CHAPTER 31 JARED
Present day
The pale glow of dawn is beginning to spread across the sky as I carefully rise from the ground. Mauro is still asleep beside me, but I have to leave.
I give him one last look. Dark curls have fallen across his face, his lips slightly parted as he sleeps, breathing softly… He’s perfect.
My heart breaks, but I simply have to get back to my son. I need to think all of this through, somehow put it all in order in my head, because my future looks fucking bleak.
I move through the forest as quietly and cautiously as I can.
It’s weird; I walk feeling completely different than I did before, before Silvio let that powerful green energy flow through my body, opening some gate inside me that had previously been sealed shut.
Now I perceive my surroundings differently.
It vibrates with life, and there’s something friendly about it, something that seems to embrace me.
I no longer feel any apprehension or fear.
It’s like… this is my world now. Strange, but wonderful.
Soon, I reach the parking lot. Apparently, I ran only two or three hundred yards from the motel during the night. Thankfully, the lot is empty, and my car is still there. The two alphas are gone.
Walking around the car, I spot a dark stain of blood from the nose of one of my two ‘fans’, whom Mauro knocked out. I get inside quickly, my nervous fingers turning the key and starting the engine.
Several hours of driving still lie ahead of me. I need to get this over with quickly and see my son.
This journey was supposed to help me find better options for him, but right now, what I found can't guarantee his safety.
And even worse, my life is tied to someone who is himself in danger, so I carry a double burden with me.
That's the sad reality. No matter how much my heart wants to stay with Mauro, my child needs me.
For the next few hours, I drive almost like I'm in a trance. My head feels like a hive gone completely wild. Sometimes I sob, and other times I feel like laughing hysterically because the whole thing is simply too fucking crazy.
You could say I've gone from the frying pan into the fire. One miserable relationship, but at least my child was safe. And now I have the potential for the perfect relationship with my fated, one that would be so much better for me, but so much more dangerous for Tommy…
At some point, I decided I would never do to my child what my dad had done to me: put me last.
He was consumed by his addiction, high for half the day, absent even when he was physically there, sometimes leaving me in the care of his boyfriends.
Some of them were abusive and would beat me over the slightest thing, and one of them even tried to touch me inappropriately.
By some miracle, Dad broke up with him a few days later over some completely different incident.
I feel a terrible ache in my chest when I think about how I'd been away from Tommy for so many days, fucking around in the forest without a care in the world or lounging around in a nest.
And on top of that, it was all for nothing, because my life is still a fucking mess, scattered in pieces, with no clear direction.
Yeah, I found my True Mate, and so what? I’m in even bigger shit than before! I was fucking na?ve to believe it would resolve my problems. And Storm warned me…
I left with no idea where I was going, and now I'm coming back just as lost, maybe even more so.
Finally, at 11:30, I pull into the parking lot of the upscale apartment complex. Alex sent me the address yesterday.
He and my son are staying with Alex’s ex-boyfriend, Bay. It must be pretty awkward for him, considering they’re no longer together, but I couldn’t find a better option. Bay is a powerful alpha with the means to protect both Alex and Tommy.
I look around. It’s a gated luxury community, which doesn’t surprise me since Bay is a famous singer. I used to hum along to many of his hits back in high school.
With my heart pounding, I walk up to the gate and press the button on the video intercom.
A moment later, a voice comes through the speaker.
"Who is it…? Oh, Jared!"
The door immediately unlocks. I rush up the stairs to the second floor and approach the apartment door.
Alex is already standing on the doorstep, his small frame tense, a look of uncertainty on his face.
My throat tightens.
"Where's Tommy?" I blurt out.
"We're just sitting down for lunch, but—"
I brush past him. I must have a wild look in my eyes as I rush deeper into the apartment, a place I've never been before, until I find the large kitchen connected to the living room.
At the table, I see Bay's massive figure. Alex's ex-boyfriend lifts his dark eyes to me, while beside him, sitting at a tall children's table, is my Tommy…
My heart nearly explodes when I see my little boy.
His big green eyes turn toward me, and his tiny face breaks into a huge smile.
"Dada!" he squeals happily.
Overwhelmed with emotion, I rush toward him, scoop him out of his chair, lift him high above my head, then pull him tightly against me.
I can't hold back the tears of joy streaming down my face. I sob into that little warm body, holding him as tightly as I can.
"Forgive me, buddy," I whisper. "Forgive me, forgive me…"
But of course, Tommy has no idea why I'm asking him to forgive me. He's simply happy that his daddy has come back.
I look at him. His little face is smiling, bright and carefree. Dear Fate, he deserves to be safe. He deserves a good, normal life, not one where he has to look over his shoulder at every corner because people from the mafia might come after us…
Bay's silent gaze remains fixed on me.
He's a tall alpha with dark red hair and a beautiful but cold, almost stern face, with some kind of darkness inside him.
I've always wondered how Alex could have been so drawn to him and suffered so terribly after their breakup. This man seems icy, completely unapproachable.
Meeting his dark gaze, I blurt out, "I have to leave the country. I need to find a solution for Tommy," I say in a breaking voice, glancing toward Alex, who is standing by the entrance to the kitchen.
Bay's expression remains unreadable. He's probably one of the least talkative men I've ever met.
But Alex's face says much more, there's worry in his eyes.
"But… What happened, Jared? Can you tell us? I thought everything was going well, that you'd found your True Mate!"
"It was. I did. But yesterday, Rocco Ferro showed up. He's after not only me, but… my True Mate too. So it's a double fucking disaster!"
"Rocco Ferro?" Bay raises an eyebrow in surprise. I didn't think this guy could change his expression into anything other than a dour grimace.
"Yeah. He’s a fucking nightmare, but… I couldn’t have worse luck. Mauro Ferro is my True Mate, and Rocco is his brother!"
Alex and Bay exchange glances, looking at each other as if something about what I’ve said hasn’t surprised them at all.
I mutter darkly, "Rocco isn’t going to leave either me or Mauro alone. We have to get out of the country and disappear somewhere on the other side of the world, somewhere no one will find us…"
"Wait, but have you talked to Mauro about this? Is he on board?"
I wince, because whatever happened last night was a long way from having a conversation.
"No."
Another strange exchange of looks.
"Yes, I know. We’re True Mates," I mutter.
Everyone knows how this works. We can’t stay apart for more than a few weeks before it becomes unbearable, so sooner or later I’ll have to talk to him.
Alex and Bay’s faces are really telling. They surely to think I’m being incredibly illogical and, on top of that, reckless.
The silence hanging in the air is becoming almost unbearable.
"I…" I manage to get out. "Right now I just wanted to calm down a little and get my head straight, because everything that happened was simply too intense."
Tommy watches me, of course not understanding what I’m talking about. His little hands rest against my face, warm and delicate little palms.
"Dada… Dada…" he repeats from time to time, gently patting me as if trying to get my attention. I loudly kiss his chubby cheek.
"I’ll find a solution for you, buddy. There has to be one. I just wish it could be as simple as waving a magic wand."
"Who knows," Bay says unexpectedly in his incredibly deep, unsettling voice. "Maybe it is that simple?"
I glance at him but don’t say anything. I don’t know him well. All I know is that he and Alex met at the beginning of high school and fell desperately, epically in love. But when they turned eighteen and their glands matured, they discovered they were genetically incompatible.
They broke up with both their hearts shattered, yet even after all these years, they still feel something for each other. Alex definitely still quietly roots for Bay, but I know that cases of incompatibility like theirs aren’t easy.
Bay sighs and adds, "The problem with Rocco is that even his own people hate him. The past three months have been even worse. The last scrap of common sense he had left has disappeared, leaving nothing but a thirst for revenge and cruelty. Even his closest associates can’t stand him, and they consult Ennio about anything important because he’s the only stable presence in their family. "
I stare at him for a moment, gaping.
"I don’t understand. Do you… know him?"
Bay’s cold face twists slightly, as if even the thought that he might know Rocco is unpleasant to him.
"Let’s say… I do."
Something in his tone suggests he might even know him a little better than he’s willing to admit. He gives Alex a brief, cautious glance, as if he doesn’t want to get deeper into the subject.
"One thing is certain, Rocco is really pushing his luck… he’s gotten too unhinged. And the list of his enemies has grown several times—"
He trails off and suddenly looks at his phone, which starts ringing.
"Sorry," he says dryly. "I have to take this. It’s my manager, Eric."
He leaves for the next room and closes the door behind him.