“You only followed orders.”
“Yeah. And I know you’re wondering how I could do it, but each and every hunter has their reason why we go after shifters.”
Dominic stared until Jericho wanted to pull the covers on top of his head. When he finally spoke again, Jericho wished he hadn’t.
“What’s your reason?”
Chapter Two
Aeron felt like a stalker, because he was at it again. Hovering by his mate’s door, looking at him as he slept.
He’d tried to come by during the day, but Jericho had been sleeping then too, and Aeron had lost the courage to actually wait and talk to him. It was time, though. He’d heard the gossip on his mate and on what he’d done. He’d killed shifters, had organized raids.
Aeron had a hard time believing it. He couldn’t wrap his mind around the reason why fate thought it was a good idea to stick him with a shifter killer, but he didn’t doubt that decision. There had to be a good reason. Maybe Jericho wasn’t that bad, deep inside. Maybe Aeron was supposed to help him redeem himself. Aeron wouldn’t know if he didn’t talk to Jericho, though, so it was time he swallowed whatever fear was still gripping his heart and faced his mate. The man he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with.
He wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep at night without being scared of Jericho killing him in his sleep.
“Who are you?”
Aeron startled out of his thoughts. His gaze was still on the bed, had never left it, but he hadn’t noticed Jericho had woken up. Damn it. He’d wanted to talk to him, but he’d wanted to be prepared. Now he wasn’t. He couldn’t get out of it, though, not unless he wanted to make himself look ridiculous in front of his mate.
Aeron took a step forward. “I’m Aeron.”
Jericho stared. “Jericho.”
“I know.”
“Are you here to gawk at the hunter?”
Aeron frowned. “No. Why? Has someone been here to gawk at you?”
“A guy with pink hair and a blond. It’s mostly them, but not only.”
Aeron smiled. “Nysys and Keenan. Yeah, they’ll do that. It doesn’t surprise me.”
“But you’re not here to stare at the killer.”
Aeron took a deep breath. It was no use waiting. The sooner he told Jericho they were mates, the easier it would be for both of them. “No, I’m not here to stare at the killer. I’m here to stare at my mate.”
Jericho blinked and his eyes widened. He didn’t sound surprised when he said, “So you’re the one.” Someone had to have filled him in.
“Yeah, I am.”
“I’d ask why you didn’t come forward sooner, but it doesn’t take a genius to understand the reason.”
Aeron finally stepped into the room. The infirmary was empty and silent. Everyone was in bed, sleeping, and Aeron and Jericho should be doing that as well. Instead, they were about to talk about feelings.
Aeron shuddered and walked closer to the bed. “Tell me,” he said.
“Tell you what?”
“Why you think I didn’t come forward sooner.”
Jericho arched a brow, but he explained, “I’m a hunter. I killed people, shifters. I know you’re not a shifter, but you’re a paranormal creature anyway. You can’t be happy about me of all people being your soul mate. I’m guessing you’re here to tell me you don’t want me, no matter what God or whoever else takes care of these things decided.”
Of course Jericho thought that. Aeron would probably have thought the same thing if he’d been in his place. He sat by the bed, and he couldn’t look away. It was the first time Jericho was awake when Aeron came to see him. His eyes were brown, and he looked older when he wasn’t sleeping. Aeron couldn’t tell how old Jericho was, but he couldn’t be more than thirty.
“That’s not why I’m here,” he told his mate. No matter what he might think about Jericho, they’d never talked. He would give him the benefit of the doubt until he knew him better.
“Why are you here then?”
“I wanted to meet you.”
Jericho shook his head. “You’ve known I was here for at least two weeks, probably more. Why didn’t you come sooner if that’s really what you want?”
Aeron ran a fingertip along the seam of his jeans. “I saw you on the battlefield. In the woods. I knew right away who you were to me.”
“Okay.”
“I didn’t come sooner because I had my own problems to take care of.” Aeron looked up. “You know I’m not a shifter.”
“Yeah. They told me when I first woke up.”
“I’m a Nix. Well, I’m half Nix. My other half is werewolf.”
Jericho jerked backward, and Aeron knew his mate knew about werewolves. Great. Now he was going to have to explain exactly why werewolves weren’t as dangerous as many thought.
“I’m not going to eat you,” he told Jericho. “I’m not even going to hurt you.”
Jericho shook himself and straightened. “You wouldn’t be allowed in here if you were dangerous.”
“Exactly. I’m in control. It took me years, but I control my wolf. I don’t have to let it out apart from when the moon is full, or when I want to, like during the battle.”
“So you’re a soldier for the pride?”
“I’m an architect.”
Jericho laughed. He looked startled at the sound, and it made Aeron smile. He probably hadn’t had many reasons to laugh recently, so it was good. Aeron wanted to hear more of it.
“An architect? How did you end up in the fight then?”
“A friend asked for my help. He’d been shimmered away and he wanted to go back, so he called me. He didn’t know I was a werewolf at the time. I wouldn’t have taken him if I hadn’t known I’d be able to protect him. I decided to help. Killed a few hunters, and I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry for doing it. Then I saw you. You were fighting, but you got hurt and passed out. I made sure nothing happened to you while you were out. When Jared arrived after the battle I told him you were my mate and he made sure you were taken here rather than to the council jail. Then I went to talk to Dominic. I had to tell him I’m a werewolf too.”
“He didn’t know?”
“No one knew. I never told anyone, not after I left my tribe.”
Jericho cocked his head. “There’s a lot more there than you’re telling me, huh?”
“There is. I don’t think the middle of the night is the right moment to talk our little hearts out, though.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I’ve been visiting you during the night. It took me some time to gather the courage to talk to you.” Aeron sighed. “It was in part because you’re a hunter and in part because of what I am and what happened to me in the past. I was scared.”
“But now you’re here. You didn’t think I’d wake, though. You still wanted it to be a secret.”
Aeron shrugged. “I actually came by earlier today, but you were sleeping, so I left. I thought I’d come see you tonight anyway. And yes, I didn’t expect you to wake up. It doesn’t matter, though. I wanted to talk to you.” He got up. “I should probably leave you to sleep. You need rest to get better.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. Jared’s been keeping me updated.”
“Can he do that?”
Aeron smiled. “You’re my mate. In his eyes and in the eyes of most of the shifter world, we’re as good as married, so yes, he didn’t have problems telling me about your health. Me and Dominic, of course.”
“It’s... okay, I guess. Not like I have any family to worry about me. It’s nice.”
Aeron wanted to ask why Jericho didn’t have a family, but it really wasn’t the best moment. It was the first time they’d talked, and he didn’t want to take the conversation that deep, not yet. “I don’t have a family either,” he said anyway. “We probably shouldn’t talk about it right now, but just so you know.”
Jericho looked at
Aeron. “There’s a lot more to you than you let show.”
“Isn’t it true for everyone?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t think fate would have paired us if you were unredeemable. That means there has to be more about you than what first appears. I wouldn’t accept a hunter who only wanted to hurt me and my friends, but Dominic wouldn’t let you stay here if that was what you were.”
Jericho nodded. “We talked. He knows why I did what I did.”
“You don’t have to tell me, not right now, but I’d like to know your story someday.”
“And I’d like to know yours.”
Aeron wasn’t looking forward to that. Not a lot of people knew what had happened to him, and he liked things that way. Jericho was his mate, and he had to know, no matter how much Aeron didn’t want him to.
* * * *
“This isn’t going to go well,” Jericho said. There was no way it would end well. He wasn’t sure what Dominic and Aeron were thinking, but the pride wasn’t going to welcome him with open arms. He’d hurt too many, had killed too many.
Dominic looked at him. “You’ll have to face them sooner or later.”
“Can’t we do this later then?”
Dominic chuckled. “We could, but let’s be honest. We don’t know how long we have.”
Jericho slowly nodded. “You weren’t able to learn anything?”
“We tried. We sent a spy, but he was hurt in a recent attack on a herd. We don’t know if Bradley suspected he was a spy or if it was a coincidence, but either way, we weren’t able to learn more about Bradley’s plans.”
Jericho played with the edge of the sheet on his bed, happy he wasn’t tied down to his hospital bed anymore. There was something he could do to help, but there were a lot of unknown factors in it. Would Dominic even trust him to help? Jericho wouldn’t trust himself in Dominic’s position.
“Now come on,” Dominic said. “You have to meet the rest of the pride.”
“It can probably wait.”
“It shouldn’t have to.”
“You already have more than enough problems to add to them. You know as well as I do that they won’t accept me, and that would create more problems.”
Dominic shook his head. “Look, I understand why you’re scared. You’re on the other side of the enemy line. You’re here to stay, though, unless you tell me you’re not. That means you’re going to have to face the pride, and I’d rather do it now than wait until after whatever Bradley is planning. Who knows what state the pride will be in then?”
Jericho understood what Dominic was saying even though he didn’t share that opinion. He’d barely met Aeron, and neither of them knew what the future held for them. Would they both still be alive after the battle that was coming?
“I don’t think your pride should think I’m on your side,” he told the alpha.
Dominic linked his fingers together. “Why not?”
“Because I could help. Brad doesn’t know about what happened since you took me in. He probably doesn’t even know about me being here rather than in your jail. It can be useful. You said you weren’t able to place a spy in the hunters’ ranks. I could go back. I’d still be second in command, and Brad would probably still trust me, especially if you guys roughed me up a bit before letting me go.”
“That would imply trusting you.”
“Yeah. I can see how it might be a problem, but if you’re ready for me to meet the entire pride, it means you have to trust me at least partially, right?”
“How would I know you won’t run back to Bradley and tell him everything we’re talking about right now?”
“You can’t know I won’t do that, but it’s not like you’re telling me things Brad doesn’t already know. He’s lived here with you. He knows the house and its inhabitants. He knows the layout and who works where. I haven’t seen anything of the house yet, and we can keep it like that if you feel better that way.”
“What about Aeron?”
Jericho wasn’t sure how to answer that. He and Aeron had talked for a while the night before, but Jericho hadn’t seen him since then. He’d left after Jericho had fallen asleep again and hadn’t even left a note. They hadn’t made decisions, hadn’t talked about the future. Hadn’t even held hands. Jericho didn’t know what Aeron wanted. Maybe him, maybe to mate. How could he be sure, though?
“I don’t know about him, and how come you’re saying his name now? You never mentioned him before.”
“Because he finally talked to you.”
“How do you know that? Do you have cameras in here?” Jericho looked around but he couldn’t see anything.
Dominic grinned. “No cameras, but the walls have ears and eyes in this house. Or rather, so many people live here that someone is always going to see or hear you unless you talk behind locked doors.”
Jericho knew about fifty people lived in the house. He even knew their names and who did what for the pride. Brad had made a list when he’d left the pride and had made sure Jericho knew it, just in case. He knew who the troublemakers were and who didn’t like to talk first thing in the morning. He knew who lived in the small cabins behind the main house and who slept on which floor.
“Then you probably also know that we haven’t talked much. I fell asleep.”
“You probably should talk to him again before making any decisions.”
“He hasn’t come by again.”
“You could solve that problem if you were free to roam the house.”
Jericho pressed his lips together. “You’re sneaky.”
“Of course I am. I have to be.”
“Maybe you could ask Aeron to come by instead.”
“Or maybe not.”
“I’m not going to be able to get you to help me with this, am I?”
“Like I said, I think the pride needs to see you, to face you. Everyone here knows who and what you are. I can’t promise they’ll accept you, at least not easily, but they’ll give you the benefit of the doubt because you’re Aeron’s mate. They’d never kick you to the curb.”
“I’m not sure what you’re trying to do by thrusting me into the pride.”
“You might as well be a pride member now. I’m still not completely sure I can trust you, but I don’t think Aeron would have found you if you were going to betray us.”
“I don’t understand how you can trust me.”
Dominic shrugged. “You’re not a shifter. I’m not sure you can understand. We trust mates.”
“You can’t tell me no mates ever betrayed their other half, ever hurt them.”
“I can’t, no.”
Jericho shook his head. He really couldn’t understand Dominic. This was only their second conversation. He’d told Dominic everything he could think of the day before, but Dominic had decided to come by today anyway. Jericho had a hard time believing the alpha could trust him so easily, no matter what he was saying. There had to be a catch, something Dominic wasn’t telling Jericho. Jericho had no idea what it was, though.
“Fine.” There was no getting out of agreeing to meet the pride, not if he wanted to get back to Brad. “I’ll meet whoever you want me to meet.”
Dominic finally rose from the plastic chair next to Jericho’s bed. He patted Jericho’s sheet-covered ankle. “I’ll ask Aeron to come by with some clothes. Jared said you shouldn’t have problems getting up for a bit, but he warned me you might get dizzy or get a headache. If you do, you can come back right away. Have fun.”
Jericho didn’t even try to protest. He’d been doing just that for the past fifteen minutes and it hadn’t helped him one bit.
He watched the alpha walk away and sighed. He didn’t know what the fuck he was doing. He’d been a hunter for the past few years, ever since Brad found him in the forest on his own. Jericho hadn’t even had a job since what had happened to his family. Brad had money, a lot of it, and Jericho had lived at the compound his leader had b
uilt. He hadn’t needed a job, but now his world had been turned upside down, and he didn’t know what it meant for him.
He did know Brad had lied to him. Not about the wolf thing—he still wasn’t sure he believed that. He would have seen signs of it, surely. But Brad had lied about shifters. Jericho hadn’t tried too hard to find out the truth, not after what had happened to him, but he should have. Anger had been easy to hide behind, though.
Shifters weren’t monsters, not all of them. Jericho had no doubts some were, but then again some humans were, too. These shifters, Dominic, and the pride members had taken him in when he was hurt, unconscious. They could have killed him. They could have stuck his ass in a cell and not cared about whether he lived or died.
Instead, they’d taken him in and had healed him, and they were still taking care of him. It didn’t matter that it was only because they wanted information and because he was Aeron’s mate. The result was the same.
Jericho had been healed, and he knew Brad would have let him die or worse if he’d been in Dominic Nash’s place.
He’d never been so confused, and he didn’t know what to do.
* * * *
Aeron couldn’t bring himself to go to the infirmary. He hadn’t had problems the night before because Jericho had been asleep. But now he wouldn’t be, or at least Aeron didn’t think so, since it was the middle of the morning. It was so much scarier, even though there really wasn’t a good reason for it.
Jericho had seemed to take Aeron’s presence well. He hadn’t run away screaming—not that he could have since he’d been tied up to the bed—and he hadn’t told Aeron to fuck off. They’d talked, and Jericho had seemed interested in Aeron, at least as a friend. He hadn’t asked about their eventual mating, but then they’d only met. Aeron hadn’t expected him to. He’d hoped he would, but he hadn’t expected it to happen.
“Why are you pouting here all alone?” André asked as he slumped into the chair Aeron was hovering by.
“I’m not pouting.”
Whitedell Pride 25 - Aeron Page 3