Fin's Claim

Blurry

Finian POV

Old growth forests pass by in a blur, everything is blurry. I can't hide the tears from Peter, it's just him and me in his old Cadillac.

"I didn't tell my dad I loved him, I just hung up the phone. I didn't tell him I loved him" The weight of that burden will always stay on my shoulders. I will regret the words I didn't say to him. I try stifling a sob with a cough, it doesn't work. Peters hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze.

"Fin," He clears his throat.

"I have known your father since we were pups, he's a forgiving male Fin." His voice cracks with the weight of his thoughts.

"He loved you so much, just remember that. He loved you." Both of us are shedding tears.

Getting out, I've dressed in black...the color of mourning. My mother walks quickly towards me wrapping me up in her arms. Her sobs, it hurts so bad, it's been so long since I was held by her. I feel as if I'm a small pup again, seeking comfort in arms that always made things better.

"I'm..sorry." I can hardly get the words out.

"Shh, you're home now. That's what matters, you're home now. All my males are home now." She hugs me closer to her. New cries bubble out from my throat, I can't stop shaking. Legs waiting to give out.

Standing inside the open door, Grey and Thomas watch us. Grey's filled out, he's coming into his own wolf. Thomas must have grown five inches, he almost reaches the tip of Grey's nose. He looks different no longer a puppy but a young newly shifted juvenile. They're my brothers but they look like strangers at the moment. Two years away has changed all of us.

Grey takes a step towards me, it's the first time in two years that I don't feel like slaughtering him. He's slow with his steps, testing the air between us with a sniff of his nose. Thomas stays behind him, grabbing onto the back of his shirt. He's afraid of me, I can see it in his eyes. Thomas is nervous, his movements skittish, most of his body is behind Grey.

I take my own step towards them. Such shame feels me, my little brother growing up without me in his life. The memories he has of me are filled with pain.

"Thomas." My arms open to receive him, but he doesn't come, choosing Grey instead to stand behind. A stoic face, his eyes have no emotion, vacant, red puffy as if he's been crying for hours. Dropping my head, I give a nod in understanding...My eyes fall on Grey, we both regard each other, sizing the other up. He's grown into a male wolf...it's as if I'm looking at myself in a mirror except his eyes are pleading with an untold emotion.

"Fin." He stands tall, unflinching underneath my direct gaze. His shoulders don't slouch, he meets me eye to eye.

"Grey." Both of us take a step towards the other, grief binding us, propelling us forward into each other's arms. He hugs me with just as much force as I hug him...My brother, my twin cut from the same cell. I can feel how desperate inside he is, how not only is he crying for my father's death but our fractured bond.

"I'm sorry Fin." I just hold him close to me, hand at the back of his neck. Part of me wants to squeeze my nails into his skin, make his blood soak my hands. The other part wants this to stop, to be like what we were before. I say nothing back to him, letting him go.

"Thomas come here." He doesn't move from where he is, looking at our mother for guidance. Her vision is blurred with the tears she's shedding.

She can't wipe them away fast enough. A hand lays against her chest as if she is in physical pain. I can see her legs are shaking, she looks older than she is. Pale, her weight has dropped severely.