Chapter 35

*****

*Jayden*

Once Corey calmed down and assured Kaden he wasn't going to keep charging at him, we decided to join Adan and Kaden as they headed to the store.

Remembering the last time I was at a shop; I decided not to move on my own and lingered closer to Corey. He must have figured it was because of the time we spent outside. The slight delight I could sense from him through our connection made me feel better despite how much I was trying to resist.

I had not spoken to Kaden in a while, and it bothered me as we walked through the store. We did not fight often, let alone stop talking. In the rare moments we didn't see eye-to-eye on something, we would end up sarcastically joking about it until it was resolved.

When I spotted a familiar little purple monster plushie, I almost pointed it out but held back, reminding myself I wasn't going to speak to him first. It was so childish. I just wanted things to go back to normal.

He noticed the toy anyway and took it from the stand with a humourous breath under his nose.

"Jay, look. It's –" he stopped, wavering as though he wasn't sure whether to continue after remembering that we were not on good terms.

"You should get it," I said, shrugging.

He grinned, nodding as he added it to the basket.

"We need some drinks. Adan, come with me."

I looked at Corey, but he was already halfway down the aisle with Adan in tow. They disappeared around the corner, leaving Kaden and me alone.

"Are we supposed to wait here?" Kaden called out.

He received no reply from either of them and gave an annoyed sigh.

"Let's get some bread," I said.

"Wait, Jay."

I paused, looking back at him with raised brows. His head tilted, face skewing into a pleading concern as he began to link to me.

'I just want you to be safe Jayden, and recently Corey seems to want that too. You didn't wish for a new mate either, I thought that meant you were giving him a chance to fix things... He was worried about your nightmares.'

I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded. I was glad he was linking because there was no doubt Corey would hear him no matter where we were in the store.

'I understand why you told him... but it looks bad.'

Kaden's brows furrowed in confusion. I clenched my jaw. There were things I would not say to people, but he wasn't just anyone.

'Telling him about that makes me look weak. I don't want to seem that way, especially to him. It's one of the things he hated about me to begin with... It's something everyone hates.'

Kaden quickly opened his mouth, undoubtedly to protest, but I spoke.

"Kaden, you know it's the truth. That's just the way it is. I don't blame anyone for it," I said. Werewolves were supposed to be strong. Omegas were outliers. 'I just don't want him to...' I drifted. I didn't want him to find out how weak I had been.

'Protect you? It's in our nature to protect our mates. I know you don't like feeling like you need help, but he will never not want to help you.'

I didn't reply to what he said. He would not understand. He could not. He didn't know what it was like to burden everyone all the time or be a disappointment to his parents, pack and his mate.

Corey had wanted nothing to do with me to begin with, it would be worse when he found out.

"Jay?" Kaden's voice broke through my thoughts. I paused, noticing that I had absent-mindedly started tugging at my sleeve to cover my hands. The store felt colder. 'What are the nightmares about?'

'You know... past... resurfacing,' I linked back. It was not a lie, I knew he would be able to tell if I lied to him, so the best I could do was not be specific.

Kaden's face softened into worry, and I smiled hoping to show that I was fine.

'It'll blow over again.' I looked around, focusing my hearing to try to find Corey and Adan. "Where are they?"

It could not take that long to get some drinks, they should have been back already. The fridges were in the aisle right next to the one we were in, I should have been able to hear them. I frowned as I focused my eyes, I couldn't hear their voices anywhere.

'You're oblivious, Jay. Your mate just wanted to give us time alone.'

I raised my brows in surprise and Kaden chuckled.

'Maybe he's not that bad. Maybe he'll redeem himself and show that he's worth having a mate like you.'

I smiled at Kaden and fought to keep it up as the same uncomfortable, heavy feeling returned to my stomach as when Corey had asked about the nightmares earlier that morning. The feeling quickly became sickening as it spread, followed by worry. It occurred to me that Corey wasn't the only one who would be disappointed and disgusted in me when he found out.

"Let's get the bread," Kaden said.

I agreed and we began to head out of the aisle. We found Corey and Adan wandering around the home appliances aisle without any drinks after ten minutes. Apparently, they had gotten distracted by an advert for an air fryer that had been at the end of the fridges and proceeded to forget about why they had gone there in the first place, choosing to instead look at appliances they had no intention of buying.

The appliances were interesting, so we ended up staying there for ten more minutes, each looking at different gadgets. I lost focus of the others as I honed in on an ice cream machine.

"Can you cook?"

My head turned to Corey's voice as it had come from right beside my ear. I was surprised at how close he was to me. I had not heard him come close. He was behind me, leaning over my shoulder. I felt like leaning away so there would be more space between our faces, but thinking about the question distracted me for a moment and I shook my head. He chuckled.

"I assumed you couldn't."

"Hey!" I felt so offended. He was right, but why was it an assumption he had made?

"Don't worry, I can."

"You can?" I was shocked but narrowed my eyes. "You're joking." He could not possibly be good at that too.

"Well, kinda have to learn when your diet is meticulously crafted. I'll cook for you when we get home."

I watched him for a moment. He was still close, it made me realise I had not leaned away as initial instinct would have had me. I noticed a rogue eyelash just below his eye and tried to ignore it.

"I... I don't think we have the same taste..." I mumbled. I doubted I would like his cooking. He seemed too healthy.

"I bet you will. Like you said: I'm good at everything."

I frowned, unhappy that he remembered that. He chuckled, the movement lifting his cheek and the eyelash. I gave up trying to ignore it.

"There's an eyelash under your eye."

He brushed his hands over his face but did not get it. I tilted my head and decided to take it away because it was bothering me so much. I tried not to touch his face too much, but I had to brush my thumb over the soft, warm skin a few times to get the eyelash to stick to it.

Just as I began to pull my hand away, he caught hold of it. The movement made my heart skip and my body tense in surprise.

His eyes focused on mine for a second and then shifted to the eyelash on my finger. He closed his eyes and was quiet for a couple of seconds before gently blowing at my finger, the lash disappearing in the wind.

I couldn't help but smile as I realised what he had done. "What did you wish for?"

Corey's serious eyes returned to mine.

"I think you know, Jayden."

My smile fell at the reply, and I tugged my hand from his, finally stepping back so there was space between us as the hammering in my chest sped up.

"I wished for Kaden to pay for how he woke us up, of course."

The reply made me chuckle, but Kaden's confused voice sounding from one of the other aisles made me laugh even more as Corey joined in.

"Seriously, let's get the drinks, Jay. It doesn't sound like they're near the fridges," Corey said.

"We aren't. We'll meet you there!" Adan called.

*****