Demi finished cleaning Reed up and kissed him, then turned back to Zach. “Thanks.”
“But the greenhouse? Really? I’m pretty sure there’s a bed somewhere in the house.”
“Not yet. Besides, it wasn’t planned.”
“But you had lube. Do I even want to know why you had lube in the greenhouse?”
Demi blushed, and damn if it wasn’t adorable. He must have felt what Reed was feeling and gave him a sideway look and a smirk. “We didn’t have lube in the greenhouse. I had to go get it. Can we talk about something else, please?”
Reed was starting to feel uneasy. He understood why Zach was sticking around, but he’d wanted to be with Demi, and now he couldn’t. He needed some time to digest what they’d just done.
Demi noticed it, of course—now that he had a direct link to Reed’s emotions, Reed would have a hard time hiding anything from him. He wasn’t sure whether that was a good or a bad thing. On one hand, Demi would know when to leave Reed alone and when to be by his side, but on the other hand... did Reed really want Demi to feel everything he was feeling?
He didn’t have bad days often now, but when he did, all he felt was anger, doubts and fear. Was he okay with Demi knowing that? Not that he had a choice. It was too late. Reed didn’t regret it, though. At least not at the moment. He knew he likely would sooner or later, but only because he was always second guessing himself ever since the lab. He really was happy to be mated. Now he just needed to convince his brain of that.
“Reed? Do you want to come in with me and Zach or would you rather go?”
Reed beamed at his mate and Demi looked startled. “I think I’m going to go. I need to get my stuff from Zach’s house.”
Demi frowned. “What do you mean?”
“To move it in here.”
Demi gaped. “You’re moving in?”
“Not... completely, no. I want to, but I think it’d be better if I left some things there, just for now.”
Demi looked at Zach, but the alpha mate had wandered away and was reading the tags Demi had positioned in the soil. “You know you don’t have to, right? It’s not because we mated that you need to live with me.”
Reed looked at his feet. “I know, but I think I need to do this. You know me by now, I’ll always find a way to get out of it, just like mating. I just need to take a deep breath and jump, but I’d feel better if I could leave some stuff there, just in case I feel like I need some space.”
Demi gently cupped Reed’s cheeks as if he were afraid to break him. “Whatever you need, Reed. Really.”
“I just... sometimes I wonder if you really know what you’re in for. Wouldn’t it be easier for you to find someone else, someone less complicated?” Reed hated the trembling in his voice, but he couldn’t help it.
Demi shook his head and Reed smiled at the way his hair moved around him. The green would have looked weird on anyone else, but on Demi it looked like it belonged. “I don’t want anyone else. I knew it wouldn’t be easy when I decided to give it a try, and I don’t regret it. I’ll wait for you until you’re ready, whenever that is.”
He kissed Reed and stepped back, turning toward Zach. “You want coffee?”
“Sure. Reed, are you going back to the house?”
“Yes.”
Zach took Jago from his shoulder and handed him to Reed. “Here, take Jago. You know you shouldn’t walk around alone.”
“Oh, all right. If Jago wants to come...”
Jago squeaked and Reed took it as a yes. He put the Elephant shrew on the bench and put his jacket on, bypassing the dirty sweater. He left it on the bench, knowing he’d have to wash it later, and feeling like leaving it here to wash was a small step toward living with Demi.
Jago climbed onto Reed’s jacket and slid into his pocket. Reed waited until Demi closed the mud room door, with one last smile for him, before walking to the second door and leaving the greenhouse.
The alpha’s house wasn’t far, but Reed had to pass in front of Noah and Duncan’s house to get there. He knew the couple wasn’t there but in Noah’s birth town, with Noah’s parents, and he frowned when he saw the car parked in front of the house.
He didn’t recognize it, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t a pack member, although Reed was pretty sure almost everyone knew Noah and Duncan weren’t home. He hesitated briefly but decided to just go pack his things.
He put his hands in his pockets, smiling when Jago licked one of them, and started walking again. He was almost in the forest again when a heavy hand clamped on his shoulder. He opened his mouth to protest, but pain exploded in the back of his head and he lost consciousness.
Chapter Six
“I have to say I never saw this one coming.”
“You’re not the only one.” Demi sat in front of Zach at his new kitchen table and handed him a glass of water. “This is all I have, sorry.”
“It’s fine. I should’ve called before coming. I really should have. The greenhouse? Really?”
Demi shook his head. “I don’t know why you’re surprised.”
“Wasn’t it uncomfortable?”
“No, but this certainly is.”
Zach blushed. “Sorry, I’ll stop asking questions now.”
“I’m just not... used to people asking private stuff. The only one who can do that and get away with it is Noah, but we’ve been friends for more than ten years.”
“I know I stick my nose in stuff that doesn’t regard me, but feel free to smack me when I do.”
Demi chuckled. “I don’t think Kameron would be all that happy with me smacking you.”
“Probably not. Still, tell me if I make you uncomfortable.”
“I will.”
They watched each other in silence for a few seconds, then Zach beamed. “Sooo, you said you were as surprised as me? Or would you rather not talk about this at all?”
Demi hesitated. He’d rather talk about it with Noah, or even Duncan, but neither were in Gillham at the moment and Demi didn’t know when they planned to come back home. “I thought it would take much longer.”
“You know what he’s been through, right?”
“Pieces of it. Reed never told me, but I talked with Jago and some of the other people Craig freed. No one told me about Reed, but they told me what had happened to them, so I think I have a general idea.”
“I’ve seen how you’re with him, and you’re good at pulling him out of himself. He tends to get lost in his thoughts and to let his emotions take over.”
Demi shook his head. “I’m not doing anything. Reed’s working with Gentry. I’m just supportive.”
“That’s what you’re doing. He needed someone to support him.”
“His mom was here.”
Zach waved Demi’s words away. “I know she loves him, that much is obvious, but she’s... too much, you know? She tries too hard to protect him and to make him feel better, and it usually has the opposite result. Reed needs to do things at his speed, and you’re allowing him that.”
“But I was the one to ask him to mate.”
“Did you demand it? Did you tell him you’d leave him if he didn’t, or that you’d go back home?”
Demi tightened his fists. “Of course not.”
“Then you let him choose. He could’ve said no.”
Demi closed his eyes and reached for Reed, but the bond was silent. He frowned and opened his mouth to ask Zach about it, but someone knocked on the front door. He sighed and got up. “I’ll be right back.”
Zach smiled. “I’ll be right here.”
When Demi opened his door, his jaw just about hit his chest in surprise. “Dad? What are you doing here?”
His dad shrugged and looked away, but Demi knew that wasn’t a bad thing. They weren’t good with words. So he stepped forward and hugged his father. He’d been half-convinced he wouldn’t see him for a while. Demi didn’t want to go back to Starhaven, and his father didn’t want to com
e out of it.
Demi’s Dad patted his back and Demi looked past him. He saw Noah beaming at him from where he was standing next to Duncan, who was leaning against their car.
Demi moved away and cleared his throat, trying as hard as he could to not let the sudden moisture in his eyes become tears. “Umm, come in. You too,” he said more loudly to Noah. He saw his best friend nod, and Demi guided his father to the kitchen, leaving the door open for his friend.
“We can sit in the kitchen. I don’t have all the furniture yet because it’s coming in a few days, but I do have a table and some chairs.”
“That’s good,” his dad answered.
“Dad, this is Zach, the alpha mate. Zach, my father.”
Watching his dad and Zach shake hands was surreal, to say the least. Demi waited until Noah and Duncan were there too before sitting in a free chair and starting to ask questions. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, dad, but I didn’t think I’d ever see you here.”
“You can thank Noah for convincing me.”
Demi gave his best friend a glance, smiling at the broad grin still on Noah’s face. “I’ll do that.”
“Come on, tell him,” Noah said, almost bouncing on his chair.
“Noah convinced me to move here,” his dad said gruffly.
And Demi gaped for the second time in a handful of minutes. “Seriously? What did he say to convince you? I’ve been trying for weeks!”
“Looks like I’m more convincing than you,” Noah teased, making Demi roll his eyes.
“I have no doubts of that. So, what did he say?” Demi asked.
His dad looked at the men around the table, and Demi was pretty sure talking about this in front of them made his father uncomfortable, but he still soldiered on. “Things haven’t been... good since you left. The Esslemont’s have been creating problems, and I’ve lost a lot of jobs. Noah explained why to me.”
Demi closed his eyes and scrubbed his face with his hand. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is. It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t hooked up with Larsen.”
“I won’t say it was a good idea, but you couldn’t know he’d do this. Besides, you might not have met Reed if you hadn’t had to come here for a while.”
Demi had told his father about Reed, although they hadn’t exactly talked about him, and they’d never met—yet. Reed wasn’t allowed in Starhaven, and dad hadn’t wanted to come out, but now he was there.
Demi’s fingers itched to call Reed and ask him to come meet his dad, but he knew Reed might not react to well to that. Demi had to prepare him, to give him some time, before they could meet. But he still could tell his father just how important Reed was for him, that now he was part of their family. And he’d tell Noah at the same time.
“Dad, I have to tell you something.”
“Please tell me you didn’t hook up with another rich brat.”
Demi had never heard his father talk like that about any of their clients, but he liked it. His dad was free to be himself now. “No, don’t worry. I’m very much in love with Reed.”
“In love, huh?”
“Yeah. I haven’t told him yet, and maybe I should’ve kept my mouth shut and told him first, but I wanted to tell you that we, well, we mated.”
Noah squeaked. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“I just did.”
“But I—”
Duncan slapped a hand on Noah’s mouth and smiled. “I’m happy for you. We both are.”
Demi turned to his father, anxious to know how he would react. He didn’t know what he’d do if his dad wasn’t happy about it. He obviously couldn’t leave Reed, and he didn’t want to, but his dad was the only family he still had.
But his dad was smiling, and Demi’s heart got lighter. “I’m happy for you, Demi. You deserve happiness.”
Demi reached for his father’s hand on the table. “You too, Dad. I know you didn’t want to move, but I really think you can be happy here. It won’t be the same, but it doesn’t mean it’ll be worse.”
His dad snorted and squeezed Demi’s hand. “Can’t be worse that the last few days in Starhaven. I’ve worked for some of those families since I was a boy and nothing ever happened, but it didn’t matter to them. They took the Esslemont’s word on what I apparently did. I’m not happy to leave my house, but my home is where you are.”
Demi could’ve sworn he saw his dad blushing ever so slightly, but he didn’t point it out. His dad squeezed his hand one last time, then took his hand back. “So, where’s my new son-in-law?”
“Reed needed some time to himself. He’s at Zach’s house, packing some of his stuff.”
“Why don’t we go find him?” Zach proposed. “We can get your father settled in one of the guestrooms for the night and you can find Reed.”
They all packed into Duncan’s car. The ride was very short, but once they got there Demi frowned. All the lights were off.
He saw Zach notice it and left his dad with Duncan and Noah to unload the car, while he followed Zach inside. Zach opened the door and turned the entrance light on, then called out, “Jago? Reed?”
No one answered. Demi concentrated on the bond, but it was still calm. Too calm. “Zach, what does it mean when you can’t feel anything through the bond?”
“Reed’s probably asleep.”
Demi rushed to Reed’s room and opened the door, but it was empty. He tried Jago’s room too, with the same results. He opened all the doors he passed as he walked back to the entrance, but no one was there. Noah, Duncan, and Demi’s dad were there, clearly aware something was wrong.
Demi heard steps coming down the stairs and looked up, but it was only Zach. He hoped for one second that the alpha mate had found Demi, but Zach shook his head.
Demi swore. “Where the fuck are they?”
* * * *
There was a squeak right in Reed’s ear. He’d have ignored it if it didn’t sound so urgent, but when he moved, he wished he hadn’t. Pain flared in the back of his head and made him moan.
Another squeak answered him and Reed blinked his eyes open. He was in the trunk of a car, and if the trunk’s size was any indication, the car was a big one, probably a SUV. Reed didn’t know how he’d gotten there. The last thing he remembered was a hand on his shoulder, then pain.
Panic rose in his chest and his lungs constricted. He closed his eyes tightly. He didn’t know where he was, what had happened, and what would happen. Images flashed in his mind of things he’d already lived through. The first time he’d been kidnapped, when he’d woken up in a cell. What they’d done to him.
Reed’s chest ached and he couldn’t breathe. He knew it was the beginning of a panic attack, and he knew he needed to relax. He tried to take regular breaths and bit on his lower lip hard enough that the pain distracted him. He tasted blood, but it was the least of his worries at the moment.
A light weight climbed his body and settled on his chest, then a tiny paw touched his cheek. Reed opened his eyes again and came face to face with Jago, still in his Elephant shrew form. The familiar presence was enough for the panic to recede, and the urgency and worry passing through the mate bond kept it at bay—for now.
Demi obviously knew something had happened to Reed, and Reed knew his mate would do whatever it took to find him.
Reed concentrated on breathing, in and out, in and out. The weight on his chest helped keep him in the now rather than in his memories and he reached for Jago with a trembling hand. “Where are we?”
Reed’s voice was hoarse and sounded loud in the smallish space they were in. Jago squeaked and scrambled down Reed’s chest. Reed pushed himself in a seating position and gave Jago the space he needed to shift.
He averted his eyes when Jago did, unsure how Jago might take him looking his way while he was naked. “The car stopped some time ago, but I don’t know how long,” Jago said.
“What ha
ppened?”
“You were walking, then you suddenly stopped and slumped. Someone took you in their arms and put you in this car, then drove away. I didn’t come out of your pocket until I heard them slamming the door shut. We’re in a garage, but that’s all I can tell you.”
“Did the guy search me?”
“No.”
Reed pushed a hand in his pocket, the one Jago hadn’t been in, and sighed in relief. He took his cell phone out and showed it to Jago. “Can you keep an eye out while I call?”
“Hurry up.”
Reed dialed the last number he’d called. Demi answered. “Reed! Where are you?”
“I don’t know. Jago says we’re in a garage, but we have no idea where.”
Reed heard voices talking, then Demi again. “Zach called Dominic. He says their computer guy is trying to pinpoint your position through your phone’s signal. You have to keep it turned on until they’re done. Are you okay? I felt panic.”
“I’m... not, not exactly, but Jago’s helping. You are, too.”
“What happened, Reed?”
“I don’t know. I noticed a car parked in front of Duncan’s house but I didn’t stop, then there was a hand on my shoulder and pain. I just woke up.”
“I know. I felt that through the bond. It’s weird, but it’s better than not feeling anything like when you were passed out.”
Reed glanced at Jago, but the other man was still watching the outside of the car. Reed could see the garage they were in was big. There were tools neatly arranged on one side of it and two other cars parked in it. There was also space for other cars, but it was empty.
The cars screamed wealth, even if Reed didn’t know what kind of cars they were. “I think we’re in a house. Someone wealthy. There are two other cars and tools.” He couldn’t see any of the things he’d expect in a garage used to repair cars, so it was as probable a guess as any.
All the garage doors were closed, and once Reed noticed that, he felt like the walls were closing on him. “Talk to me, Demi. Please.”
“My father arrived today. Noah managed to convince him to move in Gillham, and he wants to meet you. I told him, Duncan, and Noah about our mating. I hope you don’t mind.”
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