Blue & Green
18
"Even if all I did was stay away, it's still the best thing I ever did in my life."
Unable to stop himself, Derek kept shooting quick glances at the man in front of him from underneath his bangs. He was liberally spreading marmalade across his toast, appearing unobservant of Derek's nervous staring. His stomach felt as though it would come up through his throat when Cain opened his mouth and spoke.
"What would you like to know?" He gave Derek an easy, soft smile.
A million and one questions sprang to mind but all Derek could ask was, "Why?" It hung between the two men and Cain's expression changed, his eyes growing unfocused as heset down his knife.
"Why indeed," he murmured. "I was not in a good place when your mother became pregnant with you. I had just gotten out of jail for vehicular manslaughter after falling asleep at the wheel and the things I saw..." He paused, his expression darkening slightly, and Derek tensed without thinking. "Anyway, not long after, Andrea announced she was, of all things, pregnant. She was ecstatic. I was less so because it took me so long to adjust to being...a free man after so many years. I had to better myself. I sought therapy and began my own construction business. In the meantime, the rift between Andrea and I became more and more apparent."
Derek shifted, dragging a wedge of french toast through syrup. "Andrea...That was my mother. Is she…?" He couldn't bring himself to ask if she was still alive and crammed the wedge into his mouth.
Cain shook his head. "She passed away two years ago from a house fire."
So she was gone. Just like Chloe's.
The older man shot his son a sad look. "By the time you were born, she was living with her parents again after I suggested we call it quits. I was more than adamant in being in your life, even if she wasn't my girlfriend anymore, but she vanished without a trace a few months after you were born. I searched everywhere I could but...I didn't find you until now."
"Thirteen years later," Derek sneered, unable to help himself.
Hurt flashed across Cain's face, followed closely by shame. "I never stopped looking for you, Derek. Never. You were always on my mind, always there in every thought, and to think, I found you, after so many years. And right where I least expected, with the very person that hadn't crossed my mind in well over eight years."
"Kit."
Cain nodded. "We weren't overly close but his late wife, Kathleen, Simon's mother, introduced me to Andrea, and so I knew of him. To think he had my son. And never once contacted me. And it wasn't like I was very private about looking—everyone who knew me knew I was searching for you."
Derek shifted, uncomfortable. "I...He made it clear talking about you, asking about you, was frowned upon. Not exactly forbidden but it became very apparent as I got older, I wasn't supposed to be curious about you."
Cain closed his eyes. "Of course he did. He knew me only from when I went to prison and my strained relationship with Andrea, no doubt. But Kathleen...she knew me as well as I knew her. I'd known her since we were children." He paused, dragging his mug of lukewarm coffee closer and taking a long swallow. Even after he set the mug down, his eyes remained closed, and Derek examined him.
He was not traditionally classified as handsome but striking in his deep-set eyes and large, slightly hooked nose, the strong brow-bone and the fat eyebrows, the thin mouth that was perpetually pulled down in a frown. When he moved back in his seat, the collar of his shirt shifted, revealing what appeared to be the edges of a tattoo.
"Are you a wolf?"
"Yes. Have you gone through your change?"
Derek nodded, spearing a piece of now-cold sausage and taking a large bite. Without looking up, he spoke. "Kit doesn't like me running around in the wolf grounds but he can't exactly stop me. He just—he doesn't get it."
"The wolf urges and the feeling like you're going to die if you don't run?" Cain's dark eyes bore into him.
How could this man, who he'd never met before, read him so much more easily that his father-figure of twelve years? Maybe it was because they were one in the same: wolves on the inside and men on the outside.
How could he ever describe the rush of cold air filling his lungs, the mingling of scents, the exhilaration of running, the stretch and burn of his muscles to a man who'd never experienced the freedom of letting the wolf take over? Kit didn't know how his skin would burn and itch and crawl, his teeth would ache and bleed, his dreams filled with feverish images of running shoulder to shoulder with other wolves.
"Would you like to come back to my house with me? I believe there's so much more we can talk of. Unless, of course, you have plans with someone." Cain reached for his wallet and pulled out several ten-dollar bills, counting out a tip for the waitress while he downed the rest of his coffee.
"Just Chloe," Derek admitted reluctantly, reaching over the table and snagging the lone piece of bacon left over from Cain's plate.
"Chloe? Is she your mate?"
Derek looked away from Cain's probing stare, as heat infused his cheeks. "She doesn't know. We've been best friends for so long, and she's been dealing with this stalker all the sudden, I don't think she'd take it very well."
"She may surprise you. Andrea certainly surprised me when I told her." Cain grabbed his jacket and waited for Derek to slide out of the booth, laying a fatherly hand on his shoulder. "Shall we?"
The boy stared at his father for a second before nodding and together they walked into the cool afternoon.