Whitedell Pride 25 - Aeron Read online

  Jericho didn’t know how to answer that, so he closed his eyes again. He heard Jared leave, and silence fell on the infirmary. Jericho didn’t know when the alpha would be by to talk to him, but he didn’t think it would take long. From what Jericho knew about Brad, he wouldn’t wait long to attack again, and the pride needed all the information they could get to fight back.

  His thoughts went to his mate. It was still weird to think that word, let alone fully believe it. He had a mate. He knew what mates were, more or less. Brad had told him and the other hunters about mates, but Jericho was sure he hadn’t shared everything, or that what he’d said was the truth. He’d probably kept what wasn’t convenient for the hunters to know to himself, and Jericho wouldn’t be surprised if he’d lied in what he’d actually told them.

  So really Jericho didn’t know much about mates. He knew it meant his mate would want to claim him and keep him close, but that was all he believed from what he’d been told. He’d spent enough time with the pride already to have been able to see mated couples together. He’d observed them, had watched them interact, and he knew no one had been forced into their relationships. The couples he’d seen loved and respected each other, even when one-half of the couple was human.

  Of course, it might not mean anything in his case. He wasn’t only human. He was also a hunter, and no matter how much the alpha might want to give him a second chance, it didn’t mean his mate would. Jericho hadn’t even met him yet, and he’d been awake for almost two weeks. Surely his mate would have come by if he wanted him.

  Jericho couldn’t help but feel dismayed by that. No matter how many times he told himself he didn’t want a mate, he also regretted that his mate wasn’t there with him—that he’d been rejected. He wasn’t sure there was a way around it, though. He was what he was, even if he’d been wrong. He’d done what he’d done, hurt shifters, killed shifters.

  Nothing could change that.

  * * * *

  Aeron had hoped he’d be able to shimmer back home after escaping from Nysys’ claws, but of course someone else had stopped him before he could. At least Cerris wasn’t pushing to know Aeron’s secret. No, he wanted help, and Aeron felt guilty for not having come by for him yet.

  “We should find a place where we can talk,” he said. “The entrance isn’t exactly the best spot to do that.”

  Cerris shrugged. “We can go to my room if you want.”

  Aeron didn’t like how uncaring Cerris seemed to be. He really should have talked to him earlier. He shouldn’t have hidden what he was from one of his best friends, not when Cerris shared the werewolf trait with him.

  “Let’s go.”

  Aeron followed Cerris upstairs, thinking about what he could say. He knew Cerris’ story. All the Nix in their mish-mashed tribe knew it. Cerris hadn’t kept anything from them, not like Aeron had.

  Cerris gestured at his bed when they entered his room and Aeron sat. He looked around, not surprised to see plants near the windows. They were lush and made the room brighter.

  He brought his attention back to Cerris, who was hovering in front of him. He sighed. “Come on, Cer. Sit down. When have we become so uncomfortable with each other?”

  They’d been all they had for so long. Their little tribe members had had only each other to rely on when their birth tribes had treated them like shit. They’d been best friends.

  Leaving their birth tribes to align themselves with the pride and the council had seemed like such a good idea back then. And it was. They’d been free to do what they wanted with their lives since then. No one could hurt them anymore.

  It had also been what had made them lose each other, though. Nysys had met Morin and become a council member. He’d met Keenan and had become best friends with him. Cerris and Wyn stuck together, both working in the mansion’s gardens. Noem had become the mansion’s nurse and worked between the house and the hospital, always so busy. Yerad was working with the council and the tribes, trying to find a way to get more tribes to cooperate. And Aeron—well, he’d left the pride, had moved away. He’d been the only one, although Yerad wasn’t often home, spending most of his time with the tribes.

  They all had their lives, and they’d slowly distanced themselves from each other. It didn’t mean they weren’t friends anymore. They were. But the distance between them was so wide it felt hard to fill now that Aeron had to try to close it.

  Cerris shrugged and sat. “I guess it happened when you left.”

  “I came back.”

  “Not really.”

  “I know you’re angry—”

  Cerris turned toward Aeron, and damn, he looked furious. “Angry? Yeah, you’re right. I’m angry. One of the guys I thought was my friend kept the fact that he was half-werewolf from me, even though he knew I was a were too and that I was having problems with it. Do you even know how hard it’s been for me? Not being able to control the wolf, always being scared of hurting someone. Having to work in the garden because at least there I can’t hurt anyone. Having to stay away from the only family I have because I’m scared something they say or do will provoke the wolf and make it hurt them. Locking myself in my room during the full moon and tying myself up with chains because I could go crazy and attack someone.”

  Aeron swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you are. It doesn’t change what you did, though, or rather, what you didn’t do. I don’t understand why you weren’t honest, at least with me.”

  Aeron looked at his hands. It had taken him a while to realize why he was doing it. It hadn’t been easy to be honest with himself. “I didn’t want to stay here,” he said.

  “You didn’t want to stay here?”

  Aeron looked at Cerris. “When we finally left our birth tribes. I knew I was safe here, but I thought people would eventually kick me out for what I am. It was easier to try to ignore that part of me.”

  Cerris shook his head. “It still doesn’t explain why you didn’t talk to me. I wouldn’t have told anyone. You should know that.”

  “I do. But telling you would have meant having to face what I was. I... you know what happened to me. This is why it happened. They thought I wasn’t even human because half of me is a werewolf. They treated me accordingly. Like I was nothing. A commodity. Someone who was there to do what they wanted me to do, including...” Aeron shook himself. “It was easier not to think about it. To ignore it.”

  “How can you ignore your wolf? He’s always there. He always wants out, wants control.”

  “I have control over it.”

  “How?” Cerris’ voice was desperate, and Aeron hated himself for not helping his friend sooner.

  “When I was with the tribe, well, my wolf wanted to lash out. To protect me, and itself. I had to keep it in control, because when I didn’t, bad things happened.” He still remembered. He still lived through it some nights, when the dreams haunted him.

  “I’m sorry,” Cerris said in a soft voice.

  Aeron reached out and took his friend’s hand. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I should have talked to you, but I was trying so hard to leave that part of my life behind. I only had to let the wolf out on the full moons, and I could forget about him during the rest of the month. It made it almost easy to forget. I had a new life, a job I like. It was easier to ignore everything than to face it. Just the thought terrifies me.”

  Cerris’ hand tightened around Aeron’s. “Why did you change your mind? Why did you help André when he asked you to? You could have stayed away.”

  “I could have, but you guys were in danger. No matter what, you’re still the only family I have. I couldn’t not help.”

  “Why are you still here, though? You could have gone back to your life after the battle.”

  Aeron sighed. At least Cerris wouldn’t tell anyone. “Because I met my mate during the battle. Well, he was unconscious at the time so we didn’t exactly meet, but the result is the same.”

  �
��Your mate? He’s a hunter?”

  “Yeah.”

  “The guy in the infirmary?”

  “Yeah.”

  Cerris let go of Aeron’s hand and wrapped an arm around Aeron’s shoulders instead. He pulled him close, and Aeron finally let go. He hadn’t been hugged in so long. No matter what his friends might think his life in Chicago was like, it wasn’t what he wanted. He might have a great job and a nice apartment, but that was all. He didn’t have friends. He couldn’t bring himself to get close to people who didn’t know who he was, and he couldn’t exactly tell anyone he wasn’t human. Although maybe that might change now that shifters were out, but still. He couldn’t count on people accepting him.

  And he didn’t want new friends. He had them already, in Whitedell. They’d known him at his lowest. He’d pushed them away, but maybe they could recover their relationship.

  “You’ll be fine,” Cerris whispered.

  “I know.”

  “You can count on us. All of us. We’ll do what we can to help with your mate, and if you want to talk to someone, well. You know where to find us.”

  Aeron took a deep breath and pushed away. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you before, but I am now. I’ll help you control your wolf.”

  “You’re sticking around then?”

  “Yeah. My mate is here, and no matter what he is, I don’t want to give up on him without even talking to him.”

  Cerris frowned. “I thought he’d woken up a few weeks ago.”

  “He did. I just haven’t had the balls to talk to him yet. I’m not sure I could stand the rejection.”

  “You know that if he does reject you it has nothing to do with you, right? He’s a hunter. He’s bound not to like people like us just because of what we are, not who we are.”

  “I know.”

  Cerris patted Aeron’s knee. “And really, if he’s your mate, there has to be a reason. Why would fate give him to you if there wasn’t a possibility for the two of you to be together?”

  Aeron hoped Cerris was right. But even if he wasn’t, even if Jericho rejected him, at least Aeron had his friends again. He wouldn’t be alone, never again.

  * * * *

  Jericho looked at the man standing by the foot of his bed. He was big, much bigger than a lot of men Jericho knew, including himself. The guy was downright scary, and Jericho flicked his gaze to Jared, who was hovering in a corner.

  The big man—Dominic Nash, the pride’s alpha—chuckled and rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he told Jericho.

  Jericho swallowed. “Of course you won’t. Isn’t that what everyone says when they kidnap a guy?”

  Dominic arched a brow. “Is that what you said to the shifters you caught before killing them?”

  Jericho looked down. It wasn’t like he could deny what he’d done in the past. He’d killed shifters, had followed orders. He’d never touched children and had done his best to stay away from women, but he wasn’t innocent by any means. “No. We don’t take prisoners.”

  Dominic sighed and went to slump into the chair by Jericho’s bed. The thing looked like it might collapse under his weight, but it held him up. “I guess not. Bradley didn’t strike me as the compassionate type.”

  Jericho knew his leader had spent time with the pride. He’d been the one to communicate with him after all, to bring him news about his hunters and to use the info Brad gave him to organize raids. He’d been in on the thing with the shifter, the one whom Brad had threatened not to give him medicine if he didn’t help them. It had brought nothing good to Jericho, nothing but a huge scar on his shoulder where the damn bear had nailed him.

  “He’s not,” he finally said.

  Dominic looked at him until Jericho started to squirm. The alpha wanted answers, but he wasn’t asking any questions, not yet anyway. Jericho wanted this to be over as soon as possible, damn it.

  “So,” he started. “What do you want from me?”

  “Answers.”

  “Then maybe you should start asking questions.”

  Jericho knew it probably wasn’t a good idea to goad the alpha. He might have been compassionate so far, unlike Brad, but that didn’t mean it would last, especially if Jericho continued to be mouthy.

  “All right,” Dominic said. He leaned forward, his eyes never leaving Jericho and making him so fucking nervous Jericho wanted to yell. “What was your role with the hunters?”

  Jericho snorted. “I thought you already knew that.”

  “We only know what you’ve been telling us since you woke up. It’s not like you had any kind of info on your body when we found you passed out in the woods.”

  “Are you trying to tell me you didn’t interrogate any of the other hunters you captured?”

  “We tried, but most of them are tight-lipped. Bradley’s influence, I guess.”

  “Brad is... intense.”

  Dominic slowly nodded. “Can you tell me more about him? About how he became the leader of the hunters?”

  Jericho cocked his head. “You think he became the leader?”

  “Stop being a smart ass and answer my questions. I don’t want to threaten you, and I know you know that you being a mate means I won’t hurt you and I’ll try to keep you here with us, but you don’t want to push me. Anyway, I can make your life a living hell if I want to.”

  Jericho swallowed and raised his hands, palms toward Dominic. “I wasn’t trying to be a smartass. I’m just surprised you don’t know that Brad was the one who created the hunters. He didn’t become their leader. He’s always been it.”

  Jericho couldn’t tell if Dominic was surprised, but he waved at Jericho to continue, and Jericho did. “I don’t know him that well, even if I consider him a friend. He’s very private and tight-lipped. I am his second in command, though.”

  “A big fish, huh?”

  “I guess. I never made decisions, though, not when it came to the hunters. They’re Brad’s baby, his creature. He won’t let anyone else make decisions. He gives orders and I make sure they’re followed and that everything goes like he wants them to go. That’s it.”

  “And what happens when things don’t go how Bradley wants them to go?”

  Jericho grimaced. He’d seen how things went when Brad was angry, more than once, and it never ended well. He himself had been on the wrong side of Brad’s anger a few times, and he still held the scars. “Bad things.”

  Jericho must have done something, moved his shoulders maybe, and Dominic’s gaze slid to them. “Your scars,” he said.

  “Yeah. Brad tends to get handsy when he’s angry. Let’s just say that no one enjoys it, except maybe him.”

  “All right. Go on.”

  “From what I gathered since I became his second, his family was killed by wolf shifters. All of them, including his wife.”

  “His mate?”

  Jericho frowned. “His wife.”

  Dominic shook his head. “You don’t know.”

  “Don’t know what?”

  “Bradley is a wolf shifter.”

  Jericho blinked. “That’s impossible.”

  “He is. That’s why we took him in when we needed help. He’s a shifter.”

  “I thought it was because you thought he was being abused by his family.”

  Dominic’s eyes narrowed. “The bruises on his body. Yes, we thought he was being abused, but that’s not the main reason we took him in. We didn’t know about that until later, when he was already here. Tell me about the bruises.”

  Dominic obviously wouldn’t take no for an answer. “I was the one to hit him.” Dominic’s eyes flashed and Jericho raised his hands. “Before you decide I beat little guys, he was the one who told me to do it. Forced me. He said it would help because you’d feel sorry for him and would want to save him. I’m his second. Was his second. I obeyed orders because I didn’t fancy being whipped.”

  Jericho wasn’t sure Dominic believed him. “So Bra
d’s a shifter?”

  “Yes.”

  Jericho had a hard time believing that. He’d worked at Brad’s side for a few years, and he’d never suspected. He tried to think of any indication he might have noticed, but he couldn’t remember anything.

  “If what you say is true and his pack was killed by shifters, then that’s probably the reason he decided to hunt other shifters, especially if his mate was killed too,” Dominic said.

  Jericho had seen how mates behaved with each other, how they protected each other, and he could understand it. They were everything to each other after all. “I can’t believe he managed to keep this a secret the entire time, though. How could no one have noticed anything?”

  “What happened to the man who was second in command before you?” Dominic asked.

  “Uh, he was killed.”

  “By shifters?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure of that?”

  Jericho wasn’t, but he wasn’t about to tell Dominic that. Brad might have been a harsh leader, but he had never hurt Jericho, not when Jericho didn’t deserve it. Jericho had trusted Brad with his life.

  “Tell me more about the organization,” Dominic said, steering the conversation away from Brad.

  Jericho was glad and he nodded. “There’s nothing much to say about it. Brad’s the boss, I’m his second. He always has stuff to do, info to gather, so he gives orders and I’m the one who makes sure they’re followed. I organize the raids after Brad tells me where we need to go, things like that. I keep a list of hunters and organize them into teams, choose where to send them.”

  “You were the one in charge. The one who decided who died.”

  Jericho sighed. He might have had a possibility to get out of punishment before, but now that he’d admitted this, he didn’t think Dominic would really be clement, no matter whose mate he was. “Not really.” Jericho was ready to face the consequence of his actions, but he wouldn’t pay for something he hadn’t done. “Brad decided who we had to attack.”