Chapter Twenty Jay
Jay
Coming off the alpha suppressants feels a bit like presenting again. He’s grateful he had only been on them for a few days because the fatigue, nausea, and agitation were almost better than this increased desire to fucking punch someone until they were dead and bloody. But he’d promised his boys, and Jay did not break promises.
When he’d first presented, it had quickly become a priority for his manager at Ripley Records to make sure he had the required alpha safety/etiquette training necessary to function with his newly enhanced sense and instincts. But you couldn’t be James Rhodes’ alpha son—even a potential one—without understanding exactly what it meant if you let your instincts get the better of you, and Jay had endured the broken arm, courtesy of his father, to prove it. Despite it being a short-lived injury, the pain had been an excellent reminder to twelve-year-old Jamie.
The afternoon when Jay had heard that Nix died in a fatal car crash with his family, all the strict training he’d had under his father’s roof meant nothing. While tranquilizers had done their job, when he’d eventually come to, he’d still been snarling and physically restrained. His shared apartment had been utterly destroyed: the windows smashed, appliances dented and spilling their insides all over the kitchen, the furniture in matchsticks, and his roommates cowering in the hall. Jay’s grief and rage had been all-consuming.
They’d put him in an alpha facility for a few days, done some genetic testing, and boom! discovered he was an enigma alpha. The incident is in a locked case file, surrounded by a firewall, NDAs, and threats of lawsuits a mile long. Everyone had made allowances for his burgeoning celebrity status, but not his grief, not really.
It had been a surprise to him that he’d been an enigma, as he had none of the outward attitude markers they usually find in enigma’s pre-presentation. Jay knew it was because of his upbringing and the intense control he had over his very noisy wolf. Most Weres don’t connect with their wolf until they present, but Jay has known him in some aspect of his whole life.
Afterward, Jay did not tell his parents anything about what had happened, as the courts had deemed him an adult. He would not give his father the satisfaction of bragging rights or the satisfaction of having “held down” an enigma all this time. Jay considered himself a lone wolf from that moment until his betas brought life, love, and family back into his miserable existence because that is what he had been doing: existing.
These days, he occasionally accepts calls from his mother on birthdays or when he wins awards, but he’s never returned to Florida. Memories of Nix made it too hard. He has no need, really, as he now has all the extended family anyone could ever need. Most of his mates’ birth packs trust him to keep their sons safe, and Jay will earn that privilege with his blood, sweat, and tears.
Gideon forcing him out of the hospital and back into their den meant his anxiety about leaving Nix unattended (by him) skyrocketed, a part of him sure someone was going to steal their Sunshine out from under their literal noses. Once home, he’d let his instincts take over, checking every room for intruders, his wolf insisting they make their mark on every corner of the house. Gideon had finally cornered him and ran a bath where he held court like a naked king. Luca had finally climbed in to help ground him while Rowan shared a tub of mint chocolate ice cream, feeding him spoonfuls as they talked about this and that.
Afterward, he’d been dried off, and they’d all piled into the pack nest for a nap of sorts. But he’d only laid there, listening to his mates breathe, missing the fresh basil, spicy cinnamon, and sweet vanilla scents of his missing mates. His nausea had come in waves too, his senses all over the place as they faded in and out.
Jay was under no illusions that he looked any better after he “woke up.” Gideon had packed up enough food for dinner while grumbling under his breath, and they’d been halfway back to the hospital when Leo had called to let them know Nix was off his coma medications and that they were moving him from the ICU. Jay’s wolf had been so relieved that he was safe and under Leo’s care that he’d passed out, nose in Nix’s neck the minute he’d arrived in his new room.
Jay had napped again, after waking to eat whatever Gideon had made for dinner and he’d finally sent them all home to sleep again in the pack beds, with a promise to call them if anything changed.
Leo, Luca, and Rowan were supposed to go into the studio to re-record some vocals the next day, and Finn was going to do a stint in pediatrics; thanks to the sweet scheduling administrator, he’d be able to be in and out of Nix’s room all day. Gideon, too, had wanted to stop into Quest and “make sure they haven’t fucked it up beyond repair.”
So, Jay had fallen asleep again, worried and impatient. Without the suppressants, Nix smells like everything good and sweet and–well…just that: he smells like everything. The urge to see his beautiful eyes and hear him say his name is an itch under his skin that never seems to stop.
When Jay wakes this time, he can hear the usual early morning hospital noises in the hall outside the closed door, and, for the first time, he lets himself think about asking the hard questions. Climbing out of bed, he kisses Nix’s forehead, grabs his phone, and creeps over to open the curtains just a little. Checking the time, he realizes that it’s Friday, and his mother will be thinking about going to her yoga class or playing tennis at the club. He presses her contact before it connects.
“Junior. What’s wrong?” Her tone is flat, edged with impatience, as though the very act of calling her is an inconvenience he should’ve thought twice about.
“Mother.”
“Junior, why are you calling so early on a Friday?” She says abruptly, and her tone makes his job easier. She has never been one for niceties with her only child.
“Do you remember Phoenix Rena?”
The silence is telling, and his grip on the phone is so tight the glass cracks. He’s so attuned to his mother’s breath at the end of the line that he jumps a bit when he feels a hand on his shoulder. It’s Finn, and it’s the support he desperately needs. It’s a welcome reminder that he’s never going to be alone again and that after today, he’ll never need to endure her insincerity, arrogance, or lack of care.
“Yes. He is— was —that human boy you had a crush on before you left for Nashville,” she says carefully, but her error doesn’t go unnoticed.
In the past, before he’d known Nix was, in fact, still alive, he might have convinced himself that she was being tentative because she knew about how much he had loved Nix. But not now.
She finally hums, and her false sincerity is loud and clear all the way from Florida. “He…uh…he died in that car accident, don’t you remember? So sad, really.”
“Did he?” Jay growls, his temper getting the better of him, so Finn takes the phone and presses the speaker.
“Mrs. Rhodes, this is Finn. You’ll have to forgive Jay,” he says.
“Oh, hello, Finn. So nice to hear from you. How is the hospital?” If there’s one thing Mrs. Rhodes loves, it is that her son is mated to a doctor, and she is more than happy to change the subject. Finn takes a deep breath, hand gripping Jay’s tighter as they stand over the phone.
“You’ll have to excuse me as well, Mrs. Rhodes, because we are wondering if Phoenix Rena died in a car crash eight years ago, then why is he lying here in my hospital? Would you be able to shed some light on that? Before you head out to your yoga class? If it’s not too much trouble?”
She’s silent, but only for a beat. “There is no need for sarcasm, Finn. None at all. It’s quite rude.”
They let her fill the silence, digging herself deeper with her next words. “Junior, we had your best interests at heart. He is just a human boy, and he would have held you back. Celebrities can’t have human mates. That’s ridiculous. Please don’t tell me he has managed to find you and glommed on—”
Finn disconnects with a growl.
With a roar, Jay’s enigma fangs drop, slicing into his lips as his rage detonates. It’s the final straw when the phone starts playing the Darth Vader March, his father’s ringtone. The low table is in his hands before he registers the movement, splintering into kindling in a single, violent motion. His rage is not unlike the grief he’d felt all those years ago, a wildfire ripping through his veins, intent on consuming everything in its path.
When Finn jumps on his back to slow him down, Jay throws him off, his wolf intent only on venting the rage. He hears his mate cry out, but his wolf is inconsolable with betrayal. The knowledge that Nix endured torture and could very well have died because of their deceit has him looking for the next thing he can pulverize into dust.
It’s the sound of passing children in the hall that brings him back to himself, their sweet scents and laughter grounding him in the now. Bending at the waist, he rests his hands on his knees and concentrates on catching his breath. When he finally opens his eyes, he spots Finn standing between him and the door, as if Jay might take his fury beyond Nix’s room.
“Finn. Fuck, I’m so sorry. Where are you hurt?” He runs his hands over Finn’s head and arms, checking for any injuries. His fingers move carefully to Finn’s elbow, gently bending it back and forth while watching his face for any sign of discomfort—even though Finn’s the doctor, not him.
Finn cups his cheeks, his cool palms, soothing the last of his rage and easing it into soul-deep sadness. “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“I can’t remember being that angry, not in a long time.” He looks toward the bed to see Nix is still safe and unbothered by Jay’s enraged display. “I can’t believe they would do that. Why would they do that to me? To him? Why?”
Jay isn’t ashamed to cry, so he lets the tears fall sinking to his ass on the cold floor. He’s so fucking tired of the crying, the hurt, and landing on his ass, figuratively and literally.
Finn hugs him tightly. “I don’t know how anyone could do that, and you have every right to be angry.”
“Someone better tell me what happened, right the fuck now.” Gideon is standing just inside the door with Grayson, hands on his hips and dead-eye stare leveled at his teary mates. “Start with the table.”
Grayson has made his way over to the bed where Nix is, and, for the first time since the Tranq Episode?, he is close enough to touch. Without another minute of hesitation, he climbs into Nix’s bed, pressing his nose into Nix’s neck and laying his hand over his heart. It soothes Jay’s wolf even more to see Grayson settled somewhat after the week he’s had.
Just then, Jay’s phone starts up with his father’s ringtone from inside Finn’s scrubs pocket. It disconnects only to start up again immediately,
“Is there a reason we aren’t taking Rhodes’s calls?” Raising an eyebrow, Gideon crosses his arms. He makes no secret that Jay’s father did not deserve his time or respect. Something to do with being a bully and a wannabe alpha, despite actually being one.
“Mrs. Rhodes told us she’d lied about Nix having died in that car accident. She said…” He looks at Jay, wanting to be sure he isn’t going to trigger the alpha again.
“She told me they lied because he was just a human and wasn’t ‘good enough’ for me; that he’d have held me back.”
Grayson is uncharacteristically livid. He’s out of bed in a flash, eyes flashing red. “What the fuck? Who does that? He was in that hellhole for years because they lied? He could have died! He could have been with me— us— this whole time.” He’s pacing now, pulling at his hair, growling low and deep until he finally turns and punches the wall so hard that the concrete cracks.
Finn flinches. “Gray! Your hand, fuck. Let me see.”
Grayson’s anger is typically never the kind to blow up. It’s not that he doesn’t get angry; it’s more that he’s prone to cold shoulders and icy looks. Maybe some passive aggression. But he’s also slow to anger. Gideon, on the other hand…his alpha’s anger is ice-cold and deadly, like the expression he’s wearing now.
“Love, hey. Look at me. It’s okay. I’m done with them. That’s the last straw. There’s nothing there for me anymore.” Jay approaches his mate slowly, reaches for his clenched fist, and puts a finger under his chin. “Nix is okay. We’re okay. Come back to me now.”
Just then, the phone rings again. Gideon shrugs Finn off, extending a hand for the device. Without a word, Finn hands it over and turns his attention back to carefully cleaning the concrete dust from Grayson’s knuckles.
“Finn!” Jay groans. This will not be an exercise in de-escalation at all.
The doctor shrugs. “I’m not sorry. They have it coming.”
“Rhodes, so nice to hear your voice…” Gideon’s voice fades as he goes into the restroom, closing the door and activating the sound dampeners. Grayson’s eyes go wide, and they look at each other. Whatever he’s saying, this is not a good sign.
By Jay’s estimate, it’s less than two minutes when the door opens and Gideon emerges. “They won’t be calling again. I hope you meant it when you said we were done?” Gideon always smells like rain, the hope of a cleansing thunderstorm, but now there’s also a tinge of lightning crackling in the air. It’s so strong Jay can taste it in the back of his throat.
With an affirmative nod, he holds out his hand for his phone, opens his contacts, and blocks both his parents. He’s free of them finally, and he feels nothing but relief.
Gideon stalks over to the bed and begins scenting Nix all over. Even his scent gland gets a lick, and his wrists get rubbed on Gideon’s throat. It seems to calm him somewhat and he drops into the chair beside the bed, pulls out the second book from Dr. Spencer, and puts on a pair of reading glasses. He’s so handsome that Jay swallows hard, a fire starting in his belly.
Then it strikes him. “Hey! You don’t even need glasses!”
Eyebrow raised, he crosses his ankle over his knee, opening the book, “You have any complaints?”
Jay does not, in fact, have any complaints. “Zero complaints. Less than zero. Did you bring the other book?” Until now, he hasn’t had the capacity for what the omega books will bring, but he allows himself to feel lighter now that he’s free of his parents, despite the awful news. He has his Sunshine back, and there’s no better time than the present for him to figure out what Nix is going to need from them.
“Not until you shower and change, then I’ll read you a story. Shoo.” He rudely waves a hand and goes back to his book.
So hot. Sigh.
“That’s ‘shoo, A lpha’ to you,” he says under his breath and goes.
The hot shower eases some of the aching muscles from his rage earlier, and the bespectacled Gideon slides through his mind as he runs his soapy hands over his chest and down his tight abdominals. Even though he’s off the suppressants, his interest in pleasure seems dulled. He thinks maybe he only wants Nix right now because his wolf has a one-track mind. So he turns the water cold and finishes his shower.
He glimpses the tattoo he had done almost a decade ago in the small mirror. It had been in memory of the boy he’d lost, and the phoenix’s body sits over his breastbone while its fiery wings cover both pecs and deltoids. It still looks as good as it had the day he’d had the last feather inked, in every shade of red almost eight years ago.
When he comes out, two strangers are standing in the room: a shorter, friendly-looking blonde woman and a tall, stern-looking brunette. Gideon is on defense, trying to determine which is the weakest link in the pair while standing between the newcomers and their sleeping omega. They certainly aren’t unaware of the potential for an altercation either, standing with their hands visible and scent patches on.
“Mr. Rhodes, I’m Detective Julie Reinhardt, and this is my partner, Detective Sasha Larsen; we’re with the Supernatural Police Service. Do you have a minute to speak with us about Austin Rena?”
Jay flinches at the use of Nix’s first name and his other mates are frozen in place, waiting to take their cue from him.
“Of course.” Jay almost gestures toward the couches but sees the broken table instead. “Uh…”
Reinhardt raises a pale eyebrow.
Finn smiles as if a broken coffee table is nothing to be concerned over. “Why don’t I stay with Gray and Nix? You can take the Inspectors to the waiting room down the hall for privacy.” Grayson wisely bites back a remark about being left behind, silenced by the sharpness of Gideon’s pointed look.
Jay leads the way, with Gideon bringing up the rear and the detectives in between. Once they’re in the small waiting room, Gideon closes the door, activates the sound dampeners, and stands in front of it, arms crossed. It’s all too cloak-and-dagger for Jay’s liking, leaving no doubt in his mind that he will not enjoy this conversation. Not at all.
“Detectives, please have a seat,” Jay says.
Reinhardt sits on the sofa while her partner mirrors Gideon’s stance to her left near the large window. She has one eye on her partner and the other on the biggest predator in the room: Gideon.
“I’ll cut to the chase: six days ago, the hospital reported the assault and attempted murder of your packmate.” She is respectful and professional, but still, Gideon growls at the mention. “We’ve received the medical reports from your legal department and discovered the suspect at the scene. He was attempting to flee the country.” She stops, obviously expecting an outburst. “There was sufficient forensic evidence to charge him.”
Jay takes a deep breath, ignoring the part about Nix’s wounds having been so terrible that there had been forensic evidence. “Hayes, right?”
Larsen nods. “Yes, we apprehended him, passport in hand. He denied any knowledge of Mr. Rena’s injuries at first. Mr. Hayes maintains that Mr. Rena had left without a word. But we’ve had a look at the security tapes and…” She looks between him and Gideon before stopping short. Deciding against saying any more about what was on the tapes, she continues. “Under interrogation, he confessed he’d thought he killed Mr. Rena.”
Jay is up and pacing, while Gideon is stock-still. Finally, Jay growls, “What do you want from us? He’s confessed. It can’t be any clearer that he’s guilty.”
“Because Mr. Rena was human at the time of the assault, and with the evidence from the hospital, it can be argued that Mr. Hayes made an effort to force Mr. Rena through the change despite being a beta.”
The bite marks that had been on Nix’s beautiful back.
“That’s a high-level crime, beyond even the assault or attempted murder, because it breaks the Were-Human alliance,” Detective Larsen says quietly.
“What will this mean as far as sentencing goes?” Gideon finally asks.
“The crimes of the assault and attempted murder can see a maximum of twenty years each. Potentially, he could do a maximum of forty years, but if they can prove he broke the Alliance with intent, he might see life without parole.”
“But?” Gideon prompts.
Sighing Detective Reinhardt adds, “But, it could be as low as ten as he’s denied the attempted murder.”
The sound of Gideon’s jaw cracking is so loud in the room, and Jay can see the tips of his fangs. Just thinking about how badly broken their Sunshine had been, that Hayes would only serve ten years is obscene. “The prosecution feels the case for life imprisonment is strong.”
“They can’t promise that. But ten? That’s not good enough.” Jay growls.
“We agree, and the sooner we can get him charged, the better. All we need from you is for Mr. Rena to file his beta-Were status with the registry.”
It hits Jay, then, that Nix isn’t a beta at all. How are they going to protect Nix’s omega status and still get the maximum penalty? They need time to weigh the risks of telling the police about Nix’s status because surely his secondary gender will require medical testimony, and the proverbial cat would be out of the bag.
“Detectives, we’d like to consult our legal counsel before we offer any opinions.” Jay’s tone brooks no argument.
“Of course. We are sorry, however, that we are under a bit of a time constraint. We left it as late as we could, given the precarious nature of Mr. Rena’s health, but we need to charge Mr. Hayes no later than tomorrow at midnight. You can reach us here,” Larsen says, pulling a card out of her pocket.
“I’ll be in touch,” Jay confirms.
The Detectives suck all the tension out of the room with their departure, and all of Jay’s bravado dissipates in a whoosh. “Fuck. Fuck, Gid, what are we going to do? Nix isn’t a beta. But Hayes cannot get away with this. Ten years isn’t good enough? I think we should call Leo’s dad, yeah?”
***
“…and that guy there, he’s Castiel, and this is…” Jay hears Luca before he enters the room. The beta is enthusiastically telling Nix about his favorite show, Supernatural , and while Nix is still unconscious, Luca doesn’t let that stop him.
“Jaybird!” Luca is making grabby hands at Jay, so he pockets the detective’s card for the moment and gives a soft kiss to his beta. “Mmm, you taste good. Missed you.”
“Missed you too, baby. You keeping watch over, Nix?”
“Mmhmm. Do you think he has a favorite Supernatural character?” He snuggles under the blankets that he’s brought from home and piled high on Nix’s bed. He’s moved the tablet to where Nix could watch, too, if he would just open his eyes. Jay feels warmth spark in his chest because his mates are making room for him in their lives and their hearts already.
Gideon closes the hallway door and turns on the sound dampeners in the room. Jay has never been more grateful for technology than he has been this last week.
“What did they have to say?” Finn asks, still in scrubs, as he pops open a container of takeout Rowan and Leo brought, the scent filling the room. Jay leans down, pressing a kiss to the top of Finn’s head, then does the same for Rowan and Leo before moving to the window. He stands there, arms crossed, his expression unreadable.
Finn carries a container over to Luca, who accepts it with a small smile. When he offers one to Gideon, the larger man shakes his head silently, his focus elsewhere.
Jay covers ?what the detectives had told them about Dawson Hayes, and a variety of angry scents fill the room. Rowan slams his food on the conveniently replaced table, building up to an explosion.
Luca’s little feet hit the ground behind him, and he’s standing beside Jay, dressed in a t-shirt and socks. Jay is hoping there’s underwear under there. “Did you say, Dawson Hayes? I remember him! He works at Ripley. He’s gross.”
“In marketing?” Leo volunteers around a mouth full of rice. “I remember the name from that photo campaign we trashed last year. You remember the one where they wanted us to wear loincloths?”
Luca adds another piece of chicken to his already full cheeks. “Maybe? I don’t know about now, but he was in the music show program when I started. Don’t you remember him? He’s the one who grabbed Lacy Greg in the restroom. Jay broke his nose and had him black-listed for breaking the morality clause. He’s stinky, smelled like over-ripe fruit—I can’t remember exactly which one it was, though it made us gag.”
“Pears. He smelled like rotten pears,” Finn says faintly and pushes his food away.
“Yes! That’s it! Gross.” Luca sits down on Grayson’s lap. The alpha has yet to eat anything, and Luca offers him a small bite of an egg roll.
Jay remembers there had been a guy who’d assaulted his friend, and he remembers being mad enough to throw hands. But his face? His name? Not at all; it’s completely blank. Sexual misconduct was handled harshly in their program, but it was hardly on Jay who they removed. Once he’d made a statement to support Lacy to the show’s producers, they would have decided all on their own.
“Deserved it, the fucker,” Leo chimes, and Grayson “toasts” him with Luca’s fork in agreement, the clever beta having coerced Gray into sharing his food.
“So, what are we going to do? If we want the maximum penalty, we have to prove Nix is Were, and if we do that, they’ll know he isn’t a beta. But aside from all that, isn’t it Nix’s decision about whether to tell the courts he’s omega? I mean, are they even going to believe us? We thought it was a myth, too.” Rowan isn’t wrong.
Therein lies the multitude of difficulties.
“I think we need to talk to your Dad, Leo. Do you think he would see us tomorrow?”
Leo calls his father, the Founding Partner in a law firm with lots of fingers in lots of pies. Antonio Costas is a leading expert in Were criminal law, with a specialty in Were defense. Known for being hard as nails in the courtroom, he’s still remarkably soft, just like his son, especially for family. He’s the father Jay wishes his own had been.
When he picks up, Mr. Costas is not surprised to hear that the police have finally arrived; his legal firm has a few “spies” in the prosecutor’s office, and the strategy for the case hits close to home. “Come to the office. We’ll have privacy. If we need to file anything, we’ll have easy access, too. Say, tomorrow morning at 8:30?”
“Thanks, Dad. Say Hi to my Moms!”
“Boo-Boo, you should bring your mates home to see them soon. They forget what you look like.”
Finn silently mouths Boo-Boo? They’d been mates for years, but this was the first time Jay had heard that. While Leo squints his eyes and gives him the finger, Rowan nearly chokes on his wonton in his laughter.
“We’ll see you tomorrow at 8:30. Thank you, sir.”