"Did she ever actually forgive me?"
For a few minutes, the world froze around Jayce. There were two people in front of him, one of them being his best friend and also his former alpha whom he thought to be dead, and the other one is a man who, for some reason, made his heart beat faster than he thought was possible.
His wolf whimpered within his mind as he stared at the man's ocean blue eyes. Jayce scoffed mentally, I am not falling for the same trick again, he thought.
His eyes fell on the girl beside him. His wolf growled in his mind, wanting to be close to the man that the wolf recognized as his mate, but the human had been burnt once, he was too scared to fall for it again.
He focused on the girl. She looked so much different, like her presence gave off different vibes than it did earlier.
"What in the world?" Jayce muttered as his eyes widened on Selena, "Alpha?"
Selena gave a sad smile with teary eyes and took a step forward, "Jayce Leven."
Jayce swallowed the word he was going to say, he sure didn't want his son to repeat it later. While his son's hand was still tightly held in his, he walked forward and stood in front of Selena. He dropped his son's hand and touched Selena's hand, as if to make sure it was really her.
A gentle yet warning growl was heard, and another one accompanied it, but none of the two paid any attention to it.
Selena took a deep breath as she struggled to smile. She put her hands on his shoulder and cheeks and breathed out shakily.
"You're alive," they both whispered together and laughed when they noticed.
"God, Oh god..." Jayce whispered in a shaking voice as he pulled her in for a hug. Selena too wrapped her arms around him.
Jayce was not only her beta, he was also her best friend since they were little children. They had both thought that the other person was dead, and after more than a year of believing that, none of them ever expected the other to be alive.
So, this was really a very welcoming feeling for both of them. They felt relieved, and nothing could overcome that feeling.
When they both let go of the hug, Jayce was still holding her.
"You're alive. Selena Wilson, I knew you are too strong to die in there."
Selena laughed, "I am so fucking glad that you are alive, and even more glad that little Nic is with you." Her smile dimmed a little when she thought of the other person of his family, "Lila?"
"Turns out she was the traitor," Jayce gritted out, a sudden change in his demeanour.
"Selena," Xavier said, as he took a step forward, "They need to come in."
Selena nodded and Xavier then looked at Jayce with a gentle and reassuring smile, "You guys had been out there all along?"
"Just me and my son," Jayce looked where Nic was only to find it empty. he panicked for a second and looked around but it didn't last long as he soon spotted Nic playing with the man who made his heart race.
"No one else?" Jayce looked back at the alpha, ignoring his beating heart and his blushing cheeks.
"No."
Xavier nodded but he didn't miss the little glances Aiden kept throwing at Jayce, "Have you been out there all this while?"
Jayce nodded, "I was not ready to be in any other pack yet, not without the people whom I had always looked up to. But that wasn't the best idea, Nic should have been in a pack."
"He is now," Xavier caught Jayce off guard as he stared at Xavier, "Of course, only if you want to, I just figured with Selena and Connor here, you would want that."
Jayce looked behind these two and his eyes landed on Connor. He smiled relieved and Connor too smiled back at him, those two were good friends as well, even if not as close as he was with Selena.
"I'd like that," Jayce smiled. He could feel the eyes of the other man on him but he made a point not to look at him.
There was a lot he needed to process before he could actually speak to this man if he ever actually did.
"C'mon, let's take you to your room then, I am guessing you both will take the same room?"
Jayce nodded, his eyes going towards Nic involuntarily, and when he did this time, he noticed that Aiden was now kneeling by Nic and talking to him animatedly. Jayce felt this tug on his heart.
He stared at the man as Xavier and Selena discussed where he'd be staying, and abruptly, Aiden turned to look at him. Their eyes locked on each other's for a few seconds.
Jayce was staring at him with a face so intent with emotion that Aiden had to look away. Aiden's heart broke as he recognized the look of ignorance. He wondered if his mate was one of those homophobic wolves, making his wolf whimper.
Jayce wasn't stupid, he knew what he was feeling was the pull of the mate bond. But then who was Lila? Moreover, it was the mate bond is that had uprooted his life before this. And above that, there was another thought worrying him too.
He wasn't ready to just dive into it.
"Roy," Jayce heard Xavier and raised his head to look at them, "Take Jayce and Nicholas to a room, make sure they are on the same floor as us."
Roy nodded and asked Jayce to come along.
Jayce took a deep breath and nodded. He walked towards Nicholas and Aiden. Nicholas was talking to Aiden while moving his hands animatedly when Jayce knelt behind him.
Aiden gulped. The warmth he felt when Jayce knelt by him was something he had never felt before. The quivering feeling in his heart became worse when Jayce placed his hands right below Aiden's on Nicholas's body.
Nicholas jumped and turned to look at his father with a big smile, making Jayce too smile back at the kid, "Daddy! I was telling Aiden about the cave!"
Jayce had to work hard to focus on his son and to not look at the man. However, the fact that he had something important to say to his son was what helped him focus.
"Nicholas," he began seriously, even the kid knew that he was in trouble by the way his dad took his name, "Son, you cannot run out like that without telling me. I let you play outside but I told you to stay close to the cave. We were really lucky to meet such nice people who decided to help us."
"I know, Daddy," Nicholas said with his head hung low, making Aiden smile, the kid was too cute for his own good, "I won't go far from the cave again, I pwomise."
"Well, it won't come to that," Jayce smiled. He stole a glance at Aiden, who dropped his eyes, and looked back at Nicholas, "We will be staying here with Selena now."
"Yayy!" Nicholas grinned and Jayce chuckled. "Do you stay here too?" He asked turning to Aiden, and while he did so he leaned back on his father's chest, making his father wrap his arms around his small body. Jayce rested his head on Nic's shoulder and he too looked at Aiden curiously, forgetting all about the worries he had.
"I... I do," Aiden smiled at Nic, completely ignoring the slow smirk rising on Jayce's face after his stutter.
"Will you play with me? I don't have any friends," Nicholas said sadly.
"Of course I will. And you will find lots of friends here."
"Pwomise?" Nic asked with a pout, melting the hearts of the people around him.
"I do." Aiden smiled, blushing slightly.
Jayce's smirk turned into a smile as he observed the man. Aiden's blue eyes were a lot clearer when he saw it from this close. He had light stubble which gave him a slightly rugged look but Jayce wondered how he would look clean-shaven, he could only wonder how cute and sexy he'd look with no hair on his face.
"C'mon, Nic, these nice people have a room for us here," Jayce said as he forced his eyes away from Aiden.
Nicholas turned and smiled at his father and these two followed Roy into the packhouse. Aiden stood there and let out a shaky breath. Selena had observed all these.
As the pack dispersed, Xavier, Ryan and Connor walked inside as well. Connor went to make sure that Jayce and Nicholas were okay while Xavier and Ryan went in to discuss some other matters.
Selena waited until everyone went inside before she approached Aiden.
"You were right," Aiden said, "I did find him. Only, I hadn't expected this at all."
"I know you didn't," Selena said softly.
"He has a son," Aiden said and chuckled as the weight of the situation dawned upon him, "And that kid is so freaking adorable that I cannot even be angry."
"I am sure he will talk to you," Selena said reassuringly.
Aiden scoffed, "Sure, he didn't even acknowledge me as his mate."
Selena remained quiet, not knowing what to say. There was so much that Aiden needed to know and it was important that he hears it from Jayce.
A lot of things made sense to Selena now, the reason why Jayce was so confused when he found Lila, why he always said something felt wrong...
"Let him settle down, he will come to you."
"How are you so sure?" Aiden asked while biting his lips nervously.
"He is my best friend."
Aiden wasn't reassured yet, but he still nodded his head. He couldn't reign in the nervousness. If he could, he would have gone to Jayce right now, but there was little Nic too, and he didn't wanna make that little man worried.
So Aiden settled down in the backyard, he leaned back against a tree and stared into the woods as he focused on how his mate looked.
His blue eyes seemed like they burnt through his skin. Those bulging arms and the visible veins in them... Aiden shivered slightly as the wind blew against him.
Jayce had seen Aiden sitting there. His wolf was eating up his head, asking him again and again to go talk to him.
'What if it is a fluke too? Lila was.'
'I feel the connection this time. It is not a fluke, that handsome right there, shivering against the wind, and no doubt fantasizing about us is our mate.'
Jayce scoffed, 'You are one confident wolf.'
Eliseo, his wolf, scoffed and smirked, 'No, I am just observant, did you not see the way he was looking at us?'
Jayce smiled involuntarily.
He stayed there, staring at his totally unaware mate who was lost in his own world when a small hand landed on the back of his leg.
Jayce smiled and turned towards his son.
He put his son to bed, and getting that soft mattress after so long, little Nic fell asleep instantly. Jayce smiled and put his hand on his son's head. He took a deep breath.
He gently closed the door to their room and stood there silently. He didn't want to leave his son all alone, but right now talking to this man who made his heart race was important too.
He knocked on the next door and when Selena walked out, he asked her to keep an ear out for Nicholas before he went downstairs.
"Where are you going?" Selena asked confused. Xavier appeared behind her looking concerned.
"I need to talk to him," Jayce said seriously.
Selena nodded thoughtfully, "Okay, go. I'll just wait in the room with him."
"Thanks," Jayce said and stole a glance at Xavier, "I am really happy you found your mate. It looks like you guys are happy, you deserve it."
Selena stilled slightly but smiled at him, "Go get your mate now."
Jayce showed no emotions. He just sighed and walked down the hall. Selena turned to Xavier, "I am gonna wait with Nic until he comes back."
"Can I go with you?" he asked unsurely.
"Are you sure? I thought you'd sleep." She frowned.
Xavier shrugged, "I can sleep later."
"Okay then," Selena turned but Xavier held her back. Selena turned to look at him curiously and waited for him to speak.
"I just..." he stuttered, "I just wanna say that I am really lucky to have someone like you, and that I really am sorry for how everything went down for us."
"Shh..." Selena shushed him, "That's our journey. It isn't perfect, but it is how it is and it's okay. Let's not dwell on the sad parts, let's move forward yeah?"
The sound of someone scoffing made them both look out to find Connor there, "You guys made up and turned cheesy."
"Hey! We are not cheesy." Selena grumbled.
Connor smirked.
Selena rolled her eyes and moved on to the next room while Xavier was held back by Connor, "I am really happy for you guys. She finally looks happy, and I have you to thank for that."
Xavier shook his head with a smile, "But I should thank you, for talking some sense into me in the time of need."
Connor smirked, "What are big brothers for?" he said and slapped his back in a brotherly way, "Moreover, I couldn't let her leave, couldn't let her go through that."
"Wait... What do you mean couldn't let her leave?"
Connor's eyes slightly widened. He covered it up but Xavier had already noticed it, "She wanted to leave..." Xavier thought out loud.
Connor sighed realizing his mistake, "You have to know that she was really hurt."
"Did she ever actually forgive me?" Xavier asked, his voice slightly broken.
"She is trying," Connor tried.
Xavier smiled sadly, "I know."
He walked towards the room where his mate was and looked at Connor, "Don't tellher you told me. I don't want her to be worried," and before Connor could say anything, he had already walked in, leaving him cursing himself for the slip-up.