Thoreau - Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Archer Barlow
"Dude! Dude!" Wayne Black pounded my shoulder with his fist. "Look! Who do you think that is?"
I turned to where he was pointing and saw the most adorable boy staring at our dirt bikes where we left them in the front yard of the alpha house. He was short and slim and had a mass of dark brown curls haloing his face.
"Judging by who he arrived with," I pointed to a familiar SUV, "I'd say he's Beta Em's little brother."
Until two hours ago, Wayne and I had been peacefully relaxing in the pool. Then William had to go crying to Mom that we weren't sharing the giant floats with him and Winnie.
Which wasn't true. We let them have all the floats except ours. Mine was a taco and Wayne's was a slice of pizza. We'd just bought them two days ago with our own money and he knew that, but his favorite elephant float ripped when we were blowing them up this morning and he was taking his anger out on us.
Unfortunately, Mom was already aggravated at us because we'd pranked her at breakfast. Not even listening to our side, she gave us strict orders to go to the alpha house and help luna prepare for Beta Ty's birthday party tomorrow. She didn't even give us time to change out of our swim trunks or grab slides before she banished us!
Guess she really didn't appreciate finding fake spiders in the Cheerios this morning, I'd linked Wayne.
The joke's still on her, dude! Wayne linked back with a grin. Wade's at the garage with Dad and Wesley's at a friend's house, which means she's stuck at home with the two little terrorists all by herself now!
She'll just stop housecleaning, idiots, my wolf snorted, and go get in the pool with them.
Blowing a raspberry at Firth's practical self, Wayne and I took off on our dirt bikes. We even stopped by a mud hole along the way since Mom didn't tell us we had to go straight over.
You'd think after eighteen years of raising boys, she would learn to cover all the loopholes, Wayne smirked and I snickered.
When we showed up at our sister-in-law's door covered in muck from neck to toes, she called us mud puppies, then very nicely asked us to use the garden hose and rinse the mud off her walk and front porch - after we sprayed down ourselves and our bikes, of course - before we helped her set up the backyard.
We'd just finished washing off the front porch when Beta Emerson's SUV pulled into the parking lot, and Wayne grabbed my elbow and tugged me down the steps toward the newcomer.
"The boy whose dad dropped him off here in a dog crate?" he whispered. "But I heard Dad telling Mom that he was our age. This kid doesn't look older than twelve or thirteen."
"Dad also said that Royal Price told him the boy was starved, beaten, and locked up, just like luna was," I muttered with a scowl. "Of course he's not going to be a big guy. He hasn't been taken care of."
"Poor kid," Wayne mumbled. As soon as we were close enough, he called out, "Hey, man. Who are you?"
That startled the boy, and he whirled around and looked us up and down before he swallowed hard.
Easy, I murmured. He's skittish.
Yeah, I did not think of that.
"You like our bikes?" he tried again when the boy didn't answer.
Unfortunately, that seemed to do worse than startle him. His eyes widened and his shoulders hunched up like he was scared.
"I didn't touch!" he shouted.
"Okay?" Wayne looked at me for help.
Offer him a ride, I suggested. See if that puts him at ease.
Good idea, bro!
"You want to go for a ride?"
With round eyes and a big grin, the boy nodded his head frantically, sending his curls bouncing everywhere.
"I think that's a yes, Arch," Wayne laughed and moved closer to him with his hand held out. "I'm Wayne Black."
"Can I take my hand out of my pocket?" he asked.
"Why do you need to ask?" Wayne tilted his head and frowned, as confused as I was by the question.
"Bubba said not to touch. I put my hands in my pockets so he can see I'm not touching."
"Oh. Yeah, sure." Wayne shrugged. "That way, you can shake my hand."
The boy did, then looked up at me with a giggle. He covered his mouth with one hand, just like my sister Peri started doing after our stupid big brother Cole teased her about having chipmunk cheeks when she smiled.
"What's funny?" Wayne asked him with a grin.
"You're Wayne Black and he's Mr. Black-hair." The boy giggled again, but didn't lower his hand.
Dude! Introduce yourself! Wayne nudged me.
"I'm Archer Barlow."
I smirked at how small his hand was in mine when he shook it.
"What's your name?" Wayne asked him.
"Thoreau Ezra Jones, but my nicky name is Reau."
Nicky name! Wayne squealed. Arch, he's sooo cute!
Yeah, I agreed with a little smile. He is very cute.
"Sweet. Good to meet you, Reau," Wayne told him. "I don't have a 'nicky name,' but you can call Archer Arch if you want."
"Arch." He stared at me as I stared back at him. "You are quiet, but you have pretty green eyes. I love them!"
Wayne busted a gut laughing, but I frowned, not sure if Thoreau was making fun of me or not. I inherited dark skin and black hair from my biracial mom and light green eyes from my dad, and this kid wouldn't be the first one to tease me about the unusual combination.
"What is Wayne Black laughing at, Arch?" Thoreau asked with a tiny frown between his eyebrows.
"Just call him Wayne," Beta Emerson said as he, Angelo, and Leo joined us. "You don't have to say his last name every time. He's one of Alpha Wyatt's younger brothers, and Arch's one of Alpha Cole's younger brothers. They're both your age."
"Wayne and Arch, I am Beta Emerson Jones' younger brother. Gelo is my brother-in-law, and Leo is our friend." He nodded and looked proud of himself for getting everything straight.
"Good job, Reau." Beta patted the top of his head. "Are you okay hanging out with these guys? Angelo, Leo and I want to talk to the luna for a bit."
"We got you, beta," Wayne told him. "He wants to go for a ride on the bike, anyway."
"He doesn't have any safety gear," beta started to say, but Angelo talked over him.
"He'll be fine, Em. Boys, don't take him far. Reau, have you ever been on a bike?"
"A bicycle!" he crowed. "Bubba taught me how!"
"A dirt bike is a little different, but we're experts, so you're in good hands," Wayne said.
Thoreau looked down at his hands, then Wayne's with a look of confusion, and beta leaned down to whisper in the boy's ear.
Exchanging side-eyed glances with Wayne, I began to put a few puzzle pieces together.
"All right, then," Wayne said. "We'll just go up and down the driveway. Nothing to jump, but you can really open 'er up since our brothers got it paved."
"Don't go too fast," beta grumbled. "And no wheelies!"
Leo laughed, but Angelo rolled his eyes and grabbed beta's elbow.
"Come on, worrywart," he said and tugged beta toward the front porch.
"But they don't know how he is," I heard beta hiss.
"Then let them find out!" Angelo hissed back, and a few more puzzle pieces fell into place.
Leo followed them, shaking his head with a smirk.
"Bye, Leo!" Thoreau called.
"Bye, Reau. Have fun."
"All right, Reau." I handed him my helmet. "Put this on and I'll take you first."
"Hey!" Wayne frowned. "Why you first?"
"Because I'm older—"
"By seven weeks!"
"And more responsible." I smirked.
"More responsible? You forgot to feed your goldfish and it died. How is that responsible?"
"Fish killer!" Thoreau yelled and pointed at me, a shocked look in his eyes.
"I was five," I growled.
Why are you trying to make me look bad in front of him? I let Firth light up my eyes a bit in my irritation.
Aw, come on, dude! Wayne laughed. I'm just kidding! He is, too.
No, he's not, I disagreed. He's taken every single thing literally.
Oh? I hadn't really noticed.
You never notice things, I snorted. And now you're too focused on how cute he is to think.
Don't tell me you aren't dying to dig your fingers in those thick curls!
Yeah, I admitted.
And his eyes! Dude, his eyes are killing me, they're so pretty!
I had to agree with Wayne again. Thoreau's thickly fringed eyes were as blue-green as the ocean we saw at Disney.
Although it's funny that mine are blue, his are blue-green, and yours are green, he continued before I could comment. We're like an eye color spectrum or something.
When Wayne giggled, I smiled, happy because my boy was happy. Then a flare of worry hit our bond, and I wondered what he was anxious about now.
You're not jealous because I think he's cute, are you? he asked hesitantly.
Of course not. I think he's cute, too. And jealousy is when you want something that isn't yours. You're already mine, rattle brain.
Damn right I am, he smirked.
Language! I fussed at him.
Our big brothers and Dad drilled it into our heads every day to watch our cussing. Not only did we have baby brothers at home who watched every little thing we did, but it was also a very hard habit to break.
Whatever. Hey, Arch?
Wayne looked at me with his own pretty eyes wide and pleading, which nearly always made me agree to anything he wanted.
Yeah? I asked cautiously.
We are keeping him, aren't we?
Oh, yeah, baby, we're keeping him. A little smile pulled up the sides of my mouth. Thoreau Ezra Jones belongs to us now.
Wayne Black
While Arch and I flirted in the link, Thoreau pulled on the helmet and walked over to my dirt bike. He lifted one hand and stretched it out as if he wanted to run it over the seat, then snatched it back quickly.
Beta told him not to touch, said Ocean when I tilted my head in confusion. He's obeying.
Ah. Nice insight, wolfie, I praised him.
Goddess knew, he had a shit-ton more awareness than I did. Most of the time, I was just around for the fun, not to try and understand everyone and everything.
Going over to Thoreau, I clamped my hand on his shoulder only to get the shock of my life when he leapt back and put his arms over his head as if he expected me to hit him. I dropped my hand right away, but the damage had been done.
"I didn't touch it! I swear, I didn't touch it!" he shouted with wide, scared eyes.
"It's okay if you did. You're going to get on it in a second, anyway. Here. Look." Smiling at him, I laid my hand on the seat. "There's nothing to hurt you unless you touch your bare leg to the muffler, but even that is quick and easy for your wolf to heal."
"I don't have a wolf right now," he mumbled. "Mommy Daddy put Tanner to sleep and he won't wake up."
"Is Tanner violent?" I asked, wondering why they would do that.
"No. He's a good wolf! But I was being a bad boy, and Mommy Daddy punished Tanner because of me."
Arch? I linked. Do you know anything about this?
No, but let's not push him for answers. He's ... fragile. Can't you tell? We need to be careful and not ask too many questions. At least for now.
But I want to know why they hurt him! I grumbled.
As if his abusers' reasons would even make sense. Normal people don't hurt their own pups, dude. Firth underscored Arch's voice, which told me he was as disturbed as I was by what Thoreau had said.
"Go for a ride now, please?" Thoreau asked, blinking his big, innocent eyes up at me.
Before I could intercept him, Arch grabbed my helmet off my handlebars and hopped on his bike with a grin.
"Let's go, Reau!" he yelped and crammed my helmet on his head.
When he kicked his bike to life and revved it a bit, Thoreau jumped a mile, and I snickered until Ocean told me the boy was scared, not just startled.
"Hey, you're okay," I called over the noise. "We won't let anything happen to you."
"It's too loud!" he called back.
"It's just the noise of the engine. It's nothing to be afraid of. It can't hurt you."
He still looked uneasy, but his desire to ride seemed to overcome his nerves because he nodded when Arch patted the seat behind him. I helped him get on, cautioned him again about the muffler, and told him to hold on to Arch the whole time the bike was in motion.
After listening to me, he put his arms around Arch's waist and held on tight, and I grinned at how cute they looked.
Interesting, I thought to myself. Any other guy, I would have torn off him in a heartbeat. He's my Archer.
"Ready, Reau?" Arch called over his shoulder.
Instead of answering, the little guy nodded so fast, I thought he'd get whiplash.
Dude! Hurry up! I jumped up and down in anticipation. I want to know how it feels to have him pressed up against my back and ass, too!
Aw, man, you did not just say that! Arch groaned.
What? I whined. It's true!
Stop talking, Wayne. I do not need a boner right now.
Who's making you hard? Me or Reau? I asked with a smirk.
Yes.
Good. Same for me.
Which was very unusual for both of us. Before today, we'd only ever gotten turned on by each other.
We need to be careful, Arch warned me as he settled his bare feet on the pegs and slowly drove down the driveway, steadily gaining speed until they were out of sight. He's ... innocent.
Of course he is. If he was locked in an attic for years, there's no way he's lost his virginity yet, I said to annoy him.
Not that kind of innocent, dipshit!
Ha! Language! Shame, shame, Arch! I crowed. It wasn't often that he slipped, and I had to be obnoxious about it when he did. And what? You think he lost his virginity at eleven?
Of course not! Arch's voice filled with exasperation. Well, yes, that kind of innocent, too, but I can already tell that he doesn't have any experience of the world. He probably doesn't even know what sexual preference means, let alone his own!
Yeah, I get that. Arch?
Yeah?
You love me, right?
Yes, you annoying little behind!
Yes what? I demanded since he said it in an irritated tone.
Yes, I love you! he snarled.
I love you, too, dude, I told him with a big grin.
He could say it a hundred times a day, and it would still make my heart flutter the next time he said it, even if it was in a snarl.
I'd known I was in love with Archer Barlow for more than a year and had been working up the courage to tell him. What if he didn't feel the same for me? Would it ruin our friendship?
Technically, we were step-brothers. His dad and my mom became chosen mates, but still, how would our family - never mind the pack - feel about us being together? And if he didn't return my feelings, how could I live in the same house as the guy I loved? And what if it wasn't love love? What if I ruined our friendship over a silly crush?
To test what I was feeling, I spent spring break camping in the mountains with Azure Graves and Grey Myers. They'd been shocked when I arrived without Arch, who'd been confused about why I was ditching him when it was my idea to spend the week with Atticus Bel Aire at his family's horse farm. I couldn't give Arch a clear answer, but he seemed to get that I needed some space.
"Then I'll talk to you when you get back," he said with no expression on his face, but I could see the hurt and anger in his eyes.
I should have known right then. The second Atticus' truck pulled away and left me standing there, my mouth went dry and my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my rib cage.
You're just being a stubborn jackass, Ocean tried to tell me.
It's nothing. I'm fine, I tried to convince us both. I have to do this.
Your heart's racing.
Dude. I have anxiety. I rolled my eyes. Everything makes my heart race.
He snorted and didn't say anything else to me for the rest of the day - and he called me a stubborn jackass.
But the real stubborn jackass was Arch. That douche refused to link me no matter how many times I nudged the link!
It had been years since we'd separated for longer than a few hours, and to not even be able to link him? That was torture.
I was absolutely miserable, and I had no one to blame but myself.
Two days into our trip, Azure was ready to kill me. By day four, even Grey - Mr. Zen himself - threatened to drown me in the lake.
That's when I finally accepted what I felt wasn't puppy love.
I shifted and let Ocean run as fast and hard as he could toward the Bel Aire horse farm, but we met Firth about halfway there. He also was running hell for leather and tackled Ocean in his happiness to see him.
Don't you dare do this again, Wayne! Arch snarled in the link. Whatever you were trying to prove to yourself, I hope you did it already because I'm not doing this for a minute longer!
Sorry, I whispered. If you would have linked me, it wouldn't have been nearly so bad.
I should have linked you? You, who ruined our whole spring break by leaving me?! He shifted suddenly, shaking all over as he began to shout. "And for what? What did you get out of this, numb nuts? No, never mind! I don't want to know, but I hope it was worth it!"
"It was, actually," I admitted after I shifted, too, but I wasn't prepared to admit the whole truth at that moment.
In fact, I decided I'd tell him by the end of summer break, but he was done waiting. There in the middle of the forest on a sunny Tuesday in April, Archer freaking Barlow confessed that he loved me.
I was so relieved, I cried all over him.
Of course, we were both naked and very aware of that fact. Since neither of us were anywhere near ready for a physical relationship, we quickly shifted back to our wolves before the wrong head started thinking for us.
As we ran home together, I teased him by calling him Wayne-sexual, and he responded by calling me Archer-sexual.
And now it was looking like we both might be Thoreau-sexual, too.
What if he doesn't like us as anything more than friends? I gnawed on my bottom lip. What if we accidentally pressure him to like us as more than friends? What if—
Wayne. Stop. Calm down. Breathe. Arch waited until my heart stopped racing before he went on. We just met him, dude. We'll get to know him and be friends with him before anything else.
You're right. As usual. I shook my head and let out a deep breath. I'm getting ahead of myself.
Also as usual, he teased, and I shot him the bird as his dirt bike roared back into sight.
Wayne? Archer? Luna Posy linked us. The king's coming over, so watch out for his vehicle.
Got it, I answered before Arch could. Luna, what's going on with Reau's wolf? He said Mommy Daddy put Tanner to sleep.
The king is coming over to make sure, but— She let out a sad sigh. I think they killed Tanner with an overdose of wolfsbane.
Those words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I stood gasping as I tried to process why anyone would do that to their kid's wolf.
Why? Arch wanted to know. Wayne asked Reau if Tanner was violent and he said he wasn't, so why would they do that?
Reau's parents were very cruel to him for no reason. It's his story to tell when he's ready, but I want you two to be extra gentle with him. He's suffered enough. Luna sniffed, which made my heart pinch. I loved my tiny sister-in-law and hated to know she was upset. I'm sorry, boys. I didn't mean to burden you with this.
No, we're glad you told us, I said. We like him a lot.
Yeah, the three of us are going to be besties, Arch added his two cents.
That's great! she chirped, and I smiled to myself, pleased that we'd cheered her up even just a little.
Happy luna, happy pack, Ocean said sagely, and I nodded in agreement with my wolf.
Then King Julian arrived, and we only got Thoreau off the dirt bikes by promising to teach him how to drive one.
He pouted, but stood patiently as King Julian approached him.
"Hey, Reau. I'm going to put my hand on your head, okay?"
Instead of answering, Thoreau nodded, and I wondered if he was intimidated to be so close to the king of werewolves. Nudging Arch with my elbow, I jerked my head toward Thoreau, then we moved in unison to flank the little dude.
I doubt he'll recognize that as a sign of support, Beta Emerson linked us with a sigh, but thanks, boys.
No need to thank us, beta. He's our bestie now, Arch told him.
Yeah, we've been having a great time getting to know him, I chimed in. Like we told luna, we like him a lot.
That made the beta smile despite his tension, but there was no lie in anything we said.
The king didn't waste time once he had his hand on Thoreau's bouncy brown curls and, less than a minute later, he stepped back.
"Thanks, Reau," King Julian said. "You can go back to playing now if you want."
"Thank you, your majesty." He gave the king an adorable smile that made me coo inside.
"Leo, can you go out with him, please?" luna asked. "I'm not sure how much I trust three teens with two dirt bikes and a mile-long driveway."
Arch and I rolled our eyes, but said nothing. We hadn't spent much time with Leo Halder. Although he seemed like a cool dude to me, we'd overheard our parents talking and knew that the former alpha was going through a lot right now. That kind of thing made some adults irritable, but Thoreau was comfortable with him, so I figured it was all good.
"Sure thing." Leo smiled and draped an arm around Thoreau's shoulders, and we all trooped back outside.
You know the king confirmed that Tanner's dead, right? Arch growled as he led Thoreau back to his bike. You can feel luna's sorrow and beta's heartbreak in the pack bond.
Yeah, I admitted, blinking back tears, and I can't imagine this little sweetheart deserved that.
No pup deserves that, he hissed in a tone that spelled trouble.
Dude! Calm the hell down! I snarled. You're going to scare Reau!
I knew Archer Barlow better than I knew myself, and right now, if he didn't have Thoreau on the back of his bike, he would have shifted and been howling for blood.
I was mad, too, but I knew we couldn't do anything about it. Even if the king did issue orders for the alpha and luna of Gray Shadows to be put down, he wouldn't send two fifteen-year-olds to do it, regardless of our beta blood.
No, for now, all we could do to help our new bestie was be there for him, so that's what we were going to do.
Emerson
How the hell were you supposed to tell your baby brother that his wolf was dead?
And that it was his own parents who did it for no other reason than to be cruel?
I was damned if I knew.
After Angelo left with luna to finish shopping for Ty's party, I joined Leo outside. In silence, we watched Archer and Wayne race their dirt bikes down the driveway with Thoreau clinging to Wayne's back, hooting and hollering and having the time of his life.
"Arch should have a helmet on," I muttered at last.
"Gave it to Reau." Leo's lips twitched. "Said Firth could heal him if he split his head open. Wayne joked there wasn't that much to damage, and Reau actually got it. Laughed his little butt off."
"Wayne and Arch are real characters. They prank everybody." I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "A few months ago, they gave me some Oreos, but they'd replaced the filling with white toothpaste."
"Tasty," Leo snorted, then clamped his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "I'm so sorry. I'll help with Reau however I can."
"Thanks." I let out a deep sigh. "King Julian wants Beatrix to do a reading on Friday. Get a better look at Reau's memories. See exactly what they did to him. The king will issue a judgment after that and, Goddess willing, no one else will ever again be hurt by Bellamy the Bastard or his heartless bitch."
"Why wait until Friday?"
"Ty's birthday is tomorrow and luna bunny invited us to his party. You're coming along, by the way, in case I forgot to tell you." I smirked a little as he made a face. "Anyway, the king advised us to let Reau enjoy that first, and Angelo and I agreed."
"I'm worried about him. He needs more help than we can give him, especially now."
"Angelo has a psychologist friend in the Royal Pack who owes him a favor," I said slowly. "He's going to visit next week to do an evaluation and offer some suggestions."
"That would be good. To tell you the truth, though, I think Reau already suspects that Tanner's gone."
"Why? What happened?" I whipped around to face him more fully, my eyebrows arched in question.
Even though I wasn't expecting to hear that, I didn't doubt Leo. Thoreau was more perceptive than people realized. Sure, he usually ignored what didn't interest him, and sometimes he didn't understand what he was seeing or else misinterpreted it, but he noticed everything.
"He said something while we were weeding the walk the other day." Leo shrugged. "In a way, I think he's even made peace with it."
"What did he say?"
"I guess Tanner told him that he loved him right before he died. Reau said, 'If I never hear from my wolf again, I'm glad those were his last words to me.' Then he talked about how good and brave of a wolf Tanner was. It was like an impromptu eulogy."
"And what did you do after he was done rambling?" I asked.
"I said that, even if he was gone forever, Tanner would always live in his memories, then I gave him a hug. I hope I didn't overstep."
"Of course you didn't. It's what I would have done, too." I smiled at him. "Thanks, Leo. I knew you'd do great with him."
"Nah, man. Thank you." Leo rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his eyes to the ground. "Thank you for trusting me with him. He gave Ruby and me a purpose again. Both of us love him a lot."
"It's impossible not to," I said with a nod.
"It is. What's also going to be impossible is getting him away from Archer and Wayne to go home."
"I hear that," I groaned, aware that my baby brother was already attached to the two troublemakers.
"I hope you also know you're going to be shelling out for a dirt bike real soon."
"Nope. No way. He's not getting one." I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at Leo. "What if he gets hurt?"
"Then luna can heal him." Leo shrugged. "Look how much fun he's having! Besides, you know all it will take is one look with those big, innocent eyes and you'll cave before he finishes asking."
Right on cue, Thoreau leapt off the back of Wayne's bike, tore off his helmet, and ran up to us with a giant grin.
"Bubba!" he screamed. "May I get a dirt bike, please?"
"Told you so," Leo said out of the side of his mouth.
I elbowed him in the ribs, which earned me a frown and a glare from his earnest little protector.
"Don't hurt Leo the lion, Bubba!"
I rolled my eyes. As if I could hurt him.
Leo had started coming to fighter practice with me and Angelo, and the only ones who offered him any real challenge were the alphas or us betas if we paired up against him.
He needs something to do besides babysit Reau, Cove pointed out. Something productive and useful.
I know. He's talking about job hunting when he's a little more stable. If he gets a job, though, I'll need to find someone else to watch Reau during the day.
My wolf snorted and said that Wayne and Archer were probably not going to leave him alone now.
They like him as much as he likes them, he added. They never would have hung out with him this long if they didn't.
That was true. Despite Archer's struggles with his temper and Wayne's issues with anxiety, both boys were usually easygoing and funny and tolerant, but if they didn't like you, they let you know it.
They are going to cause so much chaos together, I muttered.
And just imagine the calls you're going to get from school! Cove smirked.
I'd rather not imagine it. I'll be living it soon enough. I scrubbed my hands over my face. I need to remember to make an appointment with the principal for a little talk.
Might as well get him to reserve a parking spot for you, too, my wolf snickered. You are surely going to need it.