“And he can hear you,” Nysys teased. “Now come on, tell me what the meeting’s about.”
“We can’t.”
“But—”
“We can’t. Dominic told us to keep our mouths shut, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. You’ll find out soon enough anyway. The meeting is in twenty minutes.”
Nysys huffed and put his hands on his hips. “Do you know how long twenty minutes can be? Very, that’s how long. Morin does this thing when we have sex where he—”
Aeron slapped his hands over his ears. “I don’t hear you. I really don’t want to know about what you and Morin are up to in the bedroom.”
“Fine, I won’t tell you. But still, twenty minutes can be fucking long.”
Aeron let his hands fall. “I don’t care. Now why don’t you go and bug someone else? I have things to do.”
Nysys arched a brow. “Things? Do they include fucking in the hallway? Because you were well on your way to doing just that.”
“We were kissing!”
“For now. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t interrupted you?”
“Nothing. Exhibitionism isn’t my thing.”
“How do you know if you haven’t tried it yet?”
“How do you know I haven’t?”
“Please. I know you.”
“Whatever. Now come on. We need to get to the dining room, open the doors to the living room, and get all the chairs we need from the basement. The entire pride won’t fit into only one room.”
Nysys pouted, probably at the idea of physical work, so Aeron added. “You can go gather glasses and enough water for everyone.”
“That sounds as bad as doing the stairs.”
Aeron rolled his eyes. “Really? We’re Nix, Nys. We don’t have to do the stairs. I’ll just shimmer the chairs where I need them.”
Aeron didn’t wait for an answer. He grabbed Jericho’s hand and pulled him along, taking advantage of the way Nysys was gaping.
* * * *
Jericho was uncomfortable, and he wished Dominic would hurry up. Everyone was looking at him, and while he was used to being the center of attention from when he’d led the hunters, he’d never particularly enjoyed it, and this was even more awkward. He just knew most of the people looking at him wanted him dead, or at least maimed. Preferably painfully.
Awkward was an understatement.
Aeron squeezed Jericho’s hand and leaned closer. “You’re nervous.”
It wasn’t a question, so Jericho shrugged. He knew his nervousness was pretty obvious from the way his palms were damp and the way he was bouncing his knee. He was pretty sure the entire room knew it, and they were probably staring at him on purpose. Nysys certainly was. Every time Jericho looked at him, he scowled, then burst into giggles.
“Why is he laughing so much?” Jericho asked Aeron, nodding toward Nysys.
“Ignore him. He likes making people uncomfortable.”
Jericho softly snorted. “As if I needed him to feel that way.”
“Relax. No one here will hurt you.”
“Maybe not now, but you can’t deny they’re looking at me with murder in their eyes.”
“You’re exaggerating.”
Jericho wanted to protest, but he let it go. He looked around again, careful not to look at anyone in the eyes, not even Nysys. Especially not Nysys.
Aeron and Jericho had opened the doors that separated the dining room from the living room and had placed what looked like hundreds of chairs around. Everyone had a seat, and it was the first time Jericho actually saw how many members the pride had. He hadn’t counted, but there were more than fifty, probably around eighty or so if he included the children.
He was surprised at how many children there were and how young they were. They were running around the room, chasing each other and laughing, and Jericho’s heart squeezed in his chest. This was what Brad wanted to destroy. What would happen to these children when he attacked? Would he really be able to kill them? He knew them, had lived with them.
And Jericho had been okay with Brad doing this for the past few years. It made him hate himself just as much as the pride members seemed to hate him.
His gaze landed on a toddler sitting in his father’s lap. The dad looked human, and he was looking at his son with eyes full of love. The kid was obviously not human, though. Leathery wings sprouted from his back, and they moved every so often when his father tickled him. Jericho thought he knew who the two were, but he didn’t want to use Brad’s list anymore. He didn’t even want to think about the information on it.
“That’s Troy,” Aeron said. “The baby’s Aaron. Troy was human once. Then he was captured and experimented on, and he didn’t even know he could get pregnant before it actually happened. He had a hard time accepting it, but his mate helped, and now they’re happy.”
Jericho couldn’t help thinking about Brad’s notes. “It was humans, right?”
“Yeah. Humans have hurt more shifters than shifters have humans. It’s always been that way.”
“I’m sorry.”
Aeron shrugged. “You didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Not with what happened to Troy, but... .”
Aeron squeezed his hand again. “Let it go. I know you feel guilty, but you need to stop thinking about it. You’re helping now, and that’s all that counts. Once this is over, then we can talk. We can’t afford not to have you with us right now.”
The noise level in the room skyrocketed and Jericho turned to see what was happening. Dominic had come in, along with his mate and another guy.
“That’s Nate, the pride’s beta.” Aeron said.
The three walked to the front of the room, and the room quieted down. The only things that could be heard were the children’s voices and their parents shushing them.
Dominic cleared his throat. “I might as well get it out. The pride will be attacked in two days.”
There was a pause, and everyone was silent, then noise exploded.
“What do you mean, attacked?”
“What the fuck!”
“How do you even know that?”
“We need to do something!”
Jericho didn’t try to identify who was talking. He stayed silent, holding Aeron’s hand and knowing Dominic was about to put him in the spotlight. Just what he needed.
Dominic raised his hands, and Jericho was surprised it worked so quickly. The room quieted again, albeit not as much as before. Dominic waited to have everyone’s attention before speaking again. “Jericho went back to the hunters and gathered information for us. That’s how I know the pride is going to be attacked.”
And there it was. Everyone turned to look at Jericho, and he wanted to run, or to bury himself into the ground. Whichever was easier. And faster.
“How do you know you can trust him?” a woman asked. “He’s a hunter.”
“He was a hunter,” Dominic answered before Jericho could try to defend himself.
He didn’t think he’d have had good results anyway. He wasn’t stupid enough to think the pride members would accept him easily. Aeron had, but they were mates, and the few others who didn’t seem to have problems with Jericho were mostly Aeron’s friends.
“He was hunter? Please. He’s been here for what? A month? And now he’s repentant and you’ve accepted him with open arms?” the woman argued.
Jericho wanted her to shut up.
“You all know he’s Aeron’s mate. I’m not privy to whatever happened between them, but Jericho took the chance of going back to Bradley and the hunters even though he knew they’d kill him if they suspected he wasn’t with them anymore.”
Jericho resisted the urge to snort. That was one way to put it. No one had to know he’d gone back to try to convince Brad to stop because he’d thought Brad would listen to him and that they were friends.
“What happened?” Nysys asked, looking at Jericho.
> Jericho hoped Dominic would answer that, but instead Dominic looked at him with an arched brow and waited.
Jericho sighed. “Brad knew something was up with me,” he said. “In short, he told me he’d have killed me if he didn’t need me to organize the hunters’ teams for the attack. I’m... I was his second. I was the one who took care of things like that. Brad never had the patience to deal with people.”
Nysys snorted. “That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.”
“Yeah, well. He locked me in a room and had me call all the team leaders. That’s how I know when the attack will be, although of course he could change it.”
“Do you think he will?” Noem asked from a corner of the room.
“He could, but no, I don’t think he will. He had me call almost all the hunters’ teams. There’s no way he can do this sooner. There are too many people to move and to coordinate, and I’m gone. He can’t do it on his own.”
“So what’s going to happen?” Troy asked.
“We’re going to evacuate all the children and the people who don’t want to fight,” Dominic answered. “I’ll call enforcer teams, and I’ll need the Nix’s help to shimmer everyone away. I already called the other council members, and they’ve all offered to welcome a number of you. You’ll be safe until everything is over.”
“What will happen if...” someone started to ask. He never finished his question, but everyone knew what he’d been asking.
“It won’t happen,” Dominic answered. Sounding sure of himself. “From the numbers Jericho gave me, we have more fighters than they do. Don’t forget about the enforcers. They’re trained to do exactly this, and we have several teams of them living here with us. Other teams will be arriving over the next day.”
“I’m sorry, but if you’re so sure we’ll win, then why is Bradley even going to attack?” Jared asked. “He lived here with us. He knows how many people you can put together. He has to know we have more fighters than he does.”
“Jericho?” Dominic asked.
“I can’t be sure, but with what I now know about Brad, I’d say he knows he can’t win this. He needs closure, though. He’s probably going to let Dominic kill him, but he’ll fight until the end.”
“So he’s suicidal?” Jared asked.
“I guess. He lost his family and his mate years ago. I’m sure most of you can understand why he became so bitter and so hell bent on revenge. I think it’s so ingrained in him by now that he sees no other way out of it. He can’t just let go of it.”
There was a pause, a moment when everyone was silent. Then everyone tried talking at once and the noise level skyrocketed again. Jericho sighed. This was going to be a long afternoon.
Chapter Six
“I thought it was never going to end,” Aeron said as he reclined back on his bed.
It was evening. The damn pride meeting had lasted hours, and they really hadn’t added anything to the plan Dominic had already had in place. It had mostly been Dominic answering what had felt like thousands of questions, more questions, and people not trusting Jericho and making it known.
Aeron had hated that part.
Jericho hadn’t said a thing. He’d been quiet unless someone asked him a question directly, but that was all, and Aeron had felt him closing in on himself as the hours passed. He’d wanted to whisk Jericho away after a while, but the meeting was a pride meeting, and both Aeron and Jericho were pride members. Aeron wasn’t about to let anyone refute that, no matter what they thought.
“Well, it’s over now,” Jericho said. “You can go to sleep.”
He was hovering by the door as if he thought Aeron was about to kick him out. Aeron rolled his eyes and raised his hands, wiggling his fingers at Jericho in what he hoped his mate would understand was a come here gesture.
Jericho finally came forward and Aeron smiled. “You said we needed to talk.”
Jericho frowned. “You really want to talk more? After this afternoon?”
Aeron sat up and crossed his legs in front of him. “It’s not like you did a lot of talking. I’m ready to listen if you want to talk now.” He patted the bed in front of him.
Jericho finally took the hint. He leaned down, unlaced and took off his boots, then hopped onto the bed. He wiggled around for a few moments, and Aeron could tell he was trying to waste time.
“Nothing you can say will push me away from you,” Aeron told Jericho, hoping to make him more comfortable. “I already know what you did in the past.”
“That’s not what we’re supposed to talk about.”
“What are we supposed to talk about then?”
“About the fact that I left you after we had sex for the first time, without telling you where I was going or knowing if I’d actually come back.”
Aeron sighed. “Look, I can’t say I wasn’t angry when I woke up alone in bed, or worried, but I understand why you did it. I wished you’d have told me, but I know I’d only have tried to stop you, so I get why you didn’t. There’s nothing else to say.”
“That’s it?”
“What did you expect me to do? Not talk to you? Make you grovel?”
Jericho’s lips twitched in an almost smile. “Kinda.”
“I could do that.”
“But you won’t.”
“No. I don’t want to think something bad will happen to either of us the day after tomorrow, but I’m not stupid enough not to know it’s a possibility. The last thing I want is to have to fight while worrying about the fact that we aren’t talking or that you think I’m still angry with you.”
“You’re still convinced you’ll fight?”
“Yes. I might not have the same training a lot of the other people who live here have, but I have my werewolf form. The hunters are human. I can do a lot of damage.”
“You could get hurt or even die.”
“So could you. Actually, it’s more probable you will, because you’re human.”
“But I’ll have you. You’ll stick close to me, right?”
“Of course I will. You’ll probably need to see my werewolf form before then, by the way. I don’t want you to freak out right before the attack.”
Jericho reached over and took Aeron’s hand. “I don’t think I could be afraid of you.”
Aeron snorted. “Tell me that after you’ve seen me.”
“Okay, so I might be shocked and maybe a bit freaked out, but I know it’s you in there. I know you’d never hurt me.”
“I won’t, not intentionally.”
“Good.”
“Good.” Aeron laughed. “Now that this is cleared up, is there anything else we need to talk about? Because I’d like to go to bed if there isn’t.” Jericho suddenly looked shifty, and Aeron narrowed his eyes. “What?”
Jericho looked everywhere but at Aeron. “Well, the last time I tried to talk to you about mating, you said I didn’t know what I wanted.”
“That’s not what I said.”
Jericho snorted. “It is.”
“I told you why I’m hesitant about this. I’ve known about mates all my life. You haven’t. I have a hard time understanding how you got used to the idea so fast, and I can’t help but be scared of what would happen if you decided you can’t deal with it.”
Jericho was silent for a moment, maybe gathering his thoughts.
Aeron wasn’t being difficult about this because he wanted to, or because he wanted to push Jericho away. He was scared Jericho wanted to mate just because he thought one of them would be hurt or worse on the battlefield in two days.
He couldn’t deny it sounded good. He wanted to know what mating felt like. He wanted that bond with Jericho, and he knew they might not get a chance at it. He wanted to say yes because he was afraid of what would happen in the battle, but that wasn’t the only reason.
He wanted his mate. He wanted that person who would complete him and understand him, who would always be by his side. He wanted the bond
, to be able to feel Jericho in his mind, to talk to him that way, to have something only the two of them would share.
“I can’t deny I want to mate with you because we might not have the possibility if we wait, but it’s not only that,” Jericho finally said. “You accepted me. You don’t seem to care about what I did in the past. I thought I’d never have that. I was so hurt when my family was killed, and I clung to that pain instead of letting it go. It’s been two years, and those years were filled with revenge and pain. You showed me I could have more, that I didn’t have to make pain the center of my life.”
“What happened to your family?” Aeron asked softly.
“They were killed by shifters. I couldn’t do anything to help them. I was left for dead. Almost did die. My parents and my sisters, well...”
“Why did the shifters do something like that?”
Jericho shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. It’s not like I ever talked to them, and the attack was labeled as an animal attack by the police. I was angry, Aeron. So angry. I hadn’t known about shifters before it happened, and I thought they were all like that, that they were killers. And when I joined the hunters, that opinion was reinforced by Brad and the other hunters. Not all of them are bad people. Most of them have been through the same thing as I have, and Brad uses that. Once they’re in, there’s no way out.”
That was another reason Aeron had a hard time believing Jericho really wanted him. How could he, when shifters had killed his family and he’d spent the following few years thinking shifters were all monsters?
“I know better now,” Jericho said. “You could have locked me up, tortured me, killed me. Instead I was healed and treated well, much better than the hunters treat shifters.”
“And that was enough for you to change your mind?”
“No, but talking to you, and Noem, and everyone else did. You guys changed the way I see shifters. I can’t say I’m completely comfortable with the idea of people changing into animals, but I do understand you’re not that different from me. I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, but I want to mate with you. I’ve already made that decision, and I’m not going to change my mind. You can do whatever you want with that. There’s nothing else I can tell you. We already went over everything.”
Whitedell Pride 25 - Aeron Page 10
