His Hunter

XV | The Thinking Thing

It was the first time in a long time that Cole didn't feel doubt. It almost surprised him. Normally, hearing the news would have sent his entire reality spinning. But it had been a few days, and he still felt confident. He knew that nothing would or even could change. Kaia was his sister. That was just how it was.

That was how it would always be, even if David wasn't her father.

It was strange at first. There had been a horrible moment when Cole had envied her for not having David as a father. But then he realized that she had Jacob, instead. That was definitely not better, and he immediately felt guilty.

The rest of the world was the same. Cole was still spending time at the Mansion. More and more, he was starting to feel more at home there. He felt like Lionel's room was his own. He spent nights there sometimes. While Cole found it slightly frustrating, he and Lionel still hadn't gone farther than kissing. Instead, they just talked. For now, maybe that was enough.

But...Cole was a guy, and he couldn't help wanting more. That was an intriguing realization in and of itself. He'd never wanted more with anyone. But some days, it was all he could think about.

Maybe his mind didn't linger on how he felt about Kaia being only his half-sister because it was so full of Lionel. Or maybe it was because he just didn't think that family had anything to do with biology.

Time kept passing. Cole had somehow come to terms with a lot. He still had questions, but he was beginning to suspect that life was just spun with questions, on and on until the end of time. It was confusing, but if it wasn't, it would all unravel. If they had answers, it would lose its mystery. What is life without mystery? Magic is a lot less amazing when you know how the magician does it.

It was enough that his sister's connection with the Pack wasn't as scary to him any longer. He didn't feel like he was being abandoned by her anymore. It helped that he had Lionel now. Kaia was moving on, but so was he. Plus, there was Albert. As soon as he and Lionel had decided they were somehow going to stay together, Lionel had insisted that Cole meet Albert.

The kid was hilarious. He was the epitome of what a child should be. Albert was curious. He was funny. He was gentle. He was kind. He was sometimes a little bit of a jerk, but kids are selfish and you forgive them for it because they're adorable and don't know any better. "Stop, what are you doing?" Albert said suddenly.

"What?" Cole asked, staring down at Albert who was sitting on his lap. They were on a chair that Cole had positioned in front of a tall mirror.

"You're doing it wrong," Albert said. His little face was contorted in frustration.

"Are you sure?" Cole asked, his hands pausing. He and Albert had been hanging out all day. Lionel had randomly disappeared in the morning and hadn't shown up since. He'd said that he was going to come back, but he hadn't yet. Cole trusted him, though. It had looked important. Besides, he couldn't just leave Albert alone. He didn't mind hanging out with the kid.

"I'm sure. Lion does it better," Albert said. He'd insisted that Cole tie his blonde curls up into a bunch of tiny pony-tails all around his head. It was making him look a little bit crazy, but the kid wanted it, so Cole would deliver.

Cole thought about Lionel and felt this twinge in his chest. It was frustrating that the person he loved so much, the person that he'd only recently entered into a fully dedicated relationship with...well, he had this whole other life that Cole couldn't connect to. Cole wanted to know every part of Lionel, to be able to be close to him. But it was hard when...

He'd never before been bothered by his being human, but Cole was starting to resent it.

"He has more practice, I guess," Cole said. "I'll figure it out, though."