At Year's End (The 12 Olympians)

by Gasq-Dion, Sandrine

  “Where are you!” Jaxon bellowed. “Elijah!”

  Carl didn’t stop to see what was happening; he ran and kept on running.

  ~*~

  “I told you!” Ashton tried to breathe in deep. His ribs were killing him. “That guy grabbed Elijah!”

  “What did he say to you?” Jaxon was bent over Elijah, checking him out. Kellan was right next to him, assessing him.

  “His pupils are blown.” Kellan lightly shook Elijah. “Come on, Elijah; snap out of it.”

  “He told me to back off, or he’d hurt me.” Ashton covered his ribs. “He did.”

  Caden bent down in front of Ashton and lifted the jersey. He frowned as ugly black marks were beginning to appear. “He may have bruised a rib or two.”

  “Let me look. Jaxon, keep trying to snap Elijah out of whatever trance he’s in.” Kellan turned his attention to the football player against the wall. He eyed the ugly bruises. “You need to go to the hospital and get these cheeked.”

  “Ashton!”

  Ashton stiffened and glanced down the hall. His father was headed his way like a charging bull in full rage.

  “Dad?”

  “What are you doing with these faggots? I told you to stay away from them!”

  Caden stood and turned to face the man headed their way. “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, it’s a known fact you’re a flaming homo, Mr. Fournier.”

  Caden looked over his shoulder at Kellan. “I am flaming?”

  Kellan shook his head. “No dear, you’re not.”

  “Get up, boy! Don’t let them touch you.”

  “But, Dad — ”

  “What did I say? Get up!”

  Kellan stepped back as the man grabbed Ashton off the floor. The kid yelped and Kellan grabbed the man’s bicep.

  “He’s got bruised ribs! Be careful!”

  “Don’t touch me! And don’t tell me how to raise my kid! He’s not going to end up some flaming homosexual!”

  “Yes, because it rubs off,” Kellan drawled.

  Kellan stood stock still as Ashton’s father turned on him, raising his fist.

  “Oh, by all means, hit me,” Kellan grinned. “Please?”

  “I don’t have time for you fags. Now come on, Ashton! Seems you and I need to have another talk about who we can and can’t talk to.”

  Kellan’s heart ached as Ashton’s face paled. It became clear to him that Ashton’s father was the reason the teenager acted the way he did. The poor kid was being dragged down the hall with bruised ribs.

  “Caden…” Kellan began.

  “I know; I will look into it right away.”

  Jaxon held Elijah in his arms. “Come back to me,” he whispered. “Come on, Elijah, please?” Jaxon held Elijah out a bit and looked into his eyes. “Listen to my voice, I’m right here. You’re safe, Elijah.”

  Elijah’s pupils began to get smaller and he blinked repeatedly.

  “Jaxon? What happened?”

  Jaxon sighed and hung his head. “Dammit.”

  “Why are we in the hall?” Elijah took stock of his surroundings.

  “Come on, let me get you home.” Jaxon helped Elijah to his feet as Caden grabbed the backpack on the floor.

  Elijah seemed to notice Caden and Kellan and smiled. “You guys came.”

  “Of course we did, we spoke to your class.” Caden held Elijah’s face in his hands. “Do you not remember?”

  Elijah shook his head slowly.

  “Fuck!” Jaxon punched one of the lockers.

  Elijah jumped at the sound and turned to face Jaxon. “What’s wrong?!”

  Jaxon took deep breaths and calmed his racing heart. Someone had fucked with Elijah again. In broad daylight inside the damn school.

  “It’s nothing.” Jaxon eyed Caden. “See if you can pull up footage of the hallways?”

  Caden nodded and motioned to Kellan. “We will come by later, all right, Elijah?” Caden kissed Elijah’s head and hugged him tight.

  “Okay.” Elijah’s brows furrowed.

  “Come on, Elijah.” Jaxon took the backpack from Caden and then took Elijah’s hand.

  “We’re going home? Is school over?”

  “Yes, it is,” Jaxon answered just as the last bell of the day rang.

  ~*~

  Once they got to the house, Elijah went straight upstairs to shower. Jaxon paced the kitchen waiting for Caden and Kellan to arrive. What the hell was going on? The rogues were getting braver. Attacking in broad daylight in a school? Why did they want Elijah so badly?

  Jaxon continued to pace.

  Oh, shit. They knew. Somehow, Carl and Petey knew that Elijah was supernatural. They wanted to force him to use his power for their own evil means.

  Justice stood with Jesse at the kitchen counter. Justice had gone through his own hell with Skylar — except their story had been brutal on both of them. Justice’s old girlfriend, who they thought was dead, wasn’t. She came after Skylar and almost killed him. In the end, Justice had taken her life to save Skylar’s.

  “Jaxon…” Jesse said quietly.

  “I swear to God, Elijah will be watched twenty-four/seven from now on. As soon as he turns eighteen I’m taking him away.”

  Skylar entered the kitchen and opened the oven door. He peered inside and then straightened. Looking from one brother to the other, he walked to Jaxon and stood in his path.

  “He’s got all of us to watch him.”

  “I know, I’m just…” Jaxon ran a hand through his hair.

  The doorbell rang and Skylar smiled, squeezing Jaxon’s shoulder. Jaxon sat down at the kitchen table as Kellan and Caden entered the house, their voices floating through the entryway. Jaxon’s attention was diverted to the staircase as Elijah made his way down, freshly showered.

  “Hi, Caden, Kellan!” Elijah ran to them and was enveloped in a tight hug from them both.

  “How are you feeling?” Caden touched Elijah’s cheek softly.

  “I’m good.” Elijah turned toward the kitchen and sniffed. “Smells good.”

  “Let’s eat.” Skylar motioned to the table.

  Jaxon watched Elijah carefully during dinner. Whatever had happened to him, it wasn’t showing towards Caden and Kellan. It was showing towards him, however. Elijah sat across from him at the table instead of beside him. He didn’t make eye contact and completely ignored him during dinner. Jaxon fought the urge to scream the entire time.

  Once dinner was over and the dishes were cleaned, Caden and Kellan said goodnight to Elijah, who went upstairs. Jaxon sat down with a sigh and regarded the two men.

  “Anything from the hallway cameras?” he asked.

  “Whoever it was, they were invisible,” Caden sighed.

  “So, black magic once again.” Jaxon stood up and paced. “How am I supposed to protect him from shit I can’t see? And in the middle of the day? At a school?”

  “Chance is still working on a few spells. We’ve come a long way from the beginning,” Kellan pointed out.

  “True, but I’m taking Elijah out of here on his birthday. I’ll need your jet, Caden.”

  “Done.”

  “We’ll keep a close eye on him. That’s all we can do for now. He’s close to graduating. Let him have that,” Kellan pleaded gently.

  After saying goodnight to Caden and Kellan, Jaxon went upstairs. He stood just inside the door to Elijah’s room.

  “Elijah?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are you angry with me?”

  Elijah’s brows pinched in thought. “It’s like I’m supposed to be, but I don’t know why.”

  “Can I come to bed with you?” Jaxon asked quietly.

  Elijah lifted the blanket and made room.

  “Let me get cleaned up and I’ll be right there.”

  Jaxon took his time showering. What was going through Elijah’s head? He seemed fine with everyone but him. Jaxon washed his chest and looked down at his cock. It was flaccid. Until he figured out what was going on with Elijah, t
here’d be no sexual thoughts. Besides, he had four days until Elijah turned eighteen. Jaxon got out and dried off. He brushed his teeth and smoothed his hair back.

  He knocked and heard Elijah’s faint ‘come in.’ He walked in and climbed into the bed with Elijah. Elijah turned off the light and turned his back to him. Jaxon rolled to his side and placed a hand on Elijah’s shoulder. Elijah flinched, but didn’t pull away.

  “Is everything okay?” Jaxon asked.

  “Yes. Goodnight, Jaxon.”

  A faint moan woke him up three hours later. Elijah was whimpering and thrashing about in bed. Jaxon grabbed him and pulled him into his chest.

  “Hurt me…” Elijah mumbled.

  “No one will ever hurt you,” Jaxon assured him, rubbing Elijah’s back in small circles. “I would never let anyone hurt you.”

  “Jaxon…”

  “I’m here, baby. Right here.”

  “You’ll kill me,” Elijah mumbled.

  Jaxon stiffened in the bed. “Is that what they told you, Elijah? That Jaxon would kill you?”

  “He’ll hurt me; I’m dangerous.”

  Jaxon lifted Elijah’s face to his. His eyes were closed, and his breathing had become erratic.

  “Listen to me, Elijah. I will never hurt you, do you understand me?”

  Elijah nodded slowly and Jaxon pulled him in close again. Dammit, how was he supposed to stop whatever was happening? They were already on Elijah all hours of the day and the rogues just kept finding ways to fuck with his mind. A soft sigh escaped from Elijah and Jaxon kissed his head, holding him close. He’d kill whoever was messing with Elijah.

  Even if he died in the process.

  ~*~

  The next three days were a little better. Elijah went to school and Killian went with him. Jaxon couldn’t be inside the school, but Killian could. It killed him to know he couldn’t keep Elijah safe the way he should. Friday afternoon, Jaxon sat at the kitchen table with Skylar and Justice. Killian had left for school with Ryder, Stone and Elijah that morning. They’d found out from the shape shifter that Ashton Banks had come back to school Wednesday claiming to have fallen down a flight of stairs. Caden had already called James to look into Ashton’s father.

  “Talk about being a fly on the wall,” Justice chuckled.

  “He’s an actual fly on the wall,” Skylar guffawed.

  “Killian gets coolness points.” Jaxon nodded. He checked the time and stood. “I’m going to pick them up.”

  Justice reached into his pocket and threw Jaxon a set of keys. “Put some gas in the Jeep, eh?”

  “Who had it last?” Jaxon put his hands on his hips.

  “Jesse and Noah.” Justice grinned.

  “Ugh! It better not smell like spunk!”

  Ever since his little brother had gotten mated, Jesse and Noah were having sex in every spot imaginable. Jaxon understood it — to an extent. They had been forbidden to be together for so long, they were making up for lost time. But did they have to do it in the damn car?

  Skylar cracked up. “Bye, Jaxon.”

  “Later.”

  Jaxon pulled up to the school and parked in the turnabout. School was just letting out and kids were pouring out the doors. Jaxon’s eyes caught Elijah’s jacket by the front doors, and he wasn’t alone. Jaxon narrowed his eyes at the kid talking with Elijah. Stone, Ryder and Dasan made their way to the car, shouting over their shoulders at Elijah. Stone jumped in the backseat and set his backpack in his lap.

  “Who is that?” Jaxon motioned to the kid with Elijah.

  “That’s Elijah’s boyfriend, Cal.”

  “He called him his boyfriend?”

  “No, Cal called himself that,” Stone explained.

  The rest of the kids piled into the car and then finally Elijah made his way over. He sat in the front seat and stared straight ahead.

  “Elijah?” Jaxon took his hand. Elijah took his hand back and turned to look at his friends. “Club tonight?”

  Stone blinked and shot a glance at Dasan and Ryder. “Um, yeah. Of course.”

  “Good, I’ve already got a ride.” Elijah reclined the seat and closed his eyes.

  Jaxon gripped the steering wheel and put the Jeep in drive. He bit back a growl and drove back to the house without saying another word.

  ~*~

  The center was decorated to the nines. Riley stood with Mateo in the corner along with their twins, Matty and Maggie. They would be turning one in May. Jaxon grinned as Maggie spotted him and giggled, waving and bouncing. He waved back and winked at her. She had Riley’s face and his chestnut hair color, but Maggie’s hair was curly. Matty was replica of Mateo with dark hair and hazel eyes. Jaxon found Elijah toward the back where they had decorated an entire section of the center for his birthday. He was smiling at Caden and Kellan. Funny, he couldn’t seem to send a smile Jaxon’s way, which just proved something was wrong once again.

  “Hey, you look like shit.”

  Jaxon glanced over his shoulder. Nikolai Markov approached with his boyfriend, Colin Greystone. Nikolai had some ridiculous thing on the top of his head. Red hearts waggled atop springs every time he moved his head.

  “Markov.” Jaxon nodded. “I see you had a hand in decorating again.”

  “I swear I still have glitter in my hair,” Nikolai sighed.

  “Don’t be silly; that’s my cum,” Colin grinned.

  Jaxon almost spit his punch out. As it was, he doubled over in laughter. Colin smacked Nikolai’s ass and winked. He turned back to Jaxon with a frown.

  “Why isn’t Elijah hanging all over you?”

  “Because somehow, they got to him again.” Jaxon leaned against the wall with a weary sigh. “Every time they do something to him, it takes days to get him back.”

  Nikolai balled his fists. “Damn I want a piece of this guy!”

  “That’s what I say every time I see Ross.”

  Jaxon didn’t even need to look to know Cole Ryker was standing behind him. The guy had a huge boner for Ross Collins. Ross was a werewolf — and Special Forces, which just seemed to turn the fireman on more.

  “Still avoiding you, is he?” Jaxon grinned while sipping his punch.

  “Ever since the striptease he avoids me even more,” Cole sighed.

  “Well,” Nikolai crossed his arms. “He did have his ass in your face.”

  “And vice versa,” Colin pointed out.

  “Best night of my life,” Cole chuckled.

  The lights went down and Jaxon made his way over to Elijah’s side of the room. A huge birthday cake was rolled out and Elijah’s eyes went wide.

  “Oh wow, this is too much!” Elijah stood transfixed. The cake was in the shape of vinyl records, and microphones had been transformed into candles. “I love it!”

  Elijah turned to the men in charge. Riley hugged him, as did Wayne and Caden. He wiped at his eyes as everyone began to sing happy birthday.

  “He’s eighteen, bro.” Jesse nudged his brother.

  “I know,” Jaxon caught Elijah’s eye and winked at him. Elijah’s cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink and Jaxon couldn’t be happier for his advanced eyesight. Maybe, just maybe, tonight was the night he’d finally make Elijah his.

  Once Elijah had finished unwrapping all his gifts, Jaxon sought him out. He was laughing with Skylar and Ryder as Jaxon approached. He cleared his throat and all three turned to look at him.

  “Um, Elijah? I thought maybe we could go get your favorite ice cream before the club?”

  “How do you know what my favorite is?” Elijah narrowed his eyes.

  Jaxon balled his fists. Dammit, here we go again. “Rocky road on a waffle cone. It’s what you always get.”

  “Oh. Well, I can’t.” Elijah stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “We really should get to the house and change for the club. I’m just going to go say goodnight to Riley and the others.”

  Jaxon leaned against the wall with a frustrated sigh as Elijah passed him. A hand landed on his shoulder and he gl
anced over to see Skylar with a sad smile.

  “He’s not himself, Jaxon.”

  “I know. I’m going to make sure he’s safe from this point on. Trust me on that one.”

  “Oh, I do. I know how much you care about him.”

  “I don’t think anyone knows the extent of what I’ll do for Elijah, Skylar.”

  Skylar patted Jaxon’s back as he walked away. He turned to look at his fiancé.

  “He’s going to kill someone.”

  Justice nodded.

  ~Chapter Eight~

  Elijah checked his hair once more and zipped up his jeans. He grabbed one of his shirts and threw it on. Making his way down the stairs, he caught the rest of the guys leaving for the club. Skylar took him aside and crossed his arms in front of him.

  “Why aren’t you going with us?”

  “I am. I’m just waiting on Cal to pick me up.”

  “We can take you.” Skylar pursed his lips. “I’ve never met this guy.”

  “Well, you will tonight. I’m eighteen, Skylar; I’m not a kid anymore.”

  Skylar sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. I just worry about you.”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you there, okay?”

  “Okay.” Skylar hugged Elijah. “Happy birthday, Elijah.”

  Jaxon stood on the back deck and looked over his shoulder. Killian was crouched low in the trees, staying out of Stone’s sight.

  “I’m sure they are not dating, Jaxon,” Stone assured him. “I know Elijah has a thing for you, he always has.”

  Thanks, Stone.” Jaxon tried to smile. “What about you? Anybody on your radar?”

  Stone shook his head. “No.”

  “No? What about Killian?”

  “He doesn’t know how to be polite,” Stone snorted.

  “Maybe you could teach him?” Jaxon grinned as a soft groan came from where Killian was hiding.

  “Why should I? He says I’m short and my eyes are too far apart!” Stone scoffed. “He’s so…”

  “Hot?” Jaxon provided with a chuckle.

  “Yeah, he’s seriously sexy, but, ugh!” Stone waved a hand in the air. “I have to go.”