Page 49 of Threads of Fate

Jay isn’t ashamed to cry, so he lets the tears fall sinking to his ass on the cold floor. He’s so fucking tired of the crying, the hurt, and landing on his ass, figuratively and literally.

Finn hugs him tightly. “I don’t know how anyone could do that, and you have every right to be angry.”

“Someone better tell me what happened, right the fuck now.” Gideon is standing just inside the door with Grayson, hands on his hips and dead-eye stare leveled at his teary mates. “Start with the table.”

Grayson has made his way over to the bed where Nix is, and, for the first time since the Tranq Episode™, he is close enough to touch. Without another minute of hesitation, he climbs into Nix’s bed, pressing his nose into Nix’s neck and laying his hand over his heart. It soothes Jay’s wolf even more to see Grayson settled somewhat after the week he’s had.

Just then, Jay’s phone starts up with his father’s ringtone from inside Finn’s scrubs pocket. It disconnects only to start up again immediately,

“Is there a reason we aren’t taking Rhodes’s calls?” Raising an eyebrow, Gideon crosses his arms. He makes no secret that Jay’s father did not deserve his time or respect. Something to do with being a bully and a wannabe alpha, despite actually being one.

“Mrs. Rhodes told us she’d lied about Nix having died in that car accident. She said…” He looks at Jay, wanting to be sure he isn’t going to trigger the alpha again.

“She told me they lied because he was just a human and wasn’t ‘good enough’ for me; that he’d have held me back.”

Grayson is uncharacteristically livid. He’s out of bed in a flash, eyes flashing red. “What the fuck? Who does that? He was in that hellhole for years because theylied?He could have died! He could have been with me—us—this whole time.” He’s pacing now, pulling at his hair, growling low and deep until he finally turns and punches the wall so hard that the concrete cracks.

Finn flinches. “Gray! Your hand, fuck. Let me see.”

Grayson’s anger is typically never the kind to blow up. It’s not that he doesn’t get angry; it’s more that he’s prone to cold shoulders and icy looks. Maybe some passive aggression. But he’s also slow to anger. Gideon, on the other hand…his alpha’s anger is ice-cold and deadly, like the expression he’s wearing now.

“Love, hey. Look at me. It’s okay. I’m done with them. That’s the last straw. There’s nothing there for me anymore.” Jay approaches his mate slowly, reaches for his clenched fist, and puts a finger under his chin. “Nix is okay. We’re okay. Come back to me now.”

Just then, the phone rings again. Gideon shrugs Finn off, extending a hand for the device. Without a word, Finn hands it over and turns his attention back to carefully cleaning the concrete dust from Grayson’s knuckles.

“Finn!” Jay groans. This will not be an exercise in de-escalation at all.

The doctor shrugs. “I’m not sorry. They have it coming.”

“Rhodes, so nice to hear your voice…” Gideon’s voice fades as he goes into the restroom, closing the door and activating the sound dampeners. Grayson’s eyes go wide, and they look at each other. Whatever he’s saying, this isnota good sign.

By Jay’s estimate, it’s less than two minutes when the door opens and Gideon emerges. “They won’t be calling again. I hope you meant it when you said we were done?” Gideon always smells like rain, the hope of a cleansing thunderstorm, but now there’s also a tinge of lightning crackling in the air. It’s so strong Jay can taste it in the back of his throat.

With an affirmative nod, he holds out his hand for his phone, opens his contacts, and blocks both his parents. He’s free of them finally, and he feels nothing but relief.

Gideon stalks over to the bed and begins scenting Nix all over. Even his scent gland gets a lick, and his wrists get rubbed on Gideon’s throat. It seems to calm him somewhat and he drops into the chair beside the bed, pulls out the second book from Dr. Spencer, and puts on a pair of reading glasses. He’s so handsome that Jay swallows hard, a fire starting in his belly.

Then it strikes him. “Hey! You don’t evenneedglasses!”

Eyebrow raised, he crosses his ankle over his knee, opening the book, “You have any complaints?”

Jay does not, in fact, have any complaints. “Zero complaints. Less than zero. Did you bring the other book?” Until now, he hasn’t had the capacity for what the omega books will bring, but he allows himself to feel lighter now that he’s free of his parents, despite the awful news. He has his Sunshine back, and there’s no better time than the present for him to figure out what Nix is going to need from them.

“Not until you shower and change, then I’ll read you a story. Shoo.” He rudely waves a hand and goes back to his book.

So hot. Sigh.

“That’s ‘shoo, Alpha’to you,” he says under his breath and goes.

The hot shower eases some of the aching muscles from his rage earlier, and the bespectacled Gideon slides through his mind as he runs his soapy hands over his chest and down his tight abdominals. Even though he’s off the suppressants, his interest in pleasure seems dulled. He thinks maybe he only wants Nix right now because his wolf has a one-track mind. So he turns the water cold and finishes his shower.

He glimpses the tattoo he had done almost a decade ago in the small mirror. It had been in memory of the boy he’d lost, and the phoenix’s body sits over his breastbone while its fiery wings cover both pecs and deltoids. It still looks as good as it had the day he’d had the last feather inked, in every shade of red almost eight years ago.

When he comes out, two strangers are standing in the room: a shorter, friendly-looking blonde woman and a tall, stern-looking brunette. Gideon is on defense, trying to determine which is the weakest link in the pair while standing between the newcomers and their sleeping omega. They certainly aren’tunaware of the potential for an altercation either, standing with their hands visible and scent patches on.

“Mr. Rhodes, I’m Detective Julie Reinhardt, and this is my partner, Detective Sasha Larsen; we’re with the Supernatural Police Service. Do you have a minute to speak with us about Austin Rena?”

Jay flinches at the use of Nix’s first name and his other mates are frozen in place, waiting to take their cue from him.

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