Page 23

Chapter 23

Atlas/Fluffy

I cleaned Aiden up, and then we both had a little nap before we called Liam and Quinton to come over for a very late dinner. We ate and chatted, avoiding the topic of tomorrow, and then we all piled into bed, a happy puppy pile.

Keep mate safe , Fluffy growled, and as we all cuddled, I clutched Aiden tight as I fell asleep, determined to do just that.

We slept long and hard, and the morning found us all at Jude and Corbin’s house, eating breakfast. We managed to keep things light, everyone joking around and teasing each other. Jude and the sheriff were the center of quite a few comments, and Wilder said he would need to meet this sheriff, which made Jude blush, strangely enough.

When breakfast was cleared, we started planning. Liam and Quinton showed off all the cameras near the area, the map tracking our cell phones, and then they gave me a collar—which Fluffy grumbled relentlessly about in my head—which also had a tracker and a camera.

They put a tracker in Aiden’s shoe, and Jude had trackers on him as well. We hashed out everything multiple times, and then there was nothing to do but wait. I changed into my hound form, and Aiden and I took a long, leisurely walk through the woods. He was thoughtful, and he talked a lot about his brother. He went through all his memories, good and indifferent. He talked about all the times his brother was nice to him, but also all the times his brother was absent, if not physically, then emotionally. He talked about his brother’s family, and I knew he felt bad thinking about them.

I simply walked beside him, licking his hand or leaning against him as needed. My mate was strong, and this wouldn’t break him. I had no doubt that his brother aimed to kill him, but I understood his need to speak to him and to find out for sure. He needed closure on this. My Aiden had a good heart and soul. He could wish people dead—he had certainly been happy when his kidnapper had died—but he’d had ample proof of that man’s evil. He couldn’t align the two versions of his brother in his head, though.

We got back, ate another meal, and hung out with the pack until it was time to go. Wilder, Corbin, and Dexter left first, but eventually it was time. Jude drove, and Aiden and I stayed in the backseat, his arms wrapped around me the whole drive. It was a couple hours’ drive, but it went by quickly, and then we were pulling up in front of a warehouse in an industrial part of town.

“How very mobster-like,” Aiden muttered. “It could be straight out of the movies.” He almost smiled. “Caleb would go for movie-like, though. He always liked movies.”

I could smell two people inside, one rotten and one almost rotten, along with the stench of a gun. I really hated guns. Jude had brought one as well, though. He led us both inside the warehouse, which held rows of plastic-wrapped pallets. It was filled, but the area the men were in looked like it was under construction, with some of the flooring pulled up behind where they were standing. There was a folding table and some chairs scattered around as well.

We came to a stop a few feet away, and Aiden’s brother stepped forward. I was surprised to smell that he was not the rotten soul. The other man must have been an assistant or hired muscle—he certainly didn’t look old enough to be the grandfather, and he didn’t bear a family resemblance. It was obvious that Aiden and Caleb were related, though.

Caleb being morally grey rather complicated things. Jude’s stride broke for a moment, then he continued walking, obviously sensing the same thing I did. We couldn’t kill someone who wasn’t hellbound.

“Caleb?” Aiden asked, sounding surprised. He was gripping my fur tightly, but when I looked up, he acted confused and not nervous. “What are you doing here? Did they get you, too? Are we here for ransom?”

Aiden had said that would be the conclusion any of them would have drawn, and he wanted to see what his brother would say.

“Alden,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been looking for you. I’m so glad to have finally found you.”

Jude cleared his throat, stating, “I’m due payment.”

The other man drew a gun. He was quick, but Jude was quicker, and he fired a shot off a moment before the man, hitting him in the forehead. Jude then crumpled to the ground, although I didn’t smell blood on him. I guessed he was playing dead. It hadn’t been part of the plan, but it made sense for him to seem not to be a threat.

“Jude?” Aiden cried, starting to rush over to him.

I grabbed his hand lightly in my teeth, and he looked down at me, stopping in his tracks. I licked his hand, hoping he would know that Jude was ok. He seemed to, because he looked back at his brother.

“What the hell, Caleb? What’s going on?” he demanded.

“That man kidnapped you. He couldn’t live,” Caleb answered. “As for my man, well, he knew the risks. He wasn’t a very good person, either. I’m just sorry you had to see that, Alden. You were always a sensitive person. But you can come home now, and take your proper place in the family.”

He started forward, but I growled menacingly, and he stopped.

“An attack dog? I do approve, but call him off. I want to hug my brother,” Caleb announced.

Aiden looked at him, and his face twisted. “You have never wanted to hug me once in our lives, Caleb, so cut the shit. I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m not going home. I’m not getting into a car with you. I will drive off and disappear, and you will never look for me again if you have any love for me at all.”

Caleb grimaced. “I’m afraid that isn’t possible, Alden. Grandfather is dead, and you’re needed for inheritance purposes, or else all the companies will suffer. Mother and father will lose everything. You don’t want that, do you?” he asked.

Aiden stared at him before replying. “All the companies went to you, the firstborn son of the firstborn son. And grandfather isn’t dead.”

Well then, I guess we were laying all our cards on the table. I sat down next to Aiden, which seemed to reassure Caleb a bit. He walked over and picked up the gun from the dead man. I let him. I could block a bullet if needed.

“Grandfather told you?” he said, the gun loosely pointing toward me. He kept it carefully away from Aiden, which was fine with me.

Aiden just gave a shrug.

“Huh. I’ll have to have words with him about that. It does make things rather more difficult. I was planning to make it very simple and painless for you. You never would have even known, Alden. I’m not a monster, after all. You would have just gone to sleep and not woken up. I wouldn’t have been so awful as grandfather was, keeping you awake and conscious for the ceremony,” Caleb said.

“How long have you planned on killing me?” Aiden asked. “I remember that you were nice to me. You were kind.”

“Of course I was. You’re my brother. You’re my passage to eternal life and endless power and riches. I love you for that, probably more than I love mother and father. I’m thankful for you, Alden. Father didn’t have the option since our grandmother died before she could have a second son, so grandfather never even told him about the curse of Cain. You can rest assured our parents will know nothing of this. They’ll think you’re happily out there living your life,” Caleb said.

“And I’m just supposed to be ok with being killed in some ritual?” Aiden scoffed.

His hand was gripping my fur hard enough to hurt, but he could pull all my hair out if it got him through this moment. I knew he had been hoping his brother didn’t mean to kill him. I just didn’t understand how his brother wasn’t hellbound, because that obviously was his plan.

“I’ll still knock you out, Alden. Then it’s a simple ritual where you’ll bleed out into the ground, and I’ll receive the mark and the protection that comes with it,” Caleb said.

It was insane how perfectly reasonable he sounded. He walked over, still pointing the gun at me, reached into a bag that was sitting on a folding table behind him, and grabbed a syringe and a knife. The knife was black, and it was obviously a ritualistic blade.

“I love you, Caleb. You’re the only brother I’ll ever have. You’ll condemn yourself to hell and to being removed from god’s sight if you do this,” Aiden pleaded. “Don’t do this. For your own sake.”

Caleb actually laughed. “Being out of god’s sight is not a bad thing, Alden. It allows us to do whatever we need to without fear of retribution. And I have no worries of hell if I never die,” he said, shrugging. “It’s good I’m the older brother. You’re too soft to claim the birthright yourself.”

“What grandfather told you was lies,” Aiden said, trying again.

I could smell the rot seeping into Caleb, though, and I realized that Aiden probably wouldn’t be able to convince him. Free will meant he wasn’t hellbound yet, but doing this would rot his soul. The tricky part would be the timing. I couldn’t let him harm Aiden, obviously, but his intentions had to be clear enough that he became fully hellbound and worthy of death.

I huffed a sigh, and I saw Jude flash a smirk at me before his face looked peacefully dead again. The jerk. He knew waiting was not my strong point.

“Grandfather showed me that he cannot die. When he faked his death, he gave me the ritual, and then he left everything to me, taking enough wealth to do some traveling,” Caleb answered.

“Cursed to roam the earth, you mean,” Aiden snapped. Then his face turned soft. “You’re my brother. Please, Caleb. Please don’t do this.”

He looked genuinely regretful for a moment, and then he fired the gun into me, saying, “I’m sorry, Alden.”

Fuck, that hurt. Motherfucking guns. At least he didn’t get my head, because those were really a bitch to heal.

“Fluffy!” Aiden cried, falling to his knees beside me and taking his attention off his brother. He leaned into me, tears already falling from his eyes. I licked his arm to let him know I was alright, but I’m not sure he got the message.

He was turned toward me, so he didn’t see his brother coming up behind him with the syringe and the gun.

“You shot Fluffy,” Aiden said, finally looking up at his brother.

“It’s alright, Alden,” he said calmly, and he pressed the syringe to Aiden’s neck, pressing the plunger down. I reached my head up and bit him, making him back off before he could fully drug Aiden. A drug couldn’t kill him with our mating, but I still didn’t want him to get the full dose.

Aiden pulled the syringe out of his neck as Caleb cursed and shot me again. Fuck. Fucking hell. Two gunshots. Aiden cried out, but his eyes were drooping, and I licked his hand.

Let go, mate. We’ve got you, Fluffy whispered.

It was like Aiden heard him. He fell on top of me, and he managed to whisper, “Fire Fluffy,” before the drugs claimed him.

Well, I figured that was permission, which was good, because his brother wasn’t leaving this room alive.

Caleb came over, carefully avoiding me, and dragged Aiden off of my body and over to the patch of the warehouse where the floor looked like it wasn’t complete. He began muttering then, holding the knife, and the smell of rot was suddenly all consuming. He had made his choice, and he was hellbound. Jude and I rose at the same time, but I was quicker. Fire Fluffy was on Caleb before he could even get a scream out, the knife knocked from his hand.

“Well, he’s out cold,” Jude said, checking on Aiden. “Fine, but sound asleep.” He looked over at me, then at Caleb, who was whimpering beneath me. “Probably for the best. Our Aiden is soft,” Jude said to him, “and I’m afraid he wouldn’t like what’s about to happen to you.”

I changed into my human form, and Caleb squeaked in surprise. I looked around, smelling the air. “Thank you for the location, though. No one will hear you scream.”

He did scream, then. And those screams continued on and on.

It’s a good thing Aiden slept through it all. He was too good for what his brother deserved.

* * *

“How do you feel?” I asked my mate. He was groggy but awake, and we were home, snuggled in bed.

He snuffled against my chest. “Numb,” he answered.

I didn’t think he meant his body, and I squeezed him tightly.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” he asked.

“Yes,” I answered. “He had a choice when he went into that warehouse, and he chose the path that led to death. You did everything you could to save him, Aiden,” I reassured him. I didn’t outright tell him that his brother hadn’t been hellbound at first. Jude and I both agreed we didn’t want him second guessing everything he had said and wondering if there was some way he could have changed his brother’s path.

There wasn’t. Jude and I both knew that. The choice was his alone, and he had made it. Aiden couldn’t have saved him, and he didn’t need the burden of wondering if he could have.

“He said my parents didn’t know,” Aiden said.

I grunted in response.

“I just wonder, then, why they named us Caleb and Alden. Kind of close to Cain and Abel, isn’t it?” he commented.

I grunted again, kissing his head. “Perhaps it was your grandfather’s idea,” I assured him.

He nodded. “Grandfather never talked to me. He showered me with gifts, but he never got close to me. I just thought Caleb was his favorite.”

I squeezed him again, letting him know I was listening.

“I don’t want to talk about them anymore, though. I don’t want to see them again or think about them. They’re not my family. Not anymore. You’re my family now. You and all your brothers, Q, and even Toby and his weird friends. And Cass and Kushiel and the people at the coffee shop. That’s what family is, and it’s better than all the riches in the world or eternal life.”

“Yes,” I grumbled.

“Maybe if my brother had known love like that, he wouldn’t have made the choices he made,” Aiden mused.

“Eh, that’s bullshit,” Quinton announced from the doorway.

He climbed into bed next to Aiden. Liam followed him and cuddled up on the other side of his mate. Quinton wrapped his arms around Aiden, and for a moment we had a bit of a tug of war that led to me growling. Aiden was my mate, and I got the biggest cuddles.

Aiden somehow snuggled into both of us at the same time.

“You would’ve given him love, Aiden, but he chose money and power. That’s on him. But you’re right, we are your family, and you’re fucking stuck with us,” Quinton said.

Then he slapped my hand, the little shit, trying to hog more of Aiden. I growled again, lifting my head up and showing my teeth, which made Liam growl from the other side of the bed.

“He’s hogging my mate,” I snapped.

“Learn to fucking share, Fluffy,” Quinton snapped.

Aiden just giggled between us, and Quinton and I looked at each other, both relaxing at the sound. Our Aiden would be ok. After all, Quinton was right—he was fucking stuck with us, and we’d make sure he was happy.