Chapter Twelve
Joe fell asleep almost immediately after dinner, and it wasn’t long before Kai followed suit. Axel stayed awake a while longer, until he was sure both of them were settled, before getting some rest himself.
The next morning, both Joe and Kai seemed a lot better. Kai had stopped shivering, and Joe’s injuries were healing fast. They had breakfast in the clinic room, courtesy of Ollie.
Afterward, Ollie stole Kai away to wash up and get a change of clothes, leaving Axel and Joe alone for the first time in weeks.
“Oh, Axel.”
Joe launched himself into Axel’s arms and he hugged him back.
“I knew you’d come. I thought if I could just buy us some time…”
“And you did, and it worked. I couldn’t have done better myself.”
“I couldn’t feel my wolf, and Kai couldn’t shift. I was scared of what would happen to him. And what would happen if he were sold off. I mean, there are lots of reasons someone might buy a beta but there’s only really one reason someone would purchase an omega. I couldn’t let that happen to Kai.”
“And it didn’t. Kai’s safe.”
“I know. It’s just… he’s been so alone, Axel. All alone, for years.” There were tears in Joe’s eyes, trailing down his cheeks. “Most people, with that kind of isolation, a difficult life like he’s had, it hardens them. But not Kai.”
“Yeah.” Axel rested his chin against Joe’s shoulder. “He’s had it tough. But he’s here now, his life will change, and he’ll never be alone like that again. We’ll make sure of that.”
He felt Joe’s jolt of surprise at his words.
“Do you feel it too?” the beta whispered.
“Feel what?” Axel asked, keeping his voice equally as soft.
“Like you’ve known him years instead of days. That he… belongs.”
“Since the moment I set eyes on him, I’ve wanted to take care of him. I know that’s a common alpha reaction to being faced with a scared, injured omega. But it’s deeper than that. Even just hearing you talk about him while you were in Hilltop… you think he’s our third, don’t you?”
“I feel it,” Joe admitted. “There’s a connection there. But I didn’t know if you’d feel the same.”
“I feel something,” Axel said. “But I haven’t known him long. We need time. And we can’t just throw this at him, the poor guy’s had a bad week. He’d probably run back to where he came from, wishing he’d never left it in the first place.”
Joe grumbled but relented. “You’re right. I don’t think we can lead with ‘we want you to be our mate.”
“But we do need to spend time with him. How else will we work out if what we’re feeling is right?”
“How long can you stay?”
“In the den? Not long. Not now I know that the lions targeted us for a reason. I need to be home. Since Dex’s death, Dad’s been pulling away from the other wolf packs. He blames Seth’s progressiveness for Dex’s death and thinks we need to go back to ‘tradition’.”
“Not good,” Joe surmised.
“No. But the pack isn’t on board. They like the changes, the matings from last year’s Gathering are working out well. They’re looking forward to this year.”
“So, what do we do?”
“That’s easy,” Axel said, cupping his hand under Joe’s chin, and drawing the beta’s eyes up to meet his. “As soon as you’re well enough to travel, we return to the Weir, together, just as we planned.”
There was a noise outside and he glanced toward the door. “Kai?”
There was no reply, just footsteps hurrying away.
Kai couldn’t help liking Ollie. The omega was so sweet and energetic, he felt tired just watching him. But thanks to Ollie he was showered and dressed in clean clothes, so he couldn’t complain. The other omega gave him a short tour around, but Kai tired easily and was anxious to get back to Joe and Axel. The beta seemed to be healing up okay, which was a relief.
He waved goodbye to Ollie at the door of the clinic and stepped inside. As he walked down the hallway, he realized the lace of one of the shoes Ollie had given him had come undone. He bent down to tie it, hearing Axel and Joe talking in the next room. They were planning to leave as soon as they could for Axel’s home. A wave of cold washed over Kai at the words. Joe would be gone, Axel too, and he’d be alone all over again, among strangers.
Pushing to his feet, he stumbled back down the corridor and outside. He didn’t know what to do or where to go. He was lost, in every sense of the word. Turning, he just started to walk. He should never have gone to Hilltop. Sure, things had been hard before, finding enough food was a challenge, but he’d been doing okay. There wasn’t pain, there’s wasn’t sadness, there was just nothingness, the same routine, day after day. No one to leave him like his dad had, no one to make his heart hurt. It had been better. It would be better again.
He found himself walking in the direction of the bridge. That was right, he needed to go, before things got worse.
“Kai? Kai!”
He tried to ignore the voices calling him, but they only got more insistent. Slowly, he turned. It was Ollie and his brother, Cade.
“Where are you going? It’ll be dark soon.”
Kai didn’t know what to say, how to explain.
“I… I was…” He burst into tears.
Two pairs of arms wrapped around him, holding him as he sobbed.
“Joe and Axel are leaving,” he managed to say between sobs. “And I’ll be alone again. I don’t want to be alone.”
“Shh.” Ollie rubbed a hand up and down his back. “It’s going to be okay, Kai. Trust us.”
Kai didn’t know how to trust. He’d been alone so long; other people were a puzzle to him. Except Joe. Joe made sense. Axel, too. He could see the strings that tied the two of them together, could see the love they shared. It should have felt warm, but instead, all he felt inside was a terrible icy cold.
He could hear voices murmuring above his head, then the omegas were either side of him, supporting him as they encouraged him to walk. When he realized they were headed back to the clinic, he tried to twist free of their grasps.
“Kai, it’s okay. The way you’re feeling, it’s for a reason. And we can help with that.”
He surrendered to their urgings and kept walking, even though he wanted to be running in the opposite direction.
“Almost there,” Ollie said, as Kai’s breath hitched, and he swallowed another sob.
They went through the door and along the corridor, pausing outside the clinic room where Joe and Axel were.
Cade opened the door and Ollie spoke into Kai’s ear.
“Just tell them how you feel. We’ll be right here to help.”
He gave Kai a gentle push forward and, hesitantly, he stepped into the room, coming face to face with Joe and Axel.