by AJ Jarrett
“Oh.” Ben nodded then his eyes rounded. “Oh! That’s a good thing.”
“It is?” Wes and Miles said at the same time.
“Of course it is. The boy has just lost his family, and he feels all alone in the world. What better way to help Matt get better than to have a mate to lean on.” Ben smiled wide. “I know the timing is awful. No offense, Wes.”
“None taken.”
“Matt needs someone to lean on,” he said while looking at Miles. “Babe, I know how you and Colby feel responsible for what happened to Matt, but it’s no one’s fault except Hale’s. Let’s put blame where it’s due. Hale tried to ruin that young man’s life, and I think it’s only fair that the gods gift him with a mate. Wes is a good man. He’ll be good for Matt and help him through this tough time.” Ben lifted his right hand to scratch the back of his head. “Especially if we can’t find Kevin. He’ll need someone to help him through that loss.”
“Still no clue where the kid might be?” Wes asked.
“None.” Ben had dark circles under his eyes his clothes were crumpled as if he’d slept in them. “We got Klaus, Astrid, Ares, and Ridge doing their best to at least get a generalized location on Kevin but they’re coming up with nothing. Hale’s magic is just too strong.”
“Damn it.” Wes heard the floor creak behind had turned to look at his door. It was shut tight, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t want Matt to hear this conversation. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if they couldn’t find Kevin for Matt. “Is there anything else we can do?”
“The more we dig, the higher the risk we have of giving away our location.” Ben closed his eyes then opened them. “I’m sorry, Wes, but we can’t sacrifice the lives of many for one. I hate knowing what poor Kevin must be going through but we aren’t strong enough to win in a fight against Hale and Athena. We, Miles and I, always assumed that Hale would fight for the greater good and help the Warriors of the Light defeat his mother but we were wrong. He’s too powerful and with all the Warriors of the Light spread out over the world, we can’t put an army together to defeat them.”
“I understand what you’re saying, Ben, but I don’t like it.” Wes’s chest ached with the weight of the world. “What would cause Hale to act this way? I thought he loved Colby. Why would he want to make him suffer?”
“It’s the evil inside him.” Miles swiped a hand under his eye. “I’m not sure Hale ever had a chance of breaking free from it. He’s fought it before, and maybe he’s sick of fighting. It’s so much easier to be evil.”
“It’s going to be okay, Miles.” Ben wrapped his arm around Miles’s shoulders and pulled him close. Miles wound his arms around Ben and sobbed into his chest. “If there is just one ounce of good left in Hale, our boy will find it.”
“I hope so,” Miles whispered.
“Me, too,” Wes agreed. Colby was a good kid. He’d watched him grow up and turn into a fun and loving man. Wes wanted Colby to find his happy ever after. It was only fair.
“What!” Wes, Ben, and Miles are turned at the sound of Matt’s shout.
“What the hell,” Wes grumbled as he ran down the hallway toward his room. He threw open the door afraid of what he might find. He sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see Matt and Colby sitting on the bed. Matt’s cheeks were flushed a bright red and he had the bed sheet fisted in his fingers. Colby sat on the other side of him, his hands held up as if he were trying to calm Matt down.
“What’s going on in here?” Ben demanded as he stepped around Wes and into the room.
“You!” Matt pointed a finger at Wes.
“I think we should give them some time alone.” Colby climbed off the bed and headed toward the door. “Sorry, Wes,” Colby whispered as he passed him by.
“Nah, it’s all right kid.” Wes patted Colby on the back as he left the room. “This one is on me.” Wes waited until the others had left the room before saying, “I guess we need to talk.”
Chapter Sixteen
Matt had been having the most wonderful dream. He and Wes were lying naked together under the summer sun. A soft blanket beneath them and Wes kept dropping gentle kisses to his lips. It was heaven.
“Are you happy?” Dream Wes had asked.
“Very,” Matt replied then sat up to kiss Wes on his thin lips. “You make me happy.”
Just as Wes laid him down on the ground, covering his heavy warm body over Matt’s, he was jerked from his dream. He opened his eyes to see Colby smiling down at him.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Colby cheerfully said. He had a huge grin on his face.
“Colby?” Matt rubbed at his eyes getting the bits of grit from them. “What are you doing here?” Matt sat up and looked around the room. He realized he wasn’t in his and remembered why he wasn’t. Last night he’d practically attacked Wes. Matt had been in so much pain, and the only thing that seemed to make that ache go away was Wes. The man made love to him and chased all his demons away. It was perfect.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Colby was smiling.
“Uh…” Matt wasn’t sure what his friend was talking about. “Tell you what?” He and Wes had only just slept together a few hours ago. Matt would have told Colby later that day when he saw him, but it was only seven in the morning. “Okay fine.” Matt rolled his eyes. “I slept with Wes. Are you happy now?” At Colby’s blank stare he continued. “Dude, it was only that one time. It didn’t mean anything.”
Matt was rambling on. He didn’t want his best bud to think he’d done something stupid. Matt had total control of what had happened the other night. He wanted Wes, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit that. But he was ashamed to say that he wanted the man again and that he missed him when he woke up to find Wes wasn’t in bed with him. Where had he gone?
“Oh God.” Colby’s big beautiful eyes rounded and his face paled. “You don’t know do you?”
“Know what?” Matt scooted back on the bed to rest his back against the headboard. He smiled to himself. His body had held no pain from the fucking that Wes gave him. That was one thing about being a vampire he was starting to love. Wes had the biggest and thickest cock he had ever seen. Had he still been human, Matt wasn’t sure anal would have been in their future.
“You and Wes, you know, had sex, right?” Colby asked, his cheeks were blushing to where they glowed.
“Well, yeah.” Matt chuckled. “I just told you that.” It was more than just sex. It was earth shattering, all-consuming pleasure. Matt had never experienced anything like that before. It was perfect.
“And he didn’t say anything to you afterward?” Colby asked. He was fidgeting with his fingers.
“He said some things.” Matt blushed. Matt and Colby had never discussed their sex lives before. Hell, he wasn’t even sure Colby had one. Colby always got all bashful and quiet when they talked about sex. Matt found it unusual that Colby was talking to him about sex. “What’s going on, Colby?”
“Remember when I told you that all paranormal beings have a mate out in the world?” Matt nodded. “It could take days, weeks, months, even years to find them but we all have one. Even newbie’s like you.”
“You also said that we don’t get a choice in who that might be.” Matt bit into his bottom lip to keep from screaming. “Hence why you’re stuck with Hale.”
“Yes.” Colby looked down at his hands as if he was too embarrassed to look at Matt. “It’s a bond that can’t be broken. Most paranormals feel that connection instantly. Some, usually humans or the newly turned paranormals, don’t recognize it at first. They think it’s just a simple attraction.”
“Okay.” Matt reached out to touch Colby’s hand. “Colbster, where are you going with all this? What does me sleeping with Wes have to do with any of this?”
“Because he’s your mate.”
“What!” Matt shouted, unable to hold it in.
Not more than two seconds later the bedroom door busted open, and Wes stood there breathing heavily with frantic eyes. Miles and Ben w
ere on either side of him. Both men had let their fangs drop down, and their fingernails were sharp as knives. Wes, on the other hand, had started to shift a little. His ears were pointed and tufts of hair sprouted on his cheeks, chest, and arms.
It took a minute for everything to settle down before the others left the room leaving Wes and Matt alone.
“I was going to tell you,” Wes started out, hands held up in a show of surrender.
“When?” Matt asked in a fluster. “How long have you known? We just met!”
Wes shut the door and walked over to sit on the edge of the bed next to Matt. Matt wanted to be mad, for what he wasn’t sure but he just couldn’t. Having Wes so near to him eased the tension in his body and made him free relief.
“I’ve known since you stepped off that airplane yesterday.” Wes looked out in front of him. He had his elbows on his knees and bent over. His chest was bare, and the smooth mocha skin was screaming for Matt to touch.
“Why didn’t you tell me then?” Matt demanded.
“Because you weren’t ready to know, Matt.” Wes shifted around and pulled his right leg up to rest on the bed. He reached for Matt’s hand, and Matt let him hold it. “All this bad shit had just happened to you. You hadn’t had proper time to mourn the loss of your parents, and your little brother is missing. It didn’t seem like a good time to tell you that, oh, by the way, you’re a vampire and that means you get a mate, and hello! That’s me.” Wes shook his head. “You were so angry and rightfully so. I’m not saying I don’t understand but you were upset and mean and I didn’t want to add to your plate.”
Matt hated that he’d made Wes feel like that. It wasn’t his intent, but he felt guilty. Guilt for surviving when his mom and dad didn’t and guilt over his brother. The world was closing in on him and Matt just wanted to die but he couldn’t. He had to fight. Kevin was counting on him.
“You’re right.” Matt turned his hand over and entwined his fingers with Wes’s. His light skin glowed next to Wes’s darker skin tone. They were light and dark, and you can’t have one without the other. “I’m not in a good place right now. So much has happened in such a short time.” Matt’s eyes started to water, and instead of wiping those tears away he let them fall. “I feel like this isn’t my life anymore. I’ve lost so much and for what? I haven’t done anything wrong and yet here I am. I don’t want to feel this way, but I do.” His voice cracked, and his chest heaved from the force of his sobbing.
“Matt, baby, it’s all right.” Wes lightly pushed Matt over a little so that he could sit next to him. He wrapped his arm around his shoulders and held him close. “You’re allowed to be selfish and angry. You lost so much, and I wasn’t going to pressure you. I grew up in this life, but you weren’t given a choice. I know what it’s like to lose those that you love. I lost my folks a long time ago, but it still hurts.” Matt looked up at Wes. “My mom died in a fight against a neighboring wolf pack. After her death, my pops didn’t last long. He fell into a deep depression and died in a car accident.” Wes made air quotations. “At least that’s what they said. But look around you, baby. We’ve all known some degree of loss, and everyone in this house is willing to help you.” Wes raised his right hand to palm Matt’s cheek. “You just have to let us.”
“I want that,” Matt whispered and closed the space separating him from Wes’s thin red lips. “I want this pain to stop and being near you helps.” Matt brushed his lips against Wes’s.
“That’s the mating bond growing between us.” Wes smiled. “Having a mate to lean on helps lessen the load. I never met your parents, but I’ve gotten to know you. They must have been good people.”
“They were.” Matt’s chin trembled from his emotions. He remembered the last dinner he had with them. They both were so happy and smiling. Matt longed for that type of love that his parents shared. “They deserved so much more than this.”
“They did, and we’ll get Kevin back. Some way, somehow. I promise.”
Matt was realistic. He knew that Wes couldn’t make that guarantee. He wished and hoped, but that never got a person anywhere. Matt knew one thing though, he’d get revenge on those who took so much from him. Hale might want to trade Colby for Kevin, but he wasn’t going to allow that. He’d find a way to kill Hale. If it meant sacrificing himself to do so, he’d find a way to free Kevin and Colby from that terrible man.
“What are you thinking about so hard, baby?” Wes combed Matt’s hair out of his eyes.
Wes’s deep voice pulled him from his thoughts. Matt leaned in close. “What happens next?”
“With?” The left side of Wes’s mouth quirked up and that dimple formed in his cheek.
“Everything.” Matt pressed his lips hard against Wes’s. He was done talking. He didn’t want to tell Wes that Hale had come to him and he sure has hell didn’t want to tell him his plan. If Matt had learned one thing from the Warriors, it was that they liked to protect and help when needed and Matt didn’t want anyone else to get hurt when he took on Hale. He wanted to be the one to kill that monster.
Chapter Seventeen
“So you two are mates, huh?” Wes glanced to his right to see Astrid standing beside him.
“Word travels fast.” Wes chuckled then turned to look back out the window.
Matt was outside with Colby, Benedict, and Asher sparing. Wes had been in a meeting with Ben and Klaus discussing possible ways to find Kevin. Ares was a big help locating all possible places Hale might be hiding at. Only problem was which one were they at and was Hale alone or working with his mother. When Wes came out from his meeting, he found Matt outside.
Matt was in a pair of loose-fitting gym shorts and no shirt. A sheen of sweat covered his body, and his shaggy blond hair was pulled back in a small ponytail, dripping with sweat. Wes watched, fascinated by the muscles that rippled under his tanned skin. His mate was graceful and just a little heavy-handed in his moves, but he was learning and quickly. Newly turned vamps were strong, and it was important that Matt learn to control that strength.
“Oh, I knew once I arrived.” Wes stared at Astrid, his brow pinched. “Don’t look so shocked. I’ve come to sense these things in my old age.”
“You’re barely over two hundred years old, Astrid.” Wes lightly nudged Astrid with his shoulder.
“But still.” Astrid shrugged. “Time has helped me learn to use my powers and so has Klaus.” Astrid winked. “Love is the best medicine. It can heal even the darkest of wounds, Wes.”
“Are you saying that I’ll be good for Matt?” Wes so desperately wanted to be. He wanted to help Matt heal and move on from that terrible night he lost his parents, but something told Wes that if they couldn’t find Kevin and bring that kid back alive, Matt would never be the same again.
“I do. You’re a good man, Wes. You’re a logical thinker, and you have a strong need within you to protect.” Astrid laid his thin, warm hand on Wes’s, lightly tugging on it to turn Wes around. “I believe these characteristics will help you help Matt. He’s angry right now, and sometimes anger makes us do foolish things.”
“What do you mean, Astrid?” Wes darted his gaze back toward Matt. His mate was laughing and smiling with Colby.
“There is a darkness that surrounds him. I can feel it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“All I’m saying is love him, and if I were you, I’d perform the mating ritual sooner rather than later.” Astrid smiled. “It may help relieve some of that anger. If he has you to help shoulder that burden then he might be able to move on.”
“I can do that.” Wes nodded. He watched Matt for a minute more then turned back toward Astrid. Astrid being a fairy made him the purest of creatures known to the paranormal world. He could also sense danger and see into the future. Not all the time but in certain situations, Astrid had the power to do so. “Do you think Matt and I have a long happy future ahead of us?” Wes held his breath afraid of the answer.
“Are you asking my opinion as a friend or as a W
arrior?”
“Does it matter?” Wes asked.
“There are some wishes I cannot grant, and there are some that are just impossible to give.” Astrid tilted his head in Matt’s directions. “When I see Matt, there is a blackness surrounding him, and I’m not sure what that means or if he has a future here with us.”
“Astrid, that’s not helpful.” The thin hairs on the back of Wes’s neck stood up. Astrid’s words terrified him.
“I’m sorry, Wes. I think the best thing you can do is complete that ritual. Help stabilize Matt’s life. Let him know he is loved and that he’s not a failure. Hale did a terrible thing to that young man, and in time Hale will have to pay for that, but Matt shouldn’t become a victim of circumstances because of Hale’s doing.” Astrid gave Wes a small smile then turned to walk away.
Wes’s teeth ground together. His fist clenched and unclenched with each rapid beat of his heart. Fear was like a large fist around his heart, scaring the hell out of him and making him want to rage against a cruel world.
Wes knew that Astrid wasn’t trying to be cryptic with his words, but they were vague and could mean a lot of things. It worried him that something bad could happen to his mate. Wes knew he couldn’t live without Matt now that he’d found him. There had to be a way to save Kevin and by doing that, saving his mate.
* * * *
The sun was blaring down on him, and the cool breeze did nothing to take away the heat. His muscles had a nice burn to them as he worked with Benedict and Asher. Colby was out there, too, but he was mainly just watching and shouting out crap to make Matt laugh.
Matt really loved Colby. He couldn’t believe he had actually considered handing him over to Hale just to get Kevin back. It wouldn’t have been right even if he had the best intentions.
“You’re a big guy, Matt.” Asher walked to Matt’s left while Matt walked to the right. “But none of those big beautiful muscles will help you if you can’t learn to control your speed and strength.”