Jayden grimaced. “Uncle Keenan? Seriously?”
Keenan shrugged. “I just came back from playing with the kids, sorry. And you have to admit that Uncle Keenan sounds just fine.”
Heath looked confused, so Jayden patted his chest. “I think it’s time to tell him.”
Heath sighed. “Yeah, sure.”
“I can ask questions if you’d rather do it like that,” Keenan butted in. “Like, where did you come from? I went to bed last night and I’m pretty sure Jayden was still single then. Mateless. Totally. Unless you count Ajator, of course.”
Jayden blushed fiercely, but before he could say anything, Heath asked, “Who’s Ajator?”
“His vibrator.”
Jayden buried his face against Heath’s chest and wished he never had to come out.
“His... vibrator?” Heath asked, sounding puzzled.
“Yup. You know, Ajator the vibrator. I admit it’s not a really good name, but I looked up baby names ending in –ator and didn’t find anything better.”
“You looked up baby names to name a vibrator?”
“Sure. Where else should I have looked?”
“I’m not sure how to answer that.”
Jayden groaned and looked up. “Please, just let it go, or he’ll go on and on.”
“And you don’t want me to know about Ajator?”
Jayden wanted to cry and laugh at the same time. Damn. “Not right now, no.”
“I’m sure he’ll show you if you ask nicely. I helped him pick it out, you know?” Keenan helpfully added, and Jayden hid his face again.
“What have I done to earn this? What?” he mumbled, ignoring how Keenan was going on and on about the different speeds Ajator had. Heath’s chest was shaking in laughter under Jayden’s cheek, and he couldn’t help but smile.
A laughing Heath was nice, even if it was at Jayden’s expense. Still, it didn’t mean Jayden wanted it to last too long, so he unburied himself and scowled at Keenan. “Are you done?”
Keenan raised his hands. “Fine, sorry.”
Heath kissed Jayden’s forehead and turned serious. “I’ve been roaming the woods outside the house for a few weeks, in my bear form. And before you ask, no, it wasn’t intentional. Something happened to me, and it made me lose all my memories. I wandered around until I found Jayden and we realized we were mates.”
“Okaaaay. But why didn’t you come in when you met Jayden?”
“Because I wasn’t in my right mind. I didn’t shift, not until your alpha ordered me to last night.”
“Do you guys know what Dominic was doing outside in the woods at night? I know he’s hiding stuff from me.”
“I’m sure he has his reasons, Keenan,” Jayden declared. Truth to be told, Jayden still wasn’t sure what had happened. He’d been more concerned with Heath’s and Shad’s safety, but he did remember there was another man there, and he’d heard the word mole too many times for it to be a coincidence.
“Sure, whatever. So, Heath, you lost your memories. Do you remember anything?”
“Just my name, if it’s even mine.”
Keenan’s mirth finally dimmed. “Dominic already talked to Isaiah?”
“Yes,” Jayden answered. “We’ll go talk to him once we’re done here.”
“All right. What can I do for you?”
“Since I don’t know anything about my life and I was in my bear form when I got here, I literally have nothing to call mine,” Heath explained
“Except Jayden.”
Heath smiled softly. “Yeah, except Jayden.”
Keenan looked at them for a few seconds, then jumped up from the table. “Okay, money. And I want to come with you guys when you go shopping.”
“I had no doubt you would,” Jayden told him. “But no sex shop.”
“What? Why?” Keenan whined. “Heath doesn’t have sex toys! We need to buy him some!”
Heath looked like he’d rather be anywhere but there and shook his head. “I’m fine, but thank you for the thought. I guess.”
“I guess you can use Jayden’s, of course.”
“Keenan!” Jayden exclaimed, because really, did he have to embarrass him like that? “I swear that if you don’t stop it, I’ll tell Heath about that time I caught you and Jonah on the porch!”
Keenan shrugged. “Please do. I’m not ashamed of what I do with my mate.”
Jayden huffed in frustration and crossed his arms on his chest. “Fine.”
Keenan went back to looking for whatever he needed on his desk while Heath hugged Jayden to his chest. “Don’t be ashamed,” he whispered in Jayden’s ear.
“I’m not, not really anyway. I just wish he’d shut up sometimes, because there are some things I’d rather tell you myself.”
“Like about Ajator?”
Jayden groaned. “I don’t actually call it that, but Keenan does. Not that we often talk about sex toys, not since he made me buy it anyway, but he insisted on giving it a name. I’m still not sure why, because it’s not like the thing cares, but you know Keenan. Wait, you don’t, but you’ll get to if you stay here, although I’m not sure it’s actually a good thing for you. Maybe you should run. Yeah, definitely. And I’ll come with you, if you don’t mind.”
Keenan slumped on top of both of them and Jayden yelped. Two arms wound around his neck and Keenan smacked a wet kiss on his cheek. “You know you’d be lost without me.”
“Kee! You can’t go around kissing people!”
“Hush. I’m sure Heath doesn’t mind. Right?”
They both looked at Heath, but he looked lost in his thoughts. Jayden didn’t know what it meant, but he hoped his mate wasn’t angry or jealous, because he was sure Keenan wouldn’t care one bit about that. He was more likely to kick Heath’s ass for trying to put limits to his friendship with Jayden.
Keenan scrambled up and Jayden pressed against Heath’s side. “Heath?”
Heath shook his head. “Sorry.”
“Did you... what happened?”
“I remembered something. A name. But I don’t know whose it is. It just... feels familiar, a bit like the relationship you have with Keenan.”
“Want to tell me?”
“Christopher.”
Jayden didn’t know what to say, so he just hugged Heath. Luckily for them, Keenan was there and broke the moment. “Here.” He handed Jayden a credit card. “You can spend as much as you want.”
“Are you sure you should say that?”
“Dominic’s paying anyway.”
“Kee!”
“What? It’s true!”
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“Did you really have to remind me?”
Jayden extricated himself from Heath’s arms. “Yes, because we’re going.”
“Aww, so soon?”
“We need to talk to Isaiah, remember?”
Keenan sobered. “Sure. Let me know what you find out, huh? And I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”
“Yeah, dinner.”
* * * *
Heath’s stomach growled just as they stepped out of Keenan’s office. Jayden gave him a bemused glance and took his hand, dragging him through the house. Heath recognized the entrance again, and this time they went to the right, passing a few open doors and an arch.
They ended up in a kitchen. The room wasn’t empty, and Heath wondered just how many people lived in the house. Between the people he’d met the day before and today, he’d already counted nine, including himself and Jayden.
He smiled at Shad, but didn’t recognize the man sitting beside him at the counter. He frowned when Shad offered him his hand to shake, but Shad just shook his head and chuckled. “I take it you already know my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Shad and Darin are twins,” Jayden informed him.
“Oh.” Heath shook Darin’s hand. “Sorry. I’m Heath.”
Jayden sat in front of Darin an
d grabbed one of the cupcakes on the platter that was on the counter. “How’s this one?”
“Mint chocolate.”
Jayden gave it a bite and hummed. “Getting ready for Christmas?”
“Yup.”
“How come you’re not at work?”
“I’m done.” Darin beamed and Heath sat next to his mate. He tentatively reached for a cupcake and took it when no one said anything. He gave it a bite and God, it was delicious.
“Done?”
“Yeah. I’ll stay home until the New Year, then open the shop.”
“That’s great!” Jayden turned to look at Heath. “Darin’s a baker. He’s opening his own shop.”
Heath swallowed the rest of his cupcake and nodded. “If these are anything to go by, you’ll make a killing.”
Darin flushed. “Thanks.”
Heath turned his attention to the other man, who was still reading his newspaper as if he didn’t know there were two new people at the table. Heath figured that he’d better start making friends, or at least get to know people, if he was going to live there.
“I’m Heath.”
The man looked up and smiled. It was a kind smile, and Heath was relieved. “I’m Taylor. Nice to meet you.”
“So...” Heath scrambled for something to say. “Are you Darin’s mate?”
Taylor guffawed. “God, no.”
Darin slapped his hand. “Don’t laugh like it’d be so terrible to be my mate.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. I like you, but not that way.” He turned his attention back to Heath. “No, neither of us is mated. Yet.”
Darin sighed. “And I’ll find my mate only if he walks in my shop or the mansion. That doesn’t leave me a lot of possibilities.”
“Or maybe you could take advantage of your Christmas vacation to go out a bit,” Taylor teased him. “Or you could try dating the postman, of course.”
“We don’t have one. We have a postwoman.”
“That is a problem, I guess.”
Heath wasn’t uncomfortable, but it was a bit awkward. He didn’t know anyone but Jayden and a handful of other people, and while no one had made him feel left out, he wished he could participate in the conversation between Taylor, Darin, and Jayden. But how could he when he didn’t remember what he liked? Did he used to go dancing, like Taylor was telling Darin they could do? Or was he more the type to stay at home? Or did he prefer something quieter, like a bar?
“Everything okay?” Jayden whispered, and Heath shrugged. He didn’t know how to answer that, honestly, and he didn’t even want to try.
Jayden took the hand Heath had on the counter and linked their fingers together. It didn’t get Heath’s memories back, but knowing he wasn’t completely alone helped, if only marginally.
“Something wrong?” Taylor asked. Heath shook his head and wondered if he should tell Taylor and Darin about his memory loss. Might as well, so that they wouldn’t even start asking questions.
“Just thinking. I’m, well, I know you haven’t asked for details so I don’t know if you want to know, but I’m Jayden’s mate, and I’ve lost my memories.”
The two men stared at him, blinking, with almost identical surprised expressions. It would’ve been funny in any other situation, but Heath’s past weighed on him, even if he didn’t remember it. And okay, maybe it was a tiny bit funny.
“You’re Jayden’s mate?” Darin asked.
“You lost your memories?” Taylor added.
Heath nodded at both questions and tried to give them as short an explanation as he could. “I don’t what happened or how I ended up here, but the first thing I remember is being in my bear form in the woods. Then I saw Jayden and I might’ve tried to attack him, but we realized we were mates. I still didn’t shift until last night, when Dominic found me, and no, I don’t remember anything but my name.”
“That’s... an accurate recap,” Jayden said.
“I don’t know what to say,” Darin added.
Heath shrugged. “There’s nothing to say.”
“Have you talked with Dominic and Isaiah?”
“With Dominic yes, but not with this Isaiah guy. Although from what I heard about him, it looks like he might be able to find out if I have a family and someone waiting for me at home.”
A thought hit Heath and he gripped the edge of the counter with his free hand. He hadn’t thought about it because, well, he hadn’t really had the time, but what if he’d had a boyfriend? Or a girlfriend? What would happen then?
The thought made him feel like he was both cheating on Jayden and on his hypothetical boyfriend, and he didn’t like that. At all. Jayden was the only steady thing he knew right now, and he didn’t want to lose it. So he kept his mouth shut and listened to the others talking about Isaiah.
He noticed Taylor was watching him, but there wasn’t much the man could do to cheer Heath up, so Heath grabbed another cupcake and drowned his sorrows in frosting until Jayden was done chatting.
“I’m new here, you know?” Taylor pointed out.
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh. I got here only days ago. My brother lives here. Sebastian. He’s mated with a bear shifter.”
“That’s... nice.” What else was Heath supposed to say?
Taylor chuckled. “I’m just saying that while I still have my memory, I know how it feels to be the new guy. Believe me, a lot of people in the house do. Maybe we can be newbies together, huh?”
Did Heath want to become Taylor’s friend? He looked like a nice guy, and Jayden couldn’t be Heath’s only social interaction. “I guess.”
“Well, I’ll be around the house if you need someone to talk to.”
“Thanks.”
“Ready to go?” Jayden suddenly asked, and Heath nodded.
He was both hoping Isaiah had found something and dreading it at the same time. He wanted to find himself, but he also didn’t want to have to leave Jayden, even if they’d met only a few weeks before.
Heath followed Jayden back in the hallway where the infirmary and Dominic and Keenan’s offices were, to yet another door. Jayden opened it without knocking and looked in before pulling Heath inside.
The office was cluttered. It wasn’t small per se, but the three desks and enormous amount of computers and stacks of files took a lot of space. Only two of those desks were occupied, and Jayden walked to the closest one.
The guy sitting beside it looked up and smiled. “Hey, Jayden. I’m guessing this is Heath?”
“Yup. Dominic sent us.”
The man gave Heath his attention. “I’m Isaiah, and the other guy there is Bradley.” He got up and started packing the files on the chairs in front of his desk away. “Sorry. I’ve been working on stuff and it helps me to print it. So, Dominic gave me an idea of what to look for, and I actually have some stuff to show you.”
Heath nodded and pulled one of the now free chairs closer to Isaiah’s side of the desk. Isaiah sat back while Jayden took the other chair. Heath leaned forward enough to see the screen and blindly reached out toward Jayden. Jayden understood him even without words and took his hand, squeezing it.
“I’ve looked up if there were disappearance reports and used what I know about you to narrow the possibilities. I wasn’t sure whether your alpha would’ve reported it, because a lot of leaders still aren’t overly fond of the council, but I was lucky, or rather, you were.”
Heath’s mouth dried up. “I was?”
Isaiah beamed. “Yup. I found a report for a missing bear shifter in his twenties named Heath.”
Chapter Three
Jayden felt Heath going tense beside him. He squeezed his mate’s hand harder to remind Heath that he was there, ready to support him if he needed it.
“Tell me,” Heath said in a strangled voice.
“The alpha of a bear sleuth reported his son was missing three and a half weeks ago. Alpha David Jensen said his son Heath is twenty-five an
d was headed to Whitedell when he last saw him a month ago. He called his parents just before entering the town and they haven’t heard from him since then. His cell phone is disconnected and they have no idea what happened.”
“Did he say why I was coming here?”
Jayden didn’t miss the fact that Heath was assuming Alpha Jensen was his father, but then, it would be too big a coincidence if he wasn’t. How many twentyish bear shifters named Heath had arrived in Whitedell a month ago?
“He said he was the one to send you, although you volunteered for it. He needed someone to come talk to Dominic, but he didn’t say about what. I didn’t tell him about you, because I didn’t want to get his hopes up if you weren’t his son, but I think it’s pretty obvious you are. What do you want me to do?”
“Where... where is he? Where do I live?”
“In Colorado, in a small town called Walden. It’s an hour drive from here.”
“I want to call him. I want to...”
Jayden squeezed Heath’s hand again and intervened. “How about Isaiah call him and ask him to come? He needed to talk to Dominic anyway, so he can do that too. It’s only an hour, he could be here by dinner time and sleep here for tonight. I’m sure Dominic wouldn’t mind.”
Heath looked at Jayden, his eyes huge. “You think?”
“We’ll go ask him while Isaiah calls, okay?”
Isaiah nodded and Heath looked his way again. “Do you know anything else? About me?”
“No. I didn’t ask. I just asked him to tell me what happened.”
“Will you tell him about me when you call him back?”
“I think it’s safe now, so yes. That way he can bring your mother and whoever else wants to see you with him. Is it okay?”
Heath nodded enthusiastically. “Please. Yes.”
Isaiah reached for the phone and Jayden tugged on Heath’s hand to make him get up. “Come on. We’ll tell Dominic about your dad and you can go shower and dress. I’m sure someone in the pride has clothes that’ll fit you.”
“Check with Chogan,” Isaiah suggested. “I think they’re about the same height.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Heath looked a little dazed, so Jayden guided him to Dominic’s office again. He knocked and opened the door when Dominic told him to, then stepped just inside.
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