21

Reece

Emma and I are having a grand old time rolling around on the carpet in our room. She can sit up on her own now, but she hasn't started to crawl yet. So, she spends her time rolling to where she wants to go. I follow her, giggling with her the entire time.

Asher had gone off somewhere early this morning, so he's missing out on the fun. Oh well; more fun for us!

Emma just stopped at her toy bin. I helped her grab one of the smaller bins and she promptly dumped its contents on the ground.

I grinned and placed my hands on my hips. "Now look what you've done. I've gotta clean that now!" She only laughed and clapped her hands together. I attacked her face with kisses, making her squeal with laughter, sending me into a giggling fit as well.

After a while, I pulled away so the both of us could catch our breaths. I stared deep into her eyes, an exact copy of mine. I took in her beauty, from her cute dimple on her right cheek, to the rather thick locks of hair that matched Asher's. He still won't admit that it's a smokey gray.

Emma reached her petite fingers up and tangled them in my hair, gently pulling. I took her hand and kissed each finger. "Yes, I know my hair is soft." She gave a gummy smile at the sound of my voice. "My beautiful Emma..."

Emma is now five months old. She's so beautiful and smart. She's going to grow into such a lovely woman. I may not want her to grow up, but I can't wait to see how she turns out to be when she gets older. Will she develop my sarcasm? Oh, I hope she does!

Emma suddenly yawned and I picked her up into my arms. "Nap time already?" She gave me a sleepy smile then shut her eyes as I gently placed her into her crib. I trailed a soft finger down her cheek before draping a light blanket over her lower half. With a soft groan, I flopped onto my bed face first. Once it started getting difficult to breathe, I rolled over and grabbed a book off the night stand. I finally get to see how this ends!

Three pages from the end of the book, Emma began to stir and wake up. I started to put my bookmark in place and get up when a voice stopped me. "No, no. I got it." I looked up to see Asher pick up Emma and get her changing table set up. I smiled warmly at the pair as he talked to her and changed her. She would talk back to him as best she could with her wordless babble. Asher seemed to have a permanent smile in place whenever he was around our daughter. I could feel the pride and joy swelling within him through our Connection.

"Do you think she'll want to explore the outside?" Asher suddenly asked.

"What?" I asked, setting the book down.

He shrugged. "It's a bit warm outside, but it's rather nice. I was just thinking that maybe she would like to go outside for a bit."

I smiled and stood from the bed to stand beside him as he finished changing her. "That sounds like a nice idea." He grinned to me before carefully picking up Emma and placing her against his chest. With her securely in place, he pulled out a pink tutu skirt, black leggings, and a light purple shirt from her dresser drawers. I grabbed her pink sun hat and a pair of black socks and white tennis shoes. Together, we got her all dressed and ready for a day outside.

When we got to the porch, I had to laugh. "Looks like we weren't the only ones with the same idea." Ever since the war had been settled and taken care of, people had begun to venture outside once more. I spotted the family Nyl had taken in from the disbanded pack; the ones from the same pack where the used-to-be alpha kidnapped me.

They're such a cute family.

Asher led us over to our own little section of the yard and placed Emma between us. We laughed and played together as a family, loving every moment we have with our precious daughter. Asher taught her how to make a funny face. She now squints her eyes and curls her lips into a half smile, half scowl. I lightly smacked him, only succeeding in making him laugh.

"Reece," I looked up to the sound of my name being called. "May I speak with you?" I looked back to Asher. He nodded and urged me to see what they wanted. I gave Emma one last kiss before standing and following them.

"What's up, Shel?" I asked once we were in a private area.

She bit her lip and fidgeted with her fingers. "Jay's been acting... odd."

I tilted my head a bit. "Odd? What do you mean?"

"Well..." She took a deep breath and met my eyes. "He's being distant. Like, very distant. He's blocking me out most of the time. The only time I get to feel him through the Connection is when he falls asleep at night. Reece, I'm worried. What if something happened and he won't tell me?"

"Shelbie, calm down." I gently took a hold of her shoulders. "Don't automatically assume the worse. You know what assuming does?"

She nodded. "It makes an ass out of you and me."

"Exactly." I nodded. "If you're thinking he might be cheating, you're wrong. It's literally impossible for one to do that because of the Connection. Just try to speak with him about what's going on. Tell him that him being secretive is worrying you and you want to try and help him."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah... Hopefully that works. Thanks, Reece. I'll try that later." We gave each other a quick hug before parting.

Asher was standing with Emma in his arms when I reached them. "Emma is getting tired again. We're going to head in."

I nodded. "Fine by me."

"What was all that about?" He asked as we headed inside.

"Well-"

"Shelbie, please!"

"But Jayden! Something is wrong and I want to help you!" Both of them stormed past us and out the front door.

I blinked slowly, not sure as to what happened. "I... I think Shelbie's talk with Jayden didn't go over well..."

"What's wrong?" But I wasn't able to answer him. Shelbie came running into the house and straight to my arms, huge tears streaming down her face. She couldn't form coherent sentences; only grunts and heartbroken cries.

"Take Emma upstairs." I told Asher as I clutched Shelbie close to me. "I'm going to calm her down." He nodded, then slipped upstairs.

I took Shelbie to one of the sitting rooms in the pack house and locked the door. She was gasping through her sobs and holding her arms tightly around her. I sat next to her on the couch and pulled her close to me. All she could do was shake her head and cry.

After another hour of tears, she finally calmed down long enough to speak. "R-Reece... H-he left... He said he couldn't handle it anymore..."

"Tell me what's been going on," I said gently. "Let me help you."

She swallowed hard and sniffed. "This past week, he's been coming home later and later and won't give me an explanation. He leaves at early hours of the morning. We hardly ever get to speak now because he's always so exhausted. He won't tell me anything and when I try to comfort him, he pushes me away. He hardly even takes care of his own son! I feel like I'm doing it on my own! It's only gotten worse in the past few months!"

"Where's Kester now?" I asked softly.

"He's staying with my mom for a while." She shook as she tried to keep her tears from falling again. "I thought it would be a good idea so Jayden and I could try to figure out what was going on and resolve it. But then..." She brought her hand up and covered her mouth as more tears threatened to spill over. "My God, Reece... I feel so broken and empty inside..."

I brought her closer to me. "Alright, here's what we're going to do. You and I are going to grab the necessary things you and Kester need. We'll pack, maybe, two weeks tops. You are going to go over to your parents for a while, but it won't be to your place; he knows where you used to live. So, we're going to get you guys checked into a motel in town. While you're away, block him out. I will speak with him."

"Reece-"

"Deal?"

"But Reece-"

"Deal?"

She thought this over a while before taking a deep breath and slowly letting it out. "Deal. You sure you can speak with him?"

I nodded. "I'm certain I'll be able to figure out what's been bugging him. The second I find out, I'll tell you."

"Thank you..." She sniffed then stood to grab her baby bag and a small suit case. "Help me pack?" We spent the next half hour packing up everything Shelbie would need for her and Kester while they were gone for two weeks.

Before we left, I told Asher I was taking Shelbie to her parents. I made him swear not to tell Jayden anything until I got back. He was suspicious, but allowed me to go. He about flipped when I told him I had to block him out temporarily. It took nearly five minutes for me to calm him and explain that Shelbie would feel better knowing that neither of them could follow us because of what was going on.

Reluctantly, he let me go.

When we got to Shelbie's place, I explained to them what needed to happen and how it was going to work. I didn't give them all the details; Shelbie promised she would explain once they were at the motel.

I led the way in to town, Shelbie riding with her parents and Kester in the car behind me. I found a decent motel and helped them get situated before making sure everything was going to be okay between them.

"Don't worry about us, Reece," Shelbie said softly as we held each other tightly. "We'll be fine. I promise."

I nodded slowly then pulled away. "Don't forget to block him."

"Already done." She confirmed. "I blocked him the second we left the pack house."

"Good." We shared one last embrace before I had to go.

The entire way home, I though about how I was going to get Jayden to explain everything to me.

~~~~

Jayden didn't come back for five days. No one saw him for five days. He never returned to the pack house and no one from any of the packs had spotted him. People were beginning to worry that something had happened to him and were about to send out a Search Party.

It wasn't necessary, though. The second Nyl began to organize one, Jayden came stumbling into the pack house, his clothes soiled with oil and dirt. He looked drained and lifeless. A few of the warriors helped him to his room. He didn't come out of his room for an entire day, whatever he had been doing had finally caught up to him.

This gave me more time to think about what I was going to say.

Right now, I'm in the living room, by myself, watching tv. As I watched it, I was running through my head what I was going to say to him when he asked where Shelbie was. I have my lines all planned out. I just hope I can say it without freezing up or stuttering.

But something kept eating at the back of my mind: What if he doesn't ask? What if he honestly doesn't care and really is finding a way to cheat on her? If he is cheating on her, I will make sure there is nothing left of him if he ever goes out with another woman. He can say goodbye to his buddy.

"Where's Shelibe?" I snapped my head up to the sound of a voice speaking. Jayden stood in the entry way to the living room, rubbing his hands down his freshly shaven face. I blinked slowly. I didn't even hear him enter.

"Where's Shelbie?" He asked a bit more forcefully when he didn't get a response.

I took a deep breath through my nose before looking back to the tv screen. "She left."

I saw him stiffen out of the corners of my eyes. "Left? Left where?"

I just shrugged. "She left. She just took Kester and left. She told me she may or may not come back and-"

"She took my son?!" He suddenly growled. My heart sped up and I looked over to see a wild look in his eyes as he shook and glared at me. "Where is she?! Where did she go?! She couldn't have suddenly left! Not with my son! You're her best friend; tell me where she went!!" He looked about ready to lose it and shift right there.

That's when I realized I needed help. I quickly opened my Connection to Asher, hoping he would contact Nyl, and fast. "Jayden, she didn't tell me where she went. She just said she couldn't handle you pushing her away."

He growled with each exhale he let out. His eyes were pitch black and seemed to be expanding, sucking me into the void. "There is no way in hell she would have just up and left! There has to be a reason! Tell me where she went!" This isn't Jayden; this is his Wolf.

I gulped and tried not to let my fear show. "Jayden, she never told me where she went. Please believe me."

A snarl ripped through his chest. A scream caught in my throat as I stared wide eyed at his lunging figure.

Thankfully, Nyl and Asher appeared and restrained him. I desperately tried to even out my breathing, which had come close to hyperventilation status. My heart was pounding in my ears and I couldn't move; I was frozen in place.

Asher and Nyl dragged a struggling and anger controlled Jayden out of the living room, possibly outside. A few moments later, a piercing, heartbroken howl sliced through the air before it slowly began to fade.

Asher was at my side a few seconds later, softly cradling me to him. "He's going out to blow off steam. He'll be back in a few hours. Just calm down, Reece... Everything is alright..."

"Is it?" I asked in a soft voice that still held fear in it.

I felt him nod. "He's starting to see what he's been doing. He wants to get a clear head before he tries to speak with you again."

"Asher, he tried to attack me..." I snuggled closer to him.

He held me tighter. "I know, Reece... But I've got you. I won't let him hurt you."

"I know..." I sniffed and turned my head so my nose was no longer buried in his chest. "I believe you." A thought suddenly occurred to me. "If we're down here, who's taking care of Emma?" Asher was gone in less than two seconds.

It took me a few moments to register what happened before I stood and headed back up to our room. When I arrived, I found Asher gently holding Emma over his shoulder. Her head was tipped so the back of it was snuggled into the crook of his neck. I grinned and leaned against the door frame, watching the two of them as Asher swayed slightly.

Emma glanced up and smiled at me, making small noises as she reached for me. Asher turned a bit and grinned at me. "Sorry about leaving like that. I didn't have time to have someone watch after her when you called for me."

I shrugged and paced over to them. "It's fine. I would have rushed off, too."

Asher took a seat on the bed and positioned Emma so she could sit between us. I followed him to the bed and laid so I was on my side. Asher laid down on the other side of Emma and together we watched over her as she clutched at Asher's shirt and my hair. After another five minutes, she yawned and softly shut her eyes.

I huffed through my nose. "The little booger gets more sleep than we do..." I said with a pout.

Asher chuckled and carefully sat up to kiss the side my head. "We can always sleep right now."

I gave a half shrug. "I'm sometimes restless in my sleep; I don't want to take the chance of accidentally laying on her."

"I can fix that." Very gently and carefully, Asher picked her up then placed her in her crib. She didn't stir a bit as he draped a blanket over the lower part of her body. Soon, he was back at our bed, picking me up then laying the two of us down, positioning me so I was laying half on him and half on the bed.

"Better?" He asked as he stroked my head.

I smiled softly. "Better." I went to say more, but my phone suddenly started going off. With a groan, I quickly got off the bed and took the call outside the room.

"Hello?" I answered the phone.

"Hey, Reece." Wow, doesn't he sound stressed...

"Hey, Rorie." I sighed and leaned against the wall. "What's up?"

He let out a tired sounding sigh of his own. "Reece, I'm beyond stressed right now. I have so much to take care of with the Hunters, making sure the new members know about the pact, training the members, everything... On top of that, I was able to get Jayden out of my home when he stormed in, demanding where Shelbie was. Let me tell you, he was inches from death. One of the newer members would have shot him had I not moved the gun before he pulled the trigger."

"Damn..." I slowly shook my head.

"So, where is Shelbie?" He asked.

I glanced around, making sure Jayden didn't come out of no where. "I took Shelbie to a motel in town. Jayden has been acting different and is pushing her away. I told her I would find out what was going on, then report back to her. I didn't think he'd go after you, too."

"He's just worried, Reece." He assured me. "All males are when their mate is missing; even more so if the male is an Alpha, like Nyl."

"It makes sense." I shrugged and glanced around. "He seems stressed and he seems to care about her, but he hasn't been showing it often. Rorie, is it possible for a Wolf to cheat on his mate?"

Rorie was silent after that. "Rorie?"

"If he's cheating on Shelbie, I will kill him. I don't care about the pact, I will kill that son of a bitch and skin him alive in wolf-form!"

I shuddered at his threat. "I want to as well, but is it possible?"

"I don't know, Reece." He took a breath to calm himself. "That's something you might have to ask Asher or Nyl."

I sighed to myself and stood from the wall. "Alright, I'll ask them later. Thanks for your help. So, how are things with you and Joel?"

"Things are magnificent." I could hear the smile in his tone. "He's away right now with his family on a small mission, but should be back by the end of the week. When he gets back, the two of us are going out to dinner at his favorite restaurant."

I smiled at that. "Sounds like fun. Well, I have to go. I just kinda left Asher and Emma to their own. Don't know what's going on in there..."

He chuckled. "Talk to you later, Reece."

"Yeah, talk to you later." We hung up and I wiped the ear sweat from my phone before entering the room once more. Both Asher and Emma were out cold and I laughed softly as the two of them snoozed.

"Reece?" I turned to see Jayden behind me. His face was full of guilt and regret. "May... may I speak with you?"

I looked back to Asher and Emma before I responded. "Yeah. Let's do that down stairs." We exited the room and I shut the door behind me. Jayden walked in front of me and brought us to the porch out front. No one was outside at this time.

Jayden took a deep breath then flopped into a patio chair. "Reece, I'm so very sorry I lashed out at you earlier today... I wasn't in control. My Wolf was angered and confused as to why she would suddenly take our son and leave. He didn't know what was going on and couldn't figure out what we had done to deserve this."

I frowned at him. "For starters, why don't you tell me what you've been doing these couple past months?" I suggested as I sat in a chair in front of him.

He let out an exhausted groan and covered his face with his hands. "Things have been chaotic these past few months. In all honesty, I didn't even know what was happening."

My eyes narrowed more. "So, you didn't know you were cheating on her?

"What?!" He gasped out and sat forward. "Cheating on Shelbie?! Why the hell would I do that?! No! I would never do that to her! She's the love of my life and I could never do that to her!"

"That's what she thought you were doing." I leaned back and crossed my arms. "You've been pushing her away, ignoring her, getting into fights with her, and making her really upset. Then when you started getting home later and blocking the Connection, she was certain that's what you were doing. Why else would you be coming home after she had already fallen asleep and leaving before she woke up?"

Jayden let that all sink in before hanging his head in shame. "Damn it... I didn't realize I had been doing that... I've been so stressed and tired that my mind must have shut off or something... But let me assure you that I have never been with another girl since this all started."

"Then what have you been doing?" I demanded.

"Working," He responded. "I got a couple jobs in town and I've been working double and sometimes triple shifts."

This confused me. "Working? But doesn't the pack have unlimited money?"

He nodded. "It does, but I didn't want to use it. I wanted to do this on my own."

"Do what?" I asked as I sat forward. "What exactly, Jayden? What have you been doing that has upset my friend to the point that she needed to leave and get away from you for a while?"

He shook his head at what I said and wiped at his eyes. "This," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, blue velvet box. "I thought it would mean more if I bought it with my own money that I earned."

My eyes widened at what I saw when he opened the box. There, nestled among  the fabric, was an elegant diamond ring. The large diamond was set in a silver indent with smaller diamond gems surrounding it. The band was swirled instead of the normal band that went around the finger.

"Jayden..." I couldn't believe what I was seeing. "I... You went through all of this just to get her a ring? But... I don't..."

"She wanted it to be official." He stated as he put it away. "I had told her way before Kester was born that being mates was enough for us. She insisted that we make it official with a wedding and everything. She wanted the world to know that she is mine, and I hers."

I swallowed back tears. "And you've been wanting to make that happen..."

"Very much so." He said with a nod. "I just didn't think it would come with a cost... Damn it, she must hate me now..."

"Hey," He met my gaze. "I'm in contact with her, since I helped her leave. I can somewhat tell her what's been going on. I told her to stay away a couple days so all this could settle down. I'll tell her that you felt like you needed a job to help support her and Kester instead of relying on the pack money. She won't suspect what's going on and you can ask her a few days after she gets back."

"Will she say yes?" He asked, hesitation evident in his voice.

I took a deep breath. "That I don't know. She probably will, but she will need time to think it over. Don't get impatient with her and don't keep bugging her about it. Jayden, she's very shaken up with what happened. She needs to clear her head before you spring this question on her."

He nodded slowly. "I understand... Thank you, Reece."

"Any time." We stood and gave each other a quick hug before heading back inside. I stepped out onto the back porch and called Shelbie.

She answered on the third ring. "Hey, Reece..." She sounded so depressed and exhausted.

"Hey, Shel." I sat in a chair. "So, Jayden finally returned."

"Did he now?" I could hear the tears in her voice. "And?"

"Well," I took a deep breath. "Him and I talked it over. He told me truthfully that he had not been cheating on you. You see, he ended up taking up a few jobs to help support you and Kester."

"But the pack has unlimited money." I heard her sit down. "I don't know why he would do that."

"He wanted it to mean something." I told her. "He thought it would mean more to you if he worked and earned his own money instead of relying on the pack." There, the truth without revealing everything.

"So, he really does want to be with me?" She asked softly.

"Of course," I assured her. "He just didn't realize what was going on because he was so exhausted from working triple shifts at his jobs."

"Wow..." She breathed out. "That would explain him getting home so late and leaving so early in the morning. And why he was blocking me out. He wanted to surprise me with what he was doing for us." She sniffed and fought back tears. "Thanks for doing this for me, Reece."

"No problem." I smiled. "You can come back whenever you like. I know you need time for all of this, but don't stay away too long."

"I know," She said softly. "I'll be back by maybe dinner tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then about noon the day after."

"Sounds like a plan." I said with a nod. "See you then."

"See you," We hung up and I let out a small sigh as I tipped my head back and rested it against the wall. This whole time, we had it all wrong. Jayden was never cheating; he was working to get Shelbie the perfect wedding ring.

I wonder how he'll propose to her...