“I just got a call about a disturbance. The address is Seth Armstrong’s but the woman hung up before I could get any more information.”
“Seth Armstrong?” Gregory questioned.
“Yeah, he’s a young wolf that works here at the sheriff’s office, administrative duties. He’s a nice kid, but I think his father beats him.”
“Where is Sheriff Ferguson?”
“Already clocked off.”
“You mind if I tag along?”
Jared shook his head. “Of course not. I’d be grateful for the help.”
Gregory followed the deputy to the cruiser and slid into the passenger seat.
“How was Vegas?” Jared asked.
He put the car in drive and sped out of the lot.
Gregory shrugged. “Complicated.”
“Sounds ominous. Did you talk to Kelan?”
“Yeah, I just came from the Crazy Horse.”
“So he told you about Deveraux?”
Gregory nodded. “Yeah, he told me. What were you thinking questioning him, Jared? You shouldn’t get involved in this. It’s too dangerous.”
“I couldn’t sit back and do nothing. People are dying.”
Gregory bristled. “You don’t need to tell me that. My own partner was killed, remember?”
Jared sighed. “Then why are you giving me shit about this? I thought you’d be happy I’m trying to do something to help.”
Gregory bit his lip.
He was reluctant to tell Jared his life was in danger before he went out on a call. It wouldn’t be fair and would only serve to distract him. He’d tell him everything when they got back to the office.
“I don’t want to see you get into trouble. Did you think about what would happen if Dean found out you spoke to Deveraux about him?”
“Of course I thought about it. But if Dean really is responsible for people’s deaths then he needs to pay. He can’t get away with it.”
“What the hell does Nate think about you getting involved in all of this?”
Jared pursed his lips.
He remained silent.
Gregory groaned. “Jesus, you haven’t told him, have you?”
“Of course I haven’t. He’d go ape shit.”
“And rightly so.”
There was little traffic on the roads as they drove through town, but enough that Jared still had to stop at all the lights to avoid a collision. After waiting at the fourth set of lights, he lost it.
“God damn it!” He switched on the siren and overtook a black Ford, narrowly missing an oncoming SUV. “If that son of a bitch has hurt Seth again, I swear to God I will press charges against him even if Seth doesn’t want me to.”
“Why hasn’t he brought charges against him before?”
Jared made a sharp right. “Seth won’t even talk about it. The guy might be a dick, but he’s still his father, you know? How hard do you think it is for a kid to turn in their own flesh and blood?”
Gregory shrugged. “Don’t know how anyone could treat their kid like that. Men like him don’t deserve to be parents.”
Jared turned into a quiet, tree-lined road and pulled up outside a large ranch-style house. As soon as he cut the engine, the neighbor’s front door opened and an elderly woman trudged down the path in a blue floral dressing gown and slippers. Gregory and Jared got out of the cruiser and met her halfway.
Gregory inhaled to catch the woman’s scent. She was human. Her hair was light grey in color with a sprinkling of pure white. Laugh lines surrounded her eyes, but there was no smile on her thin lips.
“Mrs. Delaney,” Jared greeted. “Thanks for putting in the call.”
The old woman pursed her lips. “Are you going to do something about it this time? I swear the racket coming from that house—it sounded like someone was being murdered in there.”
“What exactly did you hear?” Jared asked.
“Shouting mainly.” The woman sniffed. “And plenty of it. I think it was Seth and his father. Then Mrs. Armstrong was screaming and I’m sure they were throwing around furniture in there. I’m surprised the house is still standing.”
Jared nodded. “Thank you. Now I need to ask you to go on back inside your house, Mrs. Delaney. I wouldn’t want you to get caught up in anything.”
The woman looked as if she were about to argue, so Gregory stepped in.
“We appreciate your help, ma’am, but we’ve got it from here. Let us do our jobs.”
With a last glance at them both, she nodded, turned on her heel and strode back to her house.
“How do you want to do this?” Gregory asked.
Jared sighed. “Let’s just play it safe. If we go in there guns blazing, it will only upset everyone more. Let’s just try to keep it calm, ask a few questions.
“Every time I’ve spoken to Seth’s father in the past, he’s been nothing but cooperative once someone of authority is there. I’ve no reason to believe he’ll be any different tonight.”
“Fair enough. I’ll follow your lead.”
Jared nodded and led the way to the house.
“What’s his name?” Gregory asked.
“Duncan.”
Gregory stood at Jared’s side while they waited for an answer. After a moment, the door opened a fraction of an inch and a small woman with big blue eyes peered out.
“Can I help you?”
Her voice was little more than a whisper. Gregory had to lean forward to hear what she said.
“Mrs. Armstrong, I’m sorry to bother you but we got a call about a disturbance here. You mind if we come in?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
She started to close the door.
Gregory jammed his foot in the way.
“Can we talk to Seth?” he asked.
Mrs. Armstrong frowned. “What do you want with my son?”
Gregory chanced a look at Jared. “We’d just like to ask him a couple of questions.”
“I—”
“It’s okay, Mom,” a young man said, shouldering Mrs. Armstrong out of the way. “I’ll deal with this.”
“Seth, can we talk to you for a minute?” Jared asked.
The young man—Seth—slipped out of the door and closed it behind him. He had a small cut on his lip and his left eye was nearly swollen shut.
Gregory whistled. “Wow, quite a shiner you have there. That’s gotta hurt.”
Seth shrugged and chewed on his lip. He winced when the action caused the cut there to reopen and he licked away the fresh blood with his tongue.
“How long is this going to go on before you let us do something about it?” Jared asked.
Seth glared at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then why don’t you explain it to us?” Gregory asked.
Seth looked back at the house and sighed.
He shoved his hands into his pockets then led the way to Jared’s cruiser, stopping on the sidewalk in front of it.
He kicked at the curb with a sneaker.
“What’s going on?” Jared asked. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me.”
“We don’t need your help,” Seth bit out. “Why don’t you just stay out of it?”
Jared shook his head. “That’s not going to happen this time. I’ve turned a blind eye for long enough. If you don’t start talking then I’m going to have to take your pop down to the station and get him to explain a few things.”
Seth jerked his head up. “You can’t do that!”
“Actually I can,” Jared said.
Seth’s wolf quickly rose to the surface.
His entire body started to shake. Gregory reached out and put a soothing hand on his shoulder.
“Relax, Seth. Help us out here. Why don’t you tell us what happened? Has your dad been drinking? Did he lose his temper?”
“It’s not like that,” Seth said quietly. “It’s not his fault.”
“What’s not his fault?” Gregory asked. “Talk to us. Tell us what’s go
ing on.”
Seth sighed and his shoulders slumped.
He looked at the ground when he spoke.
“My pop is ill.”
“Ill?” Jared questioned. “What do you mean ill? In what way?”
“I don’t know,” Seth whispered. “It started a while back. It was just little things at first. He was forgetful. He kept going out and leaving the door unlocked. But he’s been getting worse over the last few months.
“Twice I found him shifted in the back garden in the middle of the day and when he shifted back he couldn’t remember what he’d been doing there.”
“And the violence?” Gregory asked.
“He’s not violent, really. He just has…episodes.”
Gregory met Jared’s gaze and frowned. “Episodes?”
Seth nodded. “It’s almost like a temper tantrum. He doesn’t lash out at me or my mom, exactly. It’s like he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
“Earlier, for example, he went out to the kitchen to make coffee and when I went to check on him he was just standing there in the middle of the room.
“When I asked him what he was doing, he got defensive and he started going crazy, throwing things around and breaking things.
“Then my mom came in and tried to calm him down, but it only made him worse. I tried to get hold of him and that’s when he hit me in the face. But it wasn’t intentional,” Seth hastened to add. “He didn’t mean to hurt me, I swear. I just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Jared sighed. “Has your pop seen a doctor?”
Seth shook his head. “He won’t see one. He doesn’t think there’s anything wrong with him or he won’t admit it. And my mom is worried that a doctor will tell the wolf council and they’ll take him away from us so she doesn’t push him to go either. The thing is, some days he’s fine.”
“How old is your father?” Jared asked.
“Sixty-eight, why?”
“It sounds like he has the onset of dementia. I’ve had some experience with it lately. My mate’s father is suffering from the same thing. When we went to visit him in the nursing home on the weekend, he’d been sedated for attacking one of the nurses.”
“Nursing home?” Seth choked out.
Jared nodded. “It’s really the only way to keep him and everyone around him safe. Wolves with dementia are very dangerous. What if your neighbor had seen him in the yard when he shifted, or some other human? What if he’d hurt them?”
Seth hung his head and stared at his feet.
When he eventually looked up there were tears in his eyes.
“What’s going to happen to him?”
“He’ll have to see a doctor. I’ll arrange for someone from the pack to come and take a look at him, and I’ll make sure I’m here, too, in case he becomes violent. If he has dementia then he’ll have to go into the nursing home, Seth.
“I’m sorry, but there really is no other way.”
Seth sniffed and a tear escaped from the corner of his eye.
Gregory was about to comfort him when his cell phone started vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out the phone and got Jared’s attention.
“I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
When Jared nodded, Gregory strode away from the cruiser, frowning at the number on his display.
“Gregory,” he answered.
“What’s your progress?” Dean asked. “Do I need to remind you what could happen to that little kitty Hayden if you don’t do this favor for me?”
Gregory looked over his shoulder at Jared.
The wolf had his arms around Seth and was patting him gently on the back, trying to reassure him.
At the mention of Hayden’s name, Gregory found a new resolve.
He gripped the phone tighter and ground out, “Leave it to me. I’ll take care of it.”
Chapter Fifteen
“That’s it, grab the reins and hold on tight. Perfect, Hayden. You’re doing good.”
Hayden wasn’t so sure.
His horse had looked at him kinda funny before he’d got on.
“I don’t think he likes me.”
Nate chuckled. “It’s a she, and she likes you just fine, trust me.”
Nate led the horse around the corral.
The further they went, the more Hayden began to relax and enjoy himself.
It turned out riding wasn’t so difficult after all.
“Okay, now we’re going to go a little faster,” Nate said. “How about we get the horse to trot?”
Hayden gulped. “Trot? I don’t like the sound of that.”
Nate threw his head back and laughed. “You will—just takes some getting used to is all. You ready?”
“Would it make a difference if I said no?”
Nate snorted. “Probably not, no.”
“Then yeah, I’m ready.”
Hayden sighed.
When the horse began to pick up speed, Hayden started to panic a little. He grabbed the reins tighter and pressed his thighs firmly to the horse’s back.
“That’s it, Hayden, you’re a natural,” Nate encouraged.
“Is it time to stop yet?”
Nate just chuckled and kept on running alongside the horse.
When they turned and started their way back to the other side of the corral, Hayden saw Gregory watching them from beside the barn. He was leaning against the side of the building in that casual way of his that oozed charm, confidence, and sex appeal.
Hayden’s dick started to harden at the sight.
He couldn’t help it.
His body always reacted the same way when he was near his mate. But he wasn’t complaining. It was a pleasant sensation and one he didn’t want to end any time soon.
“Hey, there’s Gregory,” Nate said. “Why don’t you go a little faster and show him how much you learned today?”
Hayden liked the idea of letting Gregory see that he was good at something. He pulled on the horse’s reins, turning him so that they headed in Gregory’s direction.
“Is this right?” Hayden asked, pleased his horse offered little resistance as they headed back in towards the barn.
Nate chuckled. “Perfect. You’ll be an expert at this in no time, you just wait and see.”
Hayden blushed at the compliment.
He still wasn’t used to receiving them and it was difficult to accept them from people he didn’t know, but not one of the shifters that worked on the ranch had treated him like a stranger since he’d arrived two days ago. Everyone had done their utmost to make him feel at home, like he was part of a big, happy family.
He was grateful for that, and he was starting to believe he could make a good life for himself there on the ranch.
Aside from his worries about the council finding out about him, his only other concern was about Mac. He missed his old boss and he still felt guilty he hadn’t been able to say goodbye. He hoped that the situation in the council would change and that he’d be allowed to finally get in touch with Mac, but he didn’t envisage that happening any time soon.
He pulled back on the reins just as Nate had taught him as they neared the fence and brought the horse to a stop.
Gregory strode towards them.
He had a huge smile on his face, but, despite the expression, Hayden couldn’t help but think his mate had something on his mind that he was keeping from him. He had hardly seen Gregory in the last couple of days despite his assurance before they’ arrived that they’d see each other all the time.
Hayden tried not to let it upset him, but he was sure Gregory was avoiding him for some reason. Had he changed his mind about wanting to be with Hayden? They might be mates, but that didn’t mean they had anything in common.
Hayden still had his doubts that he could be good enough for Gregory, but he tried to hide them as best he could. The times they were together were good and he didn’t want to spoil that if he could help it.
“Hey, Gregory,” Nate greeted. “How’s it going?”
&
nbsp; Gregory nodded to the wolf. “Nate. ‘S going good. How’s my man doing?” Heat crept up Hayden’s neck.
He liked the possessive tone of Gregory’s voice.
“He’s a natural,” Nate said, glancing up at Hayden. “He’ll be running this place before long. We’d all better watch out if we want to keep hold of our jobs with this one around.”
Gregory chuckled. “Well, it can’t hurt to keep you all on your toes. How’s Jared?”
Nate frowned. “You tell me. I haven’t seen much of him in the last few days. I think you’ve seen more of him than I have.”
“I’ve just been helping him out with a few things is all.”
Hayden looked back and forth between Nate and Gregory as he listened to the exchange. That was the first he’d heard about it. It seemed he was always the last to know what was going on around the place even if it involved his own mate.
That made him frustrated.
Did everyone think he was a delicate creature they had to hide things from? He was going to have to speak to Gregory about that when they were alone.
He wouldn’t do it in front of Nate.
“I thought I’d come by and see if you’d finished for the day,” Gregory said. “You want to grab some dinner tonight?”
Hayden nodded. “Okay, sure. Let me see to Misty. I’ll meet you in the bunkhouse.”
Nate shook his head and took the reins from Hayden as he jumped down from the horse.
“There’s no need. I’ve got it covered. Go and spend some time with your mate.”
Hayden hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. It’s no trouble. You can repay the favor another day.”
“Okay, thanks, Nate. I appreciate it.”
Nate waved off his gratitude and began leading Misty towards the barn.
“See you both later.”
“Yeah, see you, and thanks for all your help today,” Hayden said.
Gregory pulled Hayden to his side as they crossed the yard to the bunkhouse. He planted a light kiss on his lips.
“You looked great out there. Nate’s right, you’re a natural.”
“I like it here more than I thought I would,” Hayden admitted. “The work, the people, it feels…right. I hope I don’t have to leave soon.”
Gregory’s brow creased. “What do you mean? Why would you have to leave?”
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