Chapter 24
“I’m never going to live this down,” Drake muttered and gave Hayden an embarrassed smile. “Yes. You’re our mate. You weren’t supposed to know until your birthday.”
“I am your mate?” Relief soared in Drake’s heart as Hayden actually looked excited. He got down on his knees by the bed so Hayden didn’t have to crane his neck to look at him.
“Jaxom is never going to let me live this down,” Drake bemoaned again.
“Am I his mate, too?” Hayden’s amber eyes were wide in surprise.
“Yep. He’s working hard to get home later tonight. I need you to know the only thing you need to worry about is getting better. We wanted to wait for your birthday to find out like everyone else. Sorry about that.”
Hayden reached for Drake’s hand. “I’m glad I know. I was bit worried Jaxom would kick my butt for holding your hand. I like holding your hand.”
“I like that, too. Now, sleep. The more you sleep the faster Jaxom will get home.”
“Will you stay?” Hayden took a breath. “I feel better when you’re around.”
“The only place I want to be is by your side.” Drake brushed a stray hair away from Hayden’s eyes. His beautiful mate needed to get his hair brushed and braided. Maybe Drake would try to wash his hair in a basin.
“One more question.”
“Fire away, mate.”
“Did Tarra get me the teddy bear?”
“She did.”
“Tell her thank you for me. I had one once a long time ago. Allison threw it in the fire.”
Hayden’s eyes closed and his breathe evened out into deep sleep.
Drake laid down next to Hayden just to hold his hand for a while.
Every moment had been excruciating so far, and yet, Drake was so excited to have his mate sleeping in this bed.
The abuse the guy had endured was intolerable.
He could only hope that damn Beta lived a long life and suffered horribly in prison.
Prisoners did not like child abusers. Marcus was one of the worst Drake had ever heard of.
Yes, Miss Gentry had been a real, true nightmare. He was still dealing with the scars she’d left behind. But Hayden, damnit, so much pain. He was in the thick of it and would be for some time to come.
Drake got out his cellphone and texted Jaxom.
Drake: I accidentally let the cat out of the bag.
Jaxom: There was cat in a bag? Poor cat.
Drake: Hayden figured out we’re his mates.
Jaxom: Good! I know it’s not ideal but we don’t have to pretend. Now I got bragging rights!
Drake: Ugh. Can’t wait to see you.
Jaxom: On the way.
Eventually, Drake slipped out of the bedroom to sit with Tarra and Asher. The nurse sat just outside the bedroom to keep an eye on Hayden. No one was allowed in Hayden's room without Drake's presence.
“This has got to be the most boring guard duty for you ever,” Drake teased.
“Feels like a staycation.” Asher gave Drake a lazy smile. “I haven’t been this relaxed in ages. Alpha says I go back to work when Jaxom gets here. It’s fine with me. We’ll still be sleeping here.”
“The new normal until Hayden is up and running.” Hazel’s prophecy still twisted in the back of his mind. “Hayden said thank you for the teddy bear, Tarra.”
“He liked it?” Tarra sat up in excitement.
“He said he had one a long time ago but Allison threw it in the fire. Then he fell asleep.”
“That little twat.” Tarra swiped her hand through the air. “Nobody treats my little brother like that.”
Asher hugged his mate. “Jaxom is going to be here around 10. Go curl up with your mate and take a nap. You didn’t sleep much last night and you’ll both be up and down with Hayden tonight.
The nurses are going to up his activity to every two hours.
Like, deep breathing exercises to prevent lung collapse and blood clots. ”
“Yeah, fine. I could sleep and he sleeps better with me there.”
Drake really did sack out with Hayden. They got him up every few hours to do short walks, breathing, and arm raising exercises. Rene said the night nurse would keep the same routine. Hayden was so dang sore but he soldiered through.
A light in the hallway woke Drake up. Heavy footsteps and cinnamon roles came his way. Jaxom was home. There was no point in getting up. His man was on a mission.
“Do you smell pine and campfire, too?” he whispered from the doorway.
“Yes!” Drake quietly cheered.
Jaxom gave Drake a kiss, slow and low. A reconnection.
“Mate,” he said in excitement as he looked Hayden over. “Dad refused to give me many details. I heard about the ribs, wolf’s bane and nose. But this looks like more, so much more.”
“It is, but not tonight. Just come get in bed. Sleep. We’ll be up soon enough because the nurses have a whole schedule. Enjoy just being here, sweetheart.”
“You sound just like dad,” Jaxom whined as he obeyed. They carefully sandwiched Hayden between them.
“He’s strong, Jax. So damn strong.”
“It sounds like he had to be.”
“He also needs to pee,” Hayden said with a small of a snicker.
“Hey, you’re supposed to be sleeping,” Drake protested.
“And you’re supposed to be quiet. Nurses order,” Hayden shot back with a sleepy grin. “Hi, Alpha Jaxom.”
“Just Jaxom, mate. Can I help you get up?”
The night nurse came in to help Hayden through the whole routine.
She showed Drake and Jaxom what she was looking for.
They didn’t want her touching him now that Jaxom was home.
Drake could feel it made Hayden feel wanted, protected.
It was probably surreal after years of neglect.
The poor guy was panting and sweating by the time they got him back in bed.
Jaxom plopped in the chair, latched onto Hayden’s hand, threw his feet up on the bed and stared at Drake. Drake had the decency to squirm. He knew where Jaxom was headed and didn’t want to go there.
“So, Hayden, my new mate. You’ve had it pretty rough. Nobody is telling me much. Broken nose, broken ribs, punctured lung and wolf’s bane, which is too much. But apparently, not everything.”
Hayden closed his eyes. “Wolf’s bane. I’ve heard of it but don’t know much more.”
“Wolf’s bane was the ‘meds’ you were given. It suppresses a wolf, slows healing to an almost stand still and can also cause still births. It’s usually out of a wolf’s system after a few hours, when correct doses are given,” Jaxom said.
“That doesn’t sound too bad, I mean, for a guy at least. My doses burned a lot longer than a few hours.”
Drake sat up next to Hayden and took his other hand.
It was faint but he could feel the three of them together through the mate-bond.
This was why ‘extra’ males weren’t always allowed to mark, only to be marked.
The theory was they’d steel power from the Alpha, not add.
The bond would grow, just not as shared power, if they didn’t mark the Alpha.
“Here’s what they don’t tell you in school, children,” Drake tried to sound like a snob then dropped the act, “Doctor Lina said the body can’t process large, regular doses like you’ve had.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Jaxom said.
“It gets worse. The wolf’s bane it can’t get out the body it stores in joints, bone marrow, and then in the spine. Then it slowly releases the stuff. We don’t know when it will happen or how bad the attacks will feel.”
“Wait, attacks?” Hayden jerked and then groaned.
“Um, yeah, when the release happens it feels like nerve endings getting set on fire.”
“Are you telling me, that sadistic son of a bitch overdosed him and now he’s going to relive it all? All the pain as it comes back out?” Jaxom growled. His eyes were black as midnight.
“Yes.”
“How long is it going to take to get it all out?” Hayden asked. His hand was shaking in Jaxom’s.
“She doesn’t know. You were dosed for years.”
“Almost 8 years. I was 10 when he started.”
“Can’t she get it out?” Jaxom asked.
“She got what she could. The rest is in too deep.” Drake looked at Hayden. “She is researching countermeasures during an attack. Something to help with the pain.”
Jaxom mind-linked Drake, It gets worse doesn't it?
Tell you later, Drake turns back to Hayden as he cut the link. “We’ll figure this out.”
“I survived it coming, I’ll survive it going,” Hayden sighed. “I just need to sleep.”
A quiet rap on the from door broke the quiet. Jaxom started to stand up but Drake waved him off.
“You order food?”
“Yeah, starving.”
Drake looked through the peephole and saw a man standing with a food cart. He opened the door and the man shoved the food cart in hard, knocking Drake down. Drake used the fall to shift.
He got up, leapt over the couch and tackled the man, ripping his spine out.
Jaxom! he yelled through the mind-link as four more men ran into their suite. His mate was already standing at the entrance to the hallway blocking their wounded mate.
Asher spilled out of his room, already shifted. Drake spun and snarled at a wolf trying to get to the hall. A quick slash and he snapped the wolf’s hind leg in half. The wolf crumpled in pain.
Asher had the third wolf pinned down by the throat. Snarls bounced off the walls as he kept him pinned. That gave Drake the ability to focus on the next attacker.
The fourth wolf sprinted at Jaxom. Jaxom stood his ground, snarling to keep attention from Drake as he landed on the wolf’s back and broke his spine. He roared as he turned to face the next attacker. No one was getting to his mates.
Blood Moon Pack warriors streamed into the suite, led by Beta Tim, cornering the fifth wolf. He commanded the three living wolves to shift back and had them in silver before the transformation was complete.
Jaxom had retreated down the hall to check on their mate as Drake took up his place. No one was laying eyes on Hayden. Jaxom’s angry growls rattled the walls of the hallway.
“How did you get past the guards?” Drake growled at one of the cowering men. He could feel his father, Chip, leaning on the man to tell the truth. He didn’t seem to be holding back either as the man kept shaking his head.
“Witch. A witch gave us a stealth potion,” he finally gasp out.
Bring me Hazel, Drake said to Beta Tim through the mind-link. She needs to verify and tell us which witch.
Drake looked at the man. “Who sent you?”
The man gasped in pain and bowed his head to the floor. “No names. A man. Doesn’t want the Lycans to return. You must be stopped.”
“Who told you the Lycans are returning?” Drake demanded.
“The prophecy.” The man shook his head. “When the three males mate, mark each other, and find their Luna, the Lycans will rise again.”
Drake snarled in irritation. He and Jaxom had been searching for three years for more information, some hint to how the Lycans returning would happen. Information was so scarce. They’d scoured the libraries of every pack they visited.
“Where did this prophecy come from?”
“The Book of Beginnings,” the man cried out like it was being ripped out of his chest. He fainted as blood dripped out of his ears.
“Where is this book?” Drake towered over the next man.
“Burned. Every copy burned. Only one page remains,” he said with a sneer. “Your kind are a blight on our land.”
“My kind?” Drake stilled and asked.
“Your kind, the Lycans. May you all rot in hell,” he growled.
“I’m a wolf.”
“Bullshit. You’re a Lycan not yet come into your full power.
You’ve never lost a fucking battle. That asshole can lean on people to speak the truth.
” The man pointed at Chip. “Your supposed first mate can feel connections between people, or hasn’t that happened yet?
And that little runt, he’ll be fast. So fast no one can stop him.
Unholy triad,” he ended in a snarl of rage.
“Other wolves have abilities, too.”
“Only the Lycan born. Unholy means to abuse people and gain power. You won’t stop him from killing you. He has more knowledge and power than you could ever comprehend.”
“Who is he?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” the man snarled as he shook his head, trying to fight Chip’s leaning.
Drake looked at his dad and his dad shook his head ‘no’. No amount of leaning would get any more out of the three.
“So, you boy’s have been having fun.” Hazel bounced into the room like she didn’t have a care in the world. A red, blue, and green haired Rubin was a step behind her, guarding his mate even when she didn’t think she needed it. “Ooh, some little witch really has been naughty.”
Hazel held her hand over a dead body. A flash of light lifted some sort of cloud out of him. She moved her hand and it shot back into the dead man. Rubin smiled as he watched his little witch work.
“This is the work of a witch I’ve never met, but I have her power stamp now. I can feel a few more threads running around our territory. She’s east.” Hazel threw her head back for a deep breath. “I get to go hunting.”
“We get to go hunting,” Rubin corrected her. She gave him a feral smile.
“Do you know the Book of Beginnings?” Drake asked her.
“Yes. It’s a good thing it’s gone. A few pages here and there. Usually burned as they are found. Don’t let them pull you in on a quest to find any more pages. It’s fruitless. The prophecies only make sense once they come true. And, boys? Prophecy is swirling around you.”
“Yeah, great. That doesn’t help.”
“I’m nothing but your helpful local witch,” Hazel laughed then peaked down the hallway to eye Jaxom. “We’ll be back.”