At Year's End (The 12 Olympians) (4 page)

Jaxon opened the door and stepped inside with Elijah right behind him.

“Ah! There is the birthday boy!” Cade
n stood up and quickly rounded his desk. Pulling Elijah into his arms, he kissed his head. “Did you have fun shopping? I am so sorry I could not be there.”

“I did, but you didn’t have to do all that, Caden.”

“Oh, but I did! You need to know how much you are loved and wanted! Come, show me what you bought.”

Caden’s husband
, Kellan, came out of the bathroom and grinned at Elijah with Caden.

“So, we bought lots and lots of stuff?” Kellan eyed Jaxon.

“Yep. I
made
him shop.” Jaxon put his hands on his hips.

Kellan crossed the room and peered
into the shopping bags. “I love it. I can’t wait to see you in all this.” He reached over and pulled Elijah into a side hug.

Elijah stared at the two men. He’d never met anyone like them. Between Riley Esposito, Wayne Maccon and Caden Fournier, Elijah was learning that family didn’t necessarily mean blood
ties. Caden and Kellan were like fathers to him. Elijah bit his lip and peered up at the two of them.

“Can I ask a favor?”

“You may ask whatever you want!” Caden clapped his hands and sat down on the couch. “Please, what do you need?”

“Well, it’s um, college days at school next week and I was hoping that one
of you would come be my parent for the day? They want some of the parents to come and explain why college is so important.”

“I would love to come!” Caden
smiled.

“Excuse me?” Kellan planted
his hands on his hips and glared at his husband. “I’m an EMT.”

“I’m a billionaire
,” Caden deadpanned.

“My job is more exciting
,” Kellan shot back.

“I make more money.”

Elijah’s head bounced from Caden to Kellan as they one-upped each other. He cleared his throat and raised his hand. “You could both come?”

“I like this idea!” Caden grabbed Kellan and pulled him into his lap. “You know I love what you do.”

“You just love playing doctor/ patient.”

Elijah’s nose
twitched. “Ew. Okay, not a visual I needed.”

“No shit
,” Jaxon sighed.

“
On that note,” Kellan became serious. “Did you get your cap and gown paperwork?”

“Oh, yeah, it’
s at home. You guys really don’t have to…”

“Yes we do,” Caden growled. “You should have a cap and gown, and a yearbook. I do not understand your guardians!”

“Join the club.” Elijah slumped against the couch.

“I am excited for your birthday
,” Caden enthused.

“So am I
,” Jaxon muttered. The room became deathly quiet and Jaxon glanced up. Caden’s eyes were narrowed at him and Elijah’s mouth hung open. Kellan was grinning.

“What?”

“So, with that…” Caden rose from the couch and shot Jaxon a glare as he went around his desk and glanced at his calendar. “What day is the college day, Elijah?”

“
Um, Monday? Is that okay?”

“I shall clear my calendar.” Caden winked at him.

“I’ll switch with Jude if I work that day. We’ll be there, Elijah.”

Elijah stood and smiled. “I knew I could count on you guys.”

“You always can.” Caden took Elijah into his arms and held him tight. “We will be there for you, no matter what.”

Elijah squeezed his eyes shut
. His throat began to close up, and tears loomed behind his eyes.

“Thank you
,” he whispered.

“Anything for you.” Kellan tousled Elijah’s hair.

Caden turned his attention to Jaxon. “You will make sure Elijah gets home?”

Jaxon pursed his lips. “Of course.”

“I will walk you out.” Caden took Elijah’s hand.

Jaxon stood back as they left the office. He turned to Kellan. “What was that?”

“Caden is very protective of Elijah,” Kellan answered.

“Yeah? So am I
,” Jaxon growled. “Caden should know I only have the best intentions with Elijah.”

“Oh, he knows.” Kellan strode
by Jaxon. “He just loves riling you up.”

“Asshole
,” Jaxon mumbled.

Kellan laughed.

Jaxon sighed as Elijah’s house came into view. Dropping him off there wasn’t something he enjoyed.
Thankfully, Elijah would be eighteen soon enough and they could get him out of there. He pulled up alongside the curb and cut the engine. Elijah was sliding off and Jaxon grabbed his hand.

“Do
me a favor, will you?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“Just text me later and let me know you’re okay?” Jaxon pulled Elijah a bit closer when he lowered his eyes. “What is it?”

“I don’t have your number
,” he whispered.

Jaxon’s mouth opened in astonishment. “I gave it to you, don’t you remember?” Jaxon put his hand out. “Let me see your phone.”

Elijah grabbed his backpack and took the phone from the outer pocket. He handed it to Jaxon with a small smile. Jaxon turned the phone on and it immediately began chiming. He turned the volume off and scrolled through Elijah’s contacts. Sure enough, his number wasn’t there. What the fuck? Jaxon typed in his cell number and email address. He handed the phone back to Elijah and pulled his own phone out. Scrolling through his contacts, he stopped on Newman, Elijah.

“Look, you
’re in mine.”

Elijah took the phone from his hand and stared at the screen.

“How did you get my number?”

“
I put it in my phone when we went to get ice cream. And I put mine in yours. Don’t you remember?”

Elijah’s brows furrowed and the sensation in Jaxon’s gut became more pronounced.
Something was very wrong with Elijah.

“Promise you’ll call me, okay?”

“I promise.”

“Do you want me to take you over to Skylar’s?”

“Um, no, that’s okay. I actually have to get a little studying done. I have a Spanish quiz coming up.”

Elijah turned to walk up the path then stopped. He turned back to Jaxon with a smile. “Hey, thanks for today.”

“Any time, Elijah.” Jaxon went to start his bike then stopped. “Elijah?”

“Yeah?”

“I
do
like you.” Jaxon had to grin as a look of complete happiness etched across Elijah’s face. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Elijah waited until Jaxon had turned the corner before letting out a whoop and
pumping his fist in the air. He’d spent hours with Jaxon! Elijah practically floated into the house. He ran up the stairs and hid his bags in the back of his closet. Heading back down, he peeked into the kitchen before daring to walk in and opened the fridge. Old leftovers spilled out of plastic tubs and the smell was disgusting. Elijah’s nose wrinkled as he took out the week-old — or more — leftovers and began to throw them out.

Milk way past
its due date perched in the door, along with something that looked like orange juice. At this point, he was glad he’d eaten at the mall. After throwing all the bad food out, Elijah scanned what was left.

A door slam in the drive
way made him jump. He closed the fridge and ran to the couch, grabbing his Spanish book. His guardian, the one called Bob, entered the house and threw him a disgusted look. Two seconds later, the witch named Paris strolled in right behind him. Elijah pretended to study his book as the two of them rifled through the kitchen.

“Elijah!” Bob boomed.

“Yes?”

“
Where are the damn pork chops that were in here?”

“You mean the ones from last month? I threw them out, they had mold on them.”

“You did what?!”

Elijah cringed on the couch as both of his guardians came into the
living room. Paris had a piece of paper in her hand and Elijah’s eyes widened as he saw the letterhead. It was from the school.

“A ‘D’ in Spanish, eh? What happened to all the tutoring you were getting?”

Elijah eyed the two of them. Cal had been helping him somewhat in Spanish.

“It’s a hard class
,” he said.

“Pfft!” Paris snarled. “We don’t pay for you to go to that school to fail.”

“
You
don’t pay for me to go to that school.
Caden
does.”

The slap to his face stung and Elijah covered his head immediately.
The barrage of hits just kept coming and he rolled to the floor trying to protect his mid-section. The sound of his phone from far away was the last thing he heard.

~*~

Carl threw the door open and stormed in. He glared at the two rogues.

“What the fuck are you doing!?”
he thundered. Why Petey ever thought these two would make good — or convincing — surrogate parents he had yet to figure out.

“
The little shit has a mouth on him,” Bob growled.

Carl crossed the room and threw Bob into the wall. He turned on
Paris and revealed his long canines. She shrank back into the corner and mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?” Carl hissed between clenched teeth.

“Nothing.”

“Damn right it’s nothing! Are you two that stupid? What if someone sees those bruises? You don’t think Jaxon Salvatore is going to figure out what the hell you are? As it is
, he’s up Elijah’s ass! You are going to ruin everything.”

Carl paced the floor and then knelt down to check Elijah’s pupils. “He’s under.
Now, what did he do today?”

Carl closed his eyes and fought for sanity as both rogues shrugged their shoulders.

“I have to plant memories in his head and you have no idea what he did today? Now I have to make up some shit as to why he’s bruised! Stupid fucks!”

“Why don’t you just take him now?” Bob muttered.

“Because I’m not done fucking with his head, that’s why. When I’m finished, he’s going to think he’s dangerous, that his friends will never understand — and the best part? He’s going to think fucking Jaxon Salvatore wants him dead.”

“He’s already well into his powers, Carl. What if he fries one of us?” Paris
demanded.

“It would serve you right, then! You’ve known all along
that he came into his powers at eighteen. We had to keep an eye on him to figure out what they were; now we know. This birthday is only going to make him ten times stronger, so I suggest you keep your hands to yourself.”

Carl knelt
near Elijah’s ear and whispered. They were going to have Elijah on their side, or he’d die.

Simple as that.

Jaxon had parked four blocks down in a secure alley. He made the trek back to Elijah’s house just in time to see his guardians leaving. He narrowed his eyes as they both looked around suspiciously before getting into the car. His ears caught the unmistakable sound of the screen porch door slamming on the back of the house and he waited for the guardians to pull out and drive away. Jaxon made his way cautiously to Elijah’s backyard. The gate was open, but there was no sign of anyone. The smell of blood was strong and Jaxon raced into the house.

“Elijah!” Jaxon shouted.

He tore through the kitchen in a panic. The lights were all off and the house was eerily quiet. He stormed into the living room and that’s when he saw Elijah, face down at the bottom of the stairs.

“
Elijah!” Jaxon ran over to him and gently picked him up. Blood flowed from the side of Elijah’s head and his lip was cut. He grabbed his phone and dialed the police. Once he was patched through to Detective Nicholas Stevens, a fellow werewolf, and had relayed all the information, he hung up and cradled Elijah’s body in his arms. Nicholas had assured him that Kellan, Jude and Scott — all paramedics and werewolves, would arrive quickly.

“Open your eyes, Elijah. Please open them
,” Jaxon whispered. He bit his wrist and wiped the healing blood over Elijah’s open wound on his temple. Elijah stirred and then moaned.

“That’s right,” Jaxon held Elijah close to him. “Come back to me.”

“Jaxon?” Elijah licked his lips and tried to focus. “What happened?”

“I thought
maybe you could tell me.”

The sound of sirens in the distance soothed Jaxon’s frazzled nerves. He held Elijah carefully and checked him over. Angry bruises covered the
kid’s arms.

“Um, think I fell down the stairs.” Elijah blinked and looked up to see Jaxon with worry in his eyes. “Hi.”

Jaxon tried to smile. “Hi. How are you feeling?”

“Sore.”

“Well, the medics are coming. I want you looked at, okay?”

Elijah nodded.

“Do you think you can stand up?”

Elijah stumbled to his feet and grabbed onto Jaxon for support. He realized his misstep and tried to pull away. “Sorry
,” he mumbled.

“Don’t you dare
apologize.” Jaxon put an arm around Elijah and supported him as he opened the front door. The ambulance pulled into the driveway, and then Kellan was off the bus and running to the house.

“
What happened?” Kellan shouted, running straight to Elijah and assessing him.

“I don’t know
; I found him at the bottom of the staircase.” Jaxon helped move Elijah to the bus where Scott and Jude were setting up an IV drip. He elbowed Kellan.

“
I gave him some of my blood
.”

Kellan nodded and eased Elijah into the ambulance. “
Good. Let’s hope he can tell us what happened
.”

“I’ll meet you guys at the hospital.” Jaxon took Elijah’s hand and lightly squeezed it.

By the time Jaxon arrived at the hospital
maintained solely for the shifters, Caden was already there pacing in the waiting room. Jaxon smiled. The man cared for Elijah like a son, as he did all the boys. But Elijah was extra special to him. Caden noticed him and exhaled a breath.

“Do you know what happened?” he asked.

“I thought you would know by now,” Jaxon answered. “I found him on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He’s got bruises on his arms.”

“Well, he’s got a ton on his side
, too.”

They both turned to see Alexander Romasko
, another werewolf and their physician, staring at them.

“What?!” Jaxon fairly snarled.

“He’s been beaten. Badly. Your blood began the healing process, but the bruises were slow to fade. Someone repeatedly kicked him in his ribs. Most of the bruises on his arms and hands were probably caused while he tried to protect himself.”

“Son of a bitch!” Caden roared. “I am going to kill whoever did this!”

“Get in line.” Jaxon balled his fists.

“
I am positive he will recover fully, seeing as he has werewolf blood in his system now.”

“Well, he’s not going back to that house!” Caden bellowed.

“No, he’s not. He’s coming home with us.”

Jaxon whirled around to see Skylar and Justice. He’d never been so happy to see his brother.

“Justice,” Jaxon sighed in relief.

Justice pulled Jaxon into his arms. “We’ll take good care of him. I swear.”

Jaxon sagged in his
brother’s embrace. The vision of Elijah at the bottom of the stairs haunted him. The thought that something very serious could happen to Elijah was something he just couldn’t handle.

“He’s going to be okay, Jaxon
,” Justice whispered into his brother’s ear. “You can pull watch tonight at our house.”

“Damn right I will.”

Kellan poked his head out of the door to Elijah’s room and scanned the people in the waiting room.

“He’s awake. He wants to see Jaxon.”

Jaxon
fairly ran to the room. Kellan stood out of the way and smiled as he passed. Elijah was sitting up in bed as if nothing had happened to him. Jaxon sat on the edge and reached out to touch Elijah’s face. He stopped, and withdrew his hand slowly.

“You can
touch me, I won’t break,” Elijah smiled tentatively.

Jaxon
lifted his hand and pressed it to Elijah’s cheek. The warmth from Elijah flowed through him and an amount of peace settled in.

“I was so scared when I found you.” Jaxon rubbed Elijah’s cheekbone
softly with his thumb. “If anything ever happened to you…” Jaxon swallowed the lump in his throat.

Elijah searched Jaxon’s features. “You were worried about me?” he whispered.

“Of course I was — am, whatever. You mean a lot more to me than you think, Elijah.”

“Yeah?” Elijah grinned.

“Yeah.”

The door opened and Skylar poked his head in. “Ready to go home?”

Elijah’s nose twitched and a look of disgust came over his face.

“Not
that
home. My home.” Skylar waggled his eyebrows.

“Really?” Elijah brightened.

“Yes, really and Jaxon is coming with us.”

Elijah jumped out of bed and twirled around. He realized he was wearing a
hospital gown and he had just exposed his ass to Jaxon and Skylar. He gripped the material and pulled it closed.

“Oops! Sorry.”

“I’m not,” Jaxon mumbled.

“So,
anyway
,” Skylar raised his brows at Jaxon. “Let’s go.”

Jaxon had to laugh. Elijah was a chatterbox all the way to Skylar’s house. By the time they pulled into the driveway, Jaxon had serious concerns about Elijah’s oxygen levels. Once out of the car, he walked next to Elijah, keeping an eye out on the neighborhood. The house was filled with laughter and all the guys hugged Elijah, welcoming him in.

Skylar showed Elijah to his room and Jaxon followed him up.
Matching nightstands flanked a queen-sized oak bed. A matching entertainment nook took up one corner and a dresser took the other. Elijah walked to the TV and checked out the equipment.

“By the way,” Skylar peeked in the room. “I have the
latest episode of your TV show on the DVR.”

“You didn’t!” Elijah almost squealed. They didn’t have a DVR at his house, and he was lucky
if he caught even one episode of his favorite show.

“I did
; I recorded the whole season, just in case.” Skylar winked.

“I love you, you know that, right?” Elijah ran to Skylar and hugged him tightly.

“I love you, too,” Skylar smiled, hugging Elijah. “How do you feel?”

“I feel fine.”

“Well, you can miss school in the morning if you want.”

“No, I have to go. Spanish quiz.”

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone now.” Skylar smiled at Elijah and winked at Jaxon as he closed the door.

Elijah jumped on the bed and grabbed the remote. Jaxon walked to the far wall and glanced out the window.

“Want to come watch with me?”

Jaxon turned to see Elijah
sporting a big grin.

“Sure, I guess. What are we watching?”

“You’ll see.” Elijah reclined on the bed and hit ‘play.’

Jaxon sat on the bed, close to the edge
, so he wouldn’t be touching Elijah. It didn’t matter anyway, the smell and heat from Elijah was intoxicating. His canines were threatening to elongate and he was just about to excuse himself when a name caught his attention.

“Did he just say Salvatore?”

Elijah grinned and bobbed his head. “He did! The first time I saw you, I hoped you were a vampire.”

Jaxon’s mouth dropped open.

“I did! I mean, come on! Your last name is Salvatore! The first time I saw you, I could see the Italian in you. Dark hair but light eyes, and your skin tone is a bit darker than most. I figured you weren’t a vamp, though. Too tanned.”

“And that’s the only reason I couldn’t be a vampire? Because I’m tan
ned?” Jaxon chuckled.

“Don’t laugh, I totally believe in all of that stuff.” Elijah stared down at his hands. “You’re making fun of me, aren’t you?”

“I would never make fun of you, Elijah.” Jaxon lifted Elijah’s chin and stared into his eyes. “Never.”

The
heat in the room seemed to go up and Jaxon could have sworn fire blazed in Elijah’s eyes. Jaxon moved over a tad. Well, now this was interesting.

“Um, so, back to the show?” Elijah licked his lips and turned back to the TV. Damn, if wishes could come true, Jaxon would be naked on his bed screaming for
—

“Yep.”

They watched the show for a good half hour before Jaxon turned to Elijah.

“He seems kind of moody.”

“As opposed to the psychopath brother?” Elijah chuckled.

“Which one do you like more?”

Elijah’s brows furrowed and his nose wrinkled in thought. “I don’t know. I can’t choose. There are traits to both brothers I find appealing. There’s the safe but sweet, and then there’s the brooding and dangerous — and that’s just the one brother,” Elijah snickered. “The other one puts up a front. Yes, he’s a ginormous asshole, but deep down, all he wants is to be loved.”

“You find the brooding guy appealing?” Jaxon’s brow rose.

“I think they both have reasons for who they are and how they behave. I just like a man with
substance
.”

“I think you’d make a great shrink someday.”

Elijah turned sideways and regarded Jaxon.

“Let’s take you for instance. You had a wonderful family, until they were killed. Yes, I know about it,” Elijah put his hand up to stop Jaxon’s words. “I think in a lot of ways you blame yourself for not being able to do more. As you’ve gotten older, you didn’t want to care for anyone the way you did before. I bet you had girlfriends before your parents died. Didn’t you?”

Jaxon nodded.

“Boyfriends?”

“One.”

“See the thing is, you can’t go back and you can’t change it
; some things you have to let go or they will destroy you with anger and hate.”

“Are you sure you’re only 17?” Jaxon narrowed his eyes.

“If I said I was older, would you kiss me?” Elijah batted his long eyelashes.

“I thought you had a boyfriend?”

“I do?” Elijah tried to concentrate, but the room was starting to spin.

Jaxon felt Elijah’s forehead
; he was a little warm. “Why don’t you rest, okay? I’ll get you something to drink.”

Jaxon stood and went to the door. Looking over his shoulder, he made sure Elijah had gotten under the covers and was comfortable. Something very fucked up was going on, and Jaxon was going to find out exactly what it was.
He made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. Justice was leaning against the island counter as his mate, Skylar, popped popcorn.

“How are the Salvatore brothers?” Skylar chuckled.

“Elijah is disappointed I’m not a vamp.” Jaxon raised his brows.

“Won’t he be so happy to know you’re a werewolf
instead?” Skylar smiled wide.

“Who’s a werewolf?”

Jaxon sighed and looked over his shoulder. Stone was staring at them.

“You
know, the character on Elijah’s TV show,” Skylar blurted.

“Oh,” Stone nodded. “I like the quiet one better.”

“The brooding, Mr. Do-gooder?” Jaxon laughed.

“I see you know him well.” Stone grinned.
His eyes widened and he looked from Justice to Jaxon. “Oh my God, I just put that together!”