CHAPTER 18 JARED
Present day
Unfortunately, I fail to get up on time yet again. I wake up around ten in the morning, which almost certainly means breakfast is already over, and as I mutter a string of incoherent curses under my breath, I drag myself out of bed, still feeling exhausted.
I'd heard that if an omega doesn't rest properly on the first day of heat recovery, or has sex during it, recovery can drag on for an extra day or even longer, so this doesn't exactly surprise me. It's still incredibly frustrating, though, because all I want is to get back to feeling normal again.
I take another shower, splashing ice-cold water straight into my face in a desperate attempt to wake up, but it barely helps. Even so, I manage to haul myself out of my room and make my way downstairs to the living area.
I find Silvio, Emilio, Gianni, and Tony sitting around the table, quietly sipping tea, and I'm genuinely surprised Veyron isn't there.
"Oh, sweetheart, come join us," Silvio says warmly, waving me over.
As I walk toward them, I glance around, hoping to spot Mauro somewhere, but he isn't in the room too.
Silvio must notice where my eyes keep drifting because he chuckles.
"I know we're probably not quite the company you were hoping for, but maybe we can keep you entertained until he shows up," he says with a wink.
Heat rushes into my cheeks. I feel ridiculous. I really shouldn't be this easy to read.
"Tony, dear, could you bring Jared whatever's left from breakfast? I'm sure there's something we can warm up."
"Of course," Tony replies, giving me a curious look before heading into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be a bother," I say. "It's just… this sleepiness is so overwhelming I feel like I'm barely standing."
Emilio simply shrugs. "That's completely normal during heat recovery. Mine sometimes lasted an entire week. It's honestly one of the worst parts."
Gianni stays silent, his eyes behind thick glasses staring vacantly out at the patio.
I sit down, and Silvio tilts his head before sliding a small plate with a cookie toward me. "You must be absolutely starving. Don't worry, Tony will work some magic."
I hesitate, wondering what I should say. I have dozens of questions I'd love to fire at them like a burst from an assault rifle, but I keep holding back because I still have no idea which of their secrets are actually secrets and which are… common knowledge.
In the end, I decide to start cautiously. "Yesterday, when I was upstairs, I overheard you talking about a disease spreading through the forest. Is it serious?"
Silvio lets out a long sigh. "Yes, sweetheart. The drought left the trees badly weakened, and when the hurricanes hit the coast, the climate suddenly became much more humid. A lot of the trees are struggling now, and fungal networks are spreading beneath the soil."
I hesitate again because this is the moment where I either take the plunge or keep pretending I know nothing. My fingers tighten around the edge of the plate before I finally speak.
"I thought you were guardians of the forest. I thought you could heal it too."
Bam! Well… there it is.
Silence settles over the room.
Silvio tilts his head slightly, and his eyes, so strikingly similar in color to Renato's and Mauro's, narrow ever so slightly.
The silence stretches on. Damn. Did I just dare to say too much? Then again, they'd been dropping cryptic hints around me ever since I arrived, so they really shouldn't be that shocked.
"Being guardians of the forest doesn't make us literal healers."
My heartbeat immediately picks up.
There it is… us. A plural.
That’s what I’ve been hoping to hear.
"So there are several of you, aren't there?
" I ask, deciding to gamble. "You, Renato…
and Mauro?" In truth, it's little more than a guess based on their identical eyes and all the strange things they've been saying and doing, but I need something, anything, that lets me believe Renato isn't the only one with those abilities.
But before anyone can answer, Tony walks back in carrying a tray with my breakfast.
Smiling, he sets it on the table, and Silvio immediately beams.
"There we are! Delicious sandwiches for you with mortadella, prosciutto, mozzarella, and pecorino. Too bad there's no brioche con granita left."
A flicker of irritation runs through me because Tony's arrival interrupted the super important conversation. Faking a smile, I start eating while debating whether I should bring the subject back up, but it could come across as pushy.
"So… are you originally from Italy?" I ask instead, steering the conversation somewhere neutral.
"From Sicily, sweetheart. My late husband was a pure-blooded Sicilian going back generation after generation. Most of my own family is Sicilian as well, though I also have a tiny bit of ancestry from somewhere very different… Poland. Small but very important."
I raise my eyebrows. "Really? That's interesting. My grandfather was Polish too. He immigrated to America and got married here."
"A very similar thing happened in my family, except it was my great-grandfather. He left a small village in southeastern Poland after vast stretches of forest there were cut down. He went searching for his True Mate… and found him in Sicily, on the fertile slopes of Mount Etna."
I blink because the way he phrases that sounds oddly specific.
"Why would someone leave Poland because forests were cut down? That seems like a very peculiar reason to emigrate. I can't imagine that's a normal motivation for leaving your country," I dare to say, a bit challengingly.
Silence settles over the room once again.
Silvio watches me with that same strange smile of his, and even Tony glances at me with faint amusement, the kind of look people give someone who's clearly out of the loop, almost reluctant to spoil the fun of watching them stumble around in confusion.
"We are Guardians of Forests and wild nature, Jared," Silvio says, placing unusual emphasis on every word. "When he left the Polish forest and went to Sicily, the two bloodlines of guardians merged, strengthening us."
"Whatever that actually means," I reply, holding his gaze. "Strengthening… like maybe allowing you to glow with some kind of magical green aura, as I assume?"
Silvio bursts into laughter, while Tony and Emilio simply lower their heads toward their plates and continue eating as though none of this is remotely surprising. Noted.
Only Gianni turns his head toward me, and his wistful, big eyes shift over my face.
"I can see you're very curious about our kind," Silvio says at last. "Many cultures believed in guardians of the forests, not only around the Mediterranean but also among the Celts and the Slavs.
They differed from one another in many ways, but they all shared the same purpose: protecting and caring for the living wilderness.
Sometimes, though, when their native forests were destroyed, they left those lands behind and traveled elsewhere to find their True Mates among similar folks, enriching their magical lineage in that way. "
I narrow my eyes.
"I've read of one from Slavic mythology called the Leshy. I've also read about similar beings in the Mediterranean region. There was Silvanus, the guardian of the forests, the god Pan, fauns, satyrs… and the Celts believed in Nemetona, the protector of sacred groves."
"It seems you've done your homework, and those are all very good leads. In one way or another, all of those beings are connected. They share the same fundamental nature because the essence they carry is a spiritual bond with the natural world."
I wait for him to continue, but when he doesn't, I lower my head and focus on my breakfast.
Before long, Silvio, Tony, and Emilio drift into a conversation about the upcoming fireworks festival in Rainbow Springs.
Silvio is pleased they'll be using silent fireworks, but Tony says he'd ban fireworks altogether because even the flashes frighten birds, while Emilio tries to reassure him by pointing out the show is supposed to be very short.
Gianni stays silent the whole time, occasionally glancing at me with that strange, melancholic look of his.
Meanwhile, I'm left sitting there with my own thoughts, and eventually I decide to head back to my room because the first signs of another wave of sleepiness are already creeping in.
Just as I stand, though, Silvio calls after me.
"Sweetheart, don't hesitate to join me for a swim in the pool again in about an hour."
"Thanks. We'll see if I don't fall asleep again first. I can barely keep my eyes open."
I head upstairs feeling completely all over the place. I turn into the hallway leading toward my room, and before I even realize what's happening, I walk straight into a tall, solid figure.
Mauro.
The sudden collision with him sends a rush of sparks racing through my entire body. The weakness and drowsiness vanish as if someone flipped a switch, though the force of the impact makes me stumble, and I have to brace myself against the wall.
Mauro takes the opportunity to wrap an arm around my waist, steadying me, and I'm absurdly grateful because it finally lets me be close to him again without me initiating it.
Wow…
It's like stepping into another world. Every one of my senses comes alive.
His scent fills my lungs, the heat of his hard body pressed against mine makes my head spin instantly, and before I can think, I slip my arms around his neck and draw him toward me.
It's nothing but instinct, and he doesn't resist.
His lips land on mine, soft, warm, damp, and I lose myself in the kiss, filled with bliss and relief.
Dear Fate, it’s pure heaven. His hands glide over my back, then slip lower to cup my ass with a firm squeeze, and desire blazes through me with a heat that shouldn't be possible during heat recovery.
But against all logic, I want him. I desire him.
I ache for him. I want him to throw me onto the bed and fuck me senseless!
"I told you this wasn't a good idea."
Gianni's voice cuts in from behind me, and a wave of frustration crashes over me.
Once again, something so perfect, so intoxicating, is ripped away from me, and the interruption hits me like a physical shock.
The words that leap to the tip of my tongue are rude. Why do you always do this? Are you jealous?
But that would be petty, and I'm trying not to be that person anymore.
There was a time when biting remarks and sharp comebacks were my shield, the only way I knew how to cope with everything I kept hidden inside me, but I'm done living like that.
And Gianni is not my enemy; he actually has a point.
So, instead of snapping, I take a step back and glance at him.
"Sorry," I mutter.
Gianni tilts his head slightly. "You need to take care of yourself, Jared. Nature made it this way for a reason. This is when our bodies are supposed to rest."
To my surprise, Mauro suddenly lifts his hands and signs something rapidly to Gianni.
The omega blinks, swallows, and then says, "Umm… sorry. I shouldn't have sounded so patronizing. I didn't mean to lecture you again."
Wow. Mauro definitely just scolded him for interrupting us. Strangely enough, it feels… nice. Did he actually pick up on how upset I was?
But Gianni is right. No matter how much I'm drawn to Mauro, or how powerful that pull feels, almost to the point of pain, it’s still bad for my recovery.
Gianni tilts his head a little before asking, "So. When are you bringing Tommy here? Silvio’s already preparing a room. We’re all waiting for him."
What?
Why that again?
I feel the blood drain from my face.
"I… I…" The words die in my throat. What am I supposed to say? That I might have to leave? That nothing about my True Mate situation is resolved? That I still don't know anything, or at least not enough to make a final decision?
All the while, Mauro's eyes stay fixed on me with an intensity that makes my chest heave.
"I need to lie down," I finish quietly, avoiding answering, then slip past both of them and retreat to my room.
The moment I get there, I rush into my nest.
An unexpected surge of panic wraps around my throat like a vise because I can guess that my recovery will end, whether today or tomorrow. It usually takes two, three days at max. When it does ease up, I'll have to make a choice.
And I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do.
Do I keep looking for him? Do I keep wandering through the forest, hoping I'll find the green spirit again? Could he really be my True Mate?
Or do I focus on Mauro instead, who wants me just as much as I want him and is right here within reach, waiting for me to give him a chance?
Do I actually need to start thinking about bringing my son here?
But how could I possibly drag a two-year-old into a place like this, surrounded by strangers I know almost nothing about, a family wrapped in secrets and unanswered questions, in a place where, as Davos said, so many magical ABOs live…
Curled up in my nest, I let my mind wander through every possibility, turning each one over again and again.
Something inside me slowly begins to crystallize, but the rest… the rest will reveal itself tonight.