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“I know you’re still doubting your strength right now. I can feel you holding it back, trying to keep that uncertainty and self doubt from seeping into the pack bond.” I leaned against the side of the truck and extended my hand. “You can borrow some of mine. Come on, we’ll do this together.”
He dropped out of the truck and grabbed ahold of the life line I’d offered him. He slipped his hand into mine, laced our fingers together hand held on tight.
The security lights mounted on the corners of the house flipped on as we made our way up the concrete sidewalk that led to the porch where David and Marcus waited to usher us inside. Theo rushed up the walk behind us, taking the front steps two at a time to close the distance and fall in line behind his alpha.
Apart from the soft glow of the overhead light, mounted above the sink emanating from the kitchen and the warm, yellow glow of the bedside lamp in Max’s room spilling out into the hall, the house was dark.
But we didn’t need the light or our enhanced vision.
It was as if Max called to us, his body waiting to be prepared for the funeral service, a magnet that pulled us down the hall and into his room.
Galen dropped into the chair at his father’s bedside, rested his elbows on his knees and propped his head in his hands. His betas formed a semicircle behind him and I moved up and stood at his side.
We stayed with him until the sun peeked through the blinds and the mortician came to collect Max’s body.
***
MAX’S FINAL ORDERSas alpha for the Northwood pack had been in preparation of his funeral service. He gave specific instructions to David and Marcus, handling every last detail so that his son wouldn’t have to bear the burden of making the arrangements while working through his grief and assuming the full responsibilities of becoming the new alpha.
Galen conceded to his father’s wishes one last time - even if he didn’t agree with the decisions. Still, he adhered to the formal and regimented schedule Max set for the funeral services.
“Lying in state.” Galen crumpled the trifold paper program with a full schedule printed inside and tossed it in the trash can by the desk in his office at the bar. “This is the part I hate. Is it selfish of me not to want to share this with everyone? There are members of the Northwood pack that haven’t been home in years.”
“They just want to pay their respects.” I grabbed a bottle of spring water from the mini-fridge, along with a protein bar from the bottom of my bag and set them on the desk. “You need to eat.”
“They could have paid their respects by being present and accounted for while he was alive.” Galen peeled the wrapper from the granola bar and chucked it in the trash. “And I’m not hungry.”
“I know, but you still need to eat. You’re no good to anyone if you let yourself get rundown.” I nudged the water bottle over the desktop calendar until it brushed his fingertips. “You need to hydrate too.”
“Thanks.” Galen cracked the twist top on the plastic bottle, chugged half the contents and set it beside the protein bar.
He went through the motions. Eating and drinking just enough to keep from being nagged to death by me or his betas.
Galen had run himself ragged fielding calls from allied packs offering their condolences and conference calls with the council. Despite the preparations his father made, there were some things Galen just couldn’t avoid.
The council was one of them.
Grief and stress had taken their toll on him mentally and physically. He was sleep deprived and well on his way to being malnourished. The protein bars I stowed in my messenger bag for him weren’t enough to maintain a shifter metabolism. He needed to eat a substantial meal.
The refrigerator and freezer at Max’s were stocked with meals that pack members had prepared for their new alpha. Nothing said you cared quite like a casserole. They were all covered in foil, ready to be popped into the oven but Galen had no interest in going back to his dad’s to raid the fridge.
“We should probably head over to the funeral home.” I glanced at my phone to check the time. “David, Marcus and Theo are probably wondering where you are.”
It had been hours since he’d checked in with his betas. Galen had withdrawn since he got the call about Max’s death in Montana. I don’t even think he realized he was doing it, but it wasn’t like him to leave texts and calls unanswered.
“I’m not a hard man to find. If something was wrong, they know where to look.” Galen grabbed his suit jacket off the back of the chair and slipped his arms into the sleeves.
“They’re worried about you.” I held out my hand and pulled him close when he collapsed his hand around mine. “I’m worried about you too.”
I spared him the lecture of distancing himself from the people who loved him. Given the way I’d handled the problem with my wolf’s eyes, I was the last person who needed to be giving a speech about trust and relying on others.
Who wanted advice from a hypocrite? Nobody, that’s who.
“I know.” He brought my hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across my knuckles. “After Jamie died, I spiraled. Marcus, Theo and David were there for me. But I never would have clawed my way out of the pit I was wallowing in without my dad.
Galen pulled his cell out of his back pocket with his free hand and pressed his thumb against the screen to unlock it. It opened to his contacts. Max was at the top of the list.
“When things were good, bad, or in between he was the person I turned to. I keep reaching for my phone to call him, or my keys to jump in the truck and drive over there to talk to him.”
