by Jess Buffett
Jordan’s heart broke to hear Colton sound like a small, lost child desperate to know why the world had turned on him. Enfolding his mate into his arms, Jordan held him tight. “I’m sure they don’t blame you.”
He didn’t know much about his mate’s family, but he knew that if he and Morgan had been through the same thing, neither of them would blame the other.
“Yes, they do.” Colton laughed bitterly, swiping a hand at the tears that had fallen. “You can ask them if you want. They were more than happy to tell me it was all my fault. My brother Mason…he said I may as well have taken our father’s head myself.”
A shattering sob tore from Colton’s chest.
“I don’t know why he would say that, but he’s wrong.” Anger and frustration simmered inside him.
How could someone do that to their own family? Colton was the youngest. Those brothers of his should have protected him, not blamed him.
Colton cleared his throat, giving a small shrug. “Doesn’t matter. We have more pressing issues. What did Jake want?”
Jordan could tell his mate was desperate to focus on something else, so he answered. “The Wolf council has ordered us to look into the warehouses. We need to find something, anything to tell us what we’re dealing with, because it’s pretty damn obvious we have no idea.”
“We can do that.” Colton nodded. “As long as it hasn’t been found, I planted a Trojan into one of the computers at another warehouse that we can use. I’ve been trying to gain access to it without tripping anything off, and I think I may have found a way.”
That got his attention. “Which warehouse?”
“The one based about four hours north of here.” Colton frowned. “I told Jake about it. He didn’t tell you?”
He grimaced. “I’ve been somewhat distracted lately.
“Me?” Colton asked, pointing at himself with the most innocent expression on his face.
“Yes, you.” He chuckled. “You’ve been driving me crazy for a while.”
“And here I thought I was just a pain in the arse,” his mate said quietly, losing some of his spark.
That wouldn’t do.
Jordan cupped his cheek. “No matter how insane you may have driven me, I never stopped wanting you. There was never a point where I thought I’d be better off without you.” He brought them together, their lips a hair’s breadth apart. “Do you hear me?”
Not giving Colton a chance to answer, he closed the distance. His lips crushed to Colton’s, rolling over until he pinned his mate to the mattress. Colton squirmed underneath, spreading his legs to make room for Jordan.
Jordan growled when Colton suddenly wrenched his mouth away.
“We…have work…to do,” his mate panted.
Groaning, he dropped his head to Colton’s chest, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He moaned when all it did was excite him further, his mate’s scent taking over his senses.
Pushing himself up, Jordan rolled off the bed, knowing if he stayed that they wouldn’t be going anywhere. “Okay. Showers, then work.”
He nodded to himself. Yep, it was good to have a plan.
“Hmmm, shower sounds good.” Colton leered.
“No,” he said adamantly. “Separate showers. I’ve already disobeyed my Kayan once. I get you all wet and naked, then…” He trailed off as the vision of his mate all soaped up and panting slammed into his mind. “Dammit. Focus.”
“You’re a horndog.” Colton snickered. “Get it, horndog.” The little shit threw his head back and laughed harder at his own joke.
“Har, har,” he muttered, making his way to the shower.
Jordan didn’t take his time, knowing his Panther would be too tempted to play. Which turned out to be true when Jordan stepped out of the stall to find Colton waiting for him with a wicked grin. Not willing to chance it, he dropped a kiss to Colton’s pouting lips, hastily making his exit.
“I’ll meet you in the control room,” he shouted over his shoulder.
He could still hear Colton’s chuckle as he hightailed it down the hall.
Little shit, he thought, this time with a smile on his face.
Chapter 5
Colton
Colton’s grin was huge as he entered into the control room. Jordan sat at the heavy bank of computer, working his magic. The concentration and brood on his mate’s face was sexy as sin.
His mate. Damn that felt good to say.
Just yesterday, no one could have convinced him he’d be sitting here now with the Wolf, working side by side, and more importantly, claimed.
“When you’re finished checking me out, you mind helping me with your Trojan?” Jordan’s lips were turned up, a smirk forming as he continued to type.
“Well damn,” he chuckled, moving to take his seat next to his mate. “If you’re waiting for me to finish, we’ll be here for a while.”
“Brat.” Jordan chuckled affectionately, leaning over for a quick kiss.
Colton swung his gaze to the screen and began working on activating his Trojan. The sooner they got into the system and found what they needed, the sooner he could drag Jordan back to bed.
“Oh, and here I thought I was your brat.”
Colton twisted in his chair to smile at Riley. “Nah, you’re the smartarse.”
Riley seemed to consider that for a moment. “Hmm, I can live with that. My arse is pretty fabulous.” A mischievous grin appeared on his face. “Only right that it should be intelligent too.”
Not to be outdone, Colton added, “Yeah, what’s the definition? A mule or donkey with unusual intelligence. Yep, perfect.”
“Ha, he’s got jokes.” Riley threw his head back with a laugh. “Finally, someone on the same wavelength as me.”
“Oh fuck,” Morgan muttered, walking into the room. “That’s all we need.”
“You’re just jealous.” Riley sniggered. “You two lunkheads try to keep up, but you just don’t have what it takes.”
Colton nodded, tapping away at the keys. “It’s true. Talent like ours can’t be taught.”
Morgan raised an eyebrow, then turned to Jordan. “Jeez. You have your hands full there, brother.”
“Tell me about it.” Jordan winked at him, letting him know he didn’t really mean it.
Catching the look, Morgan groaned. “Oh god. You’re already sunk, aren’t you?”
Colton couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face as Jordan nodded at his brother’s question.
He watched the brotherly display as Morgan slapped Jordan on the back, congratulating him. His heart ached for that. Ethan and Mason hadn’t looked at him like that in a long time.
“So, what are you two working on, anyway?” Riley asked, waggling his brows. “Well, besides each other.”
Colton sniggered, cocking his head to the screen in front of him. “Activating my Trojan. With any luck, no one has noticed it, and we’ll have access to their mainframe. At least, for a short time.”
Riley sat in the chair on his other side, rubbing his hands together. “Ooooh, covert stuff. Me likey.”
He cased a sideways glance at his new friend, noting the dark circles under the Mage’s eyes. “You look tired. Everything okay?”
Riley nodded, his gaze never leaving the screen as Colton worked. “Yeah. I was up with Derrick last night. We take turns, Sawyer, Jayden, Lily, and I. He still has trouble, you know? Not just with understanding some stuff, but—”
“Nightmares,” he finished for the other man. “Yeah, I know.”
Colton knew all too well.
Riley folded his arms across his chest, quickly looking at him and then away again. “Yeah. I suppose you do.”
The pair sat quietly, Jordan and Morgan’s conversation a low background noise.
“It’s hard to remember,” he whispered, breaking the silence.
A curious expression flittered over Riley’s face. “Remember what?”
“That you’re not there anymore. That they can’t touch you.” Colton
tried to ignore the tremble he could hear in his own voice. “And there is the guilt. I left people behind, and I feel bad about that. I can’t imagine what Derrick must be going through. Blake’s his brother. Between his undoubtable anger at the man for what he did to Derrick, and the knowledge that Blake has only ever done what he has to keep him safe…the guilt and frustration must be drowning him.”
“Damn,” Riley whispered in awe. “I hadn’t thought of it like that.”
He shrugged. “Different perspective, is all.”
“Well, thanks, man. You’re pretty all right.” Riley grinned, smacking him on the thigh. “You can borrow my eyeliner any day.”
“Meh, you’re not too bad yourself.” Colton laughed. “But you’re not touching my eyeliner. That shit costs too much.”
“And on that mushy note.” Riley rolled his eyes. “We just came by to say congrats. And now we’ll leave you two lovebirds to it, won’t we, Morgan?”
His pointed glare at Morgan caused another round of laughter before the two men left, leaving them alone in the room.
Colton grinned. “Well, I just activated the Trojan, shouldn’t be too long and we’ll be inside.”
“Really?” Jordan’s voice had dropped to a husky whisper. “And what should we do until then?”
He slid from his seat, straddling his mate’s lap. “Hmmm, I can think of a few things.”
Lowering his lips, he brushed them against Jordan’s, eliciting a moan from the other man. Jordan’s tongue came out to play with his lip ring, his teeth tugging at the silver loop. Damn, he couldn’t get enough of his Wolf.
His head abruptly shot up when a throat cleared behind him. Ready to throw out a snarky remark at being interrupted, Colton froze when his eyes locked with his older brother’s.
“M–Mason,” he stuttered, abruptly sliding off of Jordan’s lap. “W–what are y–you doing? I mean…”
He darted his gaze to Jordan, silently pleading for his mate to step in and help. He didn’t think he could take any abuse from his brother right now, especially in front of his new mate. Thankfully, Jordan got the message and stood up, placing himself between Colton and Mason. “Can I help you?”
If he hadn’t felt like he had been kicked in the gut, he may have been seriously turned on by the authority in the Wolf’s voice.
Mason shifted from foot to foot, wearing a nervous and slightly guilty expression. Colton had never seen his brother like that before. Normally fierce and confident, the man had always seemed larger than life. The quiet, reserved man in front of him bore no resemblance to the brother he’d known before everything had happened.
“I’d like a minute with my brother.”
Jordan raised a brow. “And why should I let you? After everything you’ve done to my mate?”
“Your mate?” Mason’s head shot up, his mouth dropping open as his eyes darted between them. “You mated him?”
Colton winced. Was it that unbelievable that someone would want him?
“Yes.” His mate’s voice was stern as he crossed his arms. “And I’ll ask again. Why should I even let you near him?”
Colton couldn’t hide his surprise when all Mason did was shrug. At any other time he would have torn someone a new hole for speaking to him like that. “Jordan. It’s okay. I’ll talk to him.”
He could see Jordan wasn’t happy with his decision but Colton appreciated the fact that he didn’t argue. Stepping around his mate’s body, Colton faced his brother, preparing himself for the first conversation he had had with any of his siblings in years.
“Hey.” Wow. Lame.
“Hey.” Mason’s eyes looked everywhere but at him. “I was wondering if we could talk?”
Colton nodded mutely, unable to form any words. Why, after all this time, would his brother want to speak to him? He had found his mate and claimed him. More importantly, he was happy. Hadn’t his brother taken away enough happiness?
When his brother still said nothing, just simply stared, anger surged in him. Colton was in no mood for games. “Why do you want to see me? I was under the assumption you had said all you had to say, and that I was dead to you.”
Mason winced, and shocked by his brother’s reaction, Colton nearly took the words back. Nearly.
“Colt, please,” his brother pleaded.
He frowned, sure he had misheard. “Did you just call me, Colt?”
Neither of his brothers had called him Colt since the day their parents had died.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Mason sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “I never…we never meant anything we said. I’ve been trying to get your attention since we arrived here, but you’ve done everything in your power to avoid us. Not that I blame you.”
“How could you have not meant those things? You seemed to when you said them,” he bit out, unwilling to give Mason an inch.
The agony was stamped on Mason’s face, but the emotion didn’t make any sense.
“Colton. I think you need to listen to what your brother is saying,” Jordan said quietly.
He turned around to face his mate, furious that the other man would take Mason’s side. But the expression of horror on the Wolf’s face was enough to make him listen. “What is it?”
“Elijah,” he whispered.
The words were simple, but their impact was insurmountable.
The Dragon Shifter had been held by Potestas for many years, the whole time being controlled. Colton knew the man still struggled with the pain he had caused his friends, Sawyer and Riley. Elijah had told Colton how grateful he had been when the Kayan had turned up that evening and saved the twins. It was his only solace sometimes, that what he had been forced to do hadn’t caused any permanent damage physiologically or emotionally.
He swung back to his brother, years of pain and isolation from his family exploding like a fission bomb. “They controlled you?”
Mason didn’t need to confirm what his face already showed. His knees grew weak and breathing became next to impossible.
“Colt.” His brother’s torn, anguished whisper was the final straw, and if it hadn’t been for Jordan, he would have collapsed to the floor.
Nothing could have held back the cry of agony that left his lips. Everything he had ever felt bubbled to the surface, desperate for an outlet. Nothing was in focus, the only constant sensation was that of his mate’s arms tightly wrapped around him. He cried and screamed until his voice left him. Everything left him.
Colton could no longer support himself, relying solely on his mate. When he finally blinked open his eyes, unsure when he had closed them, he wasn’t all that surprised to find the control room full of people.
“Honey?” He looked up into his mate’s eyes, seeing the fear in them.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, his throat hoarse.
Jordan kissed him lightly, cupping his cheek. “Don’t be. I have a feeling that has been coming for a while.”
All he could do was nod. In all honesty, he had never allowed himself to truly feel all the pain. He knew if he did, it would likely consume him.
“Colt. Please forgive me. I love you, little brother. I always have.” Mason’s softly spoken words threatened to pull him back under, but he refused to let it. He needed answers.
“Do you know what they did to me? While you were saying those horrible things, were you aware of what they were doing?” he demanded to know. “The beatings while you cheered them on.”
Tears ran down his brother’s face. “I swear, we didn’t want to. Inside I was screaming for them to leave you alone.”
He felt like a fine piece of thread under too much pressure.
“Every time I would pray for one of you to step forward, to save me. You never did.” He held up his hand, stopping Mason from saying whatever he was about to. “It’s not a switch. My feelings, my memories. I can’t turn them off no matter how much I want to. I hear what you are saying, and my head knows you never wanted to cause me harm. But I just can’t…�
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“I know. We both do.” Mason’s voice broke at the end.
“Ethan?” he asked, needing to know if his other brother was desperate to see him as well.
Mason nodded, smiling sadly. “Yeah. He wanted to come, but I told him it might be too much for you to see both of us.”
His brother was right.
“I need time,” was all he could say. If he were honest, he felt like he was barely keeping it all together.
“I figured…” Mason shrugged. “I just needed you to know.”
Without another word, Mason turned and left the room, leaving an extremely stunned Colton in his wake.
He stared at the doorway his brother had exited for a while, Jordan silent behind him, resting his hands on his shoulders in comforting support.
“That was the first time, wasn’t it?” Jordan asked.
Colton didn’t have to ask his mate what he meant. “I didn’t have anyone but Micah, and he already knew. No one else cared.”
Jordan tugged on his arm, turning him around. The Wolf’s large, firm hands came up to encompass his face. “You know that’s not true now, right?”
He let out a sigh, content just to stand there and soak up the attention from his mate. “Yeah, I do now.”
The briefest of kisses touched his lips, nothing sexual, simply pure comfort. Something he had gone without for so long that he almost didn’t recognise it. He allowed himself to be swept away by the foreign, soothing emotion.
Unfortunately the sound of an alert from the computers pulled him out of his daze, and he moved back to his seat. A window popped up on to his screen, and regardless of the previous discussion, Colton wanted to shout out in joy. He had gotten in.
“I’m in,” he called out.
“What have you got?” the Kayan asked as he stepped into the room.
Damn, that was timing. “I’m searching for the central server now. If I can get in there, then I should be able to tell you where the other warehouse sites are. Or at least those connected to it. Not all have been set up to my knowledge, but most have.”
He worked furiously through the route terminal, pouring everything he had into his efforts. The conversation with his brother was shoved to the back of his mind. Even on a good day he would struggle, but right now he had more important things to deal with. If Colton could find the majority of the other Potestas locations, then they could take them down.