Chapter Nine

Revenge is the raging fire that consumes the arsonist.

—Max Lucado

 

THOMAS HAD BURNED down his childhood home with his stepfather bound to Thomas’s youthful bed. The one he’d continuously violated Thomas on for years. Thomas hadn’t fought back that time—the only time—letting that fucker think he’d finally broken him in. His stepfather was so pleased with the turn of events he’d closed his eyes. It had taken every shred of bravery Thomas had left in him to do what it took to achieve his plan.

This was what his stepfather had wanted for so long, often times begging and bartering with Thomas not to fight him. It would be gifts one day and anger the next. It was—all of it—physical, emotional, and mental abuse. What else could this asshole do? He’d hurt Thomas but call it love when he whispered. He’d abused him like this nearly every time his mother went to work.

With his mother at work for the nightshift, Thomas had banked on his stepfather sleeping there with him afterwards. The price had been paid, and Thomas smiled. Everything hurt—but he smiled at the soft snoring beside him. After easing carefully out of bed, Thomas pulled up the long yard dog chain he’d taken from the garage, draped it over—across—that dick’s sheet-covered stomach, and crawled on the floor to the other side of the bed.

So carefully and quietly, Thomas cinched the chain he had stretched out beneath the bed that morning and secured it to the point where it was snug but wouldn’t wake him. Only a tiny click filled the air as Thomas pushed down the hasp in the lock hole, binding the links tightly together.

It had taken a trip to the gas station on his bike the day before to fill up the new gas can, then ride back and claim he had to mow the yard. Thomas had taken it and the other can from the garage and poured them both throughout the house as his stepfather slept. Thomas took his mother’s parakeet out of its cage and let her fly free from his hands at the back door. Then Thomas went to his room with the rest of the gas in the can. The portion he’d saved just for William.

Thomas stood at the foot of the bed for a long time, just staring at the man who had destroyed him. Silent tears streamed down Thomas’s face. He had broken Thomas, broken parts of him, and even broken bones. But Thomas felt nothing other than relief as he poured the remaining gas onto the bed. He sat the can down on the carpet and flicked William’s long barbeque grill lighter as he called his name. William woke, eyes wide as Thomas put the flame to his old Batman sheets.

“Burn motherfucker,” Thomas said and waited until William understood that he was chained. Thomas ran with everything he had as the flames whooshed in a great wave around him. He ran with no doubt that William could work himself out of the chain, but not in time. Then, Thomas sat in the backyard on the ground by his swing set, staring up at his bedroom window as William screamed and cursed. Then William coughed and cried out as the window turned black. Thomas listened to him cry for help the same way Thomas had.

No one came for either of them.

More tears raced down Thomas’s face. The window blew apart, shattering as flames shot out, and Thomas, not understanding why at the time, had lifted his head and smelled the air. Smelling the stench of that bastard burning.

The smell had been unmistakable, and Thomas cried harder. Now, it was in relief that William would never touch him that way again. Thomas didn’t move. Just watched the house burn.

Fire, that beautiful Goddess, winked and then blew him a kiss and ravaged the house on his behalf as she made everything okay. Her fury and retribution bound them to each other eternally. And Thomas admired her work with awe until he was lifted, naked, from the ground by a fireman, cradled by a man telling him he was safe now, son. And Thomas believed this one.

He was placed in an ambulance and taken to the hospital, where an exam had been performed. It had been without question, all of it, so evident to the emergency and medical personnel. A detective and an officer came then, bringing his mother with them once they’d dressed Thomas in a gown.

Chains and locks apparently didn’t burn. Thomas didn’t deny it; he confessed it. Told the truth about his stepfather’s evilness. His mother denied it, right there in front of him. Thomas would never forget the look on her face when the ER doctor confirmed that he had been sexually molested by an adult male and that there was physical evidence of repeated and current abuse.

She hadn’t been sad. She had turned angry. Angry at Thomas. Thomas had never understood it, her reaction. But his mother had changed that day, turning into one of the worst monsters he could have ever imagined. She had pressed for prosecution rather than a behavioral center. She’d wanted nothing further to do with her son, who she believed had taken everything from her and destroyed her life—all over again.

Thomas lay on the soft grass and closed his eyes. He shivered a bit as the wind blew across the lake, or from reliving his past. Those had been such dark days. So much pain. So much hurt from being unloved. Wolf trembled, too, but with the rage that he hadn’t been able to protect Thomas back then. All of it had happened before his true birth when he was nothing more than incomplete DNA strands and unformed cells drifting in the abyss of Thomas’s bloodstream.

Thomas had been sent to juvenile detention after his bench trial. And from the first day, when that big quiet guy had walked over to him and claimed Thomas in front of everyone and put Thomas back together, everything had changed. He’d finally found real love and true happiness. And at that thought, Thomas and Wolf both slept more peacefully.

*

WHEN TRISTAN—THOMAS and Wolf snarled his name—returned days later with a massive number of supplies for Ryan, Thomas could almost not hate the guy. But he could see the happiness that Ryan felt when he was there. Thomas could also feel the interest Ryan had for Tristan in the air and smell it. Neither he nor his Wolf liked this one bit, and they contemplated killing the man with their sharp teeth. Thomas entertained the idea of letting Wolf eat Tristan.

So sharp, Wolf growled in encouragement.

Deadly, Thomas snarled in agreement.

Thomas went on a long hard run through their territory to work the anger and jealousy out of his system. When he returned, the pair were already bedded down for the night, and Thomas howled out his jealousy near the cabin before returning home. Thomas had been Wolf for far too long. And he didn’t want to watch the two men spend time together. His Wolf had grown attached to Ryan, and Thomas wasn’t completely confident they wouldn’t attack the generous man, so he shifted back to human once he was home. Thomas sulked in his room, where he had carried his dinner back to eat alone.

His father stopped by his quarters and asked why he was so troubled. Thomas told him he believed that Ryan was moving on with the Steele son.

“Of course, he would move on. He thinks I’m dead,” Thomas moaned.

“Time,” Malcolm said. “And since the council is worried, time is a good thing.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “I need to sleep. But if the council would approve me going to him…”

“They aren’t comfortable with that yet, what with the Steele son coming and going. Be patient, son. We just need a little more time for things to settle down. I’m trying to convince them that they need to stick to what they agreed to before. We don’t go back on our word, and things are tense right now.”

“I know. Thank you,” Thomas said and yawned.

Malcolm nodded and reluctantly left his son in peace.

Penn came by next, bringing his dinner and eating at Thomas’s small table. He smiled, then bit his lip. “I saw him. You are so lucky.”

It cheered Thomas a bit as he rolled over and grinned back at Penn. “I told you,” he said, agreeing over how handsome Ryan was. Thomas told Penn about his plan to leave Ryan gifts.

“Mate gifts,” Penn said, accepting Thomas’s plan, something the council couldn’t keep anyone from doing. Penn sighed. “I wish I had a mate.”

“Someday, Penn. You deserve the best mate.” Thomas said his belief aloud.