by Maggie Walsh
“So how did you find Maddy?” Fallon asked.
Ash looked at Fallon with shame in his eyes and then looked down to his lap. “It was hard to find food in the winter, so I started…” He stopped talking and swallowed hard. Ash was afraid to tell all these men that he was reduced to eating out of the garbage. Maddy placed his hand on Ash’s knee and gave him an encouraging squeeze. Ash looked up and met Maddy’s friendly eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out. “I started jumping in the dumpsters behind the restaurants.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of for that, Ash,” Jesse said softly as he moved to kneel down in front of Ash. “I know how that feels to be so hungry and desperate that you have no other choice than to do that.”
Taylor moved next to them. “Jesse and I did the dumpster dive a few times too when we were living on the streets. I know the shame you feel because of it. Jess and I felt the same way, and still do sometimes. But you did what you had to do to survive, Ash. There’s no shame in that. And you were taking care of Papa Angel too. You’re a hero, Ash.”
“I don’t feel like a hero. I feel like I let everyone down.”
“That couldn’t be further from the truth, brother,” Micah said and sat on Ash’s other side. Ash looked at him in shock at Micah’s words. “You did whatever you had to do to save our father. Because of you, he’s still alive. Because of you, we all found each other. Because of you, Dad will live to see all his boys.”
“It was Maddy who saved us. Papa was getting worse, and I didn’t know what to do. Maddy found me one day in an alley looking for food. We separated, but I couldn’t get it out of my head that Papa would love to see Maddy. That maybe his presence would help Papa to heal. When I told Papa that Maddy was in town and he was looking for him, Papa got this happy look on his face. One I hadn’t seen in a long time. But then his face changed to worry. He knew what James and his boys were up to, and he was terrified for Maddy.
“Papa made me take him into the woods to find Maddy. I don’t know how he did it, but Papa knew exactly where to go. He led us right to where Maddy was hiding. So Maddy came back to the overpass with us, and he’s been helping us since.”
“I think all three of you were lucky to find each other,” Jesse said with a soft smile. Ash returned the smile and nodded.
“So did any of that help you, Aaron? Do you know what’s wrong with my father?” Micah asked.
“It’s exactly what I thought it was. It may also be what was wrong with Fallon. Why he became so weak so fast and stayed that way.”
“So what is it?”
“Silver poisoning,” Aaron answered simply. Everyone in the room drew in a quick breath from the thought of that. “I think Raphael’s brother, Lucian, probably gave him a drink or food with silver in it. Probably food, and the silver was a fine sand, like salt. When sprinkled over food, it takes a little longer to take effect. And if ingested over a few days, it would work its way into a shifter’s system and begin to weaken them slowly, but once the effects started, it would be impossible to stop.”
“But if they did that to Fallon and Jesse was able to heal him, why can’t you heal Papa?” Trevor asked.
“Lots of reasons. There are a lot of things to take into consideration. Fallon is much younger than Raphael for starters. Then it would depend on how much was given and over what period of time. Then Raphael was out there by himself for some time trying to survive in a weakened state. I’m sure he wasn’t getting enough nutrients that he needed. He certainly wasn’t getting the mass amounts of calories it takes to sustain a wolf shifter. Most likely he hasn’t been able to shift since the last time you saw him or longer.”
“That makes sense,” Fallon said absently as he stared at Aaron.
“What makes sense, Fallon?” Micah asked.
Fallon blinked a few times and then focused on Micah. “Sorry, I was just thinking of something as Aaron spoke. You said it could have been put in his food and may have been as small as salt?”
“Yes.”
“What is it, Fallon?” Micah asked.
“For about two weeks before the last attacks, Lucian was coming around a lot. Papa and I thought that was very strange because the man had never done that before. Like…ever. Papa told me that when he took me in, the first thing Lucian did was to come over here and demand he cull me. He didn’t want the pack to look at me as Papa’s new son and think that I would take over the pack.
“My whole life that man gave me hell about trying to swoop in and take what belonged to him. Papa always told Lucian to go shove it up his ass.” Fallon laughed. “He always let Lucian know that the pack was his until he died or picked a successor.”
“Oh, I’m sure that went over well with the old man,” Gabriel said with a snicker.
“Oh, yeah. They had many a fight over it. But those last two weeks, Lucian was acting strange. Which made Papa even more suspicious than he already was. He came by at least once a day and started talking about them being brothers and how he wished they were closer. They would sit out on the back porch and have a beer or iced tea. I didn’t think of it then, but now with what you’re saying, Aaron, I could kick my own ass. Lucian always brought something with him. A jug of iced tea, a six-pack of beer, a casserole, something. I asked Papa about it and he told me not to worry. He said that he knew exactly what his brother was up to and that the only thing we could do was to let the path lay out before us. He said we each had a part to play in this war, and we needed to stick to our part. That everything would happen as it was meant to happen. I had no idea what he was talking about, but Papa was really good at talking in riddles like that.
“So I did as Papa asked and just stayed close by in case Lucian tried to do something. But now I’m thinking that the crap he brought over was laced with the silver like you said. Papa was looking really tired before the attacks even happened.”
“So do you think he knew the food was poisoned?” Aaron asked.
“I don’t know, but I think he did.”
“If he knew the shit was poisoned, then why the hell would he ingest it?” Micah asked in frustration.
“I don’t know.”
“So how do we know for sure, Aaron?” Jesse inquired calmly.
“As you all know, silver is deadly to us if given a large enough amount or if left untreated. But the only way to get the silver out is to surgically remove it. The problem is, if we are right, this was given to him in a very small form, and I don’t know how to remove that. Or even where it is.”
“But what about what was in Fallon? Wouldn’t that still be in him too?” Trevor asked.
“What about X rays, Aaron? Would they be able to tell us anything?” Dante questioned.
“Possibly. But I don’t have any of my equipment here and I doubt they have anything like that here.”
“No, we don’t have that kind of stuff here.”
“What if we take him home, Micah? Aaron could run all the test’s he needs and hopefully heal him,” Jesse said.
“That’s what I was thinking, baby.”
“Fallon could also come back with us so I can check him out, too. Then he can return here to lead,” Aaron offered.
“I couldn’t leave now. Not with all of this going on,” Fallon protested.
“You would only be gone for about an hour.”
“An hour? But I thought you all lived in Pennsylvania? That’s a hell of a lot longer by plane than an hour.”
“You’re right, but we travel with a Legion Commander and the Heart.” Micah snickered.
“I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I’m guessing it’s fast,” Fallon said in confusion.
“Come with me for a moment, young Alpha,” Phenex said and motioned for Fallon to go to him. Fallon hesitantly walked over to Phenex as he touched the wall. “Go on in.” Phenex wore a mischievous smirk.
“Go in where? The wall?” Phenex nodded. Fallon looked to Micah and got a nod from him too. He looked back at the wall, squared his shoulders,
sighed heavily, and then walked to the wall. He raised a hand out in front of himself, and it disappeared through the wall. He pulled it back in shock and looked to Phenex. The angel-demon just smiled and nodded again. Fallon turned to the wall and walked through. Phenex went with him. A minute later, they appeared again through the wall on the other side of the room. Trevor jumped and let out a little squeal from their surprise entrance.
“Nice office, Alpha Prime,” Fallon offered.
Micah smiled. “Thanks, I’m kind of partial to it.”
“Did you really go to the Alpha Prime’s house?” Trevor asked in surprise.
“Yes, sweetheart, I did,” Fallon answered and wrapped his arms around Trevor.
“So you see, Fallon, I can take you and Aaron back, he can run his tests, and then I can walk you right back here.”
“But what about Papa?”
“He’s not going to wake up for some time, Fallon. Probably days,” Aaron explained.
“Can Trevor come with me?”
“Of course.”
Fallon looked at Trevor in question and he nodded his approval. Fallon looked back to Aaron. “Okay. Let’s do this so that I know I’m well enough to lead this pack.”
“Good,” Micah said and stood up. He went to Fallon and placed a hand on his shoulder. “We’ll stay here until you get back and then we’ll discuss taking Dad back with us so Aaron can heal him.” Fallon gave Micah a smile and nodded.
“Take Matthew with you,” Jesse said, and everyone turned to him. “Have you all forgotten that that is why we came here in the first place? To find Matthew and to let him know that Josh needs him.”
“What?” Matthew jumped off the couch onto his feet. “What’s wrong with Josh?” he asked in a panic.
Raith walked up to him. “His birthday was four days ago, son. He’s gone into heat and he’s getting worse.”
“I don’t understand. What are you talking about? He has Milo there,” Matthew said in confusion. “And I couldn’t help him anyway. I’m underage.” Matthew’s face turned sad.
“No, son. You don’t understand. You aren’t seventeen. You’re already twenty. We found your birth records. You turned twenty back in April,” Raith explained cautiously.
Matthew’s eyes were wide open in shock. “I’m twenty?” Raith nodded. Matthew’s face turned angry. “That bitch has now even fucked me from the grave? I should have known. She lied about everything, so why not my birthday?” He threw his arms up in the air in frustration and turned.
“Maddy, we can get into all of that later. Right now you need to get to your mate,” Jesse interrupted.
“But he has Milo, so why is his heat getting worse?” Maddy turned to look at Jesse.
“He won’t let Milo help him. He refuses to claim him or let him…well you know. He insists that you are the one who…you know.”
“He put his life in danger waiting for me?” Maddy asked in a whisper.
“Yes, son. We started looking for you right away. Then Evan found your birth certificate at the hospital you were born in. When we found out you were twenty, we sent people out all over the country looking for you. Josh insists that it be you who claim him first. Aaron informed us that we shouldn’t be too panicked about it because Josh would have until he turned twenty-one before the mating heat started. But then Josh started getting the heat. He spoke with his mother. They had lied to him all his life about his age, too. Matthew, Josh turned twenty-one on his birthday, not eighteen. So we knew we were on a time crunch. Your mate needs you, Maddy. He wants you.”
“This is so…He actually called his mother? Wow, that’s huge. But I don’t…” he said in a shaky voice and stopped himself.
Taylor walked over and put his arm around Maddy’s shoulders. He turned them and walked away from everyone else as he whispered in Maddy’s ear. Everyone watched as Maddy nodded here and there and looked at Taylor wide-eyed at other times.
“It’s okay if you don’t know what to do, Maddy. Mostly, just use your senses. Go with what feels good to you, and remember to make sure you give your mate pleasure. Listen to the way he response to everything you do. Just listen to your heart and I promise everything will go better than you think. Oh, and don’t forget to try some of those little tips I told you about,” Taylor said with a snicker and wiggled his eyebrows. Finally after about ten minutes, they walked back over to the group.
“Mr. Phenex, could you take me to see my mate please?”
Phenex gave him a soft smile. “Of course, young one. Come on, we’ll drop you off first before we head to the pack house.” Phenex placed his hand on the wall and looked to those who were going.
Aaron went to Raith and kissed his cheek. “After we drop Maddy off and I run the tests on Fallon, I’ll check in with Evan on how things are going and get back here to you. I’ll bring our baby boy with me.”
“Thank you, baby.” Raith gave him a quick kiss and Aaron went to Phenex. Fallon and Trevor followed. Maddy walked to Raith and looked at him. “Whatever you want to say or talk about can wait. Your mate needs you and that comes first. But I get the feeling that you need your mate just as much as he needs you. So go. We have all the time in the world to talk later. Go take care of you and your mates.”
Maddy nodded, then stepped closer, and gave Raith a hug. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll see you at home in a few days.” Maddy’s voice was all choked up. He pulled back from the hug and walked to Phenex. He took one last look at Raith and then turned and disappeared through the wall. The others followed.
* * * *
Josh lay as still as possible as the heat rose within him. His eyes were closed, but he was awake and could hear everyone moving and whispering around him. He heard Lexi mention that they had found Maddy, but he couldn’t remember if that conversation was a minute ago or a day ago. He wanted to be mad at Maddy for not just coming right back here once they found him, but he couldn’t be mad at him. One, because he wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed. Two, because he kind of remembered Lexi saying something about Maddy being hurt. He wasn’t sure if that had been a real conversation or a dream. And if it were real, how bad was it?
Then he thought he heard something about Maddy’s Grampy and how they were all frantically trying to save him. So if that was true, then there was no way he could get mad at his mate for not returning to him immediately. He knew how important the man was to Maddy. But again, he wasn’t entirely sure if all of this was from his own head or real conversations.
A shiver ran up his spine as he felt more ice being packed around his body. He knew everyone was doing everything they could to help him, but he was starting to lose hope. Milo had been giving him blow jobs for days now, and it did help hold the heat back some, but it wasn’t enough. The heat was still there and would come back with a vengeance about an hour after Milo was done. It twisted his heart every time he thought about his human mate and how good he was being to him. The man deserved a medal for all of this. He had been a little freaked out about mates in the beginning, but as they got to know each other, Milo relaxed more. He said he loved the idea of mates. Over the past few days as he and Milo lay alone in his room, they talked about their future together and that future always included Maddy.
But Josh felt guilty about all of this when it came to Milo. Here he was, lying in a bed, potentially dying, and Milo was right here by his side. He was doing everything in his power to fight for Josh to make it and for what? So that Josh and Maddy could mate first? Yes, he understood Maddy’s point in all of this, but Milo deserved some consideration, too. The man was a wonderful mate, and he had just been thrown into this life.
Josh didn’t think he could make it much longer. If Maddy didn’t return soon, then maybe he should give up waiting for him and let Milo claim him. But he didn’t want Milo to feel like he was second string. Gods, he didn’t know what to do. He was in love with Maddy already and he knew he was in love with Milo, too. He had been getting closer to the man over the past month and especially ov
er the past few days. Just Milo’s care for him made him fall in love with the man.
He wanted both his mates. He wanted both of them to be his first, but he knew that wasn’t possible. His chest tightened and his stomach rolled as he began to get emotional over all of this. He could feel the tears forming in his eyes.
“Josh? Sweetheart, are you okay?” Milo’s voice came to him.
He tried to answer but nothing would come. He was too choked up with the emotions swarming around in his head. His throat closed and a small whimper escaped him.
“Josh? What can I do for you?” Milo asked in a soft, soothing voice. Then he felt a hand gently caress his cheek.
“Hurts,” was all he managed to get out.
“I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry I can’t take the pain for you, but hopefully Maddy will be here soon. Would you like me to send everyone away again and ease your suffering?” All that did was cause Josh to choke even more on the lump that had taken up residence in his throat, and he began to sob softly.
“Josh, it’s Evan. Can you hear me?” Josh heard him. He just couldn’t answer him. He tried to nod, but it hurt too much to move. “It’s okay, Josh. Don’t try to move or talk, just rest. We’re all here. We’ll do whatever we can to help you.”
A gentle hand took his hand and gave him a squeeze. He would know that small hand anywhere. It was Bailey. “Hey, Joshie. It’s me, Bailey.” Josh could hear the tears in Bailey’s voice. “It’ll be soon. Alpha Micah said that Matthew’s Grampy was real sick, but they were taking care of him. I’m sure as soon as Matthew can leave―” Bailey’s voice cut off mid-sentence. Then his hand was released, and the bed next to him moved.
He felt a weight tug on the mattress beside him, and then his hand was grasped again. Soft lips were pressed to his forehead, and he heard a sob from the person above him. “I’m sorry, Josh.”
Chapter 8
Maddy’s voice was coming out all choked up as he sat beside their sick mate. Milo couldn’t believe it when he saw Maddy walk through the wall with the Legion Commander, Doc Aaron, and two strange guys. Maddy froze, and his eyes filled with tears as they landed on Josh. Maddy slowly crossed the room and came to stand right in front of him. Maddy lifted his arm and placed his hand on Milo’s shoulder and whispered, “Thank you for taking care of our mate. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” Then Maddy did something that shocked Milo. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him. Milo returned the hug and they pulled apart.
