Chapter 44
Pop!
Aiden opened his eyes. No nausea, good. Maybe he was finally getting the hang of this teleporting thing. As he moved to push his hair back from his face, a flash of crimson caught his eye. Oh, yeah. His right arm was still a giant scarlet wing. His wing still burned, but the pain was dissipating.
“Healing ourselves,” his phoenix said.
Jamie was tucked safely under his left—still human—arm. They were in the Jensens’ living room. There were people rushing around, and Leah was screaming at their side. What happened?
“Get her away from them,” Mac commanded. “Everyone move away from them!”
Aiden watched as a shrieking Leah was carried away from where he stood with Jamie. He took one step back, then another and another until his shoulders hit the wall. He held Jamie tightly against his chest. Wait, what? Was the room shaking?
“Shh, that’s you. You’re going into shock,” Jamie silently explained. “It’s just adrenaline.”
He loosened the grip he had on Jamie and lifted his left hand up. Indeed, he was the one shaking. He clenched his hand into a fist and attempted to will the shakes to subside. Unfortunately, his traitorous body didn’t get the memo because the tremors intensified, and then his legs started to give way. He felt Jamie take his weight, lowering them both to sit on the floor.
Why was Leah screaming? What had he done?
“Shift back, baby, please,” Jamie spoke to him silently. “It’s too hot for her.”
Aiden’s beast immediately retreated in shame. His wing was now a naked human arm, his sleeve having been incinerated when he’d shifted. His skin looked normal, no signs of a burn. But his heart was in his throat. He hurt their friend. Deacon and Finn held a thrashing Leah down while Mac placed both hands on her right arm and shoulder. When they turned her to the side at Mac’s command, Aiden saw exactly what he’d done. The right side of her body was scorched. There were ragged holes in her clothing, and the skin was bright red and blistered.
“Fuck,” he whispered. He felt sick.
Jamie rotated in his arms and grabbed his chin, forcing his gaze to his. “No, don’t you do that. Don’t you curse yourself. She’ll be fine. Mac’ll heal her.”
The shaking intensified. He felt so cold, like ice water running through his veins. This was all his fault. He was a demon, just like his father.
“No, no, no.” Jamie sounded so far away.
Leah’s shrieks turned to groans. He needed to get away from them. He was too dangerous. He tried to get away from Jamie’s hold. He needed to run!
Slap!
What the hell! His jaw dropped. His sweet mate had slapped him. Yikes! How could he forget that Jamie had shifter strength? He shook his head to clear it and jolted at the mutinous look on Jamie’s face. “What the—?”
“Focus on me,” Jamie said slowly.
He wanted to see how Leah was. He tried to peek around him to see her.
Jamie’s grip on his jaw tightened. “No. Stop trying to look at them. Mac’s taking care of her. You need to look at me. I need you to listen to me.”
Aiden felt his phoenix snap to attention. He stared at his mate.
“Good. I need you to understand. You are not like him. Leah’s going to be fine. Mac’s healing her. She’ll be OK. Do you understand?”
Aiden tried to nod, but Jamie’s hand prevented his movement.
“I need you to say it. Do you understand?” Jamie asked.
Aiden felt wetness on his face before he realized he was crying. “Yeah,” he mumbled.
Jamie’s eyes softened, but he made no move to release his hold. “Do you really understand?”
“No, not really, but I’ll try,” Aiden answered.
Jamie’s shoulders relaxed the slightest bit. “Alright, we’ll work with that.” He lowered Aiden’s head, tucking it against his shoulder. He ran a hand over Aiden’s head, soothing him without words as his shaking slowed and then ceased. They sat and he listened to the commotion around them.
Mac was giving orders to some medical personnel in the room. Mac must have called them over to help.
Deacon and Finn were relaying instructions on a radio to different people. Aiden didn’t know who.
“What’s happening?” he mumbled.
“Shh, I’ll find out. Just rest and gather your strength up,” Jamie said. “I’ll keep watch.”
He must have dozed off right where they sat on the floor against the wall because the next thing he remembered was startling to awareness, still in Jamie’s arms. People, mostly wolf shifters, were still milling about the room around them. He felt ridiculous. How could he have fallen asleep in the middle of this chaos?
Jamie silently chuckled. “You needed a quick power nap to regroup. It’s fine.”
He noticed he was wearing a long-sleeve GLPD T-shirt. It was probably one of Heath’s, but why?
“You burned your sleeve, remember?” Jamie asked quietly.
Oh, yeah. “Right,” he murmured.
He heard someone clear their throat nearby.
“How’re you two doing?” Mac asked. She kneeled next to where they sat, her eyes kind.
“How’s Leah?” Aiden croaked.
“Doing much better. She’s in the kitchen. Finn and I forced her to go eat something,” Mac said. “She’s almost completely healed.”
“See, I told you,” Jamie said to him.
He released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, collapsing against Jamie. “Thank God, she’s OK,” he mumbled. He gazed around the room blearily. “How long have I been asleep?”
Mac leaned away from them, stood up, and pulled her cellphone from the back pocket of her dark blue jeans. “A little over an hour.” She replaced the phone and re-fastened her hair in its poufy bun on the top of her head.
“What’s going on? What is all this?” Aiden asked.
Mac raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?” she asked Jamie.
He ran a hand over his mouth. “Well, looks like a command center of sorts. I’ve tried to remain calm and still while he slept, but from what I’ve been able to piece together, Deacon and Finn have been interviewing the diner patrons and taking statements.”
“That’s right,” Mac said.
“But this is more than just the police. How come there’re so many wolf shifters here?” Aiden said. “Did something else happen?”
Mac nodded. “Heath’s at the station with Jasper, taking care of another problem. Deacon recruited some of the wolf pack to help with the diner patrons. Some of my colleagues from the hospital are still here, checking them for injuries. They seem shaken but in good health.”
Aiden closed his eyes and released a big breath. “That’s good.”
“You know she doesn’t blame you,” Mac said.
Aiden’s eyes snapped open. “What?”
“Leah knows how much heat you emit when you’re in your phoenix form. We all do. We knew this would be a risk when teleporting you in your shifted state. Jasper and some of his SCB colleagues have been working on a special phoenix-fire resistant glove for her to wear for this very reason.”
That was a good idea. “Really? I didn’t know,” Aiden said.
“So much has been happening, I think our communication could be better. Jamie didn’t even know. The glove’s not ready yet.”
“She should have just taken Jamie and gone,” Aiden said.
“No way,” Jamie said, shaking his head. “I wouldn’t have left you.”
Mac nodded once. “We wouldn’t have left you behind either. You’re our best chance of fighting against your father. We need you.”
“What happened anyway? At the diner? Was anyone hurt?” Jamie asked.
“No,” Mac said. “As soon as you guys arrived back here, Williamson up and left. The diner’s destroyed, as you probably saw, but no other damage to the surrounding buildings as far as we can tell.”
“He just up and left? That makes no sense. What did he want?” Aiden asked. “Wait a minute—Iris! Is she OK?”
Mac nodded. “Yes. Iris is safe. She’s at May’s place. Beau’s there with them.”
Why did his father show up in Grey Lake today? A sense of dread struck Aiden. Oh no! “What about Amber?”
Aiden saw Mac’s eyes flash yellow and then back to her human green. She heaved a deep sigh. “One of the owl shifters I know from work has been helping us with surveillance. Early this morning, just before dawn, she saw a group of five of Williams’s men creeping along in the woods toward the house. She notified the SCB right away. They came and intercepted them. They’re being questioned right now by Jasper and his agents.” Mac’s eyes flashed to her eagle’s once more and back again. “Based on their supplies, the SCB thinks they were coming for Amber. They had blankets and baby bottles with them for God’s sakes.” She wiped at her eyes.
“No,” Jamie spat out.
“Heath and I decided it was time to get her to safety until this thing with your father is over.”
“And she’s fine?” Aiden asked.
“She’s safe. She’s far away from here with Annie and Ted. I didn’t want to let them go, but I know it’s the safest thing for now.” She ran a hand over her mouth. “Only Leah knows where they are.”
Relief washed over him. “Oh, good. That’s real good,” Aiden said.
“Ted’ll keep them safe,” Jamie said.
Mac nodded. “So, are you feeling good enough to hear the rest?” Mac asked.
“What?” Aiden asked.
“We may have finally gotten some good news,” she said.
Aiden huffed a laugh. “It’s well past time for that. So, what’s up?”
“Terris wants to talk with me. He thinks he may be remembering some things about the lab where he worked. He’ll be here in bit.”
Aiden swung his gaze to Jamie. His expression was blank. He hoped this didn’t trigger some bad memories. “He just remembers all of a sudden?” he asked Mac. “What if he’s lying?”
Mac shrugged. “He seems sincere.”
Jamie squeezed his hand. “Let’s just see what he has to say, huh?”
Aiden scowled and tilted his head down to rest against the top of Jamie’s head. “I know. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“It’s worse not knowing if there’s anyone still suffering in one of those places,” Jamie said. “I can handle it.”
Aiden hmphed. “I know you can. I just worry.”