Page 21 of Oakheart

I opened the door on Aleks standing there, and I hadn’t been mistaken, thinking he looked tired. There were faint circles around his eyes that rarely appeared on werewolves, and he looked rumpled from traveling.

I’d never been on a plane myself, but they sounded terrible.

He’d been stuck on them for days.

“Hey,” he said to me with a soft smile, like just seeing me was a relief.

My heart thumped hard when my pa’s chair scratched across the floor and he stood up. I turned to see him nodding seriously at Aleks—the kind of nod a man shared with another when he was impressed by him. “Glad to see you got your brother home safe, Aleks.”

“Thank you,” Aleks said to Pa.

I stared up at him, impressed too. Impressed and confused, because he ought to be sleeping, not standing at my door.

My father’s uneven gait headed toward his bedroom, and I realized he meant to give us at least the illusion of privacy. I should invite Aleks in, not make him stand outside like he was unwelcome.

I stepped back from the doorframe. “Do you want to come inside?”

Short and sharp, Aleks nodded.

He walked around me, and I shut the door. When I turned to him again, he took a breath so deep it lifted his shoulders. The next thing I knew, he’d stepped forward, into my space, and both his hands were on my cheeks.

It was intimate. Close. I felt the heat rush under my skin, pooling beneath his surprisingly soft hands.

“You are well?” he asked, frowning. “No trouble?”

I let out an awkward laugh. “No, no trouble. Your mother was nice enough to keep bringing lunch while you were gone, and Evie was my helper. Things were slower while you were away but”—I reached up and squeezed his forearm—“everything’s all right? Viktor’s safe? You and Leo didn’t have any problems?”

He shook his head. “No problems.”

His eyes darted toward my father’s closed door. As much as Pa had wanted to provide some privacy, that didn’t really exist among werewolves, and we were both all too aware of that.

Hell, our closest neighbors could probably hear us. And I—I didn’t know what this was, but there was something swimming in Aleks’s eyes that was too confusing for me to parse in that moment. It was longing, but also regret, and I didn’t know what to make of it, especially when he dropped his hands and stepped away from me.

“I’m glad,” I said anyway, hoping that the tightness in my voice read as sincerity and not the ache of him pulling away.

He ought to pull away. Ought to keep his distance entirely, really.

So why did it hurt?

I was just lonely. I liked the feel of his hands, soft like any calluses he had were new and he took care of himself. Most werewolves were prone to physical touch, I just wasn’t used to it because I’d been around humans during my apprenticeship. Even here, among pack, I wasn’t—well, I wasn’t close to the others like that. Aleks touching my face.. . it didn’tmeananything.

“Yes, I—” Aleks frowned at me, shifted his weight uncomfortably.

He didn’t go on. Didn’t say anything else.

I couldn’t imagine what there was to say, really.

“You should rest,” I offered. “It’s been a trying few days, but I’m... really glad you checked in. And I’m glad your brother is safe. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell me the whole story in the next few days, but you look exhausted.”

Aleks sighed, raking his hand through his hair. “Yes.”

He slumped his shoulders, and I didn’t know what the hell I was doing when I wanted to fix it.

I took a deep breath. “I, uh, missed you...” I swallowed. That felt like too much of a confession. “At—at the site. I... um, really am glad you’re home. Really.”

“Yes,” Aleks said, looking at me very seriously. “I am very glad to be home also. Good night, Cash.”

He left, and I didn’t know if he heard my croaked, “Good night.”