Chapter Twenty-Two
They had just finished eating when Byron’s phone rang.
“Who is it?” Odin asked him as he glanced at the screen.
“I don’t know. It looks like a local number.”
He answered, getting up from the table and stepping away.
“Hello?”
“Um, hi,” a woman’s voice said, sounding uncertain. “We met this afternoon. You were at my house, looking for the family who’d lived there before us.”
“Right, of course. My name is Byron, by the way.”
There was a pause, as if she was thinking carefully about her response.
“Okay. Well, I asked around with some of the neighbors, Byron. The people who lived here, they were the Hughes family. They lived here for over a decade and moved out about eighteen months ago. But they didn’t go far. They’re living a few miles away, in Cedar Grove. Number Seven.”
“Cedar Grove, number seven,” he repeated.
“And you were right, they did have two sons, but one ran away a long time ago.”
Byron closed his eyes at that. Of course, what else would they have told people?
“Thank you. We’re very grateful for your help. It was looking like we’d hit a dead end.”
“I’m glad I could help. But you shouldn’t call this number back, Johnny doesn’t know. He wouldn’t like it.”
“Of course. I understand. There was one other thing. That man, Tobias—”
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
She sounded frightened. He could hear a baby crying in the background.
“I’m sorry, I have to go.”
“Of course, thank you again…”
He paused, hoping she’d give them her name at least.
“Lacie. It’s Lacie.”
“Thank you, Lacie. We are in your debt.”
The call disconnected and he returned to the table, setting his phone down.
He knew from the looks on Jay and Odin’s faces that they’d heard every word.
“We’ll go there first thing tomorrow,” he said.
“Do you think it’s really them? My family?” Jay looked torn between fear and anticipation.
“I don’t know, Jay. I guess we’ll find out for sure tomorrow.”
None of them slept all that well, so they were up and out early, making the short drive to Cedar Grove. It was another isolated collection of houses but given the hour of the morning, there were people milling about and children playing in the gardens. They got some odd looks as they pulled up outside number seven. It was a nondescript house, the only thing that stood out was the garden. Someone obviously took a lot of pride in it.
“Ready?” he asked Jay. The Omega shrugged, staring around with unease.
All three of them got out and walked towards the front door. It was Byron who stepped forward and knocked. There was the sound of running footsteps before a young girl of about ten opened the door, peering cautiously at them.
“Hello. Are your Mom or Dad in?”
She started at them for another moment before turning and yelling over her shoulder.
“Mom. There’s someone at the door.”
She resumed staring at them and when another child appeared behind her, she ushered them away. “Go back inside, Molly.”
“Byron,” Odin said, and he turned to see Jay looking panicked, eyes wide. When Byron stepped towards him, he backed away. Odin caught hold of him. “I’ll take him back to the car, settle him down.”
Byron nodded and turned back to the door, hearing their footsteps grow distant and Odin’s low voice soothing Jay.
“Is your friend okay?” the little girl asked, scrunching her nose.
“He will be. He’s just a little shy,” Byron said.
“Bridget, who is it?” a voice called, before a woman entered the hallway. When she saw him standing there, she went pale. “Bridget, Molly. Find your sister and go upstairs.”
“But Mom…”
“Upstairs, now.”
Byron put on his friendliest expression as the woman moved to the door.
“Mrs. Hughes?”
“That’s right, Annie Hughes. How can I help you?”
And though he’d known this moment was coming, Byron was at a loss for how to start.
“We—” he started to say and the woman’s attention was drawn to their car door opening as Odin ushered Jay back inside.
“Who are you?” she asked, one hand grasping tightly to the door.
“My name is Byron. I’m from Raventree Pack. Could I come inside? I have an important matter to discuss with you and it might take some time.”
“None of my daughters are old enough for mating,” she said, making as if to close the door.
“That’s not why I’m here,” he replied, keeping his voice level even as he wondered at the fear in her eyes. “We were trying to track down a family who lived nearby.”
He rattled off the address where they’d talked to Lacie the previous day. Her eyes widened in recognition.
“I wanted to speak to you about something that happened about eleven or twelve years ago.”
Wordlessly, she stepped back from the door and gestured him in. Closing the door behind him, she led him inside to the kitchen and sat opposite him at the table.
“Twelve years is a long time. What is this all about?”
“At that time, you would have been a family of five, yes? Three children?”
She couldn’t meet his eyes. “That’s right. A girl and two boys.”
“Jenny, Kyle… and Jay.”
Annie met his stare head on. “How do you know that?”
He lifted the coloring book he’d been holding in his hand, opening it to the center page and setting in on the table in front of her. Her hand shook as she reached for it, her fingers brushing across the small hand drawn figures, lingering over the one labeled Jay.
“Where did you find this?”
“Acorn Forest Reserve, hidden in a cave in the valley behind the quarry.”
“Why were you there? And how did you know to bring it here?”
He answered her second question. “There was a library book among the belongings we found, that led us to this area, and it wasn’t too hard to narrow things down from there.”
“But why? Why bring up the past like this?”
“That does belong to your son, then?”
“Jay? Yes, it does. It did.”
“What happened to him?”
“He ran away when he was eight. We tried to find him but…” She shrugged her shoulders.
“You don’t know how or why he might have ended up in the forest?”
She blinked at the question. “Why are you asking all this? Who are you to be asking these questions?”
“An interested party who was keen to hear your side of the story. Because there’s another story there, too. About parents who knew their son was different from other shifter children. Who were scared for him but weren’t sure how to keep him safe. Who brought him to the forest and left him there because they thought it was the only way.”
She was staring at her hands that were gripping the edge of the table.
“We knew we had to hide him. Tobias was growing more suspicious, and we weren’t able to keep him away any longer. The forest was so remote, we thought he’d be able to hide there, that he’d be safe.”
“So you just left Jay there? Abandoned him?” Byron couldn’t keep a hint of anger from his voice.
“There wasn’t much time. Tobias was coming for him so we had to act quickly. Once things had died down, we went back to get him.”
She looked up at him, tears falling down her cheeks. “But we waited too long. We couldn’t find him but we kept searching. Then one day we met a group of humans, hunters.” She covered her mouth with her hand as she let out an anguished cry. “They were bragging about having killed a wolf cub. Our baby. They killed our baby.”
She bent over the table, sobbing into her hands.
“Momma?” a little voice called from the stairs.
Annie composed herself, calling shakily to her. “I’m fine, Molly. Go play with your sisters.”
Byron couldn’t sit back and watch her living in torment any longer.
“Jay is alive.”
She froze, watching him open-mouthed before managing a frantic shake of her head. “No, that can’t be.”
“It can and it is. That’s why we were in the forest. We were there to try to find clues to his past.”
“But where has he been all this time? Why didn’t he come home?”
“He was in the forest until about eighteen months ago, when traffickers picked him up. He didn’t come home to you because he didn’t remember you. He had spent so long living as a wolf, he forgot how to walk, how to talk. He forgot what it meant to be human. He forgot he had a family.”
“He was there all that time.” She stared at him, horrified. “How did he end up with you?”
“We found Jay quite by chance while we were searching for another abducted wolf. We rescued him, took care of him. He has been with me ever since.”
“Then you know what he is?”
“An Omega?” He nodded. “I know, because I’m his Alpha.”
“You’ve bonded then?”
“Not yet. But very soon.”
She took that in, nodding slowly. “Why come looking for us? What would he need from us now that he has you?”
“Another wolf cub has gone missing. We were hoping you might be able to help us find them.”
“How could we help with that? That isn’t our world.”
“The cub was taken by Tobias.”
“He was an Omega?”
“He was. Hearing Tobias’ name jogged Jay’s memory, and we decided to see if following that path might lead us to Tobias. Do you know where we might find him?”
Her face fell, and he knew the answer before she voiced it.
“He doesn’t comes here often anymore. We never know when he’ll arrive or where he comes from.”
“Would anyone around here know? Perhaps someone has a way to contact him?”
She shook her head. “No. Some of the families around here took a stand against him a few years ago. It created a rift. And those that are loyal to him are extremely protective. They won’t help you find him. I’m sorry if it’s been a wasted trip.”
“To be honest, I never thought we’d get this far. I wasn’t sure there’d be anything to find.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Can I bring Jay in now?”
She startled at his words, sitting up with a jerk. “He’s here?”
“Outside in the car. He’s been a little nervous about the whole thing.”
“Does he… does he want to see us?”
Byron wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I’d like to give him the choice, if that’s alright with you?”
She nodded, clutching her hands together as if in prayer.
“I would so much like to see him. There hasn’t been a day since we left him in that forest that I haven’t thought about him.”
“Wait here, I’ll see if he’ll come inside to meet you.”
Byron stood and walked to the front door, finding the older girl sitting on the stairs.
“Is he really our brother? Is he coming home?”
“Bridget, go back upstairs,” her mother called. The girl made a face before climbing back up.
Byron stepped outside into the warmth of the sun and found Jay and Odin leaning against the car. Jay looked calmer on the surface but Byron could see the tension underneath, wound tightly like a coiled spring. He’d need Jay calm if they were going to get through this.
“Is it them?” Jay asked. Byron tugged the Omega into his arms, feeling Jay melt into his embrace.
“It’s them. I’ve just had a long chat with your mother, Annie. She’d really like to see you if you felt up to it.”
“Can she help us find Tobias, find Noah?”
“No, Jay. I’m sorry. They don’t know how to find Tobias. He hasn’t been here for quite a while.”
The Omega pulled away a little. “Then we should go.”
“If that’s what you want. But there’s something you should know first. They did come back for you. But they couldn’t find you and they believed you’d been killed by hunters.”
“They came back? They didn’t abandon me?”
“They wanted you safe and they were out of options.”
The front door opened and Byron turned his head to see Jay’s mother standing there, watching them. She didn’t move, just stayed put, and Byron was grateful to her for giving them space.
“She said she thinks about you every day. She’s never forgotten you.”
Jay peered at her over Byron’s shoulder.
“Okay. I’ll see her.”
Hand in hand, they walked up the path to the door. She stepped back inside as they approached and they followed her into the kitchen. She stopped halfway across the room and turned. She was looking everywhere but at Jay. In contrast, Jay couldn’t take his eyes off her.
When she finally looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears, it took only seconds for her to crumble, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her sob. She stepped closer and Jay held his ground, one hand reaching back to clasp Byron’s in a tight grip.
“It’s… it’s really you. Your eyes… I’ve never forgotten how lost you looked when we drove away and left you there.” Her hand shook as she reached for him, letting her palm rest against his cheek. “I’m so sorry. My baby boy. Look at you, you’re beautiful.”
She threw her arms around him, pulling him close. At first Jay didn’t return the hug, still clinging to Byron’s hand like his life depended on it.
“Oh, my little jaybird. You’re finally home.”
It was those words that finally got through to Jay and he let go of Byron’s hand.
“Momma?”
She smiled through her tears. “That’s right, Jay. Welcome home.”
She hugged him again and this time, he hugged back, closing his eyes as he rested his head against her.
A little while later, they all sat at the table.
“Your father is away until tomorrow. Can you stay that long? I know he’ll want to see you, more than anything.”
Jay looked to Byron for a response. “We can stay another few days.”
“Kyle and Jenny will be back this evening. Kyle’s at work. Jenny’s studying in the local college and she works part-time. They’re going to be so excited to see you. Could I bring the girls down to meet you?” She glanced up at the ceiling as she spoke, laughter filtering down from the second floor.
Jay only managed a nod in reply and Byron could see he was fast becoming overwhelmed.
“Perhaps we could come back this evening and Jay could meet his siblings then? This is a lot for him.”
“Oh.” Her face fell a little. “Of course. If that’s what you feel is best.” She turned to Jay, reaching for his hand. “I know they’ll be excited to see you. I’ll make dinner for us all. Byron and Odin can come too.”
Jay nodded shyly, turning again to see Byron’s response.
“We would be delighted to join you.”
Byron gave Sebastian a call when they got back to the cottage, to let them know they’d hit a dead end where Tobias was concerned. He was surprised when Adam answered the phone. But since the Alphas in Glenoak were busy and Adam more than eager to talk to him, he passed on what information he could.