Chapter 30

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*Jayden*

"Why haven't you turned back? Are you hiding something?" Corey watched Zeke suspiciously as we waited for Bianca to help us back to the town outside the forest.

Instead of letting us take two days to walk back, she was going to teleport. Corey thought Zeke staying in his wolf form was suspicious because we could use our werewolf abilities just fine when at Bianca's house.

'No clothes,' Zeke growled in response.

Everyone laughed as Corey's mouth shaped into an 'O' while he nodded.

"I would teleport you all the way home, but I'm tired and that would take hours of preparation," Bianca said.

"Oh, that's alright. You've done way too much for us already, we're perfectly fine driving home," Sean said.

"Yeah, you're paying for the trailer," Corey said making Sean let out a laugh of disbelief.

"Oh, am I? Which idiot dragged us out here for nothing?" Sean asked.

"Nothing?" Adan asked, raising his brows.

Sean's eyes widened and Adan laughed, smacking his sister's mate on the back as he was clearly teasing.

We were too many for just the van with the extra three people added.

"Yeah, you're paying," Trent agreed with Sean.

Corey sighed and I turned away from the trio when he looked at me.

I wasn't sure where things went from there. I'd wished to bring Adan back because I knew Izabella needed that wish more than we did, but I also knew Corey didn't want to be with me. I was sure there was another witch as powerful as Bianca somewhere; she couldn't be the only one.

Corey's friends seemed to think he liked me, and maybe he had warmed up to the idea, but I didn't think it was because he wanted to. The mate bond must have worn him down. He had made it clear throughout the trip that he didn't want to be with me. Just that morning he had said the pairing was a mistake.

Where we were at the moment was fine. It was a safe. We were civil.

Besides, he didn't know anything about being deserving. At first, I wondered what I had done to deserve a mate that hated me so much. It took my dad to remind me.

My mind was conflicted. On one hand, I was upset that he thought he could decide what was best for me. On the other hand, the rational part of me didn't understand how I could be upset when I knew he didn't know enough to conclude that he wasn't deserving of me.

It was okay if he never agreed to be my mate.

But was it okay to wish for a new mate? I didn't want to become someone else's burden. Not to mention, I had not been able to convince myself to do it this time.

"Jayden?" Corey drew me from my thoughts and I noticed everyone staring at me.

"Are you okay?" Kaden asked me.

"I'm tired..." I mumbled. It was true, the fatigue went beyond physical.

"We'll get some sleep soon," Corey assured.

I nodded, not glancing at him.

"Just hold onto someone." Bianca smiled as she took Hayley's hand.

We followed her lead, everyone holding onto someone else, but I paused after taking Kaden's hand when I realised Corey was on my other side. I didn't want to touch him without his permission, and that made me a little angry. He never asked me...

Why did he need to? The question made my arms go numb and I tried to shake away the feeling spreading through me as it became harder to breathe.

"You okay?"

I nodded again to answer Kaden's question.

"Give me your tail, Zeke," Corey smirked.

Zeke growled at him before lifting his paw onto Corey's leg, who laughed and took hold of the paw.

I tensed slightly when Corey put his other hand around mine. I still refused to meet his gaze as I focused on the feeling of his hand. There was a strange feeling in my chest that didn't feel like my own, it was from him. I couldn't decipher it; it didn't seem bad but felt uncomfortable to me.

"I would advise you to close your eyes, unless you want to end up with very sore eyes and a massive headache that will last for days," Bianca said.

I shut my eyes, feeling wind as Bianca enacted the spell. It seemed fast and was over in just a few seconds.

"We're here," she announced.

I opened my eyes and let out a breath of relief I looked around. We were just outside the forest, back in the little town we had slept in a few days prior.

Kaden's hand let go of mine as he turned to thank Bianca for helping us down and I tried to pull my hand from Corey's, but he held on. When I tugged again, he let go.

'Jay, what's going on?' Kaden linked to me.

I just shook my head.

"You should visit sometime, Bianca. I'm sure Marcus would love to see you," Izabella said.

"I should, shouldn't I? I haven't seen him in years. Tell him I'll see him around Christmas," Bianca replied.

"I will!" Izabella smiled.

After we greeted Bianca, she teleported back home, and we headed back to Trent's friends who we had left the car with.

"Trent!" the woman, Mrs Kent, greeted as she let us into the house.

"We're back!" Trent smiled.

"With extra people," Sean added.

"Speaking of extra people..." Corey drifted looking around for Zeke.

"You-you brought a wolf?" Mrs Kent asked, stumbling away.

"Uh... Kind of..." Corey mumbled. "Don't be alarmed, he's hurt. I'm going to take him to a shelter and, see what they can do for him, but I need to get changed first. So, I'll see you all later. Come here, Dog," he said.

I smiled as Zeke growled, but then followed into the hallway towards the room we had left our bags in while faking a limp.

"That's one massive wolf," Dan, Trent's friend and Kent's son, said walking in.

"You have no idea," Kaden mumbled.

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*Corey*

Zeke followed me into the room, and I rummaged through my bag looking for clean clothing for him.

"Hopefully you're not Jayden's size," I threw the clothes behind me having already heard him shift.

Saying Jayden's name made my chest ache. I didn't know what I expected. I didn't know why I hoped he would suddenly warm up to me after we changed our wishes.

Ideally, in my mind, that was how it played out. I expected him to be relieved, happy I was finally accepting him. I expected him to want to keep being near me... But he had barely even looked at me since we left the room. I couldn't link to him because he had blocked me out and there had not been a moment alone to talk to him.

I was afraid that he was taking my advice. That he too finally realised I didn't deserve him. I was happy about that part, him realising he deserved better.

Maybe I just needed to convince him that I could be good enough for him.

"Do I look Jayden's size?"

I raised my eyebrows, turning to face Zeke who was standing in the clothing I had just given him. He looked pretty much my age and wasn't Jayden's size. We had almost the exact same build, my clothing fit him perfectly.

I bet Jayden would look like he was drowning in my shirt. Damn it, why couldn't I have reached my senses sooner before I fucked everything up as badly as I had?!

"Thank you," Zeke said.

"So, ten years?" I asked. He nodded.

"Since I was seven or eight, I think. Yeah. Anything before that is blank," he said.

"Your pack?" I asked.

He shook his head. He could not remember them. Whatever happened before he became a rogue must have been traumatic to result in him having no memories of it. I wondered if it was an injury or a coping mechanism.

I lifted my hand and patted his shoulder to sense his power.

"You guys are Novolunís?" he asked, looking relieved.

"Yeah, some of us. I guess you'll fit right into our pack." I chuckled.

He was the same breed of wolf as I was. I was happy about that. It was tough for even Alpha Ian to get the pack to accept Izabella because she was an Amarelo, at least Zeke being the same type of wolf we were would make the pack a little more comfortable with him until he earned their trust. Our pack didn't exactly take well to people who were different. They were more open to the wolves we allied with as there were mutual benefits.

"How come I sensed two Alphas downstairs?" Zeke asked.

"Sean's the young Galaxy Alpha while Kade's going to be the Inferno Alpha. Our packs are very close. There's also the Titan pack – they're Amarelos. We all used to be quite hostile but we're strong allies now, you'll understand when you get there and meet Laurence: he's their young Alpha," I said.

"Sounds like a long story," he said.

"It is." We both looked at the door and I smiled as Hayley walked in. "Hey, you're cu..." she drifted as her face began to turn pink when she looked from Zeke to me.

I laughed as Zeke chuckled. "Thanks, Hayley," he said. "You're pretty cute too," his compliment only made her blush more.

"We need to find a trailer," Sean said as he joined us.

"Fine. I'll pay for it, but you're looking on your own," I said. "I'm going for a run, with my 'Dog'. Need to tell him about our pack," I added. Zeke rolled his eyes at the name but chuckled.

"Fine, whatever. At least Jay will be willing to come."

I paused. Maybe I should go then?

"Speaking of Jay, that man just disappeared," Zeke mumbled. "I mean, after I told you he was following you," he added.

"Who was following who?" Hayley asked.

"Disappeared?" I asked, alarmed. How could that asshole just 'disappear'? "Jay's not going anywhere then," I said.

"Jayden's already gone. What's going on?" Trent said, looking confused as he walked in with Rita, their hands had not broken apart even before we left Bianca's house.

"What? Why? Where?" Sean asked.

"He left about six minutes ago with Kade and Izzy. They're going to get some food. What's going on?" Trent asked again.

I reached for my phone. "Jayden's father has been following us," I said, dialling his number.

"Jayden's father? But... Jay's father passed away," Trent said.

"Yeah, even I remember that," Rita agreed.

It rang without an answer, but I didn't hang up.

"No, Joe just told everyone he was dead. The truth is, Joe banned him from Inferno because he was abusive. That day Jay got beat up back at Finn's place, it was him. Now, I have no idea why he was following us, but he's out there somewhere and so is Jayden."

I had to take a breath to calm down as the sudden spike of worry left me dizzy. He wasn't picking up. I wasn't sure what to think. Had he been hurt or was he just ignoring me?

"Jay's with Kaden and Izabella," Trent said.

"That's not very reassuring, Trent. You know how Izzy randomly disappears on all of us and Kade, well he's Kade. Has anyone ever seen that kid get pissed enough to fight?" Sean said.

"Yes, actually. It's not a pretty sight," Rita said.

"Yeah," Trent agreed. "It takes a lot to make Kade angry, but it's almost impossible to calm him down when he is pissed. It's terrifying."

"Alphas and Betas alike." Hayley rolled her eyes. True, but that didn't matter right now.

"The point is: he's fine with them close by," Trent said.

I sighed. "Right... Still, let's find them before someone gets hurt," I said, walking out as I hung up and redialled his number despite the lack of answers.

*Jayden*

"Do want anything from the sweets aisle?" I asked as I walked towards it without waiting for Kaden or Izabella to reply because I would still hear them from a few isles away or they would link to me.

"Yes. Cookies! And chocolate!" Izabella called.

'And M&Ms,' Kaden's voice popped into my head.

I nodded despite being on my own while glancing down each aisle to see if it was the one I was looking for. I figured our shopping would go quicker if we each looked for separate things. The aisle was easy to find, and I began gathering the stuff they had asked for while adding what I figured the others would like as well given how Sean and Trent had eaten all the Twinkies before anyone else could have any on the drive towards the peaks.

I grabbed bags of dried fruit for Corey because I had not seen a sweet or chip pass his lips throughout the trip, he seemed to like Soda though.

I had packed a few things into the basket and was about to head to find Kaden and Izabella when a light tap on my shoulder had me turning to a woman who looked to be in her late 30s.

"Hello. How are you?"

I replied that I was fine, glancing over her to gauge because she had walked up to me. She clearly wasn't a sales clerk.

"Um, my car's having a bit of trouble. Could you help me push it? My son's not feeling well, and I can't leave him in the car while I try to get it moving," she asked. Her son looked about three as he stood hiding behind her slightly, clutching the teddy he held to his chest.

"Uh... Of course. I could call my friends to help too if –" I was saying.

"It's not a very big car."

I looked around feeling a little uneasy. She was human, but even to her, I must not have looked like I would be of much help. There weren't many other people in the store, though. Even as I looked around, I only spotted a couple of teenage girls not too far away and another mother with a baby strapped to her.

Well, it couldn't have been too bad. With my newfound strength, it would be easy to move a small car.

"Uh... Alright. Where's your car?" I put my basket down. I would only take a few minutes; it would still be there when I got back.

I followed her through the store and out of the front where many cars filled the lot. I hesitated as she led me around the building with the little boy, away from the open parking and into the delivery alleyway. There were currently no cars parked anywhere.

I paused as she stopped walking and looked around.

There was no car. I began to turn to leave but stopped when someone stepped around the corner.

"Thank you, dear."

The familiar voice wasn't much of a shock.

"You can leave now." He smiled at the woman behind me.

"Uh... Oh-okay."

It was obvious he had compelled her. How had I not noticed that before? She just... She just looked like she needed help, and I wanted to be helpful. I was stupid. I should have spoken to Kaden and Izabella before following her outside, but she was just human.

"Hey, what happened to your face, son? I put so much effort into that black eye," he said, feigning disappointment as he edged towards me slowly. "How's your friend?"

A heated anger passed over me as I remembered when Finn and I ran into him. I'd tried to make sure Finn didn't get hurt and had to compel him to forget. Luckily, Finn being human, I didn't need to be incredibly strong to compel him without the possibility of him remembering what he had witnessed.

My shock faded and for once it didn't turn into fear, just anger. "What the hell are you doing here?" I asked.

"Wow. When did you become this rude? Must I remind you what happens when you are rude, Jayden?" he asked, walking closer to me.

I stared back at him. We looked a lot alike, the biggest difference being he worked out so naturally, he was basically double my size plus a load of muscle. Though, even when I did work out, I continued to be scrawny. As he stopped in front of me, I resisted the urge to look scared and step back. I wasn't afraid of him. I wouldn't let myself be anymore.

"There's a good reason I'm here." I almost cringed as he placed his hand on my shoulder, "I'm here to tell you that my car is around the corner, we're going to get into it and leave. And then when we get back to that pathetic pack where you will fetch my mate and bring her to me, because if you don't, I'll make sure you never walk again, I'll get my mate anyway and you will never see your mother again. Do you understand?"

I must have been insane...

"Was that supposed to scare me?" I asked, slowly.

"Listen h –" he began to grip my shoulder, but I shoved him away from me before slamming him into the wall, much to my luck he was stunned so badly, that he didn't respond to my movements.

"No, you listen. You're going to disappear. I will never see you again, you will never give me another threat and if I ever even feel like you're after my mother, I will kill you. Do YOU understand?" I was shocked at my own words and actions.

It was like I had become someone else at the moment. I would normally never have spoken to him that way or dared touch him when he approached me.

My new demeanour basically just cracked and completely shattered when he just laughed.

"You? Kill me? Really, Jay?" he asked. "We both know you're not capable of that."

I gulped, it was true. We did know that. He smirked.

"How've you been doing, Son? Spent some time with Mike lately?"

Mike. The mention of his name made me sick. It was accompanied by a rush of terror that made me light-headed. My father smirked, shoving me away from him without much force, but I stumbled back still shocked by the mention of Mike. I rubbed my arm, suddenly feeling small and cold.

"No?" He smirked.

He didn't know. He couldn't know. No one knew. But... what he had said in the bathroom that day...

"Oh, I know." He chuckled.

He couldn't have linked to me. I had that blocked at the moment. Had I spoken out loud or was it just that easy to read my face?

I stepped further back, slowly distancing myself from him. Suddenly he looked a lot more intimidating. There was no way. He beat me so many times, and said so many horrible things to me but he could not have had anything to do with Mike. He wouldn't...

I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't notice him advance towards me until a hard force sent my face snapping to the side, my body following the movement. I stumbled, trying to keep myself from falling as my face throbbed. I wouldn't stand a chance if I lost my footing.

"That's for disrespecting me earlier," he said before grabbing hold of my collar to drag me towards him and slam me against the wall I had pinned him to earlier.

I was still too stunned to react.

"Of course, I had something to do with it! You think you can get me banned from my pack, take my mate from me and I'll just let it slide?! What do you take me for?" He shook me before chuckling. "How was it though, Jay? Isn't that what you wanted?" He smirked glancing over me before our eyes met again.

"What did your mate say back in the forest... Kind, forgiving and smart...? Respect?" he chuckled. "There was one thing he was right about, though. Your pairing is a mistake. You with a Beta? What a useless weight you are. But we know that it was a mistake because your existence is."

It felt like ice was running through my veins, the rays from the afternoon sun having no effect on my shivering.

"You'd be delighted to know Mike enjoyed what you did for him."

I cringed at the phrasing. I hadn't done...

"Don't worry. When I'm back with your mother, he can have you. You know your mate won't mind. It seems to me like you've always disgusted him."

I shook my head as anger covered my shock and fear before I slammed my fist into his face with as much force as I could muster.

He fell back and instead of doing what I should have, instead of running, I attacked him. I jumped onto him and began hitting, but I had only gotten two punches in before he retaliated with a very forceful blow of his own that sent me rolling off him. I made a futile attempt to get up, but he rolled onto me and pinned me down.

"I gave you exactly what you wanted, you disrespectful son of a bitch!"

I tried to cover my face seeing his fist swing at me, but he had gotten much faster since he left and my attempts at blocking were unsuccessful. I ended up getting hit square in the face four times before managing to push him off of me and then quickly backed further away from him, moving across the wet tar of the delivery driveway.

Once a safe distance away, I scrambled to my feet and watched as my father stood. There was no way I could fight him. No matter what I did, despite the boost in power Izabella's blood had given me, I was weaker than him. I was always weak. I watched him, cautiously waiting for him to advance again but he just chuckled making no move towards me as he dusted his jacket lightly.

"I'll see you, Son. Send Mike my greetings when you're having your... moments." He smirked before he left.

I remained paralysed for a few minutes, my head reeling with thoughts and memories that made my stomach turn, and my throat close until I was heaving to take a breath.

Eventually, I grabbed my phone to text Izabella telling her I was heading home before I sprinted away from the store, afraid of running into him again.

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