With Caution

and even…normal.
    Sterling snuggled against him, burrowing his nose in Rhys’ chest. There was even a soft snore.
    Smiling, Rhys turned his face into his shoulder and brushed the tears off his face. In the background, wind rustled the grass, the crickets chirped, there were even some cars 198
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    on nearby roads, but Rhys didn’t want to move. Not yet. He just wanted to sit here and hold Sterling. It might be the last chance he got for several more years. But at least he’d have several more years. Sterling was here, safe.
    “Sterling? Rhys?” Remi’s frantic voice rang out, breaking the silence. Jake’s followed. “Rhys? Sterling?”
    “Over here.” Rhys didn’t yell, he knew they’d hear him. Grabbing his and Sterling’s phones, he laid them on Sterling’s chest and for the first time noticed a hardback notebook. Hmmm…that was odd. It must have come with Sterling, so Rhys picked it up and put it on Sterling as well. Getting his feet under him, he stood.
    Remi ran to him, looking like death warmed over. “Oh God. No!” He reached for Sterling.
    “Whoa.” Jake scrambled to get Remi and pulled him back. He looked up at Rhys.
    “Hey, buddy. Everything okay?”
    Huh? Rhys realized suddenly that he was growling. Taking another step back, he nodded.
    “What’s wrong with him?” Remi struggled against Jake’s hold and reached for Sterling again.
    This time Rhys was very aware of his growl and he made sure they saw his teeth. He wasn’t ready to hand Sterling over yet.

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    J.L. Langley

Chapter Twenty
    If Remi smoked he’d have gone through a pack already. As it was he was ready to collapse. Remi glanced at Sterling, lying on Jake’s couch, and his anxiety kicked up a notch. “You’re sure he’ll be okay?”
    Lifting his head from his hands, Jake sat up straight. “He’ll be fine. You slept for a bit too.” Jake narrowed his eyes, studying Remi intently. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
    “Yes.” Remi looked down at his torn jeans and dirty shirt. He was achy from wiping out, but okay. Likely, he’d feel more pain after he was certain Sterling was fine, but at the moment he had too much on his mind. He forced himself to sit on the love seat next to Jake.
    Sterling rolled over, his arm flopping off the couch and hanging over the edge. Remi, Jake and Rhys stared at him expectantly, but other than that he didn’t budge.
    After Rhys had stopped growling at them, they’d put Sterling in a pair of Remi’s shorts and a T-shirt he’d left at Jake’s. Between Remi and Rhys, they had managed to clean him up.
    Sterling seemed peaceful, like he was asleep, and the bruises on his face were nearly gone. Whether it was Remi touching them or Rhys changing him into a wolf, Remi couldn’t say, but he was glad. As nervous as he was over the fact that Rhys had claimed Sterling as his, Remi was damned glad Rhys had gotten there when he did. If not, Sterling would have died.
    “Do you know what happened?” Remi made a move to put Sterling’s arm back on the couch, but Rhys beat him to it.
    Lifting Sterling’s feet out of his lap, Rhys got up from the end of the couch and put Sterling’s arm across his chest. “No, he wasn’t in a condition to tell me what happened.
    Did the two of you go by the house?”
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    Jake nodded. “There was no one there, just the smell of blood. Sterling’s and their mom’s from what I could tell.”
    Which was another thing that had Remi concerned. His mom’s blood had been all over the place, but she’d been nowhere in sight. Her car was missing. Had she gone looking for Sterling after he’d left the house? Why hadn’t she called Remi?
    Scooting closer, Jake put his arm around Remi and hauled him close.
    Remi gave in and rested his head on Jake’s shoulder, needing the closeness of his mate. He felt his anxiety slowly ebb away and fatigue start to take over. But he couldn’t go to sleep…not yet. He had to wait and watch after Sterling. Whatever happened, Sterling wasn’t going back. Remi had already decided. He was going to take off with the kid as soon as he woke. Jake had assured him if it came to that, he’d go too, as did Rhys.
    So no matter what, Remi would have his brother and his mate.
    Man, his eyes hurt. Maybe he could just close them for a second.
    He must have drifted off to sleep, because the next thing he knew, his head was