“Are we going to find Tobias or my family?”
“Right now, both I guess. If we find your family or people who knew your family, they might know Tobias and where he might be found.”
“What if… what if they don’t want to see me?”
“Why wouldn’t they want to see you?” Byron asked.
Jay’s voice was a soft whisper when he answered. “They threw me away, left me in the forest, and never came back for me. Why would they want to see me now?”
Byron held his close, rubbing a hand across his back to soothe him.
“Like Odin said, time changes things. We don’t know why they felt they had to leave you like that or why they didn’t come back but maybe, we’ll be able to find some answers. There could have been a lot going on that you didn’t know about at the time. Let’s just see if we can find them first and worry about the rest later.”
With a long sigh, Jay settled against him, his face pressed to Byron’s neck. He met Odin’s worried eyes through the rearview mirror and knew what the other man was thinking. Was this too much for Jay? Were they pushing him too far? The chances of this leading them to Tobias, to Noah, were slight.
“What if it’s because they didn’t love me?”
Byron froze at Jay’s quiet words before he remembered himself, hugging the Omega tighter and whispering fiercely in his ear. “I love you. And nothing in the world is going to change that.” Jay clung to him as Byron continued. “Odin loves you too.”
“That’s right,” the other man said. “You’re like a brother to me Jay, in every way that matters.”
Jay lifted his head and met Byron’s eyes before looking over his shoulder and giving Odin a grateful smile.
“Maybe we should call it a day. We can start here tomorrow.”
Jay shook his head. “No, we have to keep going. For Noah’s sake.”
Byron hesitated, caressing Jay’s cheek. “If you’re sure?”
“I’m sure. But what do we do now?”
“I guess we get out and walk around.”
A few minutes later they strolled along the road, looking from house to house. They were definitely in the right place, every scent he picked up was shifter.
Jay kept turning this way and that. “I remember this place. It’s the same but not. Like the farm.”
“Do you remember which house was yours?”
The Omega closed his eyes again, relaxing the muscles of his face as he did. He was a quick study when he wanted to be.
When Jay opened his eyes, he turned, pointing to a house set back from the road. “That one.”
“Then let’s go say hello.”
As they walked up the garden path to the door, Jay pressed closer to him but didn’t take his hand. Odin stepped forward and knocked on the door. They could hear movement from inside then the door opened to reveal a blond woman, a shifter. Byron guessed her age to be mid-twenties.
She looked taken aback to see the three of them.
“Can I help you?”
“We hope so,” Byron said smoothly. “We were looking for a family who lived here. They had three children, two boys and a girl.”
The woman gave a half laugh. “Not us then, we just have the one little rug-rat. We’ve only lived here a year though. There was a family living here before us. But five children and four of them were girls.”
“You don’t by any chance remember the name?”
“No. I never met them. What is this all about?”
“There’s a family connection, we’re trying to track them down. There’s also another person we’re looking for. A man who might be known around these parts. His name is Tobias.”
She jumped at the name, grabbing hold of the door to steady herself. Before she could speak, a voice called out from behind them.
“Can I help you?”
They turned to see two male shifters standing behind them. The one who spoke strode past them to stand next to the blond woman.
“Is there a reason you’re on our property?”
“It’s okay, Johnny,” the woman said. “They were looking for the family who used to live here. They’re distant relations.”
“Yes, we were…” Byron started to say, intent on asking about Tobias again but the woman gave a sharp shake of her head. “…hoping someone hereabouts might know where they moved to.”
“Well, we don’t know,” Johnny said. “And I'm going to have to ask you to leave.”
As he spoke two more shifters appeared from a nearby house, taking a stand with the one outside the gate.
“Of course. We’re sorry to have intruded.”
Byron reached into his pocket, pulling out a blank card that had just his first name and number printed in neat figures. “If, by any chance, you do recall even just their name, it would be immensely helpful.” He made steady eye contact with the woman when he spoke though he handed the card to the man.
“We’ll be on our way. Sorry again for the interruption.”
They turned and walked back towards the road.
“Gentlemen,” Odin said, nodding to the three who stood guard at the gate. They parted to let them past and watched as they walked back to the car.
Byron heaved a sigh of relief when they made it to the car unscathed.
“Not the most welcoming of folks, were they?” Odin commented.
“The librarian said she thought they were religious. Most wolves and Packs wouldn’t get that label, unless…”
“Unless they were Asenian,” Odin finished, started the engine, and put the car into drive.
“Packs have a tendency to leave them alone when they’re living on the edges of their territory. They don’t cause trouble and their presence sometimes keeps more unsavory rogues out.”
“How likely are they to come around to talking to us?” Odin asked.
“They’re not. But that woman definitely knew who Tobias was, did you see the look on her face?”
“Like we’d name-dropped the devil incarnate, yeah.”
Byron glanced over at Jay. The Omega had been silent since they’d approached the door.
“Jay, are you okay?”
“Not my family.”
“No, they weren’t.”
“So, they’ve gone?”
"It seems like it, yeah. But we haven’t given up. We know which house it was, so there must be records somewhere of who lived there before that couple. It’ll just take a bit longer to figure it out. Anyway, right now we’re overdue some lunch and a nap. Let’s head to the cottage.”
He wasn’t sure he’d done a good enough job hiding his disappointment at what they’d discovered or what they hadn’t. A part of him had hoped, for Jay’s sake, that all the answers would be right there.
Chapter Twenty-One
The cottage was down a narrow little road and surrounded by fields on one side and a small wood on the other. Perfect for shifters who wanted privacy and room to run. Odin went to check out the perimeter while Jay helped Byron unload some of the bags. He couldn’t quite understand the feeling of sadness within him but there another feeling too and just thinking about it made him feel guilty. When the woman, the stranger, had opened the door, he’d been relieved that he hadn’t known her.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He was supposed to be doing this for Noah. If Ben and Adam were going to find him, they’d need answers. To get those answers, Jay needed to find the people who’d given him up. There was no way around it. This was why they’d come all the way out here. This was what he’d promised to do.
Byron was exploring the kitchen and pulling food from bags.
“You must be hungry,” he said, smiling over at Jay. Jay wasn’t. There was a heavy ball in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t escape. When he didn’t smile back, Byron put down the food he was carrying and came over.
“What’s wrong?”
Jay shrugged. “I’m not hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten in hours, except that ice-cream.”
&nb
sp; A tear slipped down his cheek and he turned away, trying to hide his face from the Alpha.
“Jay?”
A second tear escaped, then another.
“Oh, Jay.” Byron’s arms encircled him, turning him so they were face to face and not letting go.
“I didn’t want it to be them at the house. And it wasn’t. And I was glad.”
Byron pulled him closer, shushing him gently.
“I’m a bad person for wanting that. Because now we can’t find Noah and it’s all my fault.”
He sobbed against Byron’s shirt, the material becoming damp from his tears.
“Wishing something doesn’t make you a bad person. It was never going to be them, Jay. It wouldn’t have mattered if you’d wanted it to be them with all your heart, it was never going to be.”
Jay couldn’t stop the tears, sobbing noisily as Byron held him. All the emotions battered at him like the winds of a storm and he was so tired of trying to fend them off.
“That’s it, Jay. Just let it all out. You can’t bottle it up forever,” Byron was saying, stroking a hand across his head.
“Come on, let’s go lie down.”
He didn’t let go of Byron as the Alpha guided them from the kitchen and into a bedroom. Within seconds they were lying on a soft bed, his head pillowed on Byron’s chest, feeling it rise and fall with each slow breath. The tears still came, though slower now, with little choked breaths and sighs that he couldn’t hold back.
When he woke sometime later, the curtains had been drawn, throwing the room into a gloomy darkness. Byron lay beside him, his eyes closed. It was still daytime, he could see the sun peeking in through a crack where the curtains met. The weight of guilt and sadness that had dogged him had eased. It wasn’t gone, but it was small enough for Jay to hold in his hand and not big like before, where the weight of it pressed down on him.
Byron seemed peaceful, his breath coming in long, slow draws. One arm was curled under his head, pulling up his shirt and exposing the tanned skin of his stomach. It was too much to resist and Jay slid his hand along the smooth skin, feeling the taut muscle beneath his touch. He bent down, bringing his mouth close to Byron’s skin before pressing his lips against it, slow and soft and with no teeth. He knew firsthand, having done it to Byron once before, that the Alpha didn’t like being bitten, especially not when he slept. Kisses though. Byron liked those. Inching the Alpha’s shirt up higher, he enjoyed the newly revealed skin, letting his hand play across it before tasting it with his mouth, with his tongue. He pushed Byron’s shirt up even higher, revealing one pale pink nipple. He’d never tasted that before. He inched closer, watching Byron for any signs of awakening, before blowing gently on the skin. Byron twitched at that, but didn’t wake. So Jay leaned in, closing his lips around it, licking before sucking gently.
Byron moaned under his breath, one hand coming up to drag his fingers through Jay’s hair. Jay sucked harder and Byron’s moan became a gasp as he opened his eyes, drinking in the sight of Jay against him.
“No teeth,” he said teasingly, letting his fingers scratch gently across Jay’s scalp. Jay retaliated by sucking harder, pulling a cry from Byron’s lips, made louder when Jay’s hand found the other nipple still hidden beneath Byron’s shirt and rolled it gently between his fingers.
Byron’s groin was pressed against his stomach and Jay could feel he was growing hard. He didn’t stop what he was doing, too eager for the distraction. Byron’s hands found his hips, and he wasn’t sure what to expect as the Alpha encouraged him up away from his body. But the Alpha slipped his hands beneath the waistband of Jay’s boxers and inched them down, before pushing his own boxers down. Then he settled Jay back down against him, their groins pressed together.
Jay let go of Byron’s nipple with wet pop, and dived for the other, encapsulating it between his lips as his other hand played with the first. The effect was just as dramatic, Byron arching against him and pushing their cocks together. The friction was delicious and Jay mimicked him, rolling his hips so they pressed together only harder. The press of Byron’s hard cock against him was almost too much. He’d have cried out if his mouth hadn’t been busy. Byron’s hands were busy too, one rubbing back and forth across Jay’s ass, the other slipping between them, a teasing touch across his balls as they rutted against each other.
Byron’s hand on his ass slipped between his cheeks to rub up and down along the crease there. The sensation had him thrusting harder against Byron, seeking more. More friction, more touch, more exploration. The wandering hand found a little spot behind Jay’s balls and rubbed back and forth against it. Jay’s mouth stilled, and he shuddered, lifting his head to meet Byron’s eyes. Byron was lifting his hips up and down as his finger found its mark and a white-hot burst of pleasure flooded Jay who managed an ‘oh’ of surprise as Byron tensed against him.
His arms were around Jay a moment later, settling the Omega against his chest. Their stomachs were a mix of sticky come and sweat but Jay didn’t care, his eyes on Byron, his body coming down from the high it had reached.
“Is that… was that…” He couldn’t get the right words out. “Was that good?”
Byron chuckled, stroking a sticky hand across Jay’s flushed cheek. “You’re going to be the death of me. And what a wonderful, glorious death that will be.”
Jay frowned a little but Byron’s hand was there, soothing the lines from his forehead. “It’s a good thing, Jay. It means I’ve never felt so good as I did just then, with you.”
“It was like all the good touches, all at once,” Jay mumbled, letting his head rest against Byron’s chest again.
“Yes, exactly like that,” Byron murmured.
Odin had food laid out in the kitchen when they finally emerged, freshly showered. He took a long look at both of them, but didn’t say a word, hiding a smile behind his coffee cup. The three of them sat down at the table and ate, tucking in to meat and salad. It reminded Jay of the first night he’d spent with Byron, where the Alpha had patiently named all the food on the table and hadn’t minded when Jay had got tomato juice on everything. Jay had known then that he had met someone different, but it wasn’t until later that he realized it was more than that.
He’d warmed to Byron because he was kind. But when other shifters had come to hurt him, Jay had protected him. Because Byron was his to protect just as much as the Alpha protected him. And now he felt even closer to Byron. They’d shared something.
When Byron caught Jay staring, he smiled broadly at him. Jay smiled back. Odin grumbled something under his breath about lovebirds. Jay glanced out the window but he couldn’t see any birds. He innocently said so to Odin who raised his eyebrows. “I was talking about you two.”
“But we’re not birds, we’re wolves.”
“It’s a figure of speech, Jay,” Byron said patiently. “Lovebirds are two people who are very obviously in love because of how they act around each other.”
“Hell of a time and place to pick,” Odin said.
“It’s an emotional time, Odin. It’s a good thing if Jay can draw comfort from me, if we can take comfort in each other.”
“I didn’t mean that,” Odin said. “I just think it might be a bit more than the situation and the emotions.”
“More than…” Byron repeated, glancing over at Jay before turning back to Odin. “You think…”
“Might be. I’m not exactly an expert in this. But neither are you.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” Jay asked, feeling that sense of unease growing in the pit of his stomach again.
Byron was quick to reassure him, slipping an arm across his shoulders. “Nothing is wrong, Jay. Odin is wondering if perhaps you might go into heat shortly.”
“Heat? Now?”
“Hopefully not right now. We certainly knew it would come, eventually. It might be that it’s soon. It might simply be that it is the emotions of retracing your past that are just accelerating things that would occur naturally.”
�
��Then, it’s not bad?” Jay needed to check. He wasn’t sure because people didn’t always say what they really meant.
“It’s not a bad thing,” Byron reassured, leaning close enough that they could hug. “It’s a good thing. And, if this afternoon was anything to go by, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”
Odin choked on a mouthful of coffee but Jay couldn’t keep the smile from his face. This was what he’d wanted for a long time. Byron to be his and not just in words.
Chapter Twenty-Two
They had just finished eating when Byron’s phone rang.
“Who is it?” Odin asked him as he glanced at the screen.
“I don’t know. It looks like a local number.”
He answered, getting up from the table and stepping away.
“Hello?”
“Um, hi,” a woman’s voice said, sounding uncertain. “We met this afternoon. You were at my house, looking for the family who’d lived there before us.”
“Right, of course. My name is Byron, by the way.”
There was a pause, as if she was thinking carefully about her response.
“Okay. Well, I asked around with some of the neighbors, Byron. The people who lived here, they were the Hughes family. They lived here for over a decade and moved out about eighteen months ago. But they didn’t go far. They’re living a few miles away, in Cedar Grove. Number Seven.”
“Cedar Grove, number seven,” he repeated.
“And you were right, they did have two sons, but one ran away a long time ago.”
Byron closed his eyes at that. Of course, what else would they have told people?
“Thank you. We’re very grateful for your help. It was looking like we’d hit a dead end.”
“I’m glad I could help. But you shouldn’t call this number back, Johnny doesn’t know. He wouldn’t like it.”
“Of course. I understand. There was one other thing. That man, Tobias—”
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
She sounded frightened. He could hear a baby crying in the background.
“I’m sorry, I have to go.”
The Alpha's Kiss: Lost Omegas Book Six: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 10
