Chapter 4
“Son of a b—” Aiden bounced off his seat on the bed and paced around Jamie’s room, his hands curled into fists. Another teleporter!
“At least I think that’s what happened,” Jamie interrupted. “Maybe it was just a dream.”
“We need to speak to Leah,” Aiden spat. “As soon as possible.”
“Wait a sec, you don’t think it was her, do you? She’s our friend. She’d tell us if she was the one who saved me,” Jamie argued.
Aiden stopped walking and faced Jamie. “Of course not. You’d have recognized if it was her by sight and scent, besides you said the person was a male. Maybe it could have been her twin. I remember her telling us that he could teleport a lot longer than her. He’d been doing it since he was a teenager, but she never knew. Maybe it was him. It could’ve been him,” he said.
“Why does it matter?” Jamie asked.
“ Why does it matter ?” Aiden parroted. “It just means we really need to speak with him. I need to find out why the hell he didn’t bring you back to me. He just left you on the street, alone and injured. That son of a bitch!” Aiden bellowed. His chest burned hot. He could feel white heat seeping from his chest down both his arms.
“Uh, he probably didn’t know where to take me. He brought me to the alley right by the restaurant where Iris was working,” Jamie said. “I was only there for a day or so before she found me.”
“A day or so,” Aiden groaned. He spun around and strode from the room. He had walked into the kitchen before he realized what he was doing. He needed to take a breather. He was so mad, furious at his father for what had happened to Jamie. Furious at this rescuer who just dumped his near-death best friend on the streets where God-knows-what could have happened to him. Furious at himself for not knowing he was in trouble, for not doing anything, for not saving him. It was hard to breathe. He couldn’t get enough air into his lungs. This good man had been left on the street like an abused animal. He sucked in a breath. A wave of heat ran through his body.
“Shh, shh. It’s OK,” Jamie said. He was standing at his side, a hand on his elbow. He guided them over to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. “Here, sit. Don’t move.”
Aiden sat down with a thunk. He rested his elbows on the table, his head in his hands.
“Drink.” Jamie placed a glass of water with ice in front of him.
“What?” Aiden asked.
“Just drink.” Jamie lifted the glass to Aiden’s mouth.
Aiden drank the entire glass down. Then a second and a third. With each glass, he felt calmer, less hot. His breathing was less labored. He leaned back in the chair and stared sheepishly at Jamie.
“Better?”
Aiden nodded. “Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what happened.”
Jamie shrugged. “I think your phoenix was trying to assert himself a bit. You started burning up. I could feel the heat coming off you.”
Aiden pushed his chair farther away from Jamie. “Did I hurt you?”
“No, no, it was fine. You started to radiate some heat, though. Your eyes turned bright orange, too. You just needed to calm down a bit.”
Aiden winced. “You’re sure I didn’t hurt you?”
Jamie smiled at him as if he were being ridiculous. “Positive,” he said. He held out his hand. “Now, let’s get a move on. Those donuts aren’t going to bake themselves.”
Aiden nodded and placed his hand in Jamie’s. He let himself be dragged back down the hall toward their bedrooms.
Less than ten minutes later, they were on their way to the bakery in the old pickup that Tessa had given them.
Oh, Tessa.
Aiden still couldn’t believe she was gone. Well, not gone exactly, but for all intents and purposes she was no more. Aiden had met the over five-hundred-year-old phoenix shifter last year when his sister, Iris, had first moved to Grey Lake. Tessa Lane had lived in Grey Lake for most of her long life as protector of the village and its inhabitants. She’d taken in Iris when she first moved to town from Providence. Not much longer after, Tessa had welcomed Aiden and Jamie into her family too. Before she’d started her transition, she’d been trying to convince Aiden that he was capable of shifting into his phoenix form. She’d also told Aiden that he wasn’t a defective shifter like his father believed him to be. Aiden hadn’t been convinced for the longest time, but right before Tessa started her transition, right after Jamie was able to shift back into his human body, Aiden heard the voice of his phoenix for the very first time.
It was both incredible and very sad. He couldn’t believe he was actually a full phoenix shifter. Sure, he knew his father was a phoenix shifter, but most shifters shifted into their beast forms around puberty; Aiden hadn’t. The first inkling he had that maybe he had some dormant powers were when his eyes began flashing orange when he got angry, but that wasn’t until he moved to Grey Lake mere months ago.
Tessa had tried to get Aiden to relax enough to shift, but he had never thought it possible until he heard the beast’s voice inside his head. He should have listened to Tessa more closely, but now it was too late. She was in the middle of transitioning into a new human body – something that only pure phoenix shifters did at the end of their long lives. Since Aiden’s mother wasn’t a phoenix shifter, he’d never go through it.
Aiden groaned.
“What’s that for?” Jamie asked.
“Just wishing I asked Tessa more questions about being a phoenix when I had the chance.”
“She had faith in you. She told me,” Jamie said. He pulled the truck into the parking lot of the bakery and drove around the back of the quaint building.
Aiden huffed a laugh. “I don’t know how she could have. I don’t even have faith in me. I don’t know anything about being a phoenix shifter. How am I supposed to protect the town until the new phoenix comes of age?”
“You are a phoenix shifter. The rest of the Guardians and I will help you. That’s what we’re here to do,” Jamie said. He shut off the engine.
“You say it so matter-of-fact. How can you have so much faith? After everything that happened…” His voice cracked despite himself.
Jamie pulled the keys out of the ignition and turned to face Aiden. “Look, I believe everything happens for a reason. Right now, we’re exactly where we’re meant to be. We belong in Grey Lake. The town needs us, and we need the town. Everything will work out.” Jamie smiled.
Oh God, he loved that smile. Aiden’s chest tightened, and his stomach flipped. He loved him. He felt it deep in his chest, in his heart. He loved his best friend. He wished he could be the man Jamie deserved. He wished he could be brave enough.
“You are,” his phoenix said. “He is your mate. Our mate.”
That remained to be seen.
Jamie opened his door and exited the truck. Aiden closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that he could be the man that Jamie believed him to be.