Ghost's Sight by Morwen Navarre Read Free Book Online Page A

dependents.”
    Gerry nodded, feeling a surge of elation. Mother’s agreement was the approval he needed, a vote of confidence in Gerry, acceptance of him as another alpha. He knew Mother would honor the agreement, just as he knew that he would be able to provide properly for Ghost as a result. Now all he needed to do was see if Ghost was willing. Gerry bit back a chuckle when it hit him that he had already decided he himself was willing.
    “It’s still not fair,” Conn said, looking into his tea. “I need you, too, Gerry. You’re not thinking about that.”
    Gerry sighed a little. “Half the time, you ignore me, and the rest of the time you’re telling me to fuck off, Conn. It’s not like we’re all that close.”
    “That doesn’t make it okay to walk out on me, too,” Conn insisted, a quaver in his voice.
    “Conn.” Mother stood and put his mug on the sideboard. “Gerry has a right to live his life.” He went outside as Gerry sighed again.
    “You need to stop being so helpless,” Gerry said. “You need to be more help for Mother, and not an endless source of complaints and demands.”
    “I try,” Conn protested. “I’m just not good with a bow, and I’m not a very good guard, either.”
    Gerry frowned at Conn. “And you can’t stitch leathers, or even wear them, so Mother has to waste trade goods having someone make your clothes. You can’t cook or manage to wash up the dishes. You forget to tend the fire, and you don’t even know where the broom is, much less how to sweep the place out once in a while. And who gets to wash all that clothing of yours? I wash your clothes. I sweep and wash dishes. Mother cooks. You do whatever it is that you do, which seems to be mainly looking for ways to avoid work and making sure I don’t steal Mother away from you.”
    Conn looked at Gerry for a long moment. Gerry winced as he saw the hectic flush of color rising on Conn’s cheeks, the blue eyes stormy. It was time for one of Conn’s tantrums, which would end in tears and broken crockery like usual, Gerry thought.
    “I can’t fucking believe you just said that to me. You think all I’m after is Mother and being taken care of? You don’t have a fucking clue.” Conn glared at Gerry, but for once he kept his voice low. It was somehow more unnerving than his usual screaming.
    “Then enlighten me, because that’s what I see.” Gerry folded his arms across his chest. “I broke my fucking leg trying to get to you, because I heard you scream. I caught my foot in a hole you should have spotted, but you were too busy eating berries and pouting to do your job, weren’t you? If the Witch hadn’t been able to fix my leg, you’d be down to one alpha anyway, so I don’t see where you get off sulking now.”
    “Did it ever fucking occur to you that it might be because I care about you, too?” Conn stood up to take his cup over to the sideboard. He dipped hot water from the large cauldron on the hearth, pouring it into the washing tub. His voice was still low as he continued. “The only people that I can remember caring about me at all are you and Mother. I don’t remember my dam at all, and my sire liked his fucking mead more than me. So you walking out like this hurts, all right?”
    “Make up your mind, Conn. You can’t have it both ways. You push me away for years and now I’m supposed to understand that it was your twisted little way of saying you cared?” Gerry sighed. “I want to be with Ghost and not as a fellow dependent. I want to be his alpha, to take care of him, and hold him at night. I don’t feel that way about you. You’re family, and I’ll always care about you as family, but I don’t want you like I want him.”
    Conn finished washing his cup and Mother’s cup as well, putting them on the sideboard to dry. “I suppose it’s good to have it out in the fucking open. I guess you were pretending, those nights we spent together, right?”
    Gerry shook his head. “Don’t, Conn, all