Jayden

by Catherine Lievens

  Instead he leaned against Heath’s side and ignored Will’s death stare. Jayden couldn’t do anything except comfort his mate, and that was what he’d do.

  “I don’t know if I’ll ever get my memories back, and I still want to get to know you, to get to me through you. I just don’t think I can come live with you. I know I’ve known Jayden only for a few weeks and the rest of the people who live here for even less time, but he’s my mate. He’s... the one sure thing in my life right now, and I can’t leave him.”

  “So what are you going to do?” David insisted.

  “I’d like to stay here, if Dominic is fine with it.” Heath looked at the alpha, and Jayden felt lighter at the sight of Dominic nodding. Not that he’d doubted Dominic would say yes to that, but still. It felt good to be sure.

  “Walden is only an hour away. I could come visit every weekend and talk. I... I know this is hard for you, but it’s hard for me too.”

  David leaned forward and squeezed Heath’s knee. “I know it’s even harder for you than it is for us. I can’t even imagine what your life is like right now, and we’ll do whatever we can to help you. And even if you never recover your memories, we can create new ones together.”

  Heath gave his father a wobbly smile before his gaze slid to Will. “And I’m sorry about this, Will, but I don’t know what to tell you. I can’t be with you.”

  Will was crying, and Jayden felt so sorry for him. He’d hand him Heath on a silver plate if he could, but he was selfish enough not to want his mate to be with another man, not even one he’d been with for the past two years.

  “I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d met Jayden with my memories intact, but you know finding your mate is something very few people can let go. And even if I hadn’t met him, I don’t think I’d have been able to get back with you, not without remembering. I’m sorry.”

  Jayden wanted to flee away from the emotional mood in the room. Luckily for him, Dominic steered the conversation away from Heath. “Can you tell us why Heath was in Whitedell?”

  David nodded and sat back. “I wanted him to contact you, actually. We’re a small sleuth, more a family, really, but I’d like to align myself with the council, offer our help with whatever we can help with. I know I should have contacted the council’s ursine member, but I couldn’t find him.”

  “I see. Cole was a wanderer until a few months ago, and not a lot of people know where he lives now. I can put you in contact with him, or you can deal directly with me if you’d prefer, but I have to warn you, my PA is very... particular.”

  David arched a brow. “Particular?”

  “You’ll meet Keenan soon, since you’re staying the night. In the meantime, I’d go if you don’t need me. We can talk more about our cooperation in the morning, if it’s okay with you.”

  “Of course.”

  Both alphas rose from their seats and said their goodbyes. Jayden really wished Dominic could’ve stayed, because he felt uncomfortable and out of place, and the glances Will gave him every once in a while weren’t helping.

  Instead, Dominic left and everyone in the living room fell silent. Jayden guessed they had a lot to talk about and he leaned toward Heath and whispered, “I’m going to go, okay?”

  Heath gave him a wild-eyed glance. “Why? Can’t you stay?”

  “Yeah, but don’t you want to be with your family?”

  Jayden obviously hadn’t been as discreet as he’d thought he was, because Heath’s father leaned forward and smiled at him. “You’re Heath’s mate. That means you’re family too, or that you’ll soon be anyway.”

  Will stood up and stomped to the door, slamming it behind himself. Jayden winced and made to get up, but David stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Leave him be. I love Will like a son, but like I said, you’re Heath’s mate. He’ll have to accept that sooner or later.”

  “But it’s so soon.”

  “I know, but still. You didn’t do anything wrong. You don’t deserve to be treated that way, no matter how much Will’s hurting.”

  Jayden nodded, and David smiled at him. He liked Heath’s father, and a glimmer of hope that he could have a family, a real family, sparked in his chest.

  * * * *

  Heath felt incredibly awkward. He knew the people in the room with him were his parents, but they didn’t feel like they were. So when his mom hugged him and kissed him, it was as if a complete stranger did so, and Heath had to resist the urge to shy away or worse, to push her away.

  He leaned back against the couch again and looked over to his other side. Jayden was still there, but he was very silent, and while Heath could understand why, it didn’t mean he had to like it. He wanted a chatty Jayden, because if nothing else, it would be a buffer between him and his parents.

  Jayden looked back at him and seemed to almost read his mind, because he opened his mouth and asked, “So, I’m curious. Does Heath have siblings?”

  David—Dad—nodded and looked just as relieved as Heath felt. “Yes.” He looked at Heath. “You have two brothers and a sister.”

  Heath didn’t know what to say at that. It was nice, but it didn’t mean anything to him because he didn’t remember them. “Oh?”

  Heath’s mother got up and smoothed her skirt against her thighs. “I’m going to call them. They’ll be waiting.”

  She left the room in a hurry and Heath couldn’t help but wonder if it was his fault. Maybe he should react more to her, act like a son would, even if it wasn’t what he felt for her. He didn’t understand what she was going through, but it couldn’t be much easier than what he was experiencing.

  His father cleared his throat. “So, umm, you’re the oldest, then there’s Christopher, then the twins, Robert and Rebecca.”

  “How old are they?”

  “Chris is nineteen, the twins fourteen.”

  Heath felt a pang of pain in his chest. He had three siblings, and he didn’t remember any of them. The twins were still kids, and he wanted to remember them more than anything at the moment. He’d been eleven when they were born, yet...

  He shook his head. It was no use to keep on thinking about it. The only thing he could do was ask questions and learn the answers. Maybe something would trigger his memory, even if Jared had said it probably wouldn’t work. But it was something to hold on to, and Heath wasn’t about to push away the only hope he had.

  Heath wanted to ask questions, but there were so many, and he didn’t know where to start. Luckily for him, Jayden apparently knew exactly what to ask.

  “I know about Will, but does Heath have close friends? Or other family?”

  “Yes. Like I told your alpha, we’re a fairly small sleuth, and we’re all very close, almost like family. I have a sister, and Judith has two brothers. They and their families live with us. Heath has seven cousins, and he’s very close to Kim. She’s the closest in age to him, since they were born only one month apart.”

  Heath felt like he should be taking notes, and he hoped Jayden remembered most of what his father said, because he was sure he wouldn’t. Still, he couldn’t help but ask for more. “What about friends? Do I have any outside the family?”

  “You had quite a bit of friends during high school, but there’s only one who stayed even through college and until now. Lucas. He’s human, but he knows about you and us being shifters, and he doesn’t have problems with it. In fact, you two own a business together.”

  “A business? And how’s he doing on his own right now?”

  “He’s fine. Christopher is helping him, don’t worry. You’ve been gone only a few weeks. We’ve managed.”

  “And what do we do?”

  Heath’s father smiled. “You own a ranch.”

  “A... ranch?” That so wasn’t what Heath had expected, although he wasn’t sure what he had expected.

  “Yes.”

  “So I have cattle?”

  “Oh, no. Well, you have some heads, but it’s really more
for show than anything else.”

  “So what do we do if we don’t have cattle?”

  “It’s really more like a dude ranch. You offer horseback rides in the summer, and the guests can hike. There’s even a kid’s camp, but Lucas takes care of that. And in winter you have sleigh rides and the locals can come get Christmas trees on you property. There’s even a small lake for ice-skating and ice fishing, and for fishing during the summer.”

  Heath felt dizzy. He really had all that? “Where do I live? With you?”

  “No. You live at the ranch, with Lucas.”

  So Heath was letting his best friend—a man he didn’t remember—deal with everything on his own. If he hadn’t felt too guilty before, he certainly did now. “Where’s the ranch?”

  He knew that he’d probably would have to move back there, sooner rather than later. He might not remember anything, but he wanted to help this Lucas, and having a ranch and horses felt appealing. They wouldn’t judge him or try to make him remember.

  “About a half hour away from here. It’s, well, you found an old ranch for sale, and while there were some in better shape, you decided that this one was a sign, so you and Lucas bought it.”

  Heath tilted his head to the side. “Why was it a sign?”

  His father smiled broadly. “Because it’s in Bear Creek.”

  Heath shook his head, smiling back. “I see.”

  “You named it Bear Creek Ranch. You can check it on the internet. Lucas takes care of the website and the accounts. You’re more an animal and people person.”

  Heath added that to the things he now knew about himself. He wanted to ask about Will, but he wasn’t sure whether Jayden would feel comfortable. “Can you tell me something else?”

  The door opened and Heath’s mother came in again. She smiled, her eyes still damp. “I was told by someone named Oliver that dinner was ready and that we were welcome to move to the dining room if we wanted to.”

  Heath looked at Jayden. “How many people live here? I’ve met nine, ten with you, but I know there are more.”

  Jayden laughed. “Definitely. We’re about forty, and that’s without counting the couples with kids who live in the cabins behind the house. Then there’re the enforcers, but we don’t really count them as pride members, and the members who live somewhere else, although there aren’t many of those. Just Soren and Andrew, who live in Whitedell in Andrew’s house, and Nysys and Morin. They’re in New York, and both of them are council members too.”

  “Forty?” Heath was stunned, and he could see his father was as well.

  “Such a big group of shifters living in the same house isn’t common,” Heath’s dad pointed out.

  Jayden shrugged. “I know. My gang only had twenty people in it, but we didn’t live together.”

  “Your gang?”

  Jayden smirked. “It’s what you call a group of weasels.”

  “You’re a weasel shifter?” Heath’s father asked.

  “Yup.” Jayden tugged on his short hair. “A white long-tailed weasel, in fact.”

  “Uh, guys? Dinner’s on the table,” Oliver said from the living room door before disappearing.

  Jayden got up and Heath followed his lead. He was kind of nervous about meeting these people, because from what Jayden had told him, they pretty much were his family. “Are all forty plus people going to be there?”

  Jayden shook his head. “The only times everyone is there is for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but when that happens we open the communicating room doors and have a buffet-like meal.”

  “So how many people can I expect?”

  “Mmm, I’d say around twenty, maybe a bit more.”

  That was still a lot of people to meet all together, but Heath would cope. He had to, right?

  Chapter Four

  When Jayden woke up, he was alone in his room. He checked the bathroom, but Heath was nowhere in sight. Not that Jayden was worried—much. He knew his mate would be with his parents since they were leaving that evening, but that meant he probably was with Will too, and while Jayden trusted Heath, it didn’t mean he liked knowing he was with his ex-boyfriend of two years. Especially since they hadn’t really broken up.

  His cell phone rang and Jayden frowned at the unknown number on the display. He had of all the pride members’ numbers saved on the phone, and they were the only ones to call him.

  “Yes?”

  “Jay?”

  The air whooshed out of Jayden’s lungs. “Teddy?”

  “Oh my God, Jay. It’s you.”

  Jayden jerked up and out of his bed. “What happened? How did you get this number?” Shit, did that mean Murray was about to find Jayden? What would he do if he did? He couldn’t sell Jayden to the Glass Company anymore, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t find another way to torture Jayden.

  But Dominic would protect Jayden. Jayden knew it, he was sure of it. It wasn’t as easy to convince his weasel, though, and it kept on squeaking in fear.

  “Jay?” Teddy’s voice was small, and Jayden realized something was wrong with his brother. He might not have seen Teddy in the past two and something years, but he still recognized the hesitation in his voice.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I need you to come and get me. Please.”

  Jayden hurried out of his room and in the hallway, uncaring that he still was in his pajamas. “What happened?”

  Teddy sobbed and Jayden’s heart hurt for him. He hated himself for not having checked on his brother for two years, but his life had been hell until he’d arrived in Whitedell, and he hadn’t wanted to attract Murray’s attention again. He’d thought Teddy would be fine, because he wasn’t gay, and that, along with the fact that Jayden was small even for being a weasel shifter while Teddy wasn’t, should have saved him. But then what did he know? Teddy had been only twelve when Murray had sold Jayden to the company.

  “He hit me.”

  Jayden tightened his free fist and ran down the stairs. “Murray?”

  “Yes.”

  “What about Mom?” Not that she’d been able to do anything when the same thing had happened to Jayden, but he needed to know if Teddy was alone.

  “She’s—she’s d-dead.”

  Jayden jerked to a full stop just down the stairs. “Dead?”

  “Y-yeah.”

  “Shit. What happened, Teddy?”

  “She was sick, an-and I don’t know. She died.”

  Jayden noticed Heath looking at him from the living room door, his father right behind him. “When?”

  “A month ago.”

  Jayden shook his head and strode to Dominic’s office. He knocked once and entered, not waiting for an answer and not caring one bit what Dominic was doing. The alpha was at his desk and looked surprised at seeing Jayden, but he must have read something on Jayden’s face, or in his posture, and he didn’t protest.

  “Why didn’t you call me before that? Wait, where did you get my number?”

  “Mom had it. I... Jayden, please come and get me.”

  Teddy started crying again and Jayden jumped at the touch of a hand on his shoulder. He looked over his shoulder and his gaze met Heath’s.

  “I’m coming, Teddy. Tell me where you are. I need to know the exact place.”

  Dominic was already frowning and reaching for his phone, and Jayden had no doubts the alpha was mind-talking with Ani. He called someone only seconds later, and Ani and Finn shimmered in the room.

  “I’m at home. In the attic. I... he didn’t follow me here.”

  “Who’s taken care of you in the past month?”

  “No one. I’m alone, Jay.”

  Jayden wasn’t normally a violent person, but at the moment, he wanted to bash his old alpha’s head in. And maybe his own, too. “I’m coming, Teddy. I’m coming. Are you alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay. I’m giving the phone to my mate. Don’t hang up. I’ll be right with you.”


  Jayden didn’t wait to hear his brother’s protests. He handed the phone to Heath and reached for Finn. The Nix nodded and grabbed his hand hard. “Think about it.”

  “I know.” Jayden closed his eyes and thought about the house he’d grown up in, about the attic he’d used as a refuge when he was a teen.

  “Jay!”

  There was a clatter and Jayden just had the time to open his eyes before he was tackled by Teddy. They fell down, Jayden’s body softening the fall for his brother. He winced, but he didn’t care. He curled his arms around his brother and held him tight.

  “How did you get here so fast? Mom said you lived in Wyoming.”

  “I’ll explain everything once we get home, okay?”

  Jayden gently pushed Teddy away and got his first good look at him. He pressed his lips together because he didn’t want to curse in front of his fourteen-year-old brother, not that Teddy hadn’t probably heard a lot of things he shouldn’t have already. Jayden’s old gang wasn’t exactly a nice place to raise kids.

  He skimmed the tip of his index along the bruise blossoming on Teddy’s jaw up to his cheekbone. “What happened?”

  Teddy bit his lower lip and looked at his feet. “I didn’t mean to—to do that.”

  “Do what?”

  “To look at the other boy.”

  Jayden sighed heavily. “Let’s go home, Ted. You can take a shower and let our doc examine you, then we’ll talk. Do you need to take things from your room?”

  “I already have everything here. I... I took your things, too. Not everything, because it wouldn’t have fit, but your diary, and your pictures...”

  A wave of love flooded Jayden’s chest and he reached for Teddy again. “I’m sorry I didn’t come get you earlier,” he whispered.

  Teddy patted his back. “It’s okay. I don’t know what happened to you, but I do know what Murray did. I’d have stayed away too if I’d been you.”

  Jayden hated how grownup and resigned Teddy sounded. He shouldn’t talk like that, sound so defeated. But that would change now. Jayden wouldn’t let anyone hurt his brother, not anymore.