Chapter Ten
Jules held his breath as he moved off the bed. His leg ached with every little scoot across. Mother Estelle's pain medication worked well but only for a few hours. The pain leaked back into his body by slow degrees and stabbed at him. He still wouldn't stop, not when Tommy's keys were within sight.
When he sat up, he had to fight back the urge to cry out. His head swam, and his heart rocketed in his ears. His gaze was on the table and the keys, which lay right on top, but his vision darkened around the edges until it seemed as if he were looking through a tunnel. He put his head between his legs and waited for it to pass.
When it finally did, he stood, wobbling on his feet as he padded barefoot to the table. Before he reached for the keys, he turned to Hacen to make sure he was still asleep.
He looked younger with his face relaxed. The scowl he seemed to carry around like luggage wasn't wrinkling his skin. Peace didn't come to Hacen easily, if at all, but in sleep, he seemed to find it.
Jules hesitated, his hand hovering over them for long seconds he didn't have if he wanted to get out of the cabin before Tommy finished in the bathroom.
If he stayed, he'd be accepting Tommy and Hacen as his mates, and he wasn't ready for that. Jules needed every single one of the Somersets, and he'd be giving up a relationship with them. Hacen might say he'd let Jules visit, but that meant Jules would always go alone or maybe just with Tommy. Hacen would always leave himself out, and that would eventually put a strain on their relationship, which wasn't fair, but fairness wasn't exactly Hacen's end goal.
And as much as Tommy tried to make it seem as if he put himself in between Jules and Hacen, Tommy didn't care about fairness either. He just wanted them to be together, and Jules doubted he cared how that happened.
Even with all the negativity floating around them, Jules couldn't forget the way Hacen held him when he needed it most and the gentle smile that always seemed to enter his eyes right before it graced his lips.
They seemed like little things, but they were big in Jules' world. They didn't outweigh the way Tommy and Hacen basically kidnapped him from a battlefield without any thought that Jules might worry about his clan members and his family.
Jules took the keys off the table and hobbled out the door.
The second the dizzy spell hit a wave of regret also nearly knocked him on his ass. He could admit he probably needed Hacen and Tommy. At least until he felt better.
The one bright spot to the whole stupid stunt was the glint of red metal through the trees and brush. He sighed in relief and hobbled along the path. The sun sat low in the sky, the rays bouncing off the shiny paint on the car.
Just a few yards to go and he'd be able to get home, to the people who loved him without conditions.
That's if he could drive himself. He hoped the dizziness would fade once he sat down.
Jules used his good hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He should be shivering from the cold, but each step felt as if he ran a marathon.
Jules moved to a tree just off the main path and slid down, leaning against it. The back of his head rested against the bark. The jagged edges bit into his scalp, uncaring about the pain radiating throughout the rest of his body. The dampness of the earth beneath him seeped into his sweatpants. He noticed it but didn't have the energy to care.
He tried to take in deep, even breaths but couldn't manage it with any real measure of success, so he shut his eyes to calm his wild heartbeat.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there. It could have been seconds or several minutes, but it was long enough to lose the lead he had on Hacen and Tommy. He heard them stomping through the brush as if they were hunters in pursuit of a prized deer long before he saw them.
When they did finally make an appearance, they plowed right on past him. He must have been off the path enough and downwind, so neither of them saw him sitting there.
He held his breath and watched them.
"You're sure you put the car keys on the table and that he took them?" Hacen looked pissed, but he always looked like that. It was the underlying worry in his eyes that made Jules wince.
Tommy looked worse. The tension practically radiated off him like visible waves, and he walked with a single-minded purpose for the car. "I'm positive. He took the damn keys, Hacen. There's no way he can drive in his condition, especially not with the pain meds he's on. It's like driving drunk."
"Well, he didn't make it to the car yet." Hacen gestured to the red spots visible through the trees.
"Or he's passed out on the damn road." Tommy never stopped moving.
"Do you have the phone on you?" Hacen asked even as he stopped walking. He turned in a circle slowly, looking around. Jules held his breath again, his body tensing as Hacen's gaze came around and passed right over him.
Jules sighed in relief. How the hell did Hacen miss him?
The bushes and brush that lay just on the edge of the path must shield him just enough that even Hacen's vampire vision couldn't see him. Hacen must be able to smell him though. Jules would bet money that was why he stopped.
"Yes. I grabbed it on the way out."
"Call the Somersets. Ask his mother and the Alpha to come see him."
Tommy stopped in his tracks and turned. His eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open. Jules completely understood exactly how he felt.
Hacen pointed to Tommy's pocket, waving his hand around. "Do it now, Tommy. Jules needs them. He’s gonna hurt himself otherwise."
"And the Alpha coming along?"
"Neither Ramsey or Ladon will come between mates. It's time we prove that to Jules, so he'll stop running."
"How do you know they won't?" Tommy dug around in his pocket and pulled out a cellphone. Jules hadn’t seen it in the cabin. If he had, he would have called his house and had someone pick him up.
"If they were going to, they would have by now." Hacen's eyes turned red which made the scowl scary. Was Hacen even aware how menacing he looked?
"Good point." Tommy pressed some buttons on his phone with his thumb and then held it up to his ear. He turned again, heading to the car. As Tommy walked, he began to talk on the phone.
Jules strained to hear the one-sided conversation, but Tommy was far enough away at that point that Jules only heard the undertones of his voice.
"Come out, honey."
No way. Hacen looked like he would turn Jules over his knee. As much fun as that sounded, his pain level was already at an all-time high.
Hacen turned around in a complete circle until he had his back to Jules.
As much as Jules wanted to go home to see his family, Hacen and Tommy's presence calmed him in ways he hadn't expected.
Jules tried to get the knee of his good leg under him, but he couldn't figure out how without causing himself even more pain. He braced himself on the ground. The dead, brown leaves were wet and slimy underneath him. Black mud clung as he got his leg to work. He used the tree to steady himself as he stood slowly.
Hacen must have heard him rustling about because he spun around so quickly Jules was sure that's what caused the dizziness to return. His vision blurred, so he leaned against the tree. "Hacen."
He thought for sure he'd hit the ground when he passed out, and he was probably only out a few seconds, but when he woke up, Hacen carried him in his arms.
"Tommy! I got him." Hacen never said a word to Jules or even looked at him as he walked along the trail back to the cabin.
By the time Tommy caught up with them, he didn't have his phone in his hand anymore. Tommy ran his hand through Jules' hair as they walked. "Do you see why we wanted you to stay in bed? You need to give yourself time to heal. But you're making it worse by running."
"Stop yelling at him, Tommy. It's not the time." Hacen still wouldn't look at Jules. Would Hacen be the one yelling when he deemed it the time to start because he much preferred that to the disappointment lacing Tommy’s every word?
“I’m worried. You scared me, Jules. What if we hadn’t found you and you froze to death? Or worse, bleed to death. You need to stop.”
"Don’t pretend you care. Right now, you're the warden, and Hacen's the prison guard." He couldn't keep from wincing when Hacen moved a certain way and sent shock waves of pain through his leg.
"You're not a damn prisoner, so stop it."
"If you don't like the truth then take me home." Jules couldn't keep the huskiness from his voice. He knew it made him sound weak and it was the last thing he wanted. He couldn't help it, though.
Tommy opened the door for them when they finally made it to the cabin. Hacen had to turn sideways to get in, but once he did, he went to a plush chair instead of the bed.
As Hacen sat, Jules could tell he was mindful of the wound because he took his time and turned in such a way that wouldn't brush Jules’ leg against the arm of the chair. Once Hacen sat, he arranged Jules so he was reclining more against Hacen's chest than the chair. "Would you grab that blanket for him, Tommy?"
Tommy took a blanket off the foot of the bed with such force the other covers underneath came part way off as well. When he walked across the room, his eyes blazed with anger. His lips set in a firm, straight line.
Well, now he knew what Tommy looked like when he was angry. It was hot and he probably would have made a joke about Tommy being a sexy ginger if he didn't feel like crap.
Despite Tommy's mood, he tucked the blanket around Jules gently.
His gaze met Jules, and when he spoke, his tone was as hard as nails. "Get this through your head. You’re ours. Ours. You’ll regret it if you leave.”
Jules swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and moved into Hacen. Never in his life would he think Tommy would be the one that made him feel as if he were talking to Mr. Evil himself, but there he was, right back in the past all over again.
Jules wanted to reply with some brilliant comeback, but he couldn't get words to form. Fear glued his tongue to the roof of his mouth.
"Go cool off, Tommy. Now. Before you say something else you'll regret." The last thing Jules expected was Hacen coming to his rescue.
He couldn't have been more grateful when Tommy turned and headed for the door. The second it clicked shut behind him, Jules let out the breath he wasn't aware he held. Trying to hold the tears back was like trying to hold back a broken dam.
Hacen let him cry, and for the first time since meeting him, Jules felt completely comfortable. He wasn't even sure why. They'd argue again, probably soon. But there was a difference between Hacen's overbearing, controlling attitude and what Tommy displayed. He could deal with the former because, in the end, he knew Hacen would eventually give in, at least to the point that they could make a compromise. Hacen hadn't ever come at him from a place of anger, only frustration.
He couldn't handle Tommy. What if Tommy had been nice to him the whole time only to manipulate him? Mr. Evil had been calculating and overly charming. If that meant manipulating a person to get what he wanted, then he did without remorse, and he didn't care who he hurt in the process.