At Year's End (The 12 Olympians) (21 page)

Elijah gasped in
surprise as Jaxon bit the pert flesh softly. He ran his tongue in a circle around one nipple, then tended to the other. He traced the trail of soft hair down from Elijah’s navel and pulled Elijah’s boxers down along with his jeans. Elijah lifted his foot as Jaxon threw the jeans and boxers into the corner.

Jaxon licked his lips as he stroked Elijah’s cock slowly. He leaned in and swiped his tongue across the mushroom cap. Elijah’s hands went into his hair immediately. Jaxon took the head into his mouth and licked around the rim, playing with the slit as he did. Elijah
’s legs shook as Jaxon took him deeper, sliding his tongue around Elijah’s cock and sucking. A soft moan came from Elijah and Jaxon looked up. Their eyes met as Jaxon tongued Elijah’s slit again, swiping up precome and swallowing hungrily.

“Jesus
,” Elijah whispered. “I’m going to come.”

Jaxon popped off Elijah’s dick and walked them backwards to the bed. He set Elijah down on
it and pushed him back. Jaxon opened the drawer and pulled the lube out. He straddled Elijah’s thighs and looked down on him.

“Tell me what you want, Elijah.” Jaxon ran a fingertip down Elijah’s treasure trail.

“I want you to make love to me.”

Jaxon nodded. He took the cap off the lube and covered three fingers. Setting it back on the table, Jaxon gently eased Elijah’s legs apart and settled between them.

He massaged Elijah’s hole with one finger and kissed him softly as he did. Elijah’s back arched as Jaxon pushed against his hole, not breaching it, but applying more and more pressure with each pass. Elijah’s hands went to his hair and their lips parted in a deep kiss as Jaxon finally
penetrated Elijah’s opening.

He slid his finger in to the knuckle and began a slow fuck, letting Elijah adjust to the invasion.
The kiss was slow and languid, both of them taking precious time to savor the other. Jaxon licked Elijah’s lip, sucking in the bottom one as he added another finger.

Elijah gasped
. There was no pain, only pleasure sliding up his spine. His toes tingled as Jaxon’s fingers sawed back and forth inside him. Elijah arched his back and pushed down on the digits in his ass. He wanted more, he wanted Jaxon to fill him, claim him again. Elijah gripped Jaxon’s hair in his fists and growled against his lips.

“Now, please!”

White-hot heat tore through him as Jaxon pushed inside. Elijah cried out in pleasure as Jaxon’s length and girth filled him. He wanted more — deeper, harder, faster. Elijah moved his hips with Jaxon’s, pushing him in further. Jaxon hit something inside him and Elijah gasped; they locked eyes and Jaxon kissed him softly.

Then the pleasure came and kept on coming. Jaxon’s thrusts were slow and
calculated, hitting so deep Elijah thought they couldn’t be any closer. They were one. Jaxon would pull out to the tip of his dick, and then slowly slide back in to the hilt. It was fucking torturous and Elijah wanted more.

He
lifted his legs and locked them around Jaxon’s hips, meeting Jaxon’s slow thrusts. The kiss became feral, both of them desperately pulling air through their nostrils as they moved. The heat in the room began to climb as Elijah’s orgasm tickled his spine. Heat spiraled up his back as Jaxon hit him hard.

Elijah cried out and Jaxon’s orgasm tore through him. Elijah erupted between them and pain seared his shoulder as Jaxon’s canines sunk into his shoulder.

“Fuck! I love you!” Elijah shouted.

Sweat dripped from Jaxon’s brow as he lifted off of Elijah
. Their eyes met and Elijah could see the love in the other man’s.

“I love you too, Elijah.” Jaxon kissed the are
a he’d bitten, which was already healing. Elijah’s eyes were orange again and the room began to hum. Jaxon backed off a bit as Elijah’s eyes went wild.

“It’s coming, Jaxon
,” Elijah panted.

“It knows me, Elijah.
It won’t hurt me,” Jaxon assured him. “Take control of it. Close your eyes and concentrate.”

Elijah slowed his breathing and concentrated on the force trying to burst free from him. The room began to cool as he took slow breaths, in through his nose and out through his mouth. A warm hand caressed his cheek and he opened his eyes to see Jaxon smiling at him.

“I did it?”

Jaxon slipped out of Elijah’s body slowly and leaned over to kiss him. “Yes, you did.”

Elijah held Jaxon’s face in his hands. “I love you, Jaxon.”

Jaxon took Elijah into his arms and caressed his hair. “I will always love you, Elijah.”

Elijah ran his fingertip over the tattoo on Jaxon’s chest. It was an exact replica of the necklace now hanging from his neck.

“Did it hurt?” Elijah kissed the skin.

“Just a tad.” Jaxon smiled, running his fingers through Elijah’s hair.

“I think I heard you.”

Jaxon locked eyes with Elijah. “What do you mean?”

“When I was
locked up, there would be nights I swore someone was talking to me. I could have sworn I heard your voice in the beginning. I wanted to answer you, but they had me so full of drugs…” Elijah took a deep breath.

“
I did talk to you — every day, any chance I got I told you how much I loved you and missed you.” Jaxon caressed Elijah’s face. “
I love you
.”

Elijah’s eyes widened. “
I love you, too
.”

Jaxon grinned. “I can hear you.”

“That is so weird.” Elijah snuggled into Jaxon.

“But it’s so right.” Jaxon closed his eyes.

“Jaxon?”

“Yep?”

“Now what?”

“Now we live our lives. Together.”

They fell asleep, wrapped in each other’s arms.

~*~

The sun’s morning rays swept across Jaxon’s eyes. He opened one and smiled at the man in his arms. Elijah was breathing softly, his arm wrapped around Jaxon’s torso, his head on Jaxon’s chest. Jaxon bent and placed a kiss on Elijah’s temple. Lashes fluttered and blue eyes met his.

“Hi.” Elijah blushed.

“Hey.” Jaxon smiled, caressing Elijah’s cheek. “How did you sleep?”

“Better than I have in months.”

Jaxon’s smile faded. “How much do you remember?”

“I remember some of the pain. They would try to make the phoenix come out.” Elijah shuddered.

“Fucking Petey, if he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him again.”

“They would…shock me over and over again. They tried to make me mad or scared so that I would panic and the phoenix would come.” Elijah swallowed hard.

“I think you should see someone,” Jaxon said quietly.

“Maybe,” Elijah nodded. “I didn’t dream about it last night. I dreamt about you.”

“Yeah?” Jaxon smiled and leaned in to kiss Elijah.

Elijah backed away and covered his mouth. “Um, maybe we should shower and brush our teeth?”

Jaxon shook his head. “Oh, hell, no.”

Elijah was crushed to the mattress as Jaxon took his mouth in a carnal kiss.
He wrapped his arms around Jaxon as they kissed. Damn but Jaxon could kiss! Elijah found himself chuckling during the kiss. Jaxon pulled away breathing hard.

“You’re laughing?”

“I can’t help it! Ever since I was sixteen, I’ve wanted this! And now I’m in bed with you and you’re kissing me and holding me. It feels so surreal.”

“About that.”

“About what?”

“You weren’t sixteen.”

“I wasn’t?”

“No, you were seventeen.”

Elijah sat up and narrowed his eyes at Jaxon. “What? So we could have been doing this sooner?!”

“I didn’t know! I
just
found out.”

Elijah fell back on the
mattress with a frustrated sigh. “Well, shit.”

“I met your
dad by the way,” Jaxon said quietly.

Elijah’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah, he kinda gave me a spanking,” Jaxon chuckled. “Well, he tried to.” Jaxon picked up the pendant from Elijah’s chest. “This little guy saved me from a world of hurt. Your dad said I was blessed by love. I get it now.”

“What’s he like?” Elijah sat up again.

“He cares about you, that’s for sure. I went up to Mount Olympus to have it out with the gods.”

“You what?!” Elijah’s eyes widened. “Are you crazy?”

“Yeah, I was,” Jaxon leaned in to kiss Elijah. “You were gone; I had nothing left to lose. I couldn’t sleep or eat and I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. The mate bond is strong, Elijah and when that half of you is gone…” Jaxon shook his head.

Elijah touched Jaxon’s cheek. “You really do love me, don’t you?
” he whispered.

“More than you will ever know, Elijah.”

“Damn, you really are a crazy badass!” Elijah laughed.

“Yep, and I’m
all yours.”

The wind whipped
past him as Elijah held on to Jaxon’s middle. He had missed Jaxon’s Harley and had never been so happy to be perched on it again. They roared through the streets of Seattle, making their way to Caden and Kellan’s. Elijah had missed them, and although he’d felt close to them when he first came back, he knew now they were so much more to him. Elijah closed his eyes and wondered if he’d ever meet his real father.

“
Yes, you will
.”

Elijah
jerked on the back of the bike. That wasn’t Jaxon’s voice in his head.

“
Hephaestus
?” Elijah asked tentatively.

“
Yes. We will meet one day, Elijah. Always know that I love you
.”

Elijah pressed closer to Jaxon’s back
and smiled. He had a boyfriend and a family and his life back. He couldn’t ask for anything more. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Caden ran out of the house to greet them. Elijah barely got off the bike before he was enveloped in the Frenchman’s arms.

“I have missed you!” Caden almost shouted.

Elijah sank into the embrace and smiled. “I missed you, too.”

“Come inside!” Caden pulled Elijah’s arm.

Jaxon smiled as he slid off his bike, stowing the helmets. He followed Caden and Elijah inside and was surprised to see just about everyone there. A huge ‘welcome home’ sign stretched across the foyer.

“Welcome home!”
they all shouted in unison.

“Thanks guys.” Elijah ducked his head, blushing.

“Things just weren’t the same without you.” Kellan enveloped Elijah in his arms. “I’ll have you know that Jaxon never gave up on you. As soon as he found out where they were holding you, he was on his way there. We were lucky to catch up with him.”

Killian raised his hand. “I was a rat in the tunnels.”

“Well, that’s fitting.” Stone rolled his eyes.

Killian narrowed his eyes at Stone. “Then I was a raptor.”

“Could we keep the chatter down? The football players and humans are making their way up the walk.” They all turned to see James Jacobs with his husband in the open doorway.

“Excuse me?” Derek glared at his husband.

“You won’t be human for long, babe.” James winked. He eyed Caden, Wayne and Riley. “I need to speak with you three. You too, Jaxon.”

“Me? Why me? What did I do?” Jaxon balked, grabbing Elijah and holding him close.

“It will only take a moment.” James motioned to the back door.

“I’ll be right back.” Jaxon kissed Elijah softly.

He followed the men out back and waited for the door to close. James stood against the deck railing, surveying them.

“Well? What
’s the secrecy for?” Wayne asked.

“I found the
human parents of the boys. They’re all dead, except one.” James removed the birth certificate from his jacket and handed it to Caden. “Look at the name.”

Caden eyed the paper closely. His eyes widened. “I know this name. My man did a background check and this came up, but there was no
record of wrongdoing.”

“Look at the child on the paper.” James pointed to the line.

“Elijah?” Caden whispered. “His mother is alive?”

“Yes, and I think we need to go talk with her.”

Caden straightened up and met James’ eyes. “I will go.”

“Um, no offense, but I’m going
, too,” Jaxon cut in.

“She will need to be warned
,” James advised.

Caden nodded. “I will take care of it.”

“I’ve removed Ashton from his home. His father had been bitten by a rogue and it was too late to reverse it. He’s in Siberia now,” James informed them, mentioning the isolated location where captured rogues were kept under guard. “We will get him taken care of. When are you going to take care of this?”

“Let’s go now. I want this over with.” Jaxon walked back in the house and took Elijah aside. “I need to run an
errand; can you stay here with the guys?”

“Is it super-secret stuff?” Elijah whispered.

Jaxon smiled. “Yep.”

“Okay, my badass. I’ll stay right here.”

“I love you, Elijah.” Jaxon held him close.

“Love you
, too.”

~*~

An apartment came into view and Jaxon swallowed hard. Elijah had a mom. His father may not be able to be a part of his life, but his mother could — if she wanted to. Caden parked in the lot and they took the steps two at a time. Caden knocked and both of them waited on pins and needles. The door opened and grey eyes met theirs.

“
Mon dieu!
Allo Caden, Jaxon.” The stewardess Caden had hired for his private jet looked somewhat confused.

Caden nodded. “Hello, Sabine. May we come in?”

“Of course.” Sabine opened the door and stepped aside. Caden looked very serious, but Jaxon Salvatore looked nervous. “Please have a seat; can I get you a drink?”

Caden stood and sighed. “
We need to talk to you, Sabine — or should I call you Dominique?”

Sabine’s face lost all color.

“How…?”

“I do a background check on all my
employees; this did not raise any flags as there was no record attached to it. A lot of people have aliases, so I did not think anything of it. Not until I got this.” Caden pulled the certificate from his pocket and handed it to Sabine.

She
held the yellowed paper in her hand, her heart racing. It was for her child, the one who she had given up for adoption, the one she had never forgotten.

“Where did you get this?”
she whispered.

“Does it matter?” Jaxon asked.

“I suppose not,” Sabine sighed and collapsed on the couch.

“What happened
, Sabine?” Caden probed gently.

“I was young, almost twenty. I met a man in
Greece on one of my flights. He was very charismatic and beautiful. He wooed me; we fell in love. I would have given him anything; I loved him so much. But one day, he was just gone. A month or so later I discovered I was pregnant,” Sabine sighed. “I was young, just starting my career. One of the nuns in the small village where I lived told me about the orphanage. I…couldn’t keep the child; it would have been a constant reminder of the man who took my heart.”

Sabine
swiped at her eyes.

“I swore from that moment on
, I would never think of him again.”

“The man you were with,” Caden walked to Sabine and crouched in front of her. “He is a god, Sabine.”

Sabine rolled her eyes. “Please, he was good looking — ”

“No, an actual god, Sabine.” Jaxon stood up. “His name is Hephaestus.”

Sabine blinked. “Pardon?”

“It is time for you to be let in on the big secret Sabine.” Caden stood and pulled Sabine up. “I, as well as my hus
band and many people you know — we are not human, Sabine.”

“Are you high?” Sabine narrowed her eyes looking into Caden’s. Her
eyes went wide at seeing Caden’s pupil’s contract. Long white teeth dropped from under his lips.

“She’s going to
faint,” Jaxon said quietly.

Caden caught Sabine before she hit the floor. He turned to Jaxon. “A cold cloth?”

Caden was pacing back and forth when Jaxon got back with the cloth. Sabine was moaning, coming around. Caden knelt down and placed the cloth on her forehead. Her eyes opened and she sprang off the couch.

“What are you?!”
she pointed at Caden.

“A werewolf. The point to all this
, Sabine, is that your son is alive.”

Sabine stopped cold. “What?”

“I said your son is alive, Sabine, and right here in Washington.”

“He…he is alive? He is okay?” Sabine whispered.

“He is now.” Jaxon crossed his arms. “He’s my mate.”

“Your…what?” Sabine shook her head. “This is too much.”

“I’m a werewolf; your son is a demi-god. All caught up now?” Jaxon drawled.

Caden looked over his shoulder at Jaxon. “Really?”

Jaxon shrugged. “I cut to the chase.”

Sabine
walked to the window. “My son is alive. I always wondered where he was, if he was okay, if he was loved. He would be nineteen now.”

“It’s Elijah Newman, Sabine
,” Caden said gently.

Sabine’s hand flew to her chest and a gasp left her lips. “Elijah?” She whirled around to Caden and Jaxon. “He was
abducted!”

“Yes, by the
Titans.”

“
The who?”

Jaxon sighed in frustration and Caden
spared him an exasperated look.

Caden turned back to Sabine with a stern look. “That child is like my son, so if you do not wish to be in his life then I will not tell him who you are. I will not have him hurt.”

“How dare you tell me what to do with my son!” Sabine shouted.

Caden smiled.

“Why are you smiling?” Sabine snapped.

“That is the mother instinct.”

Sabine sat down and put her face in her hands. “He is going to hate me for giving him up.”

“You do not know that, Sabine. Elijah is very kind and loving. It is why we all love him so much.” Caden took her hands. “Please think very carefully about this
. If you wish him to know — ”

“I want to see him.” Sabine stood and wiped
again at her eyes.

“Sabine
— ” Jaxon started.

“You are his mate
; I am his mother. Don’t try to stop me.”

Jaxon stepped back and motioned to the door. “After you.”

Once in the car, Jaxon turned to
face Sabine in the backseat. She looked shell-shocked. He had to give her some credit; she’d found out what they all were and didn’t run screaming from them.

Yet.

“How do you know Elijah?” Jaxon asked.

“I have seen him at Caden’s office when I pick up my schedule. He
is always very polite and smiles at me.” Sabine smiled weakly. “I have also seen him at the outreach centers. He has a beautiful voice.”

“Yes, he does.”

“You are his mate? As in wolf packs?”

Jaxon nodded. “Yes. He
’s mine, for life.”

“You love him, don’t you?”

“More than my life.”

Sabine blushed and Jaxon tilted his head. “What?”

“I tried to seduce my son’s mate,” she chuckled softly.

Caden snorted.

“Shut up.” Jaxon nudged Caden.

When they got back to the house, Sabine seemed more nervous. Jaxon tried to calm her by assuring her that Elijah could never hate her. God, he hoped he was right. They entered the house and all the men stopped talking. They all moved slowly toward their mates. Caden chuckled softly and strode by them.

“Do not worry; she is not here for you.” Sabine had quite the reputation for hitting on all the men at one time or another.

A collective sigh went around the room and Andrei nudged his husband.

“Were you worried?” Andrei snickered.

“No. She finds you more attractive than me
,” Devin smiled wide.

Sabine stopped in front of James and he motioned her aside. They went into t
he kitchen and James offered her a glass of water. He turned to her and tried to think of how to let her know what she’d be facing.

“
Look, before you go talk to Elijah, there are some things you should know.”

“Such as?” Sabine sipped her water.

“Justice and Jaxon went to Greece and came upon the orphanage from which Elijah was adopted. They found out that one mysterious woman was responsible for bringing in all of the children of the gods as newborns.” He paused before laying it out. “All the birth parents were dead. You are the only one still alive; you were probably guided to the nun by the gods.”

Sabine choked on her water. She wiped her face and stared at James open
-mouthed. “Why am
I
still alive?”

“We think it’s because you never settled anywhere permanently. You moved around all the time and changed your name. But make no mistake; if the
Titans find out about you, they will come.”

Sabine sighed and regarded the men in the kitchen. Nothing mattered at that point but seeing her son. She set her glass down and smiled at the men.

“I would like to see my son now.”

“I’ll take you.” Jaxon motioned out back.

Jaxon led the way to the back deck where Elijah was talking with Ryder and Skylar. The boys all turned when the door shut. Skylar smiled and nodded to Sabine.