“I took Cerris into the woods to teach him control. I needed calm for that, and silence. We were meditating when I heard a noise, footsteps coming closer. It was two hunters. They attacked—one of them, the woman, stabbed me in the back while I was fighting with the other one. Cerris took care of her. I know he lost control, but there was nothing else he could have done. He couldn’t stay in his human form. They might have hurt him, or worse. He didn’t mean to kill her. He was just trying to save me.”
Dominic reached out and put his hand on Aeron’s shoulder. “It’s all right. No one is blaming him for what happened. I just wanted to know what happened.”
“How is he?”
Dominic let his hand fall. “I don’t know yet.”
“What are you going to do to him?”
“Nothing. I want you to continue working with him on control, but that’s it. No one is going to blame him for killing a hunter, just like no one is going to blame you for it. You had to protect yourself. I’d rather have you alive and two dead hunters than you hurt or dead.”
“All right. Thank you.”
Aeron had managed to keep it together until now, but he wasn’t sure he could for much longer. It wasn’t the first time he’d killed. He didn’t know how many hunters he’d taken care of during the battle, and he hadn’t only been a slave for his tribe. His leader hadn’t been an idiot, and he’d used Aeron’s werewolf form when he’d needed it.
Aeron had gotten used to the pain of taking another life long ago, but that didn’t mean it didn’t affect him. He hated it, but Dominic was right. He’d rather be alive, even if it meant killing someone. He just wished Cerris hadn’t had to go through that.
The door to the private room Cerris was in opened and Jared came out. Everyone turned to look at him, and Aeron waited for him to speak.
“He’s fine. A bit shaken, but physically he’s fine. No wounds, nothing. I’m keeping him here for the rest of the day and night, but he’ll be able to go back to his room tomorrow morning.” He looked at Aeron. “You’ll want to talk to him tomorrow. He needs to know that what he did isn’t the end of the world.” He winced. “That didn’t come out like I meant it. I know what happened isn’t an easy thing, but he was just trying to protect you. He’s taking it hard even though he’s trying not to let it show.”
“I’ll come by.”
Jared nodded. “Do you want to stay in the infirmary as well?”
“No. I’m going to go up to my room, shower, and sleep. I need a bit of time.”
“I’m here if you need anything.”
Aeron nodded and left the infirmary. He really did want to shower and sleep, but he wanted his mate more. Why was Jericho still gone? He should be there, with Aeron. Of course, there was no way he could know what had happened, but it didn’t help. Aeron needed him.
He tried not to think about it and showered, then put on comfortable clothes and climbed into bed. He hugged his pillow and tried not to think about what had happened with the hunters. He knew thinking about it wouldn’t help. He’d done enough of that the first few times. The only option was to try to forget and to convince himself he’d done the only thing he could have done.
Sleep didn’t come, though, and Aeron’s chest felt tight. He wasn’t going to be able to rest until Jericho was back. The stress of not knowing where his mate was and whether he was safe, added to what had happened earlier, was killing him. He needed to know Jericho was all right, and there was only one way he could be sure of that.
Aeron sat up and closed his eyes. He’d never done this, but he knew it was possible. Not easy, but possible.
He focused on Jericho, on how good kissing him had been, on how his hands on Aeron’s skin had felt. He hoped Jericho was alone right now, because he wasn’t sure what he’d do if he wasn’t. It wasn’t like the hunters didn’t know about Nix, but that didn’t mean Aeron wanted to put a target on his back.
Aeron thought about Jericho’s face and shimmered.
* * * *
“Yeah, okay. See you then,” Jericho said before hanging up. He looked at the list in front of him and crossed this hunter’s name out. He’d called all the team leaders, and they would take care of calling their team members. He’d done his job, and he had no idea what Brad was going to do with him now that he had.
He leaned back in his chair and looked at the door. It was locked, and there were no windows. There was no way out of the room, so his only option would be to fight when Brad came in. The problem was that Brad was a shifter, and there was no way Jericho could beat him.
He’d try, though. He needed to go back to Aeron, and hopefully it would be in one piece.
“Jericho.”
Jericho jumped up and twirled around, ready to attack whoever the fuck had appeared behind him. He let his hands fall down when he realized it was Aeron.
“What are you doing here? How did you even get here?”
“I shimmered.”
“I don’t... whatever. You need to leave.”
Aeron jerked away, his eyes wide. “You don’t want me?”
Jericho shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. You need to leave before Brad comes back and finds you here. I don’t want him to know about you. He’d hurt you.”
“I’m here to take you home.”
Jericho stared. He’d thought he’d have to fight his way out of headquarters, but instead Aeron was telling him he could take him back to the mansion. The only thing he apparently had to do was to take the hand Aeron was holding out to him.
“So you’re going to teleport me?”
“To shimmer you.”
“And we’ll pop into the mansion? Just like that?”
“Yes. Now come on. Take my hand.”
The sound of the lock turning made them both look at the door.
“Take my hand,” Aeron hissed. “I’m not leaving you here, so either you take it or whoever is behind that door will find me.”
Jericho had no other choice, and it wasn’t like he needed one. He wasn’t about to stay there, not when he had a way out. He wouldn’t learn anything more than what he already knew anyway. Brad didn’t trust him anymore.
He grabbed Aeron’s hand just as the door opened. He just had time to see Brad come in, his gaze locking with Jericho’s. Then Brad disappeared and Jericho was back in Aeron’s room.
His knees buckled, because fuck, that was weird. He hadn’t felt anything, but just thinking about it was enough to weird him out.
“Are you all right?” Aeron asked, and Jericho realized they were still holding hands. It felt so good. He’d thought he wouldn’t see Aeron again, not after what had happened with Brad. The fact that he was back in Whitedell was almost too hard to believe.
He pulled Aeron into his arms, wrapping them around him and holding him close. He buried his face into Aeron’s hair and breathed him in. He hadn’t realized how important Aeron was to him already—so important that he’d made Jericho doubt what he’d spent two years of his life doing. So important that Jericho was finally able to put aside the anger he still felt over what had happened to his family. It was time to let go of that. It had been a long time coming, but Jericho hadn’t wanted to admit it.
Nothing he could do would bring his family back. They were dead, and they wouldn’t have wanted Jericho to do what he’d done for the past few years, no matter what he’d tried to convince himself of.
“Are you all right?” Aeron asked.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt or anything, don’t worry.”
“What happened?”
Jericho stepped away. “I need to talk to Dominic. Brad has another attack planned, and it’s soon. We need to get ready.”
The last thing Jericho wanted to do was to leave the bedroom, but he had to. There would be no occasions to be with Aeron if Brad killed everyone.
Aeron nodded. “Let’s go.”
Jericho followed Aeron out of the bedroom and alo
ng the hallway. They walked down the stairs, and to Jericho’s surprise, Aeron checked the infirmary before continuing down the hallway and knocking on another door.
Aeron let Jericho pass before stepping into the office and closing the door.
“Aeron. I thought you needed to sleep after what happened this morning, and instead I find out you’ve been disobeying my orders?” Dominic said.
He sounded amused more than angry, so Jericho didn’t worry about it, although he wondered about the alpha’s words. “What happened this morning?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Aeron hurried to say. “I couldn’t sleep and I was worried about you, so I decided to come get you. That’s it.”
“That and he and Cerris were attacked by two hunters,” Dominic added.
“Attacked?” Jericho had no idea who Cerris was, and he honestly didn’t care right then. He turned to face Aeron and grabbed his arms, looking at him in the face. “What happened?”
Aeron sighed and gave in. “Me and Cerris were outside meditating, and two hunters attacked us. We took care of them, but Cerris is pretty torn up over it.”
“Took care of them?” Did that mean what Jericho thought it meant?
Aeron looked down. “We didn’t have a choice. We both shifted, and Cerris lost control.”
“Shifted? You mean into your werewolf form? Is Cerris a werewolf?”
“Yeah. One of the hunters stabbed me and the other one tried. We killed them, and I’m not sorry.” Aeron set his jaw and looked at Jericho in the eyes. “I don’t like killing people, but if I have to choose between my life and theirs, or my friends’ lives and theirs, I’ll do what I need to do to survive. I’m not stupid enough to think the hunters would have stopped with me and Cerris. They were here for a reason.”
“I didn’t say anything about that, Aeron. You did what you had to do. Who am I to say anything? You know what I’ve done. I didn’t know Brad had sent hunters here, though. I’m sorry you were hurt.”
Aeron nodded once. “I’m fine. Cerris healed me, and Noem checked me over, so you don’t have to worry. Now tell Dominic what you need to tell him.”
Right. Jericho was there for a reason, and that reason wasn’t Aeron. The sooner he talked to Dominic, the sooner he and Aeron could go back to Aeron’s room. Jericho still wasn’t sure what was going to happen once they got there, but they needed to talk and he needed to apologize. Once that was done, they could go ahead in their relationship, at least for the little time they’d have before Brad attacked.
Something was telling Jericho that this would be the last attack. Either the shifters would win and kick Brad’s ass, or they would lose and be destroyed. As much as Jericho had thought of Brad as a friend, if he had to choose between Brad and Aeron, he didn’t even have to think about it.
He turned away from Aeron, but he didn’t go far. He kept a hand on Aeron’s arm, unable to let him go, even if it was only for a few feet.
“Brad doesn’t trust me anymore, but since I’ve always been the one who took care of calling the hunters and getting them together, he needed me. When I got there, he admitted he’s a shifter. I tried to make him see how wrong he’s been all this time and that he doesn’t have to attack the pride, but he’s... it’s like he’s gone crazy. Maybe he was the entire time, I don’t know, but the result is the same. I’m pretty sure he was going to kill me after the attack he’d planned.”
“When?” Dominic asked.
Jericho took a deep breath. “Two days from now.”
* * * *
When Aeron and Jericho left Dominic’s office, Aeron was exhausted. He didn’t even know why. It wasn’t like he’d done anything that day—well, except killing a hunter and shimmering to his mate rather than to a place, of course. Normal circumstances for him since he’d come back to Whitedell. Maybe he should have said no when André had called for help, but he wouldn’t have met Jericho if he had.
The following two days were going to be crazy. Dominic had called for a house meeting in the dining room, so Aeron couldn’t even go back to his room and sleep. Or have sex with Jericho.
But the pride needed to know what was going to happen and things needed to be done, and fast.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Jericho asked.
“Yeah. Just tired, and the day isn’t even over yet.”
“It’ll be over soon enough.”
“And then we’ll have to face a fucking battle with the hunters. God, I hate this. I wish it was already over.”
“Come on. Once you guys win this battle, you’ll be fine. No more hunters or anything. You’ll be able to sleep as much as you want.”
Aeron smiled and shook his head. “I don’t just want to sleep, you know.”
The glance Jericho gave him told him he wasn’t the only one thinking about using their bed for something that wasn’t sleeping. “Trust me, I know. We probably need to talk about it before we do anything, though.”
“Talk? Why talk? Can’t you just fuck my brains out?”
Jericho chuckled. “I could do that, sure, but I want to talk about mating first.”
That was enough to stop Aeron in his tracks. “Mating?”
Jericho stopped walking and turned to face Aeron. “Yeah. I had some time to think about it, and—”
“Some time to think about it? We talked for the first time three days ago! We had sex two days ago, then you disappeared in the night and I had to come get you before you were killed. When exactly did you have time to think about mating?” Not that he was saying no, but it made him feel a bit panicky. What if they mated and Jericho regretted it? He’d walk away, and Aeron would be left alone for the rest of his life.
“When I was with Brad, or rather, after I talked to him and he made it clear that he didn’t trust me and he’d destroy me once he’d destroyed the pride.” Jericho stepped closer and cupped Aeron’s cheek. “You know what I thought about when he said that? I wasn’t scared for myself. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I was scared for myself, because I don’t want to die, but I also thought of you and what I’d lose.”
“What you’d lose?”
“If either you or I died. I’ve been awake and stuck in this house for a few weeks, and I had the time to get used to shifters and to realize they just want to be left in peace to live their life. I’m okay with that. I realize how wrong Brad is now.”
“Yeah, okay, but—”
“But nothing. I’m part of your world now too. We’re it for each other, and I don’t want to lose that. It’s all I could think about while I was there. What if I lost you? What if I never got to experience what mating means, what being with you means? I don’t want that. I know I have to change my life, and I want you to be a big part of my new life. The biggest part.”
Aeron swallowed. “You don’t have to try to convince me. I want to mate with you. I’ve wanted my mate ever since I was a kid. I thought he’d be the one to save me from my tribe, you know?”
Jericho shook his head. “You saved yourself. You didn’t need me for that. You’re strong enough to do whatever you want on your own, but why should you have to? I’m here now.”
“But what if you change your mind? What if you decide it’s too much, or that you can’t be mated to me because I’m not human? What will happen then?”
“I want to promise you I’ll always be there and that our life will be rainbows and sunshine, but I can’t know that. No one can. This is like any relationship. You can take the commitment and promise what you want, but you can’t know what the future will bring. What I can promise is that I won’t leave without fighting for what we have. I’ll never leave you without trying.”
Aeron didn’t want to make this more difficult than it already was, but he needed to clear the air. “You already did. When I woke up and you weren’t there...”
“I’m sorry I did that, but I had to. We wouldn’t have known about the attack if I hadn’t, and I had to see Brad. I thought I could
make him change his mind. I failed.”
“But you had to try.”
“Yeah.”
“I would have done the same thing for my other friends. Well, I would have told you about it first, but I understand.”
“I’m sorry I left like that.”
Aeron nodded. “It’s all right. Now kiss me. It’s been too long since you last did.”
Jericho laughed and pulled Aeron closer. Their lips met, and Aeron was able to forget everything else for a while. It didn’t last long.
“Aww, you two are just too cute.” Nysys said. “But if you hurt my friend again, I’ll kick your ass and ask Jonah to eat you, so be careful what you do, mister. Now can you guys tell me what the meeting’s about? I asked Keenan, but he has no clue, and he’s Dominic’s PA.”
Aeron pressed his forehead against Jericho’s shoulder. “What do you want, Nys?”
“I thought it was obvious. I mean, I asked you what you knew about the meeting, right? Or did I just think I’d asked you? Because it happens sometimes, just like sometimes I mean to keep something a secret and I end up blurting it out instead.”
Aeron moved away from Jericho and looked at Nysys. “Why would we know something?”
“Maybe because your man here disappeared without telling anyone and now that he’s suddenly back there’s a meeting? I know I might not be a genius, but it doesn’t take one to add stuff together. I am smart, after all. Morin actually thinks I’m too smart, but that’s only because he doesn’t usually like the ideas I come up with.”
Jericho leaned closer to Aeron and whispered, “Why is he dressed like that?”
Aeron pressed his lips together. He was used to Nysys’ garish style when it came to clothes, so much that he didn’t usually notice the way he was dressed anymore. Today Nysys was wearing a pair of black leggings with skeleton legs printed on them and a lime green T-shirt that fell off one of his shoulders because it was too big. He had on one pink sock and a bright yellow one. It wasn’t the most flamboyant outfit Aeron had seen him in, but it was pretty colorful.
“He’s always dressed like this,” Aeron whispered back.
Whitedell Pride 25 - Aeron Page 9