by Shea Balik
Usually men like him were trying so hard to prove they were tough, they didn’t know how to let anyone take care of them, but that was exactly what he was doing. The way Saber was nuzzling against Chadwick, he didn’t give a shit what anyone thought of his actions either.
There was no way on God’s green earth Iniko’s father would have shown any softness, not in needing help, or in comforting someone in need. Iniko’s body froze. That was right, his father hated the weak. He’d even slapped Iniko a time or two when he’d caught his son crying from a scrape he’d received.
But not Greyson. He, like Saber was now with Chadwick, had quickly offered the comfort Iniko had needed. There’d been no rebuke or words about toughening up. Just acceptance and care.
It put his fears about having a mate in a new light. Maybe everyone was right and the only reason his father was capable of hurting his wife was because they weren’t true mates.
No. He couldn’t take that chance. Could he?
No.
If there was one thing Iniko wasn’t willing to be, was his mother. He’d rather just kill himself now than endure the torture his father meted out on a daily basis.
Boots stomped on the wooden steps of the porch, before making their way to the door. A loud, aggressive banging soon followed.
Edrick raised his eyebrow and glanced at his second, Lucca. “I’m assuming that’s Zayden. You might want to remind him where he is before I do.”
Lucca grinned. “Got it, boss.”
Edrick growled for real this time causing the hairs on Iniko’s body to rise to attention. “I told you not to call me that.”
Nole smacked Edrick in the stomach, something Iniko was fairly certain only the alpha’s mate would get away with. “Then stop acting like a jackass.”
Iniko choked on nothing. Nole might be Edrick’s mate, but Iniko didn’t know many people in his old colony who would have tolerated that kind of behavior. A few were kinder, but Iniko was sure his father, along with his father’s friends, would have punched their mates for such disrespect.
For a terror-filled moment, Iniko found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Edrick. He hadn’t even realized he’d been doing it, until Edrick’s hard stare landed on him, challenging Iniko.
Not wanting to face his alpha in a fight, Iniko dropped his gaze quickly, praying he hadn’t pissed the man off. He was sure either he or Nole was going to get hit.
“Stop being a dick, Edrick, and apologize to Iniko for scaring the crap out of him,” Nole chastised.
“He thought I was going to hit you,” Edrick argued.
Iniko wanted to deny the words, but he couldn’t. Hell, he still wasn’t sure if Edrick would hit Nole. At the same time, experience taught him Edrick would never harm a hair on his mate’s head. But the lessons of the past were too much a part of him to stop the reaction when Nole had spoken that way to their alpha.
“Hey.” Greyson was there, his arm encircling Iniko. It made no sense whatsoever but Iniko relaxed against him. “It’s okay. Considering what’s going on, its natural you were scared for Nole.”
A loud sigh from across the room reached Iniko’s ears. “Oh shit, Iniko. I’m sorry,” Edrick said. “I wasn’t thinking how this situation with Jazz would bring up your past.”
“Jazz,” a growl ripped through the room as Zayden walked in behind Lucca. “I hope you’ve found the asshole beating the shit out of him because I’d like a chance to teach that asshole some manners.”
“Wait a minute.” Chadwick got up from his mate’s lap and got in Zayden’s face. “You knew someone was abusing Jazz and you didn’t tell me?”
Zayden’s eyes went wide and his face became flushed. “No. What? He said you already knew and were helping him to deal with it.”
“Deal with what?” Chadwick blew up. “Getting beaten every damn day? Do you honestly think if I knew someone was hurting Jazz, it would still be continuing?”
Zayden opened his mouth as if to argue but then shut it. His shoulders slumped. “Fuck. The little shit lied to me. I should have known it wouldn’t still be happening if he’d said something to one of you.” He let out a long breath. “I’m sorry. I…”
Zayden shook his head. “There’s no excuse. I never should have bought his crazy stories of how he got those bruises in the beginning. I sure as shit shouldn’t have believed you wouldn’t have stopped the abuse when I realized what the bruises really meant.”
“Enough,” Nole said before Chadwick could berate Zayden some more. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Zayden, do you know who is abusing Jazz?”
The man shook his head regretfully. “He won’t tell me.”
“Now what do we do?” Iniko asked.
“Have Grey talk to him.”
Iniko looked toward the hallway where the voice had come from to find a severely injured man leaning against the wall as if he needed its support to keep him from falling over.
When Greyson raced over and picked the man up, jealousy raced through Iniko’s veins. All he saw was red as his mate gently placed the unknown man on the couch.
He just wasn’t sure if the anger that suddenly surged through him was from Greyson touching another man, or because Iniko knew he had no right to feel jealous if he wasn’t willing to let Greyson claim him.
CHAPTER 14
“Kylo, what are you doing out of bed?” Guilt weighed heavily on Greyson when he saw his friend leaning heavily against the wall as if it were the only thing keeping him from falling to the floor in a heap.
He should have checked on Kylo as soon as he arrived at the alpha’s house but Greyson had been too distracted with comforting his mate to even think about Kylo. It had been three weeks since they had nearly been burned alive in that fire and Kylo still didn’t have the strength to be out of bed without assistance.
That was Greyson’s fault. He should have been paying more attention and gotten them out of that town before anything like that could have happened. After, he should have found a way to get help for Kylo sooner. Maybe then he wouldn’t…
“Hey.” Kylo’s voice was no more than a rasp as his throat still healed. “This wasn’t your fault.” His friend reached out and touched Greyson’s cheek.
Even with the guilt swamping him, he couldn’t deny the thrill racing through his veins when he heard a squeak of outrage from behind him. Apparently, Iniko cared enough to be jealous.
The sound caused Kylo to jerk his hand away. He glanced from Greyson to Iniko and back again. “I take it that’s your mate?”
Greyson gave a quick nod.
Kylo grinned. “He’s cute.”
Not even if his alpha had ordered him to stop would Greyson have been able to hold back the possessive growl that rolled from his chest at his friend’s words. No one but Greyson had the right to look at Iniko as cute.
Kylo rolled his eyes. “Dude, I’m not hitting on him.” Another tiny squeak could be heard. Kylo then smiled and said, “I think your mate is coming around.”
“From your lips to God’s ears,” Greyson murmured even as Nole put his stethoscope to Kylo’s chest and asked him a series of questions.
“What does Kylo mean, you should talk to Jazz?” Lucca’s stare was intense as if he were trying to see deep into Greyson’s soul to seek answers.
Greyson didn’t really have any. How did one explain that when he was around, people tended to want to fill the void of silence with words? For some inexplicable reason, things someone hadn’t necessarily wanted out there came out, too.
“We call him the secret whisperer.” Only because of their advanced hearing were they able to hear Kylo’s barely there voice.
“I told you, no talking unless absolutely necessary,” Nole chided. “Your vocal chords need time to heal or you might lose your voice completely.”
“Do you think you can get Jazz to open up to you?” Edrick asked Greyson as he let his mate deal with his patient.
As much as he’d like to tell the man yes, Greyson wasn’t a
bout to lie to his new alpha. “Honestly? I have no idea. It’s not like I plan for people to tell me their secrets, they just sort of… do.”
Somehow that was good enough for Edrick since he made arrangements for Greyson to sit with Jazz at lunch.
“Uhm, since I’m here,” Zayden added as they were all getting ready to head out. “I didn’t see them for myself, but two of my crew, Pike and Chet, noticed shifters in the woods about a mile west of here. I was about to go check it out when you called.”
Greyson’s blood froze. He didn’t have to see the men to know who they were. Apparently, his old alpha wasn’t going to be happy until Greyson and his friends were dead.
“Lucca, take Hudson and few others to scout the area and put out extra patrols.” Edrick’s voice was like steel as he gave the order but it was the ice in his gaze that had the hairs on the back of Greyson’s neck standing on end.
His new alpha wasn’t one he ever wanted to cross. Good thing Greyson had no plans to do so, like ever.
***
The fear that had initially poured off Jazz when he’d been introduced to Greyson no longer permeated the air. They’d been sitting at the kitchen table of Krill and Harper’s home, in hopes of making Jazz more comfortable, rather than at the diner with a bunch of other people coming in and out of the restaurant.
That hadn’t happened. At least, not yet. Jazz was terrified of something, that much Greyson had been able to scent the moment he’d walked through the door. He was fairly sure it was a someone and not a something, but he hadn’t been able to get the deer shifter to speak about anything personal.
Then again, Greyson was a panther. It was fairly normal, even in shifter communities, for those shifters that were considered prey in the animal world to be leery of stronger predators like Greyson.
“I have work to do,” Jazz tried again, as if they hadn’t already covered the fact that Edrick had given him the rest of the day off with pay. “I’ve already lost enough time with that stupid career meeting with Iniko this morning. I can’t afford to not get paid.”
“Why not?” Greyson asked, doing his best to not wince at Jazz’s harsh words about Iniko. His mate wasn’t in the room with them, but he was in the living room listening in. It wasn’t ideal but Iniko refused to leave.
Greyson had kind of hoped it was because of Greyson and not wanting him alone with another man. He feared it was more likely Iniko was worried Greyson would hurt Jazz.
“What do you mean why not?” It was as if Greyson had asked Jazz to strip naked, not take a paid day off from work. “I have to have a full paycheck or there won’t be enough food.”
Now they were getting somewhere. Greyson continued his casual pose, leaning back in his chair. He made sure not to tense or show any emotion to Jazz’s outburst. “Edrick provides food for everyone in Miracle. So, how would you starve?”
It was something Greyson had been shocked to hear when he’d first arrived. Since Miracle was still being built and there was no easy way to earn money, Greyson ensured everyone was provided for by giving them food, shelter, and a small paycheck for incidentals until Miracle could provide more stable income for them.
“I wouldn’t,” Jazz blurted out. “But Sh…”
As if realizing what he was about to say, Jazz clamped down on his lips, refusing to say another word. Greyson just sat there, patiently waiting as he had been for the past four hours.
It wasn’t until Jazz’s eyes darted to the door that Greyson finally spoke in hopes of stopping the man’s plans to run. “Is there someone you’re helping, Jazz?”
“No,” Jazz insisted too vehemently not to be lying. “There’s no one. Just me.” He shoved to his feet.
Greyson knew he only had one more shot before Jazz was gone. “I am more than willing to help you and your friend if you need it.”
But Jazz was past listening as he raced from the room. Unfortunately, Iniko beat him to the door and asked, “Is the person you’re helping the same one who put those bruises all over your body?”
Crap. Greyson didn’t know much about helping people, but he’d learned over the years, confrontation rarely worked. He just needed to be patient and the person in trouble would open up. It was one of the reasons he hadn’t wanted Iniko to be there.
His mate was a fixer. He saw a problem and he did whatever it took to make it right. It was one of the many reasons Greyson was falling in love with the man. But in Jazz’s case, no one could fix his problem, but Jazz.
Well, strictly speaking, that wasn’t entirely true. If they could find the person who was hitting Jazz, he was fairly certain Edrick, or one of his inner circle, would kill the bastard, ending Jazz’s current problem. But Greyson was fairly certain Jazz would somehow end up with another abusive asshole if he didn’t find a way to help himself first.
“Stay away from me, Iniko.” Jazz pushed Iniko from the door and ran out.
Iniko whirled to face Greyson, anger and accusation were written in the flecks of honey in his eyes. “How could you just let him go? Whoever is abusing him could kill him.”
“As much as I wish it were otherwise, Jazz has to the one to want help or he’s just going to end up in the same kind of relationship in the future.” It wasn’t something he wanted to say to his mate considering his past, but Greyson couldn’t start lying now.
Those flecks of honey turned to ice as Iniko glared at him. “How dare you? If someone had bothered to help my mother she would be alive right now.”
Edrick, who had been stationed outside to ensure their privacy strode in. “Maybe, maybe not. But we gave Jazz every opportunity to tell us who was hurting him and he won’t. We will continue to try but we can’t force him.”
Iniko shook his head and wrapped his arms around his body as if trying to soothe himself. “Of course, neither of you would understand what Jazz is going through. How could you? Both of you are predators who find joy in hurting those weaker than you.”
Greyson desperately wanted to go after his mate as he ran from the house, but he doubted he’d have been welcomed. That seemed to be the crux of their problem. When it came to Iniko, Greyson just wasn’t wanted.
CHAPTER 15
Lost and feeling completely alone, Iniko wandered around Main Street for a time looking to find some sort of hope. He’d thought, for a short time anyway, that he had that when Greyson offered to help Jazz. That maybe his mate wasn’t the bad guy.
But then Greyson had just let Jazz walk away as if he didn’t matter. To make it worse, he’d done the same to Iniko. Instead of coming after him, Greyson left Iniko alone and wondering if he was doomed to walk in his mother’s footsteps.
In the end, he’d decided he didn’t want to be around Harper and his perfect mate, Krill, so he slept in the back of his store. It wasn’t as nice as the bed in his friend’s spare bedroom, but it did give Iniko the peace he needed to figure some things out.
Which, by —he glanced at his phone— three in the morning, the only real conclusion he’d come to was that his life was a mess. Then again, he’d known that before, so really, he was getting nowhere.
Why was it he could figure out everyone else’s lives without really trying, but his own was such a disaster? Throwing off the covers when fifteen minutes later he was no closer to falling asleep, or figuring out what to do about Greyson, Iniko decided he might as well start preparing for his day.
After missing most of his appointments yesterday, he had a full day, starting at the crack of dawn. Well, maybe not that early since Iniko wasn’t exactly a morning person but eight sure as hell felt like the crack of dawn. Had he known he wasn’t going to sleep he could have started at six like some of the construction workers had asked to do.
Flipping on a light, he walked into the main part of his store to get a bottle of water. Then he wandered to the front door where he’d dropped his bag with his files for the following day’s appointments. He couldn’t have been more than three steps from the door when he caught sight of a pair of e
yes staring back at him through the glass door.
He let out a squeak of surprise before he could catch himself but then again, who could blame him. There, lying outside his front door like a guard dog… or, err, cat in this case… was an enormous black panther.
He didn’t even need to know that Greyson was a panther to know it was him. Iniko could see it in the way he looked at him. Like he was the only person in the world. Maybe that was why he was having such a hard time telling Greyson to leave him alone. Iniko liked the way he felt around his mate.
Never before had he believed he mattered, until now. The part of him that had been watching his friends with their mates knew that was how it was meant to be. So, the question was, how did he reconcile that knowledge with what he witnessed as a child?
Before he could stop himself, Iniko opened the door and let the enormous cat inside. He couldn’t deny the spiral of fear that whirled around him. But he also couldn’t deny the spike of desire as he admired the sinuous grace as Greyson slowly crept closer to Iniko, as if sensing his trepidation.
He stood frozen, unsure what to do or how to respond to his mate. His fingers itched to touch his sleek black coat, but his natural fear of such a powerful predator stopped him. That was, until he felt his mate nuzzle against his fingertips.
It was as if electricity arced between them, pulling Iniko from his frozen stupor. He knelt down and ran his fingers through Greyson’s thick black fur. Every stroke along that immense body embolden Iniko until he had buried his head against Greyson’s furry neck.
When the first sob broke from Iniko’s throat, the fur under his hands turned to skin and arms wrapped around to pull him closer. Once the tears started, Iniko couldn’t hold them back any longer.
He cried for his mother. For the father he wished he’d had instead of the one he’d gotten. For the little boy who’d had to watch his mother get beaten down every single day only to get up and do it all over again the next.