Chapter 29
Kayla
I shake my head. “Oh yeah. Apparently, I wasn’t covered up enough or something.” That’s enough to make Sage laugh.
“They’re all the same.” I glance up at Jackson, but he doesn’t comment on it. “Come on in.”
I haven’t failed to notice that the guy who opened the door for us is standing right beside her now. “Hi, nice to officially meet you. I’m Paul.”
He doesn’t put his hand out, so I don’t either. I look between the two of them. “So, I hear you two are responsible for getting me back on my feet. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Sage says warmly. “How are you feeling?”
“Perfect.”
She smiles. “Good. That means we did our job.”
“I feel bad you came all this way.”
“Don’t,” Paul says. “Sage would have found a way to come meet you anyway.” His voice is filled with affection.
“Why?” I can’t help but ask.
“You’re one of us; I had to meet you,” she explains.
“A healer?” I question.
She nods. “Yes. Do you two want to sit for a minute or two? I’m sure you’re exhausted; we won’t keep you long.
” She sits on the bed, and Paul leans against the end table, leaving the small couch for Jackson and me.
I sit, but Jackson leans against the wall behind me.
I turn to look at him, but his eyes are trained on Sage and Paul.
“I don’t really know anything about your world. I just learned about the whole wolf thing today,” I admit.
Sage’s eyebrows lift. “Really?”
“Yep.”
“That’s a lot to get hit with,” Sage says cautiously. “How are you doing with all of this?”
“You know so much has happened today; I feel like this is just...” My words trail off as I try to find the right ones.
I meet Sage’s gaze and see so much understanding.
I guess that’s why I blurt out the next words.
“Jackson killed my uncle today.” There’s silence in the room for a moment.
Sage looks between Jackson and me. “That’s a good thing,” I add a moment later.
“Is he the one that did all the damage to you?” Paul asks.
“Yeah. Family, right?” Nobody laughs. I pat my legs. “Well, it was nice to meet you both. I’m ready to get to bed; I’m sure you are as well.” I stand up, and Sage does as well.
“It’s really good to meet you, Kayla,” she says earnestly. Then she surprises me by giving me a hug. I tense and then berate myself for it. “It gets better; I promise.” She whispers softly against my ear before pulling back.
Paul steps up behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders. “It’s nice to meet you both. Kayla, if you have any lingering pain, let us know before we leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“I will. Thank you, both of you. I really appreciate it.”
Paul nods, and Sage smiles at us. I walk over to the door, and Jackson opens it for me. My mind buzzes as we walk down the hallway to the elevators. “Is it okay if we take the stairs?” Jackson asks.
“Oh, sure.” I walk towards the end of the hallway and glance up at him when we get to the door to the stairwell. “For the exercise?”
“My wolf doesn’t like enclosed spaces,” he explains.
“Oh.”
We make it to the first landing before he speaks. “I’m not going to apologize for killing your uncle.”
“I don’t want you to,” I tell him as we walk down the next set of steps. We reach the bottom, and he puts a hand on my arm.
“But I know he was family.”
I laugh, but there’s no warmth to it. “No. We will never claim him as family.”
He steps closer. “Kayla.” His voice is deeper now. “Did he ever—”
I stop him, knowing where he’s going. “No. He didn’t,” I swallow. “He was abusive and dangerous, but he didn’t do anything like that.” I don’t meet Jackson’s eyes.
“Did somebody else?” His voice is just as low.
I breathe out a sigh. “I protected myself, Jackson.”
“Who?” the word is filled with such animosity, my eyes lift to his.
“Names, Kayla. Then they’re all dead.” His entire body is nearly vibrating with rage; I can feel it coming off him.
I swallow and fight tears. I try to take a breath, but it gets snagged in my chest. A sound escapes, a broken sound.
He reaches out and gently puts a hand on my waist and pulls me slowly towards him.
A moment later, I’m against his chest. “Is this okay?” His hold is so gentle, it makes the battle against my tears a lost cause.
I nod because I can’t speak, and he pulls me closer to his chest and wraps his other arm around me.
For the first time in a really long time, I feel safe, protected...
the way I used to feel when my mom and dad were both alive and life wasn’t so cruel.
The tears come in earnest, and I’m helpless against the onslaught of emotion his touch brings to the surface.
The dam breaks on the emotions I’ve kept smothered for the past seven years.
He doesn’t say anything; he just holds me.
When the worst of it finally passes, and I feel like I can catch my breath again, I speak.
“Nobody ever did anything, because I never let them.” My words are soft but steady.
“I got good at protecting myself and protecting Noah. My uncle was always abusive but not usually to Noah. I was always able to intercept him, get Noah away before something happened when my uncle got mad. I saved every penny I made working at a local fast food joint. The day I turned eighteen, we were ready to leave.” I swallow as the memories of that day return.
“What happened?” he asks. There’s no tenderness in his voice, and I’m glad. It helps me get the story out.
“We waited for him to leave for the day, and then we grabbed our bags. But when I looked inside the pouch in my bag that had all my money, it was gone.” Even now, the feeling of absolute devastation and despair I felt that day comes back with a vengeance.
“He took it.” It’s not a question.
“I don’t know how he knew; we were so careful.
But yeah, he took it. Things were bad before, but they were really bad after that.
I started saving again; but then one day, my uncle came after Noah.
I wasn’t able to distract him. We left that night.
I-I stole his car and the cash he had in his wallet.
” I’m quiet after that as the shame I still feel over that fills me. “I didn’t have any other choice.”
“You should have taken a whole lot more than that.”
I almost smile at his words. “You probably would say I should have killed him before I left.”
“No.” He pulls back, and I look up at him.
“That was my job.” His eyes are hard, but his hold on my arms is gentle.
“You’re too good, too pure for something like that.
” Something like regret passes over his face.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you and Noah.
” His jaw tightens. “Had I been, he would have been dead a long time ago as well as any other males that dared threaten you or even look at you wrong. But I’m here now.
You and Noah are under my protection now. ”
Emotion clogs my throat, the same emotion that made me sob against his chest. I’ve wanted to be safe for so long, to be protected.
I’ve had to make it on my own for a long time; the job of protecting Noah has been solely on my shoulders.
“Thank you, Jackson.” My voice is soft, still emotional.
I meet his eyes. “We haven’t been protected in a long time.
” His jaw is clenched so tightly, it’s a wonder he doesn’t break a tooth.
“Does it scare you? What I am?”
I think about what I saw earlier today. “I mean it’s definitely a shock. Are all the guys...one of those?”
He nods at the door. “Let’s talk about it in the room.” He opens the door, and we walk down the hallway to the room Noah’s in. Before I can swipe the room key, Ransom opens the door with a smile on his face that quickly fades.
“Kayla, you okay?”
Jackson puts a hand on my lower back. “Not your concern,” he all but growls at Ransom. Ransom just grins and steps out into the hallway.
“You’re welcome,” he whisper yells at us.
I turn to face him. “Thank you, Ransom, for watching—” The door closes, and I look at Jackson. “I was still talking to him.”
“He’s gone,” he says in a gruff voice.
I shake my head and follow him to the other side of the room where the king bed looms before us. I choose not to dwell on it. “Bryce, Max, Ransom, Garrett, the doctor...they’re all wolves.”
“But you and Ransom aren’t with their group,” I point out.
“No. They’re all from the same pack.”
“Pack?”
He nods. “Like wolves in the wild, most wolves live in packs with other wolves. There's always an alpha, who’s in charge.”
“Garrett,” I say, and he nods. “What about you?” I ask. “Where’s your pack?”
“I’m not in a pack; I’m a rogue wolf. That’s why they’re all so wary of me.”
I sit on the bed and glance over at Noah to make sure we’re not waking him up with our voices. Thankfully, he’s still out. “What’s a rogue wolf?”
Jackson stands a few feet from me. “A wolf that’s not part of a pack for one reason or another.”
“And that’s bad?” I guess because of how they respond to him.
He shrugs. “Wolves in packs think all rogue wolves are bad.”
“But they’re not because you’re not.”
He doesn’t comment on that. “Lots of rogue wolves are bad news and have to be brought down.”
My eyes widen. “Why?”
He runs a hand across the back of his neck. “Wolves that don’t find their mates are at risk of going rogue and eventually losing their humanity. Those rogues are dangerous.”
“So, a wolf that doesn’t find his mate stops being human?”
“They lose their ability to shift back to human and respond just as a wild animal, only worse. They become aggressive and dangerous to other wolves and humans alike and have to be killed.”
I gasp softly. “Is that what they want to do to you?”
“They did when they first met me.”
My mouth drops open. “Why?”
“It’s a long story.”
I stare at him. “I’ve got time.”
“You need sleep,” he argues.
“Not until I hear this story. Please, Jackson, I want to understand why they all treat you a certain way. I don’t like it.” I cross my arms over my chest, and he smirks at me.
“You don’t like it?”
“No, they treat you and Ransom like you’re diseased or something.”
“We’re rogues,” he says, as if that explains everything.
“So, you keep saying,” I say flatly and then wave a hand. “Explain, please.”
“Ransom and I grew up in the same pack,” he finally starts. So many questions flood my mind, but I force myself to stay quiet. I’m afraid if I talk, he won’t. “Ours wasn’t a good pack. Lots of corruption, greed, and cruely. We left when we were old enough to survive outside the pack.”
“How old were you?” I can’t help but ask.
“Fourteen.”
I take that in. “You guys were on your own at fourteen?”
“We were strong wolves, and we were both dominant. Actually, that was another reason we both needed to leave.” At my questioning look, he explains.
“We were a threat to the alpha and beta. We were both going to be more dominant than them by the time we grew up, meaning we would be able to challenge them to a fight and take their positions.”
“Take their positions?” I question.
“Kill them and become Alpha and Beta,” he says without batting an eye.
“Oh,” I breathe out.