Jayden

by Catherine Lievens

  “Grab your stuff.”

  Teddy moved away and walked toward one of the old boxes that had been there even when Jayden had been a kid. Jayden noticed Teddy was limping and closed his eyes.

  “Here.”

  He turned to look at Finn, who looked as pissed as he was and was handing him his phone. “I told Heath you were fine, but he wants to talk to you. I’ll help your brother in the meantime.”

  “Heath?”

  “Jayden, thank God. What happened?”

  “My brother called me.”

  “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

  “Yeah, well, I do. I didn’t tell you because you already had so much to think about, but I feel like a dick now because I could’ve helped Teddy when I was rescued, and instead I left him here to be hurt.”

  “Hey, hey. It’s not your fault, okay?”

  “But it is!” Jayden cried out. “I should’ve come get him, but I thought he’d be fine.”

  “And now he will be. Just bring him home and we’ll settle everything.”

  “But you have to go to the ranch.”

  “It can wait.”

  “But—”

  “You know I don’t like to interrupt you, but I won’t let you talk crap about yourself. What’s done is done, okay? Think about your brother’s future now.”

  “Yeah. Yeah.” Jayden sighed. “We’ll be back soon.”

  “I’ll wait for you in Dominic’s office. My parents are here too. Do you want them to leave?”

  “No, it’s fine. They’re, well, they’re kind of family, right? I mean, not if you don’t want to, of course. And we’re not even mated yet. Heck, we haven’t done anything more than kissing and sleeping together until now, but I, we, me and Teddy, we don’t have a family anymore. He told me our mother died a month ago, and I want him to have a family, not just me. If your parents are okay with it. And you.”

  “Of course we’re fine with it.”

  “Jay?”

  Jayden turned to look at his brother. “Heath, I’m hanging up. See you in a few.”

  He hung up without waiting for answer and reached for one of the bags his brother was holding.

  “Was that... your mate?”

  “Yeah. Heath. It’s, well, it’s kind of complicated, I guess, but you’ll see when we get there. I hope you like him, but if you don’t, you don’t have to spend time with him, even if he’s my mate. I can... he could go home so you wouldn’t have to see him.”

  Teddy pressed his free hand on Jayden’s mouth. “You still ramble when you’re nervous, huh?”

  “Yeah.” Jayden smiled at the smile he’d managed to get from Teddy. Maybe his rambling wasn’t that bad after all.

  “I don’t know him yet, but I’m sure he’s nice. I’m not about to kick him out. You deserve to be happy.”

  Jayden gave his brother a one-arm hug and reached for Finn with the hand that was holding the bag. Finn smiled and shook his head, then shimmered them away.

  * * * *

  Heath bit on his thumbnail and checked the cell phone again. His father patted his shoulder and tried to reassure him. “He’ll be fine. You heard him. He’ll be here soon.”

  “Yeah. What... what do you think is going to happen?”

  “We’re going to ask Jared to check Jayden’s brother, then find out what happened to him,” Dominic intervened. “But from the very little I know, the council is going to have to intervene.”

  “And do you have people there? Actually, where is it?”

  “Lowndesville, South Carolina,” Jayden’s voice came from behind Heath. Heath twirled around and grabbed his mate. He hugged him close, uncaring about the fact that there was a kid attached to Jayden’s hand.

  “You’re okay.”

  Jayden chuckled in Heath’s ear. “Of course I am. We didn’t even see anyone but Teddy.”

  Heath didn’t know why he’d been so scared, or why he felt so relieved now. The only reason he could think of was that Jayden was the one sure thing in his life, even now that he’d found his family.

  “Do you think you can let Jayden go?” Dominic asked, amusement tingeing his voice. “I think we better take his brother to see Jared.”

  Heath blushed and released his mate, but to his relief, Jayden didn’t move away. Instead he pulled the kid—his brother—closer. “Heath, this is Teddy, my little brother. Teddy, this is my mate, Heath.”

  Heath pressed his lips together and offered the kid his hand. It took all he had not to growl, not at Teddy himself, but rather at the large bruise covering part of his face.

  Teddy shook Heath’s hand, a small grin on his lips, but before either of them could say anything, Jayden steered Teddy toward Dominic. “And this is Dominic Nash, the pride’s alpha.”

  “Pride?” Teddy asked with wide eyes. “You don’t live in a gang?”

  “Nope. But don’t worry, no one here will hurt you.”

  Dominic smiled at Teddy. “Your brother is right. We have a lot of different shifters here, and you two aren’t even the smallest ones. No one will bother you.”

  “Do I have to do something to submit?”

  Dominic frowned. “Submit?”

  “Yeah, to show you’re my alpha, like, bow, or kneel or something. Unless you’re not, of course. I guess I could go back home if you don’t want me here, but I hope I can stay, because Jay is the only family I still have, unless you count my old gang as family, but I don’t. I mean, family shouldn’t hurt each other, right? At least not physically. Unless you count spanking as hurting someone, which, yeah, I guess it is. And I meant spanking kids, not spanking, you know, adults. Not that I know anything about that, of course.”

  So Jayden’s tendency to ramble ran in his family. It was cute, both on Jayden and Teddy, but Heath was also a bit scared of what his future would sound like. He was pretty sure Teddy wasn’t anywhere near eighteen yet, and that meant that if Heath and Jayden lived together, he’d be there. Not that Heath had anything against that, but it looked like he wouldn’t be able to get a word in edgewise in any conversation with those two.

  “Teddy, stop talking. Dominic doesn’t expect you to kneel and all that crap.”

  Teddy’s eyes widened. “No?”

  “No. The only thing he likely wants to know is whether you want to live here, and if you want a room of your own. I guess I could move into a suite, because the room I’m in right now is a single one, and it’s already kind of small with Heath living with me. Oh, but what about the ranch? Heath, were you thinking about moving back there? That’s where all your stuff is, and if you’re planning on starting to work there again, you might want to think about moving back. And if you want me, well, us, we’ll come with you. It’s only a half hour away anyway, and we can ask one of the Nix to shimmer us back and forth if we need to be here ASAP. Maybe you should decide before Teddy settles in. I wouldn’t want to move him around too much, you know.”

  “A ranch? Are there horses? I think I’d like to live with horses. I swear I’ll help as much as I can, and you won’t even realize I’m there. Do you think I could have my own horse sometime? I mean, not right now, of course, because you still don’t know me and stuff, but after a while? I could—”

  Heath tuned Teddy out, because he couldn’t keep up with the stream of words. Dominic was chuckling, obviously used to Jayden’s rambling, but Heath’s dad looked dazed. His eyes were glazed over and he was gaping.

  The alpha took pity on Heath and cleared his throat, interrupting Jayden and Teddy’s conversation. Both snapped their heads his way and it was kind of funny, but Heath managed not to laugh.

  “All right, you can talk about horses and houses later. Teddy, you don’t have to do anything. You’re already part of the pride as far as I’m concerned. Jayden will tell you the few rules we have. And you really should go see Jared.”

  Teddy pouted. “But I’m fine.”

  “Your face says otherwise, and I need you to
be fine, because we’re going to need to talk. So Jayden, take him to the infirmary and let me know how he is. We can wait until tomorrow to talk, but it has to be done sooner rather than later.”

  “I can talk now!” Teddy protested, but a glance from Dominic was enough to make him step back.

  “Later. Jayden, once that’s done, you should talk to Keenan. I don’t think there is a free room next to yours, so maybe you’ll all have to move into something bigger. Unless Heath decides to leave us for the ranch, of course.” Dominic smirked and Heath rolled his eyes at him.

  “I haven’t even talked to Lucas yet, but it’s on my to-do list.”

  Dominic patted his shoulder. “You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you want to.”

  “Are you coming with us to see Jared?” Jayden asked.

  Heath looked at his father.

  “You go. I’ll tell your mother what happened in the meantime.”

  Heath gave him a grateful smile and gestured at the door. “Let’s go, then.”

  The brothers chatted their way to the infirmary. They looked happy, but Heath could see a lingering sadness in Jayden’s eyes that made him want to bundle his mate up and hide him from whatever it was that was causing it. He’d heard part of Jayden’s conversation before, and he knew someone was dead, but he didn’t know who and he didn’t want to ask, not right now. He could guess it had to be family, someone close, and since Teddy had said Jayden was the only family he still had, it wasn’t hard to guess it had to be either their mother or their father.

  The visit with Jared was short and chatty. The doc looked a bit bewildered, but he took it in stride and tried to place a few words here and there. “He’s fine. A bit underweight and bruised, but fine. Nothing sleep, food and rest can’t cure, although I’m going to give you an ointment to put on the bruises.”

  “So he has nothing?” Jayden asked.

  “No.”

  Jayden relaxed and leaned against Heath’s side. “Thank God. I thought...”

  Teddy reached over and patted Jayden’s hand. “I told you, I’m fine. So, Heath. Horses, huh?”

  Heath smiled at him. “Yeah. But there’s something you should know about me.”

  Jayden’s eyes went round. “Oh, of course. I totally forgot to tell him.”

  “It’s fine. You had other stuff to worry about.”

  “What is it?” Teddy asked.

  “There was an accident a few weeks ago and I lost all my memories. That was before I met Jayden, and we found my parents since then, but I still don’t remember anything.”

  “That’s so fucked-up!”

  “Teddy!” Jayden exclaimed.

  “Sorry, sorry! I won’t swear anymore.”

  Jared chuckled and shook his head. “I need your information. How old are you?”

  “Fourteen.”

  “Full name?”

  “Teddy Burke.”

  Heath leaned back against the wall and listened to his brand new brother-in-law talking about his life. His head spun with confusion, and he knew he had to plan ahead if he didn’t want to get swamped by everything coming at him. Did it really have to be so hard, though?

  * * * *

  Once Teddy was clean, checked, and fed, the three of them made their way back to Dominic’s office. Teddy was walking ahead of them, still limping, but at least now Jayden knew it was because he had a bruise on his hip and thigh rather than something worse. It didn’t mean it was easier to accept, but it eased the worry a bit.

  Teddy was clearly avoiding thinking about their mother’s death, or perhaps he’d had the time to get used to the idea. Jayden... he didn’t know how he felt about it. He’d never had a great relationship with his parents, either of them. They’d never treated him right, just because of Murray’s views on how a man should be and the fact that Jayden clearly didn’t make the cut.

  He sneaked a glance at Heath and wondered what his mate thought of the entire thing. Would Teddy’s presence be an obstacle? Would Heath make Jayden chose? He didn’t think so, but he couldn’t know for sure until they talked, and that wouldn’t happen until a few hours had passed at least. At least Heath was still there, supporting Jayden with his presence.

  Dominic was waiting for them, and he wasn’t alone. Nysys, Morin, Kameron, Cole, Chogan, and Bradley were present too. They were sitting on the couches that sat on the right side of the room while the desk was on the other side.

  Bradley was on a chair as far away from the group as he could, his eyes fixed on his computer screen, his fingers flying on the keyboard. There were two pots on the table, and more than enough mugs for everyone.

  Dominic gestured at them to sit in the free spot next to Chogan and they squeezed themselves in. “Wow, you already gathered a lot of people to talk about this,” Jayden noted.

  “Not all the council members could come, but they trust us entirely to make the right decision.”

  “Oh, I know that. I wasn’t implying anything, just noting how efficient you are. Of course, Nysys is always here and Chogan actually lives in the house, so it’s not like you had to go far to get them. But it’s still impressive, really, even if they were already here.”

  “I’d shut up before you insult him if I were you,” Nysys suggested, and Jayden clamped his lips together. He watched Nysys as the Nix took in first Teddy, then Heath, before smiling toothily. “My, my, I leave you for a few months and I come back to find you mated and with a baby brother in tow.”

  Jayden snorted. “Please. You never actually left the house.”

  “Hey, I live with my mate now!”

  “You really only sleep there.”

  Nysys leered. “Oh, no, I also do other stuff, like—”

  Morin slapped a hand on his mate’s mouth. “There are kids here. Well, only one, but you still can’t talk about what you were about to talk about.”

  “I’m not a kid!” Teddy cried out.

  Morin arched a brow at him. “Really? How old are you, then? Eighteen? Nineteen?”

  “Fourteen,” Teddy grumbled.

  “You might not be a kid, but trust me, you don’t want to hear most of what comes out of Nysys’ mouth.”

  He took his hand off and of course, Nysys couldn’t stay silent at that. “You know I play with the kids here almost every day,” he pointed out.

  “And I hope you don’t tell them what we do in the bedroom.”

  “And in the kitchen. And the living room. And the bath—”

  Morin shut Nysys up again and Teddy snickered. “I might be only fourteen, but even I know he’s talking about sex.”

  Jayden groaned. “Can we please get to the point? I really don’t want to hear my baby brother talk about sex, ever.”

  “I’m not a baby!”

  “Still, can we get to the point?”

  The mood in the room shifted from amused to serious with Jayden’s words and Dominic nodded. “Jayden, I know I never asked you about your past, but we need to know.”

  Jayden splayed his hands on his thighs and kept his gaze on them. “There’s nothing much to say. Our gang was never very big, and our alpha was an asshole. You know how it goes, you’ve seen it hundreds of times already. Real men should be tall and built like brick houses. They should chase girls as soon as they hit puberty and possibly get one of them pregnant just after finishing high school.”

  A hand appeared in Jayden’s vision and took one of his. He squeezed Heath’s hand back before continuing. “I never fit the mold. I’m short and scrawny, but worst of all, I’m gay. Murray hit me a few times but obviously decided there was a better way to use me, and he sold me away. You guys found me and got me here. End of story.”

  “Can I ask why you never told us about it?”

  “Because I didn’t want to think about it. When I got here... I’ve never had this love, this sense of family. I just tried to belong, and that meant not thinking about the past. I thought Teddy would be safe. I still don’
t know why...”

  “Because I’m gay too,” Teddy interjected.

  Jayden finally looked up. “You are?”

  Teddy shrugged. “I’m not sure. I mean, I like looking at guys, but I also like looking at girls.”

  “So you might be bi?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And what happened today? What happened to—to Mom?”

  Teddy’s expression closed off. “She was sick. I... we didn’t have the money, and we knew she wouldn’t... that she would die. She started looking for you, and one day she gave me your phone number and told me you lived in Wyoming. I don’t know how she found out, but I’m glad she did.”

  Jayden’s eyes pricked and he raised a hand to rub them. His fingers encountered tears and he closed his eyes.

  “She died about a month ago. I... I didn’t know what to do after that. I didn’t have anyone, but...”

  “Why didn’t you call me right away?”

  “I was so busy, and I was trying to avoid Murray. I hid every time he tried to find me, but he caught me on the street coming back from school, and, well, you saw what happened. He... he said some stuff, about you and about me, that—that he saw me looking at a boy at school. I don’t even know what he was doing there. He dragged me away from the street and hit me. I ran as soon as I could and went home. Your number was still on the fridge, and I didn’t know what else to do. You’re the only thing I have left now, and—and—”

  Jayden turned fully and pulled his brother in his arms. Teddy buried his face against Jayden’s neck and sobbed, and Jayden cried with him.

  No one in the room said anything. Heath hugged Jayden from behind, enfolding Teddy too in his arms, and they all waited until Teddy and Jayden felt better.

  Someone handed Jayden some tissues and he pushed them in Teddy’s hand. Other tissues appeared and he gave Nysys a wobbly smile. He tried to take a deep breath and felt Teddy copying him. It took a few minutes, but Jayden was finally able to gather his thoughts. “I’ll never leave you alone again. Never. You hear me?”

  Teddy nodded and blew his nose and Jayden risked a glance around. Nysys was looking at him like he wanted to smother him in hugs, but everyone else was quietly chatting and giving them privacy.