lilly said quietly. She nodded to Jacob and her father. “After Abby got hurt. He had fangs and claws, and his eyes were glowy. He was hairy all over his face.”
Closing his eyes for a moment, Adam let the transformation happen, the change flowing through him. His claws scraped the back of Parker’s hand, but Parker held on. When Adam looked again, Craig had shoved the kids behind him and backed up, he and Jacob watching with jaws open and eyes wide, Lilly nodding sagely.
“Like that,” she said.
“So, exhibit A,” Parker said. “Werewolf. But he’s still Adam. Still the same guy who wanted to save your lives when I didn’t. When I honestly wanted to pretend we never heard that SOS call. He’s good and kind and brave.”
Adam let the wolf recede, rolling his neck as it quieted within him and he transformed back. “I understand that I frighten you. But I’d never hurt any of you. Never.”
Craig opened and closed his mouth. Jacob edged closer, clearly fascinated.
Parker spoke up. “And I meant what I said, Jacob. We’re a team. Or at least we can be. We should be. I didn’t want to trust anyone but Adam, but I promised Abby I’d take care of you. All of you. That we’d watch out for you. We’re in this together. But you have to accept Adam the way he is. Wolf and all. If you can’t, then we’ll go our separate ways.”