Another crash of thunder and Jay howled to the sky. The trees gave way to grass and the bank of the stream. No, not the stream, Byron realized. The river. Jay’s river. The Omega didn’t pause, diving right into the water, and wading across. Byron followed, Odin a second behind him. More and more, Byron got the sense Jay was acting on instinct and knew exactly where he was going. Somewhere he felt safe.
Chapter Sixteen
Casey sat on the edge of the bed, watching Adam with wide eyes.
“This will only take a few minutes, Casey. Then you can rest for a while.”
Ro returned with a basin of water and a wash cloth. Adam helped the young Omega slip off his shirt. He was thin enough that Adam could count each rib with ease.
“How about we start with your hands?” Adam suggested, seeing that as the least threatening starting point.
He soaked the cloth in the warm, soapy water and wrung it out before holding out his hand. There was a moment's hesitation before Casey placed a hand in his.
Adam gently dragged the cloth across the back of Casey’s hand, then his knuckles and down along his fingers.
“See, that’s not so bad, is it?”
Casey shook his head.
“You can do the rest yourself, if you like. We’ll just help if you need it. Maybe with your back, it looks sore.”
It didn’t look any better today than it had yesterday. Adam showed Casey how to rinse out the cloth as he went along and they changed the basin water twice as he washed. Adam did his back, going as gently as he could over the beaten skin.
Ro had found some clean clothes for Casey and the look of awe on his face as he put them on was tough to watch.
“I’ve never worn clothes like these before,” he said, running his hands along the sleeves.
“How about a nap while we wait for Alicia to get here?”
It took a bit of coaxing to get Casey to lie down in the bed but he fell asleep quickly.
“I’ll stay with him,” Ro said. “Why don’t you go check on Ben and Xander?”
Adam did, finding Xander asleep in the room they were staying in and Ben sitting motionless on the end of the bed, his head in his hands. Adam sat next to him, slipping his hand into Ben’s. His mate didn’t lift his head.
“He’s asleep. You were really good with him.”
“I can’t look at him without thinking of Noah. If this will be all that’s left of him by the time we find him.”
Adam wrapped his arms around Ben, knowing he had no words of reassurance, nothing to convince his mate that his fears were unfounded. Every minute Noah was gone, the chances of them finding him dwindled. They hadn’t interrupted his abduction, they hadn’t found him when Gray Valley were transporting him or when they handed him to Tobias. And they hadn’t found Tobias as he traveled, so the man had had time to go to ground.
“You need to get some sleep,” he said, trying to rub some of the tension from Ben’s shoulders.
“I know. James will be here first thing. He’s bringing Luke with him. He thinks we need to act against Gray Valley soon, whether the Council come on board or not.”
“But that’s not going to get Noah back,” Adam tried to argue.
“They’re our best lead, Adam. Hell, they’re our only lead.”
“There must be some other way. Tobias doesn’t work alone, someone knows…”
“We tried that, remember? We looked for the people you talked about and we never found any of them. The one lead James did find, the guy wouldn’t talk, then disappeared. He hasn’t turned up since. Chasing Tobias’ people is like chasing rabbits. It seems like they just dive down a rabbit hole and even if you can follow, you can’t find them in the warren.”
Adam was torn between sitting in on the conversation between the Alphas and talking more to Casey. He settled for speaking to the Omega. Despite Ben’s assertion the previous night, he wasn’t sure he believed chasing Tobias through his associates was a dead end. There had to be someone, somewhere, who’d be willing to help them get Noah back. While most of Tobias’ people had done exactly what he’d told them to, no more, no less, there had been exceptions. Like Jason, throwing them in those tatty third-hand books. Like Lacie, who’d risked a lot over months and years to teach them to read.
Luke came with James but gave Adam and Casey some space. Adam worried about the effect seeing another Omega like himself would do. At least Adam had some distance. He’d been away from Tobias for years even before Ben found him. But Luke had only been free for months.
Casey ate his breakfast as if he expected someone to try to take it from him at any moment.
“Slow down, there’s plenty more where that came from if you’re still hungry.”
His words earned him a glare at first but when Casey finished his pancakes and his eyes strayed to the rest of the stack, Adam was quick to push the plate towards him.
“Have another one,” he said. “But take it slow.”
It wouldn’t do any good if they wound up making him sick. Casey took another pancake and managed to eat that one marginally slower. Adam toyed with the idea of offering him another but the Omegas hand was already rubbing across his stomach.
“How about we got for a walk outside?”
They’d already been out before breakfast so Casey could shift form and spend some time as a wolf. It seemed to have settled him a bit, and he wasn’t as skittish and jumpy as he’d been when he’d woken.
They sat on the grass, soaking in the sun, a cool breeze blowing.
“Casey, I need to ask you some stuff. About Tobias. About where you and Duncan lived. And about the other people you know, the people who work for Tobias.”
“To help you find Noah and Duncan?”
He found himself under careful scrutiny by the young Omega.
“That’s right. Anything, no matter how small, might help.”
“Shouldn’t an Alpha be asking me questions?”
It might have been funny if the idea hadn’t been so sad. What was sadder still was that Adam would have asked the exact same question, if he’d been brave enough to ask those kinds of questions at Casey’s age.
“The Alphas are busy. And they don’t know Tobias like you and I do. So how about we compare notes, see what each of us knows.”
Casey leaned back on his hands, looking up at the blue sky and the white, fluffy clouds being pushed along by the breeze.
“Okay. If it’ll help find Duncan.”
“Thanks, Casey,” he said, settling down on the grass next to him.
Two hours later, and Adam was close to despair again. Other than the routine and the basics, there was very little familiar about the people and place that Casey knew. They’d lived in a basement too, but the layout was different as were what little colors there were. And the woods outside the house were different too.
Other than Tobias, they didn’t have any people in common either.
“Are you sure there was no-one else, Casey? No other name you heard mentioned or person you saw, even just once?”
Casey lay back on the grass, his face a mask of concentration. But after a few minutes, he relaxed and shook his head. “I can’t remember anyone else.”
He sat up, glancing over at Xander and Chloe who’d come out to play and Ro who was keeping an eye on them. He blinked, turning his head to the side as he watched Chloe skip across the grass.
“Wait. There was someone. She had hair like that.” He pointed to Chloe’s blond curls.
Adam felt a spark of hope.
“Do you remember her name? Or anything else about her.”
“Not really. She wasn’t there long, and she didn’t come into the room much. She looked scared a lot. Maybe Tobias was strict with her too.”
“Do you remember her name?”
Casey thought again, chewing on a fingernail. “It sounded funny. I only ever heard it once or twice. It was like… laces.”
“Could it have been Lacie?”
He nodded. “That sounds
like it. But it was a very long time ago. Before Duncan. A lot before Duncan.”
Adam’s hopes fell at that. There was one connection, one overlap, but it sounded like she’d been gone even before Fenrir’s Warriors had started looking. He’d given them the name Lacie along with the others. Another dead end.
“Thanks, Casey,” he said, trying to mask his disappointment.
Xander and Chloe ran over. “Can we watch a movie?”
“Why not,” Adam replied, getting to his feet. “Would you like to join us, Casey?”
“What’s a movie?” the Omega asked, clambering to his feet and brushing off the bits of grass that clung to his clothes.
“It’s a lot of fun. Why don’t you come inside and see?”
It would be one of many firsts for Casey in the coming weeks.
Chapter Seventeen
Jay’s paws slipped on the wet rock as he tried to pull himself out of the river, the cold water battering his body as the loud and angry sounds came from overhead. The forks of light snaked across the sky, spurring him on, and with one last effort he clambered up onto the bank and kept running, following the river bank. The river narrowed as he ran, ignoring the barks of Byron and Odin behind him. He had to get somewhere safe and there was only one place of safety here.
When he got closer, he could just about hear it. Underneath the howling wind and echoing thunder came the sound of water crashing against the rocks. He stayed close to the bank of the river until he could see the waterfall ahead of him as the river twisted right. He followed it around, braving the slippery rocks that led him right to where the water fell like a curtain from the cliff above. There was a jump but only a small one. One he’d made a thousand times from when he was just a little wolf with small legs.
Now, he made the jump with ease, barely noticing the sheet of water that hit him as he jumped through and slipped into the cave beyond. It was dark at first but as he made his way further back, dull light filtered through from the holes in the rock above them.
He knew this place. He’d be safe here, from the storm, from those that chased him. A whine behind him startled him. No. They couldn’t have followed him. Not the men with their nets…
It was Byron. Byron and Odin. The two wolves closed in and Jay crouched, stepping slowly backward. Another roll of thunder drew a whine from him and the other wolves stopped. As he watched them, ears listening for danger, Byron shifted, his fur giving way to skin, until his Alpha was crouched a few feet from him, dark eyes never leaving his.
“Jay. It’s okay. You’re safe. We need to talk. Can you change for me?”
Whining, he crawled closer to the wall, shutting his eyes as another bright flash lit the room.
“Hey.” Byron’s voice again, closer. “Shh, it’s all going to be okay. It’s just a storm, Jay. And I’m right here.”
Jay peeked his eyes open to see Byron kneeling next to him. He slowly stretched out a hand, pausing when Jay growled a warning. “It’s just me, Jay. You know I won’t hurt you, not ever.”
Byron had never hurt him. He’d taken care of him, given him a home, made sure he was never alone unless he wanted to be. And right then, he didn’t want to be alone.
His growl morphed into a low whine as he rested his head on wet paws. Byron’s hand reached out again, resting on his fur just behind his ears. His hand was warm against Jay’s wet, chilled fur and as Byron trailed it back and forth across his fur, Jay pushed closer.
“That’s it. It’s just me and you’re safe with me.”
Byron moved closer still, buffering Jay as another round of thunder and lightning hit. Jay closed his eyes, trying to block out the sights and sounds. He focused instead on Byron’s hands on him, on the steady beat of the Alpha’s heart. Its rhythmic sound was close and loud but a world away from the thunder that scared him. His energy flagged, drained by fear and his frantic dash through the forest to his safe place. He drifted to sleep with Byron’s hands stroking along his flank and back even as the storm raged on outside.
He woke curled on his side, Byron’s arms wrapped across his chest and stomach. Human again. He must have shifted during his sleep. The crackle of a fire surprised him and he turned in Byron’s arms to peer over the Alpha’s body. Odin sat by a small fire, warming his hands against the flame.
“Hey.”
Byron’s voice broke the stillness and his arms tightened, rolling Jay over him and towards the warmth of the fire.
“We need to warm you up.”
Byron sat up, keeping Jay close, Jay’s back against Byron’s chest.
“What happened?”
His memories were hazy, tainted by fear and panic.
“There was a thunderstorm,” Byron’s warm voice said in his ear. “I think you got scared, maybe remembered the other times there had been storms like that, and you ran. We followed you here.”
Jay nodded slowly. “I used to come here when there were hunters or other wolves. Or storms. I’d hide until it was safe.”
“Smart thinking,” Odin said. “You wouldn’t know this place was here until you were right on top of it. The water hides your scent trail, masks the noise. As hiding places go, it’s a good one.”
Praise from Odin meant a lot to him but all he could manage was a weak smile.
“There’s some stuff here you might want to take a look at,” Odin added. “I had time to look around after I got the fire going.”
Jay tried to get up but Byron stopped him.
“Wait another few minutes. You’re still cold.”
“Jay, do you remember when you came here first? How you found this place?”
Jay lay back, letting his head rest against Byron’s shoulder as he considered Odin’s question. His gaze caught on the beam of light coming from the ceiling and it came back to him.
“I fell.”
He met Odin’s curious eyes.
“I fell down from above.” He lifted his hand, his arm feeling heavy as he pointed to the ceiling. “I… I was a boy then, not a wolf. It hurt and everything went dark and when I woke I was in here. It was warm and safe.”
He was warm and safe now, in his Alpha’s arms.
A few minutes later, Byron helped him up, and they explored the cave. Odin pointed them towards a corner and Jay stepped closer, Byron on his heels. He crouched, reaching out a hand to pull something from under a shelf of rock. It was a bag, a child’s bag, covered in dirt and dust. Pulling it free, he held it out for Byron to see.
The Alpha nodded encouragingly. “See what’s inside.”
“Probably bugs,” Jay muttered, but he tipped it upside down, surprised when a few items slid to the floor. Two pencils worn right down, a soft book, and another with a hard plastic cover. The items were oddly familiar, and he reached for the pencils first, feeling how easily they seemed to fit between his fingers. He let them fall and reached for the soft book, flicking open the pages. A coloring book. A memory returned, of sitting under the beam of light that came from the ceiling and scribbling back and forth with the pencil. His books. His colors. He reached for the second book last but set it down almost as quickly. It was just a book, words, and pictures.
“May I?” Byron asked. Jay nodded, watching as the Alpha took the second book into his hands, examining it briefly.
“Odin?” the Alpha called, then handed the book back over his shoulder to the other Alpha. Byron reached for the coloring book next, leafing carefully through the pages. As he did, Jay wormed his way out of the corner and began to explore the rest of the cave. Here and there were things he’d recognized. There were marks he’d made himself, using the sharp edges of rocks. What had he been doing? Counting the days or just trying to put a piece of himself on the wall. In one corner was a small collection of different colored stones. It took less time to remember those, the memories coming faster now. He’d collected them from the river, washing them clean in the cool water and slipping them into his pocket, one by one. At some point, he’d lost interest. Not just in the rocks,
but in all of this. The pencils, the books. In being a boy. In having a family.
Byron made a strange, choked off sound and Jay made his way over, looking around for any sign of danger to his Alpha.
When he knelt next to him, Byron turned.
“Do you remember drawing this?”
He held out the coloring book, opened to the center pages. On this occasion, Jay had ignored the pre-drawn picture of trees and drawn something else. A little row of people with words scrawled above their heads. He looked to Byron for guidance, alarmed to see his Alpha’s hand shake as his finger pointed to each figure and named them.
“Jenny. Mom. Dad. Kyle.” He paused for a moment before pointing to the last figure, the only word the Omega recognized. Jay spoke before Byron could. “Jay.”
“This is your family,” Byron said, tracing his finger along the page beneath the row of strangers. Jay didn’t remember drawing this. He didn’t know who they were.
“You’re my family. You and Odin.”
“That’s right, we are. But, long ago, before the forest, you had another family. And these are them.”
This, Jay realized, was what they were looking for. A clue. Something to lead them back to where Jay came from.
“But how will we find them?” he asked. A childish drawing wasn’t much to go on.
“I think this might be of help,” Odin said, holding up the second book.
“How’s that?” Byron asked. “It’s just a kid’s book.”
“It is. But it’s also a library book.”
He held the book open to the first page, where another piece of paper had been taped inside, a stamp decorating it.
“Downton Library, Mongrave. Doesn’t given an exact address but it can’t be that hard to find. Mongrave isn’t that far from here. Half a day’s drive, maybe? And on the outskirts of a Pack.”
Byron turned back to him, his face a mix of emotions.
“We could go there. But only if you think you can keep going. This is… this is a lot for you.”
The Alpha's Kiss: Lost Omegas Book Six: A M/M Shifter Romance Page 8