Chapter 22

Chapter 22

*****

*Kaden*

Something was weird...

Off? No... Odd.

It didn't feel dangerous, but it felt sketchy.

As expected, Jayden and Corey were seated at opposite sides of the table, but we had been eating breakfast for about half an hour and Corey had yet to glare at or attempt to insult Jayden while Jayden just stared down at his plate and I knew he was hiding something. Both hadn't said a word since we all woke up. Corey hadn't even spoken to the girls, Trent or Sean.

Something had obviously happened. I just couldn't figure out what. Jayden didn't seem upset.

"So... what did you two get up to last night? No fighting, I hope," Izabella said what we were all thinking.

I looked from Jayden to Corey to see their eyes flicker up from their food at each other. Jayden's gaze immediately fell when he saw Corey looking at him, but what surprised me was seeing Corey's fall just as fast.

"No. N-no fighting."

I heard Corey let out a short chuckle and Jayden bit his lip, seeming more flustered than usual as he gathered some eggs onto his fork.

I narrowed my eyes.

When we had walked in the previous night, they were seated at opposite sides of the room doing nothing. Yes, NOTHING. It was like when a child did something bad, their mother walked in, and they pretended to be doing absolutely nothing.

"Oh? Then what did you do?" Trent asked.

"Eat... and... stuff," Corey mumbled.

"'Stuff'?" Sean asked.

"Why are you all asking so many questions?" Corey shoved a spoon of serial into his mouth before saying something muffled by his food, which sounded like a random mixture of the letters, 'm', 'h' and 'n'.

"Gross... What?" Sean frowned.

"He said, 'It's not like we did anything'," Jayden mumbled before he lifted his head. "Um – I-I mean, fought or whatever... We just – We didn't fight," he added, quickly.

I was very confused. What the hell was he talking about? Why was he so nervous if they had not fought? Had Corey intimidated him into lying to hide a fight they had? No... Jayden's voice tended to fluctuate when he was lying and he always scratched the side of his thumb when he did, he wasn't doing either.

"Way to make them ask more questions, Dummy," Corey frowned at Jayden.

"Corey, stop it!" Izabella snapped.

"Sorry," Corey muttered.

"You weren't doing any better," Jayden muttered before he got up. "Let's go for a run!"

His suggestion made me give a baffled chuckle. "You? Run? You want to exercise?" No way. I turned to glare over at Corey. "What the hell happened last night?! What did you do?" I asked, getting a little angry.

"Nothing! But let's run anyway. A shift would be good. This house is suffocating," Corey said.

"Yeah," Trent spoke.

Everyone agreed, except Izabella.

"I'd rather just walk... My wolf isn't too keen on shifting today anyway." She shrugged.

"I'll walk with you." Sean changed his mind as soon as his mate spoke. Izabella smiled at him.

"You don't have to. You can –" she was saying.

"I want to. We'll catch up to you guys," he said, taking her hand.

We finished our breakfast and then headed out to the forest while Izabella and Sean took their time following us.

*Jayden's POV*

I had not seen the others in a while. Corey's wolf was larger than everyone else's, but Kaden was still growing. Alphas and Betas were always huge. Despite how big he was, Corey's wolf was somewhat cute to me because his mostly black hair was disrupted by a thick line of grey that ran across his stomach. I noticed it when Kaden tackled him.

My wolf was a sticky, dirty dark brown at the moment because Hayley had tackled me into some mud. Usually, my fur was grey, my back a slightly darker shade than the rest of my body.

We were playing hide and seek, very childish. Corey's idea. He was quite a strange Beta.

There had been no mention of it from either of us since it happened, but he didn't seem mad about the kiss... So maybe he wasn't? I hoped he wasn't.

Given the smell fresh, aquatic smell and the sound of running water, the river was close.

I was avoiding getting caught by paying close attention to Corey's pull. It wasn't cheating, because he could track me as well. If anything, I was at a disadvantage.

Crouching down, I carefully moved further away from Corey, towards the river but stopped at the sound of speaking ahead.

"Izzy, talk to me."

The familiar voice held my attention. I shifted to move behind a tree, hoping to stay hidden if Sean was part of the game.

"I am talking to you," Izabella giggled softly.

They couldn't have been playing. They would have shifted if they were. What were they doing?

"No, you know what I mean. What's going on? You've been distant lately and you're quieter... Tell me what's wrong," he said.

I looked behind me, concluding that I should leave because it seemed like the conversation they were getting into was private, but I felt Corey's pull in that direction, reminding me that I was hiding from him. I ended up not moving at all.

"Nothing's wrong, Sean. I'm fine," she insisted.

"No, you aren't. I can see it, and you know I can feel it. You also know you can talk to me about anything, Love. I can help you," he said.

"No, you can't.

I knew it was wrong to be eavesdropping, but I peeked around the tree to see the pair seated on the grass beside the river. She had her knees against her chest as she looked out onto the water while he watched her, his face riddled with concern.

"I miss him... I miss him every day... It hurts so much..." she whispered.

"Adan?" Sean spoke softly. Izabella nodded.

Adan was one of Izabella's older brothers. He had gotten killed in battle not too long ago against beings called Travellers who could occupy other people's bodies.

"He was supposed to be at our graduation... And Luke's birth... But he wasn't..." she whispered. "Because of me..."

"Izabella, don't say that. Adan would hate if he heard you say that. It's not your fault," he said.

"I know he would, but it is my fault... And I miss him so much, Sean. I shouldn't have..."

I backed away as she sobbed.

"E-everyone's always going to be in danger because of me. Jay wasn't even near me, and he almost got hurt too. I'll never see Adan again, and it's only a matter of time before someone else gets hurt and I can't – I can't do anything... I wish I could... talk to him..."

I looked away as he hugged her. Why hadn't she said anything? Why hadn't she spoken to Hayley, Trent, Corey – or her father or brothers– earlier if she was in so much pain? I understood how she felt... I didn't know powerful wolves felt so powerless too. Did she not want to burden anyone either?

I coughed when someone tackled me into the clearing, the landing knocking the breath out of me. The tackle sent us rolling in the grass before we came to a stop as the large wolf leaned over me.

'Found you!' Corey linked.

I wanted to laugh but felt choked up having heard Izabella and Sean's conversation. A sniffle from the river made Corey's head turn.

'Izabella?' he growled. 'Why are you crying?'

"No reason..." Izabella said quickly, before Sean could answer. "Race all of you home!"

She shifted without a beat, her clothing ripping as she did.

"Izabella! Wait, stay close!" Sean tried to call out, but she was gone. He frowned. "Damn it! Why doesn't she ever listen?! I'm the fricking Alpha!" he shouted in frustration before he shifted.

'Not yet. And even then, don't get your hopes up,' Corey growled at him.

Sean let out an annoyed growl before sprinting to catch up with his mate.

Corey looked at me confused, and I felt myself flush at just the glance, feeling flustered as it was the first time we were alone since the kiss.

'Jay –'

A howl from not far away interrupted him. It was Trent. I was relieved. I didn't want to address what had happened, I didn't want him to backtrack or find out he regretted it like the last time.

'Game over.'

I turned from Corey and began running in the direction the howl had come from.

*****