Underneath

by Maggie Walsh

  You must keep showing Raphael the love you have for him. Christian jumped and looked around at the voice, but found no one. Maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him. It had been a long day and he was exhausted. He turned back to the faucet and turned it on. He splashed water over his face.

  With your love, the omega will grow and shine. His powers will grow and help you all in the battle to come. You must continue to encourage your mate and guide him. He will need you now more than ever, Christian. A great evil seeks to reclaim him now that his full powers will be released. He and your brothers will need you to stay focused and strong. Their very lives will depend on it. The female voice whispered through the room, but Christian couldn’t see her. “Who are you? How do you know all of this?” he asked the room.

  Who I am is of no importance. What I tell you is. Remember Christian, your love will show Raphael the way. Do not waver in your love for him or you all will fail and perish. The omega, along with the guardian, the witch, the heart, and the other mates who have not been found yet, will be of great importance in the battle against evil. They must all be loved and protected so their powers can grow. Heed my words, young wolf, or everything that has happened and is yet to happen will be for nothing. He didn’t know how, but he could feel that whoever belonged to the voice had gone. He grabbed for the wet cloth and it fell off the counter. He looked at it, reached out to grab it, and the cloth froze in midair.

  He gasped in shock and looked at the cloth just floating there. He thought of it coming to him and going into his hand. The cloth shook, then slowly lifted and landed in his open palm. He closed his fingers around the cloth. “What’s going on here?” he whispered. Earlier he’d thought of getting the lube from the nightstand drawer, and suddenly the lube was pressing into his hand. He’d frozen at the sight and feel of it, but he couldn’t stop his loving on his mate’s body to think about it. He shook it off and continued to pleasure his mate. But now here it was, happening again. He looked at Raffy’s toothbrush and willed it to come to him. The toothbrush wiggled and then flew from its holder, slamming into his head and dropping into the sink. “Ouch, shit,” he said as he rubbed the spot above his eye where the toothbrush hit.

  He looked at it again and concentrated. The toothbrush danced around the bowl of the sink and then suddenly lifted and hung in the air in front of his face. He willed it back into its holder, and the brush floated back and dropped itself in. “Shit. Is this my power? But my birthday isn’t for another two weeks. I’ll have to talk to Micah and Raith in the morning,” he said to himself.

  He returned to the bedroom and sat on the bed. He gently cleaned his mate and threw the cloth into the bathroom. He lay back down on his side beside Raffy and looked down on his sleeping mate. Gods, he was beautiful. Christian laid his head on the pillow, wrapped his arm over Raffy, and closed his eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. His mind was racing with the possibilities of what the voice said. “What did she mean?” he whispered, and accepted that sleep wouldn’t come to him tonight.

  Chapter 7

  Jesse sat on the couch in his living room. But it wasn’t at the pack house where he belonged, it was at his parents’ house back in Ohio, and he wasn’t a man anymore, but a boy of six. He sat on the couch with his hands between his knees as he stared at the clock above the mantle. His little body shook with fear as he watched the second hand click away the minutes. They would be home soon. Three more minutes and they would walk in the door. Please don’t let them be mad tonight. He prayed to a god that never seemed to hear him.

  The sound of the second hand grew louder in his ears as it continued its journey around the bold face, like it was taunting him. Everything seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time. The minute hand moved up one more spot and the sound of the click echoed through the quiet house like a big bong. Sweat started to break out on his brow as his eyes frantically swept the house to see if anything was out of place. The minute hand bonged again, drawing his attention back to the clock over the mantle.

  He swept his little hand across his sweaty brow and wiped the moisture on his pant leg, then thrust his hand back between his knees. The second hand climbed higher toward its destination and the minute hand moved slightly. He licked his lips nervously as he watched the second hand hit the ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, oh god, two, one. The sound of the minute hand clicking into place and the bong of the clock started to sound. Bong, one, bong, two, bong, three, bong, four, bong, five, bong, six. He heard the crunch of the tires outside on the gravel driveway. He closed his eyes as he heard the engine shut off, and two car doors slammed shut.

  He heard the approaching footfalls on the walkway outside and swallowed hard. Every sound seemed to echo through the quiet house and vibrate through his chest. He heard the slide of the key in the lock and then the lock disengaged. The knob rattled, and he heard the twist of the knob as if it were right next to his ear instead of across the room in the foyer. The door slowly opened and he could feel a whoosh of cold air.

  The footsteps entered the house and clicked against the tiled floor. The door slammed shut, he jumped, and his bottom lip started to tremble. He bit his lip to stop it from quivering. If they saw him shaking they wouldn’t be happy. The clicking of his mother’s heels on the tile grew louder, followed by the heavier thump of his father’s loafers. Then he felt them before he saw them. He felt his mother’s hard stare and his father’s cold one.

  “Jesse,” his mother said as she entered the room. She walked across the room and put her briefcase on the desk. Then she walked to the liquor cabinet and took out two glasses and a bottle of amber liquid. As she poured the liquid into the two glasses, his father walked across the room and placed his briefcase on the desk as well. He walked over to the chair to Jesse’s right and sat down, undoing his tie as he did.

  His mother walked over and handed one of the glasses to his father, and they each took a drink. His mother sat on the arm of the chair that his father occupied, and they both looked at him. His father cleared his throat. “So, son. How was your first day of school?” his father asked in a monotone voice that held no interest.

  Jesse kept his eyes on the floor as he answered. “It was good, father. I even met a friend. His name is Taylor,” Jesse said in a small voice.

  “A friend? You made a friend? How is that possible? You are too pathetic of a creature to make a friend,” his mother said flippantly.

  “Y-yes, mother,” Jesse whispered, and lowered his head more.

  “Did your teacher give you any homework?” his father asked in the same uninterested voice.

  “Yes, father,” he whispered.

  “And have you done it yet?” he asked.

  “I tried to do it, b-but i-it w-was too h-hard,” Jesse said in fear.

  “Well you better go and figure it out, boy. Don’t expect your mother or me to help you with it. How will you learn if we help you?” his father asked.

  “Yes, father,” Jesse whispered, and slowly got to his feet.

  His mother grabbed his arm and squeezed as he tried to pass. He flinched from the pain. “From now on your homework better be done, along with your chores, by the time we get home. Do you hear me?” she sneered.

  “Y-yes, m-mother,” he whispered as his body trembled.

  “And stand up straight, Jesse. How many times have I told you to stand up straight? How do you ever expect to make it in this world if you slouch and tremble like a scared cat? You’re six now, Jesse. It’s time for you to stop behaving like a child and start acting like a man.”

  “Yes, mother,” he whispered as he stood up straight.

  “And no dinner until your homework is done. Come to me when you finish and I will check it to make sure it’s correct. If it’s not, you get no supper until you get it right,” she said in a cold voice.

  “B-but.” He stopped himself and slammed his eyes shut tight. He knew better than to argue with them about anything. Now he was going to get it.

  �
�Did you just question me? Did you sass me?” his mother asked, and stood up. She squeezed his arm tighter until he cried out from the pain.

  * * * *

  He sat on the edge of his bed and cried quietly. He couldn’t let them hear him or he would be beaten again. His body hurt all over from the beating they gave him. He would never again do anything that made them angry. He would never do anything that would cause them to punish him again. He jumped as he heard a door slam from down the hallway. Then he heard his father’s raised voice. “I knew we never should have taken this assignment. That creature can’t be the one. There is no way that pathetic little loser is the offspring of the fae king,” his father yelled. He didn’t understand what his father was talking about, but figured it had something to do with their work.

  “The witch told us he was, and it is our job to watch over him until he reaches maturity enough for his powers to come. Then Malachi will take him off our hands,” his mother said back. “And keep your voice down, we don’t want him to hear us.”

  “Then we’ll just wipe his memory like we always do.”

  * * * *

  “No!”

  Micah jumped awake as he heard Jesse cry out. He turned on the light on the nightstand and looked to his mate. Jesse was thrashing in his sleep and crying. His body was trembling and his arms were flinging around. “Not again. I thought the nightmares had stopped,” Micah whispered, and reached for Jesse. He gently wrapped his arms around Jesse’s waist and pulled him up, holding him tight as he whispered in his ear. “It’s okay, baby, you’re safe. I’m here, Jesse. I’m here, baby. It’s okay. Everything will be okay.” Micah ran a hand down his mate’s back as he whispered encouragingly in his ear. Jesse finally stopped thrashing and his body relaxed against Micah’s chest. Micah knew he was awake now as Jesse’s sobs wracked his body. He curled into Micah’s chest, cuddling closer as his hands grabbed onto Micah’s chest and his blunt nails dug into his skin.

  “They knew, Micah,” he sobbed. “They knew who I was.” Jesse’s body trembled uncontrollably and Micah was afraid for him.

  Suddenly their bedroom door burst open, and Ryland and Raith ran into the room. “What is it, Micah? We heard Jesse scream,” Raith said in a scared, concerned voice. The doorway filled with members of the pack as everyone came to see what was happening. Micah looked up at everyone with tear-brimmed eyes. “He had a nightmare. It’s okay, everyone. Go on back to bed,” Micah instructed, and laid his head on Jesse’s.

  Jesse pulled back and looked up at Micah with terror filled eyes. “N-no, M-Micah, it wasn’t a n-nightmare, w-was a m-m-memory. Th-they knew w-who I-I w-was. Th-they knew.” He buried his face in Micah’s chest and sobbed.

  “Who knew, Jesse? What did they know?” Micah asked in concern.

  “M-my p-parents. They knew…who I…was.” Jesse continued to tremble and sob.

  “What?” Raylan asked in shock. Everyone else looked at him and Micah in question.

  “Micah, what does that mean?” Raith asked in confusion. Micah’s eyes shifted to his beta and gave him a pointed look as he shook his head. Raith nodded his understanding. He turned to everyone in the doorway. “Okay, everyone, Micah’s got this. Let’s go back to what we were each doing and give them some privacy.”

  Everyone gave Jesse one last look of concern and left the room. Taylor stayed where he was standing and kept his eyes on Jesse. Gabriel placed his hand on his shoulder. “Sweet baby?” he coaxed gently.

  Taylor pulled away from Gabriel and stepped further into the room, never taking his eyes off his best friend. “Jesse?” he whispered. Taylor took another step and tears sprang into his eyes. He sniffled as he, too, started to cry. “Jesse, I never knew they did those things to you,” he sobbed.

  Micah lifted his head and looked at Taylor. Ryland stepped closer to Taylor. “Guardian, what is it? What do you see?” he asked in a whisper. Taylor ignored him and stepped up to the bed.

  “If I had known they did those things to you, I would have done something to stop them. I only thought they ignored you. I-I didn’t know,” Taylor sobbed.

  Taylor felt someone take his hand, but it wasn’t Gabriel. The hand was smaller. He turned his head and found Raffy standing next to him. Raffy gave him a sad smile and turned his head to look at Jesse. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he started to shake.

  “Angel, what is it?” Christian asked from behind him as he placed his hand on Raffy’s hip.

  “Malachi. The witch’s name is Malachi,” he said with a trembling voice.

  “Fuck,” Ryland whispered in shock. “I need to go. Take care of Jesse. Keep him safe at all costs,” Ryland said in a rush, and started to mumble a chant. A portal opened and Ryland stepped inside. “Keep him safe,” Ryland yelled back over his shoulder, and then disappeared into the bright light of the portal. It closed behind him and the light disappeared.

  Jesse’s body started to shake uncontrollably as if he were having a seizure. Micah held onto him, trying to keep him from thrashing so hard that he hurt himself.

  “Micah, what is it? What’s wrong with him!” Taylor cried out in fear.

  “I don’t know, Taylor. Get Aaron. Someone get Aaron, now!” he yelled out, and held onto Jesse. Jesse’s body started to shake harder, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and only the whites could be seen. “Jesse? Baby, can you heard me? Jesse!” Micah cried in a panic.

  Aaron, Raith, and Rory ran back into the room. Aaron ran straight to the bed and climbed up. He moved to Jesse and laid a hand on his chest. Jesse’s body thrashed and twisted in Micah’s arms. “What is it, Aaron? What’s causing this?” Micah asked through clenched teeth.

  “I don’t know, Micah. I have never seen anything like this before. He said it was a memory that caused his nightmare, so this shouldn’t be happening,” Aaron answered as he tried to take Jesse’s vitals as best he could with the man thrashing so hard.

  “Help him! Do something!” Micah begged.

  “I don’t know what to do, Alpha!” Aaron cried as tears fell from his eyes.

  “He’s reliving memories,” Taylor whispered. His voice was filled with pain. “He’s seeing everything they ever did to him. It’s like a movie playing in his mind.”

  Suddenly Jesse’s eyes rolled back and stared at Micah as his body stopped all movement. He looked at Micah with pain-filled, pleading eyes. “It hurts,” he cried in pain. “Help me, Micah, please,” he begged. His eyes closed and his body went limp in Micah’s arms.

  “Jesse? Baby? Jesse?” Micah shook him gently.

  Raith handed Aaron a stethoscope. Aaron placed it in his ears and listened to Jesse’s chest. He sat back, pulled the instrument from his ears, and sighed. “He’s breathing normally. His heart rate is slightly elevated, but slowing. Lay him down, Micah,” Aaron instructed.

  Micah laid Jesse down carefully and covered him up with the blanket. He gently slid hair from Jesse’s face and caressed his cheek. “We need answers, and we need them now. We need to find that damn witch. Something tells me he’s the one with all the answers.”

  “Phenex, we need you,” Taylor whispered.

  “Sweet baby, why are you calling the demon?” Gabriel asked gently.

  “He’s not a demon, Gabriel. He’s an angel. And I think he can help us locate the witch. Plus, I think he would like to know that something is wrong with his son,” Taylor said softly, never taking his eyes off Jesse.

  “What?” Gabriel, Raith, Aaron, Christian, Rory, and Raffy all said in shock at the same time.

  “Micah?” Taylor gave Micah a questioning look.

  Micah’s sad gaze met Taylor’s eyes, and Taylor could see the truth to his question. Micah nodded, looked back at Jesse, and continued to stroke his cheek.

  “Phenex? Please, Lomiel needs you,” Taylor whispered, and a tear rolled down his cheek.

  “Young, guardian,” Phenex said as he stepped from the wall behind Taylor. “What did you say?” Phenex asked
cautiously. He stepped up next to Taylor and kept his eyes on him.

  Taylor turned his head and met Phenex’s gaze. He could see pain and confusion behind the man’s eyes. “I said…Lomiel needs you,” Taylor said, and turned his attention back to Jesse.

  Phenex’s brows went up in shock at Taylor’s words. Then he saw the pain and sadness there. When Taylor turned away, Phenex followed his line of sight. His heart twisted painfully and his gut clenched at the sight of his son, Lomiel, no, Jesse, lying on the bed, surrounded by his family. His eyes flicked to Jesse’s mate’s face. The wolf’s face was saddened and pain-filled. He stared down at Jesse with worry and love as he ran his fingers over Jesse’s cheek. He stepped closer. “What is it, young wolf king? What has happened to my son?” he asked in a whisper.

  Micah looked at him, and he could see the depth of the man’s grief in his eyes. As long as he lived he would never forget that look of pure heartache he saw in the wolf's eyes. He had never seen that level of pain before, not even in his own eyes when he thought Ryland had cheated on him and hidden his son from him. The depth of Micah’s love for Jesse was apparent in his pain for him. His son was very lucky to have found this man, to have this wolf for his mate. He would need to thank Aurora the next time he saw her.

  “He’s locked inside his memories. They are running through his mind like a movie. Everything from the earliest memory he has,” Taylor explained in a whisper.

  “I don’t understand. What happened?” Phenex asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Jesse’s still form. He listened carefully as Micah explained the events of what took place. He stilled at the mention of that evil witch Malachi. His jaw clenched and his fingers curled in as he fisted his hands.