“Gabriel, I rest secure in the knowledge that you have more than enough fun for the both of us,” Gideon sighed, enjoying having his brother to banter with but wishing he didn’t have to hear the “you’re no fun” lecture for the umpteenth time. After all, it wasn’t as though Gabriel had ever been expected to do anything but exactly what he’d wanted to. Despite having been raised in the same household, the two of them had had decidedly different upbringings. Gabriel had been the baby, the handsome clown, always ready with a joke or his charm to get him out of trouble (which they always had). He’d learned to fight, as all Pack males did, to control his power and wield it as best he could. But when it came to the bits he’d considered optional, the rigorous training Gideon had gone through, the added responsibility meant to toughen up those in line for Guardianship, well, Gabriel had always opted out. And their father had indulged him, Gideon thought with just a hint of that old jealousy, never pushing too hard, sending him off with his blessing when Gabriel had announced he was running off to Tobermory to open a pub, be back sometime, fare thee well.

Naturally, it had been a success. Everything Gabriel had ever touched had turned to gold.

It was just a damned shame he’d never bothered to do much with it. But then, what did he know, Gideon thought, shaking off the mood that always threatened to settle on him when he and Gabriel had this particular conversation. He’d always pushed himself, always taken on more than perhaps he ought to have. So busy training for the future that he’d forgotten to enjoy the present.

And wasn’t that some of what this little last hurrah of a trip had been about?

A lot of good that had done. Gideon snorted softly, shaking his head. Obviously, some people were simply not meant to indulge themselves. And others, like Gabriel, soaked up all the indulgence for them. It might have been an unfair balance, but a balance it was, and he and his brother had long ago accepted that they were opposite sides of the same coin.

It helped them to continue loving one another when they wanted to kill each other.

“Do you want me to tell Dad?” When Gabriel turned the topic, the concern in his voice was evident. Say what you like about him, thought Gideon, but Gabriel’s loyalty, once given, was as solid and true as the Lia Fαil itself.

“You’d better.” Gideon switched the phone to his other ear, listened again for any sound of Carly’s return. He had no idea how he’d explain lolling about in her bed, and he doubted she’d join him at this point, so he was keeping his ears pricked, just in case. “I know Malachi’s always hated me, but those beasts he sent to off me weren’t right. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s been turning the worst sort of criminals to work for him, and if that’s the case, you know he’s not going to stop at me. The rules he’s breaking are too big to mean anything but. Dad needs to be watching his back. He’s going to make a play for Alpha.”

“And Moriah will finally have her little dynasty. God knows she probably still thinks she can make some sort of king out of her baby boy once she gets her paws on the Stone. You’d think she might have bothered to learn a bit about the nature of what we protect with our damned lives, wouldn’t you? Not that Dad ever told us much, but he did always laugh whenever we suggested crowning ourselves on it.”

“You mean you always wanted to crown yourself on it. And if she was always as frightening a hag as she is now, then no, not really.” Gideon tucked his arm behind his head, realizing that he was finally beginning to relax. “Wonder if she’s still dyeing her hair that color that makes her head look like it’s on fire?”

“I guess I’ll be finding out, since I’m going to have to pay our stupid cousin a visit, and you know mummy’s never far off. Listen, I’ll poke at him, see what I can get, have a go at warning him off. But all of this … be careful, Gid. If he really is trying to kill you, and truly, it’s so outrageous I can barely get the words out, then he’s finally gone completely off his rocker. Once Malachi knows that we’re onto him, he may move more quickly, especially since his little friends have made it clear they’re keeping an eye on you. And you know it’s going to be near impossible to turn everyone on him without some kind of proof. Malachi can be a charming bastard when he likes, although I have to say, he doesn’t hold a candle to me. Can’t see how everyone doesn’t see right through it.”

“Always so modest,” Gideon chuckled. “No, you’re right. He’s far from loved, but then again, everyone knows he and I have history.” He stroked his finger down the line of his scar. “And to come out flinging wild accusations when I’ve just done the only crazy thing I’ve ever done and gone running off to America … they’ll be asking him to take on the Guardianship.”

“No.” Gabriel’s tone was firm. “You needed this. If ever a man needed a vacation, it was you, Gid. I know I’m a broken record, but you need to try and think a little less of the Pack once in a while, and a little more of yourself.”

Gideon’s laugh was short, humorless. “Tried that, and look what a mess I’m in.”

“Oh yes,” Gabriel replied, and Gideon could actually hear his brother’s eyes rolling. “It’s all terrible. Especially the part about you being snowed in with some pretty thing who wants to save you. Not to mention I’ve never heard you say more than two consecutively nice things about any girl you ever dated, and suddenly you’re wanting to gobble up the one you’re with. Careful, you,” he chided, “because if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d found your mate.”

Gideon heard his voice harden, but his back was up now and he couldn’t help it. What the hell was this? Gabriel was supposed to be warning him off, telling him horror stories about people he knew who’d gotten themselves tied down, dismissing his attraction as a meaningless nothing easily cured by a quick shag and an even quicker exit. But if Gideon wasn’t mistaken, what he was hearing in his brother’s voice was encouragement. And just what was he supposed to do with that?

“You know damned well that would never work,” he growled. “She isn’t strong enough to take the bite. There’s no natural wolf in her. She’s too soft. Too human.” Just like his mother had been, he thought, and it was one more drop of sorrow into the endless well he’d built on the faint memories of a woman whose softness and warmth he had never truly stopped feeling the loss of.

Gabriel sounded unfazed by his brother’s snap of temper. “So, you have thought about it. Well, Dad always said, when it happens, it happens fast.”

“Like you’d know.”

“Gideon, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m making a concerted effort not to know.”

“Hence the merry-go-round of unsuitable women?”

He heard the satisfied smile in Gabriel’s voice. “Exactly.” Gideon just shook his head, pitying the woman who would eventually catch his brother’s heart as well as his eye. He had a feeling neither one of them was going to be all that happy about it. He could only hope he’d be around to grab a bowl of popcorn and watch the show.

“You know, it’s not as though you’d have to try and turn her. You’re a good boy, you could keep your teeth to yourself.”

Gideon pulled the phone from his ear, glared at it, and returned it to his ear, wishing his brother would just let the subject drop. It was the most utterly upsidedown conversation he’d ever had with him, and as a wave of fatigue washed over him, he found he was quite ready to go back through the looking glass into the real world now, thank you very much. He was sore, he was exhausted, he wasn’t even going to begin to think about the sexual frustration, and he was ready to have a nap.

“What woman could possibly be happy living like that?” He’d closed his eyes now, but the frown was still firmly in place. He gritted his teeth when, instead of blackness, he kept envisioning Carly in the one place every shred of sense he had insisted she shouldn’t be: his home. But the harder Gideon tried to block it, the better he could see it; Carly, her blond waves flying behind her, laughing as she ran ahead of him over the rolling lawns and gardens that surrounded his cottage. Whether he was man or Wolf, she would run with him, daring him to catch her before she disappeared into the embrace of the silent, sheltering trees. The sky above them would be pale with evening, and all around them, the singular, endless green of Morvern would fairly shimmer.

Gabriel’s voice, when it came crashing through the daydream, was annoyingly cheerful. “Ah, back to being a martyr again. That’s comforting. Well, you have a point, Gideon, I sure as hell can’t see anyone wanting to live with you. Not with all the pissing and moaning you do. But maybe your girl’s going for sainthood, being that she hasn’t tossed you out on your ass yet.”

Gideon growled in response.

“Temper, temper,” Gabriel sighed breezily. “Well, on that note, I’ll be off. I’ve got a blonde lovely here who can’t wait to have her paws all over me. I’ll sniff around our dear cousin, see if I can get his back up. Now that I’ve got your number there, I’ll call and let you know how it goes. I’ll be talking to Dad about it, too. Not that he’ll give a damn, stubborn old goat that he is.” Gabriel chuckled, but Gideon knew he was right. Which only made getting to the bottom of things quickly even more imperative.

“Until then, take care of yourself, brother.”

“Watch your back too, Gabriel. Once we can prove it’s Malachi, he’ll have to be dealt with. And it looks like he’s wanting to deal with us first.”

There was a soft click as Gabriel broke the connection, and Gideon hung up on his end as well, tossing the phone to the floor. His mind was suddenly fuzzy, his body feeling as though it were made of lead. The morning had taken a lot out of him during a time when he really should have been resting, healing. Now, his body didn’t just need it, it was demanding it, and Gideon realized with dawning horror that he was never going to make it back to his assigned room, much less out of Carly’s bed. He was going to sleep, whether he liked it or not.