Chapter Five Finn
Finn
Finn pulls his phone out, pressing the number for his alpha without taking his eyes off the photo. It rings twice before it connects. Jay has never let a call from his mates ring longer than that. He has always made it known that they are his number one priority. “Hey, Leo, turn that down. It’s Finn,” he says, covering the mouthpiece. “Hey baby, what’s up?”
Not knowing what to say or how to say anything, he just whimpers.
“Finn? Answer me, please. You’re scaring me.” Jay must signal Leo to come closer, and he puts the call on speaker.
“Finn, you’re making Jay sweat here and not in a fun way. Are you okay?” When Leo’s usual humor fails to get a response from Finn, he gets really serious, real fast. “Finn Merritt, what do you need?”
The sound of the door to the studio opening echoes down the line, followed by boots running down the hall of Ripley Records. It’s three minutes in the executive elevator and five to the preferred parking space at the rear of the building. Then, it is eighteen minutes to the emergency parking of the hospital and two more minutes to get past the charge nurse who is replacing Dennie and guarding the waiting room. He can wait. He can do it.
“Alpha, please come. We need you.” We. Jay doesn’t catch it. No doubt, it’s for the best, as Finn isn’t sure he could tell him over the phone.
“We’re on our way.” The doors to Leo’s Lexus slam shut, followed by a curse about traffic. “Just tell us: are you hurt?” Jay asks.
He wants to start wailing again, but it would make Leo crash the car, and he’s not sure if Leo could run the distance with an injured, feral Jay on his back. He probably could, but driving safely is better. Faster. Finn reaches up and yanks off his scent blocker patch, flinging it to the floor because Jay will lose his mind if he gets here and can’t scent him.
In the end, Finn can’t answer; he just keeps the line open, breathes, and listens as Jay sings to him softly. An orderly comes to clean the med-bay, but Finn’s grief and overpowering scent scare him away. Less than thirteen minutes later, he hears the call disconnect, and he panics. But powerful arms pick him up and force his head into his alpha’s neck.
Finn takes large gulps of pine-scented air and even though it’s smoky with fear, it’s perfect. Leo’s hands roam over whatever skin he can reach, and the three of them slide to the floor.
“It’s not his blood, Jay. It’s not his. Fuck.” Leo falls back on his ass in relief. “Finn, you scared us to death.”
At hearing the word death uttered in the same place where a devastatingly broken Austin had been just a few minutes ago, Finn gives in to his fear and grief and, yes, shame at failing his mate. Sobs shake his frame, and he’s quite certain he has never felt such sorrow. Not moving from his place in Jay’s neck, he holds the photo out to Leo, who is still rubbing his back with his nose pressed into Finn’s shoulder.
“What’s this?” Leo’s scent sours a bit. “Finn, where did you get this?” His voice carries a tone of disbelief that gets Jay’s attention easily. Leo is rarely shaken.
“What is it?” Jay asks.
Finn sits back so he can see his mates’ faces. “I met someone last night, and I think—no, I know they are ours. Our mate,” Finn whispers brokenly.
Their mouths drop open in surprise. If it were anything other than the worst possible time, he would laugh at how synchronized they were; always together, these two, and more like each other than either would admit.
Confusion is obvious on Jay’s face, and chastisement is in his tone. “Why didn’t you say anything last night? Finn, this is important.”
Leo is quieter. He understands right away that Finn must have his reasons, and he always lets Finn have his say before telling him he’s an idiot.
“I know, Alpha. It’s just that he was… is a patient, and I…it’s a long story, but he’s human, and he was hurt so badly.” Leo gives Jay the blood-smudged photo.
As an enigma alpha, Jay’s sense of smell is strong. His perfect nose wrinkles at the blood so close to his face, but his eyes widen before he even looks at the picture. He recognizes Austin’s scent. A Were would never forget the scent of a mate even after all this time. It’s embedded in their very psyche.
“Where did you get this? Because this boy is dead…” With that, Jay reaches into his pocket without unseating Finn. He pulls out a well-worn set of three photos he had never shown them. “Where did you get this? Please.” Pleading and trying to put the pieces together, Jay matches the two photos up perfectly and turns it over to read the names on the back. He growls.
“Jay, this is the human I treated last night. He told us his name is Austin.” Jay’s face is frozen, jaw clenching. Intuitively, he connects all the dots: why Finn is devastated, why there is fucking blood on the photo.
“Where is he now? Phoenix!” He deposits Finn in Leo’s lap, clearly planning to find Phoenix for himself, but his mates are faster. Holding him back, Finn and Leo guide him back to the floor. “Nix!”
“Jaybird. Let Finn tell us what’s going on. Then we’ll find him. You’re going to get security sicced on us and then who will take care of Finn?”
The threat of failing to protect his mate has Jay back in control for now.
“How is this happening? Nix died in a car accident when he was fifteen.” They know this story. Jay told each of them when they were being courted, and it was never easy to hear their loving alpha say the words of loss. Jay runs his hands through his shoulder-length brown hair, pulling roughly at the loose curls.
“He’s been badly hurt.” Finn doesn’t say again because he doesn’t need to. “Riordan has him in surgery, and we won’t know how he is for hours. But it’s bad. It’s really bad. I thought he was dead when he came in…I thought he was dead .” His words trail away.
“But you said you saw him yesterday. That’s why you were sad last night? He was hurt then, too?” Jay’s grip on him tightens, his smoky scent like a burning forest fire.
“Jay! You’re hurting him. Let him talk.” Leo’s voice is urgent. Finn will have bruises to show for it later, even if they won’t stay long, and Jay will surely beat himself up over it.
Finn doesn’t know how to tell this story without breaking his oath. All he wants to do is have someone read his mind and fast forward through the whole terrible tale. And that’s the crux of it: it’s not his terrible story to tell at all.
He holds Jay’s hand to his heart and whispers, “It’s not my story to tell. There are parts of it that only Austin can share. Even if my oath allowed it, it’s not right. If— when he wakes up he can tell you the details, okay? When he’s ready. All I can tell you is that he was scared and hurt, and I think he left here to go back to a terrible situation. I tried to get him to stay, but he left without a word. Snuck out while I was ordering tests, and I had no way to find him.”
Jay is right to be angry at that moment. Austin– Nix is hurt because Finn let him leave.
“I would have done it, you know. I was going to look his information up when he was brought in. But I should have told you last night. I’m sorry, and now he’s–he might die.” The shame is overwhelming, and that his alpha might hate him forever is almost more than he can bear.
His mates look at him in surprise. Both knew how much he prized both his career and his honor. “I couldn’t let him suffer, but I was too late. I should have done something last night.” Finn presses the heels of his palms to his eyes in an attempt to stop himself from crying again and to try and get the images of Nix’s broken body out of his mind.
Leo gathers him close to his broad chest as their pack alpha paces like the apex predator that he very much is, putting all the pieces of what Finn described and what he left out together in a very clear picture. He must realize he’s still holding Nix’s piece of the photo strip because he gently smooths it out, tucks it inside his photos, and folds them back into his wallet for safekeeping. The scent of forest on fire burning through the ER.
Buried in Leo’s throat, he feels his soft lips against his ear. “You’re so brave, Finn. So brave to care for our mate and try to save him. Such a good alpha.” The beta is pumping out enough cinnamon scent that Finn could get drunk on it. “Hey, do we have to sit here on the floor while we wait? Doesn’t that staff lounge have a comfy sofa? And you should eat something while I call the others.” He climbs to his feet and helps Finn do the same.
The others. Fuck, where has Finn’s mind been? Were Luca and Rowan at the studio wondering where Jay and Leo had gone? Was Gideon home from the market? What time was it? Checking his watch, he sees it’s already noon. It feels as if a whole day has passed when, in fact, it has only been a few hours since they had taken Nix into surgery.
“You can’t call them, Leo. You should tell them in person, but I won’t leave Nix, and I’m sure Jay won’t, either.” The mention of his other mates has Jay back in pack alpha mode.
“Finn’s right. Can you text them and have them meet you at home? Tell them whatever you need to, but they shouldn’t come here. Right, Finn? You all should stay at home until we’re sure he’s going to…” Their leader couldn’t finish his sentence. The obvious conclusion is that Nix might die, and the breaking of the bond would be excruciating. Only Finn and Jay would be affected right now since they were the only ones to meet Nix. Finn is even sadder at the possibility that his mates will miss out on knowing him at all.
“What? No. They won’t go for that. Gideon will be breaking down the door. How am I supposed to sell that idea when I want to be here with you, too? If we lose him, we do it together.” Leo pulls his alphas in with his powerful arms, and the three of them lean together for comfort.
“No, this could be bad—” Jay says, running his hand through his hair.
“I will tell them they have to stay away until he’s out of surgery, then all bets are off. Until then, you should both eat. I know Gideon packed enough to share. I cannot listen to him go off on how it takes him forever to cut those tiny bits of seaweed into cute shapes and how no one appreciates his artistry. Okay? Come on, let’s find that comfy couch.”
An hour later, Leo pries Finn off his lap after a tight squeeze and the assurance he would let them know how everyone was in the aftermath. The beta gives several reassuring hugs to both his alphas and disappears down the hall and out the doors.
It hurt to see him go.
Gideon has made more than enough food, and Finn tries to share it with Jay. Instead, Jay uses his fork to put the food directly into Finn’s mouth. Feeding his mate seems to ease him a bit, and Finn is relieved that his alpha isn’t angry, at least not at him.
“Leo’s right, you know. I should have said that right away. Thank you for taking care of him in whatever way you could. I’m sure he felt that ya know? You’re a good doctor, Finn Merritt, and an amazing mate. I’m so glad you were here with him last night and today. He must have been so scared. I’m glad it was you.” Finn didn’t know how much he needed to hear that at that moment, and the words eased something in his chest.
“He’s perfect. Just like you told us he was. Even though his life looks so hard now and like it…hurts,” the word choices are pushing up against the Oath’s magic, but Finn continues, “he was funny. And sweet. Made Dennie laugh, and he even tried to feed Nix a sandwich from the vending machine.”
Finn smiles at the memory of the soggy sandwich presented to the human with such ceremony, with Nix eyeing it dubiously but accepting it with grace. No wonder he left it when he ran. Noticing Jay’s eyes glisten with emotion as memories wash over him, Finn quietly closes the lunch box, leaving half the chicken untouched inside.“Let’s go sit on the couch. I need a cuddle, and it will be hours yet.”
Jay decides sitting isn’t the best way to cuddle, and his instincts to protect him have to go somewhere, so he puts Finn flat on his back, takes off their shoes, and then covers him easily, given that he is two inches taller and twenty pounds heavier.
Jay’s broad shoulders do most of the work, blocking out the overhead lights, and Finn tightens his hold. “I’m glad you’re here, Alpha. It’s going to be okay.” He turns his face into his alpha’s neck, opening his legs a bit so Jay falls into the space between. It’s a familiar position and always a welcome one. Finn decides he doesn’t care who comes by and sees them. It’s been a hell of a morning, and it’s only going to get harder, so they are going to enjoy this calm before the storm.
“I hope so, baby.” Jay’s eyes close, and Finn follows suit.