Free Sunshine's Kiss by Stormy Glenn Page B

what to think when Jesse blew out a deep breath and pushed his hand through his hair as he turned to face away from him. “Jesse?”
    Jesse’s hands slid down to rest on his hips. His head dropped down as if he was staring down at the ground. He seemed troubled, and that baffled Sam just as much as everything else did. He started to step forward, wanting to comfort Jesse, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Sam glanced over to see Cort McCaffrey’s hand on his shoulder.
    “Just give him a moment, Sam.”
    Sam turned back to look at Jesse. “But—”
    “I need a few minutes alone with Sam,” Jesse said without turning around. “Go on inside and get your breakfast. We’ll be inside soon.”
    Sam turned and watched Jesse’s brothers—Cort, Nate, and Gabe—walk inside the house without question. Once the door shut behind them, he turned back toward Jesse. When Jesse didn’t say anything for several moments, Sam went down the steps until he could look up into the man’s face. The faint smile on Jesse’s lips held a touch of sadness, and it made Sam’s heart ache.
    Sam felt sick with the struggle within him. His emotions seemed to be out of control. He was terrified of this new world he had suddenly found himself in, but the thought of walking away from Jesse was agonizing.
    He reached over and closed his hand around Jesse’s, hoping the man understood that he was confused but willing to listen. Jesse’s smile grew a little as he squeezed Sam’s hand in return. Then the man stepped down off the steps and started walking, pulling Sam along with him.
    “Let’s walk, Sam. What I have to say to you is for your ears alone.”
    Sam followed alongside of Jesse, uneasy about what the man had to say to him, especially since he wanted to say it in private. Sam was really feeling like he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear. He had kind of been feeling that way since he arrived back at the ranch, and the feeling was just getting stronger with each passing second.
    “I’ve explained to you that I am Lycan, as is everyone in my family.”
    “Yes,” Sam answered.
    “In a family of Lycan, there is one person who all others defer to. In my family, that used to be my father. If he hadn’t gone insane, he would probably still be in charge. But he did, and I had to challenge him for leadership right after you left. That made me alpha, the one in charge of all of us.”
    Sam could feel his pulse starting to pick up. Panic wasn’t too far away. “Did…did you kill him?” Even before Jesse shook his head, Sam remembered his mother telling him that Andrew McCaffrey had been banished, and not killed. He just had no idea what being banished meant.
    “No.” Jesse sighed deeply and stopped at a fence, dropping Sam’s hand to lean on the fence with his arms. They had walked far enough down the driveway that they were out of sight of the main house. Jesse seemed a little less tense now that they were alone. “We fought, and it was close, but in the end I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. No matter what he did, he was still my father.”
    “So, what happened then?”
    “I banished him from the pack.”
    “Pack? Like wolf pack?”
    Jesse nodded. “Exactly like that.”
    “So, you and your brothers and my mother are all part of a wolf pack?”
    “We are a small pack, Sam. It’s just me and my brothers, your mother, and a couple of the ranch hands. There are probably more wolf packs in other parts of the world, but we don’t associate with them. We never have.”
    This was the part of all of this that intrigued Sam so much. “Why not?”
    “My father was somewhat of an isolationist. He brought us out here when I was just a baby, long before my brothers were born. Lycan tend to be pretty territorial, so I think it was a safety thing for him. He wanted to keep his family safe.” Jesse shrugged. “Or maybe he was banished from his previous pack like I banished him from this one. Who knows? What I do