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And Delton had done a great job his first time, far better than Adar had expected. Isam had texted him afterward to confirm that Delton seemed to be a natural. Surprising, considering he had no previous experience or even exposure, and Adar still hadn’t figured out why Delton had offered to help him, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
When the trail split, they followed the right fork, which led deeper into the woods. The closer they came to the brook, the louder the murmur of the water meandering between rocks and boulders became. In the height of summer, the brook was a trickle, crossable with one big step, but they’d had some rain the previous week, and now it was a little wider. Late fall, it would become more of a challenge to cross, though Adar always wore waterproof boots when he went for a walk, so he didn’t worry about it.
Rhythmic pecking on a tree above him made him look up. A woodpecker with a bright-red head was furiously tapping away at a tall pine tree, unbothered by the humans passing below him. Adar halted and pointed the busy bird out to Delton. They stood and listened for a while, then continued along the brook.
A few minutes later, a rustling of leaves came from their right. Adar stopped again and signaled for Delton to be quiet. After a little while, a young deer stepped up to the water, nervously looking around before bending to take a few sips.
Delton was watching it with a big smile, and for some reason, Adar was more fascinated by the beta than the deer. Delton was cute. For some reason, it hit Adar all over again that he was gorgeous with his messy dark-blond hair and pale-blue eyes that looked into the world with kindness and curiosity. His beard was more of a glorified stubble, but Adar liked it. It suited Delton.
But what Adar most liked about Delton was his vibe, strange as that might sound. He radiated this calmness, this quiet confidence. Like peace and chill personified. Adar never felt like he had to talk with him or was forced to keep up appearances or some kind of mask. He could be himself, and what a gift that was.
The deer darted away, and Delton turned to Adar, his face radiating joy. “That was beautiful. Do you see them often here?”
It took Adar a moment to collect his thoughts, too distracted by staring at Delton. “Erm, yeah. Though they’re quite skittish, probably because they sense we’re wolves. Technically, they’re prey.”
Delton chuckled. “Not technically. They are prey. We eat them.”
“Yeah, but we only kill what we can eat. We don’t hunt for sport.”
“It wasn’t a criticism. I love Lev’s deer stew.”
So did Adar. Word on the street was that Lev used dark Irish stout for his recipe. Adar wasn’t sure if that was true, but whatever it was, it made the meat super flavorful.
They continued their hike until they reached Adar’s favorite spot: a meadow on a hilly clearing, where the grass was soft like a pillow. They both sat and sipped from the water they’d brought. Adar had also grabbed some cookies, which he offered Delton.
“Chocolate chip?” Delton asked with a grin.
“Of course. Only the best for you.”
Delton froze for a moment, then blinked and looked away. Had Adar said something wrong? Nah, had to be his imagination. “Thank you for everything you’re doing for me and Oliver. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”
“You’re very welcome. I’m happy to see you two grow closer.”
“I learned quite a bit about you as well.”
Delton shifted, still not meeting Adar’s eyes. “Yeah, I got a little carried away, I think, when you and Oliver were asking those get-to-know-you questions. I should’ve kept quiet since it wasn’t about me.”
“No, I liked it. Made it feel more like a conversation than some forced talk.”
“Oh, okay.”
Adar played with a long grass stalk, rubbing it between his fingers. Close to him, a fat bee buzzed as it clumsily moved from flower to flower, heavy from the pollen on his body. “Do you think Oliver needs therapy to talk about what happened to him? Or can he get past it by himself?”
Delton finally looked at him, his expression changing and becoming livelier. “I can’t answer that so easily, but I will say it’s a common misconception that talking is required to move past a traumatic experience. For some people, it’s necessary, but others are able to process it in a different way. It’s certainly not necessary to recount the trauma in detail, as many people seem to believe. In fact, that’s often way too triggering.”
Delton clearly loved his job. Whenever he talked about it or something related to what he did, he became so animated and passionate. It was beautiful to see. “And you don’t know which way would be the best for Oliver?”
“No, but I haven’t spent that much time with him yet, and we haven’t talked about his past at all.”
“It’s bad.” Adar’s face tightened. “Really, really bad. If I ever get my hands on that Dempsey… Rhene promised me that asshole is mine. I’m not a violent man by nature, despite my job, but I won’t hold back with him. He is the vilest, lowest scum there is.”
Delton held up his hands. “You won’t hear objections from me.”
“No? That surprises me somewhat.”
“Did you think I was some kind of pacifistic softie?”
“No, but I wouldn’t have thought you embraced violence.”
