12. Jake
Jake
T heo’s footsteps slam against the floor as he storms into the house. Looking up from my spot beneath the sink, I lock gazes with a teary-eyed Nia.
Immediately, I push myself out from underneath the counter. Wiping my hands off with a rag, I study them. “What happened?”
Neither of them look at me.
“Nia,” Theo says tightly. “You’ll stay in my room tonight. I’ll take you home tomorrow.”
She drags her feet against the ground. “But—,”
“Now,” he snaps, his teeth gritted. “Or so help me, I will march you home and make you explain to Dad.”
She vanishes without another word. I come to a stop beside him, wiping off my hands with a rag. “The hell?”
He’s breathing heavily as he pinches his nose. “Hell is right. Fucking hell .”
My brows knot as he ducks around me, yanking open the refrigerator. He holds out a beer, but I shake my head and fold my arms as he shrugs.
He drinks half of it before stopping. “Nia decided to meet up with Eric Masters tonight. Without telling anyone.”
“Jesus.” I cast another glance toward the stairs. “Is she okay? Did something happen?”
He slams his beer down on the table. “Our fucking m– Kennedy – found them in the alley. Lost her ever-loving shit and scratched his face up. He’s probably scarred for life.”
My face loses the small smile that starts and ends just as quickly. “What? Did they call the cops? Is she hurt?”
He scoffs. “I’d be more worried about him.”
Frowning, I study him. “Are you? Worried about him ?”
“No,” he snaps. His hand clenches on the table. “I’m paying him a little visit tomorrow to finish the fucking job. But she lost it on him, Jake. And Nia won’t tell me what happened. Not properly.”
“Did you speak to her?” My suspicion grows when he only drinks in response. “What did you say?”
“Exactly that. She’s dangerous, Jake. I’ve never seen marks like that before. It was like she’d slashed him with a fucking knife. I don’t want her anywhere near Nia, and I’ve told Nia the same.”
He glares at me when I don’t respond. “Spit it out.”
I choose my words carefully, even though it’s screamingly obvious to me. “It sounds as if she was helping Nia. Doesn’t sound like she’s the bad guy here, Theo.”
And your anger is blinding you.
Theo squeezes the bottle so tightly his knuckles turn white. “She was covered in fucking blood . His blood.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, fighting down the flare of fury at his words. “And you didn’t like that. A little territorial, don’t you think? Considering you don’t care about her at all.”
He points the neck at me. “Do not analyze me, asshole. We all know the shit the bond pulls. That has nothing to do with this. The point is that Kennedy full-on attacked him. You ever heard of an omega attacking an alpha like that? He didn’t touch her. Didn’t hurt her. But she annihilated him.”
He has a point. They’re not capable – or they shouldn’t be. Not when one burst of dominance could put them on their knees, have them showing their throat even without a bark. “You think it’s another mark against her. And how do you know he didn’t touch her?”
He turns the bottle over in his hands, his face drawn. “Because she walked away, and he came out of it with his face in shreds. First Brett, now Eric. What the hell happens next? I’m tempted to call the cops myself.”
When I stiffen, he waves his hand. “I won’t. I promised Nia. And that’s another thing. She’s sixteen. What the hell was she doing with Eric Masters?”
I suspect I know. “Grieving, Theo. She’s grieving. And she feels lost.”
She didn’t just lose Brett. She lost her mom, and her dad, and Theo, all at the same time. It’s enough to make anyone cling to anything that might offer some relief. “I’ll speak to her.”
“Thanks.” His shoulders slump. “I sure as hell don’t know what I’m doing.”
The expression on his face makes me wonder exactly what happened between him and Kennedy tonight. But I force the thought aside as I jog up the stairs and cross to Theo’s room, rapping my knuckles on the door. “Nee?”
“Come in.”
At the subdued words, I nudge the door open. “Whatcha doing?”
She looks over her shoulder from where she’s hunched over Theo’s laptop, curled up in his desk chair. “Research for my biology project.”
I glance at the screen as I pass, settling on the bed. “Omegas? Figured you’d be an expert. Being one and all.”
She huffs. “Funny. It’s about different types of omegas. Like… feral ones.”
Nia lifts the screen to show me. I frown at the twisted face, the blank eyes, the bared teeth. “You shouldn’t look at that shit before bed, you know. It’ll give you nightmares.”
She ignores me, continuing her scrolling. “Have you ever met one?”
“A feral?” I lean back on the bed, crossing my ankles together. “Nope. Wouldn’t want to, either.”
Just the thought makes me shudder. “They’re not common, Nee. You see more of them in horror movies than anywhere else. And real ferals… they’re not like that.”
Or not for long. Thankfully. A feral omega is far, far worse than the alpha equivalent. But her nose is crinkled. I think it over. “Are you… worried? Is something going on?”
Silently, she shakes her head. “I just wondered if it was something that could… happen. Out of the blue, I mean.”
I purse my lips, thinking. “It’s a gene mutation. If you had it, they would have picked it up during childhood tests. They get a lot of extra support as they need it. Most live in homes where they’re taken care of by people who understand them. They don’t survive well outside of a monitored environment. So I don’t think so.”
She’s staring at me. “What does that mean? They don’t survive?”
I frown again. “It’s a heightened state of awareness. It puts a lot of strain on their hearts, I think. So they tend to die young, once they fully turn. I think they can only survive a few weeks once the change happens.”
It’s a petrifying thought. My brows draw together when I see her expression. Her cheeks are wet. “Nia? Hey. Talk to me, sweetheart.”
She wipes at her eyes. “S-sorry. Rough night.”
When I lift my arm, she dives underneath it, sniffling. I reach my other hand over to ruffle her hair. “Who do I need to kneecap? Apart from Eric Masters.”
I’ll be right there next to Theo. All of us will.
She almost laughs, but it trails off into another sob. “I think it’s taken care of.”
I glance down at her. And then back at the laptop. “By Kennedy, right? She was there?”
I’m watching her face. Enough that I see her eyes do the same thing. They flicker to the screen, and away. She nods. “Yeah. She – she helped me, Jake. She didn’t have to.”
That sounds far more like the Kenny I remember than Theo’s version of her. But my heart is pounding, my heartbeat increasing. “Nia. Why are you researching ferals?”
She stiffens. “I told you. For my biology project—,”
“Don’t lie to me.” She shrivels at my sharp tone, and I try to soften it. “Is there something wrong with Kennedy?”
She shakes her head. I study her.
I’m not sure why I don’t believe her. “You’d tell us if there was, right?”
She doesn’t look at me, her voice flat. “Right. I’m tired, Jake. Can we talk about this tomorrow?”
“Sure.” I ruffle her hair one more time before I stand. “Want me to bring you anything?”
She shakes her head, already digging around in the drawer of stuff she’s kept here for years. This house was a haven for the Rivers kids long before Theo finally moved in. “I’m fine.”
Everyone keeps saying that. But I don’t believe a word of it. “Call if you need anything. Theo will be downstairs.”
Theo has his head in his hands when I stop in the kitchen doorway. “I need to go out. I’ll be back in a bit.”
He only nods.
The diner is closed when I drive past. I slow and then pull in at the sight of Max’s truck parked up outside.
He jerks when I rap on his window, rolling the window down. “What are you doing here?”
I take in his face. “What are you doing here?”
He groans. “I came to see if Kennedy needed a ride home.”
“I take it that it was a no.”
He sinks down in his seat, muttering something I don’t catch. The tips of his ears look red. “What?”
A hand waves. “Look for yourself.”
I step back in confusion, looking around the truck. And then I see it. “She slashed your tire ?”
My lips begin to twitch, and he points. “It’s not fucking funny. She shouldn’t be walking on her own. But she was angry enough that I didn’t want to make it worse. I swear to fuck, she’s a punishment for every prank I ever pulled as a kid.”
He doesn’t sound angry, though.
I tilt my head to my own truck. “Jump in. I was heading up there anyway.”
“Why?”
I fill him in as I pull out and start driving. Max runs a hand over his face. “Fucking hell. That – that can’t be right. Nia’s wrong, Jake. Or maybe it is just a project, and we’re just reading into it.”
I’m praying he’s right. “But it would explain things, maybe. Her scent, for one.”
“We would have known if she had feral tendencies.” Max taps his fingers on his knee in his agitation. “We would have seen it. And it would have been picked up before, when she was a kid. She’d be in a Center. They don’t just let ferals walk around.”
Even the thought of it sends a pulse of repulsion through my chest. Kennedy doesn’t belong in one of those places. She’s too bright. Too vibrant. Too full of fucking life to be locked away.
They put them down like animals. My throat begins to close up, my hands tightening on the wheel. “They moved around a lot.”
And Rick Traylor is hardly the type of parent to get her help, if he even knew. “But we might be wrong.”
Please, God, let me be wrong.
We pull up to the trailer. Lights are still on, and I glance at Max. “We’ll need to be careful.”
Because if she is, we don’t want to trigger anything. I don’t know if us being her mates would even make a difference.
Max bangs on the door. I brace as it swings open, but it’s only Rick. He blinks down at us. “Long time no see, boys.”
I’m already glancing around him, but I can only see a strip of their small living space. “Is Kenny here?”
“Just got home.” He hollers, stepping back and scratching at the strip of skin where his vest meets his jeans. “Kenz!”
Max and I follow him in without waiting to be asked. It’s been months since I’ve stepped foot in here, but it feels smaller than I remember. Or maybe I’ve grown. I stoop, my head almost brushing the ceiling. Max fares a little better, but I catch the twist to his lip, the grimace as he glances around at the peeling, cracked furniture.
This place has never been a home. You can make a home from nothing, but Rick never bothered.
She doesn’t even have a nest here. I know that. Just the smallest bedroom in the world that doubles up, and it’s not good enough. Rick has never bothered to pay attention to his daughter’s needs.
The bathroom door bangs open. I catch a flash of wide brown eyes, a glimpse of bare skin, and then she’s gone, vanished back behind the door. Her voice echoes out through the slammed door, and Max and I wince.
“Get the fuck out of my house!”
“Kenz.” Rick looks mildly embarrassed. “Language.”
“Fuck off, Rick. And you two. I didn’t give you permission to be in here.”
“We are your mates,” Max calls back idly. He crosses his arms. “And since you wouldn’t accept a lift, we came to check on you.”
“I’ll slash your other damned tire!”
My lip tilts. But Rick interrupts. “Mates?”
The voice behind the door goes silent. Possibly planning our impending demise, but we focus on her dad for a moment. I nod. “Yes, sir. Bond came through. Oscar and Theo too.”
“Well, now.” A smile spreads across his face. “That’s excellent news. Why didn’t you tell me, Kenz?”
She bellows back. “Because it’s none of your damned business. They’re not my mates.”
“Kenny.” I’m losing my patience. “If you don’t get out here within the next two minutes, I’m kicking that door down and carrying you out. Your choice.”
Rick vanishes. I hear him mutter from the couch as the TV turns up. “Definitely mates.”
She makes us wait. I’m lifting my foot when she yanks the door open with one second to spare. There’s a towel wrapped around her waist and another of those rolled neck jumpers she likes covering her from the waist up.
She grips the towel to hold it in place as she storms toward us. Her hair is loose and wet, trailing down her back, and I blink.
“Get. Out.” A small finger jabs into my chest. “Of. My. House.”
She’s trying to push me back. I plant myself down and cross my arms. I don’t bother to hide my examination. “Are you hurt? Theo told us what happened.”
Her laughter is a harsh bark. “I bet he did. And no.”
She nods to the door. “You can go now.”
“Not until we talk,” Max cuts in. She turns to him, and he slides his hands into his pockets. Casual. Unaffected, except for the tightness in his shoulders. “We can stay here all night, Kenny. Or you can give us a few minutes.”
She glances at Rick, biting down on her lip. “Wait outside for me.”
The door rattles behind us, barely missing me, and I sigh. “We’ll never be bored, at least.”
Max’s lip quirks. “I don’t think she’s feral, Jake. She’s just Kenny.”
I wish that was all it was. “But did you pick up her scent?”
Because I did. I can still feel it, a strange mix of home and something… else. Bizarre.
His smile falters. “Yeah.”
I take a few steps away from the trailer steps. They have their own clearing. The nearest neighbor is nearly half a mile away down the trail, and a few solar lanterns gleam in the darkness between the trees. I crouch down to inspect her bike. “The wheel is broken. There’s a bag in my truck.”
We have the pieces laid out when she finally emerges. Her anger has drained, replaced by a tiredness that sounds bone deep as she watches us in silence. Max and I wait for her to break it. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
“It’s nothing. It’ll take us ten minutes. I just need to straighten a few bits out.” Getting to my feet, I turn to her.
Her fluffy socks look like they’ve been through the wash more times than they should have, threadbare in places. Her legs are bare, another one of those sweaters covering everything up to her neck and shorts underneath that have me swallowing.
She shifts beneath my appraisal. “Did something…change?”
Fuck. My heart hurts, even as I dodge the question. “We came to check on you.”
“Heard you took down Eric Masters.” Max grins. “Nice work.”
She looks away without giving him a response. “I’m fine. Is that it?”
I’m beginning to really hate that word. “No. That’s not it. Come here, Kenny.”
When she doesn’t move. I go to her instead. She stumbles back, but I’m faster. “What—,”
I grip her face in my hands. Gently, but firm enough that she can’t pull away from me. My thumb brushes over the softness of her cheek as her lips part in outrage. “The fuck—,”
Pushing that pouty upper lip up , I expose her canines and rub my thumb over them as my hand wraps around the back of her hair, holding her in place. Testing. Kennedy freezes beneath me. I pause as her scent twists again, sharpening. Edging on fear, and a rumble starts up in my throat. “Steady, baby. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She doesn’t say anything. She bites instead, small teeth sinking into the flesh of my thumb.
Hissing, I yank my hands away. “Fucking hell, Kenny.”
My mate snaps her teeth at me. “Did you find what you were looking for inside my fucking mouth, Jake?”
I shove my thumb inside my own mouth, sucking on it. Heat rises on her cheeks as she watches, and I hold it out, the teasing words slipping free before I can stop them. “You could always kiss it better.”
“You can kiss my ass. Go away.”
Max smacks me on the back of my head as she storms off. “Nice move. You’re supposed to be the normal one.”
Both of us jerk as she twists back toward us, pointing. “What the fuck was that?”
“I was—,”
“You could have asked,” she snaps. “If you’re wondering, no, I’m not feral. I’m just a bitch. Unlucky for you.”
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck . Her eyes are watering. “Kenny—,”
She picks up the closest thing and throws it. The rock bounces harmlessly a few feet away, and it clues me into exactly how much I fucked up by barging in here and examining her teeth, because she’d normally score a direct hit to the middle of my forehead. “Go away .”
But her voice breaks.
Max edges past me. “We’re worried, that’s all.”
“You don’t get to be worried.” She swipes at her face. “You don’t get to think about me at all. You decided you didn’t want me. You made it very fucking clear. So leave me the hell alone and just let me—,”
She cuts off, her face suddenly stricken.
“What?” I ask quietly. “Let you what , Ken?”
“Let me go.” Her voice cracks again. “Stop making this harder.”
I can feel her fucking pain. It stands out on her face like a sign, pulling me forward. I can’t even speak.
Max’s expression looks close to what I’m feeling. Desperate. “We’re here, Kenny. We came here for you. But we need to fix this. All of it. Just tell us what happened, okay? We’ll believe you, whatever it is.”
“I don’t believe you meant to hurt him.” My voice is hoarse. “Something happened up there, Ken. Two of you went up, and only one came back, but I know you . You didn’t mean to – that voicemail, whatever it was. We’re missing something.”
I know it. Know that those words didn’t come from her, not really.
She would have pushed Brett off the cliff herself before manipulating him that way.
“I know you, Kennedy Traylor.” I keep my voice soft. “That’s not who you are.”
Her brown eyes close. And when they open, I don’t see any of the Kenny I know. Her eyes are cold, and distant, and far away from here. “I meant every word of that voicemail message.”
Kenny’s words wrap around us. I feel Max stiffen, feel the air leave my lungs. “You don’t mean that.”
“But I do.” She straightens. “I pushed him. I lied to him, and I told him that was what I wanted. That I wanted us to be together, and this was the only way. I told him you’d take me from him, that he’d lose me. And he believed me. I wanted him dead, and I wanted to watch. And I was right, wasn’t I? You would never have let us be together, just us, because you won’t leave me the fuck alone now .”
“Ken,” I rasp it. “Stop it. That’s not—,”
“I was glad when he jumped,” she whispers. She doesn’t look at me. “I’m glad he’s dead. That’s who you’re mated to, Jake. Theo was right. I am a murderer. And I haven’t lost an hour of sleep over it since.”
Kennedy takes a step back. “You go home, and you tell Theo the truth. Tell him that. And don’t come back here again, either of you. Find someone else. The bond will fade. It’ll be better for all of us.”
I hate myself at that moment. Hate myself for the instinctive refusal that rises to my lips.
We can’t get past this. Not when Theo is sitting a few miles away with his head in his hands, trying to make sense of his brother’s death.
We can’t choose her.
Not without losing him. When I don’t say anything, she nods. A small, sad smile crosses her lips, and she turns to go back inside.
“Why?” Max says harshly. “Why did you do it? He fucking adored you, Kennedy. You were his reason for breathing.”
Her hand pauses on the handle.
“When you’re on a plane,” she says quietly. “They tell you that you need to put your own oxygen mask on first, before you help anyone else with theirs. S…o I did. I put my own…m-mask on.”
I frown. Her words sound a little slurred. Incoherent, almost. “What does that mean?”
She doesn’t want your help.
Kennedy doesn’t say anything else.
Neither of us move until the door closes with a final click.
But then we go.
And fuck if it doesn’t feel like I’m leaving my heart behind in that trailer.