Chapter Seven

Jack

"Come on, sweetie. It's time to go back to bed."

Bryant snuggled into my neck, his little wet cheeks pressed against my skin. The poor kid was getting his molars, and they were killing him. So far, I'd tried distraction and cuddles. None of it worked. I was to the point where I contemplated running out to find some human medications to try and help, knowing full well the odds were not in our favor. Days like this, I wished I'd followed my childhood dreams of becoming a healer. If I had, then I'd know what to do for him.

"I know it hurts, honey. I wish there was more I could do."

It was two in the morning. He was beyond exhausted. I knew he'd feel better once they finally cut through, but that was going to be a couple more days, if I were to guess. Sleep would help, but I understood why he was awake. No one sleeps well when they are in pain.

"Owie. Owie." He hugged me tighter.

"I know, baby. I know." I swayed back and forth like I used to when he was a newborn. "How about this? Why don't we go get some milk and maybe a Popsicle?"

He pulled back, squirming to get down. He did love his Popsicles. I wasn't sure how much the ice would help now that it had gotten so bad, but it was worth a try.

Bryant took my hand, and we walked into the kitchen. This kitchen was so different from the one in the warehouse. I still couldn't get over the massive size of it. Meals could be made here to feed everybody with ease. While Cook preferred to work alone or sometimes with Nora, there could easily be three or four people here doing different tasks without getting in anyone else's way.

I went to the big freezer and found Bryant's favorite Popsicle flavor—blue. They called it something about a unicorn, but it was blue and tasted exactly how you expected blue to taste. Not really berry, not really cotton candy, just a kind of a mushed-up blend of the two. Even I liked it, and I was for sure not the targeted consumer.

"Here you go, honey."

He took it and started licking it, his face blooming with a smile. "I'm going to warm up some milk, too, honey, because maybe it will help you fall asleep." Goodness knew he wasn't going to.

I added some cloves to the mix to ease the discomfort. Depending on how it tasted when warm, I might add a few other things to make it less clove-like. It was my first time trying this, so, for all I knew, it was going to wind up down the drain with me starting over again.

Slowly, I whisked the milk as Bryant sat on the stepstool enjoying his icy treat and watching me as if I were doing something far more entertaining.

A wave came over me, and I sensed Aziz was here. Not inside yet but he was back. I frickin' hated my connection to him. All it did was make things hurt even more. Usually, I didn't sense him until we were in the same room. Maybe our connection was stronger because he'd been away? Or maybe it was because I wasn't surrounded by a lot of other shifters. Just Bryant and I were awake.

Relief filled me. I was glad he was back. I wished I didn't care so much, but I'd discovered long ago that my feelings for him were never going away, no matter how hard I tried to squish them down. Aziz had me extra worried this time because of how he left and all the things I'd said to him before he did.

He came into the building less than a minute later and walked straight into the kitchen, which made sense. The lights were on, and he'd either be coming to see who was up or to turn them off, thinking someone forgot.

"You're back," I stated the obvious.

"Yeah." He looked like shit. Like complete shit. I wanted to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. But would it? I wasn't sure what was wrong, only that I probably played a role in it.

"I'm making some warm milk for Bryant. His molars are coming in. He's having trouble sleeping." I pointed to Bryant on the stepstool. His face was a sticky blue mess, but at least he seemed a bit less uncomfortable. I'd take sticky hands and faces over seeing him in pain any day.

Aziz sniffed the air.

"I put clove in the milk to help with discomfort." I explained, assuming that was the scent that caught his nose.

Aziz scented the air again and then nodded. "Not for nothing, but I don't think milk is going to get him to sleep. Not with all that sugar in him." His smile didn't reach his eyes. Something had definitely happened.

"True." I hesitated before approaching the elephant in the room. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't look so good."

"You're right."

I waited, but he didn't elaborate.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I was opening myself up for more heartache, but he seemed so broken. So sad. So alone. I was going to give him my ear if he needed it.

"I had to go back to my old clan. The alpha died. Her name was Bella, and we grew up together."

Aziz didn't talk about his birth clan much and, when he did, it never sounded ideal. I hadn't realized he was still even in touch with them.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, well, it sucks. I'm gonna call it a night. We'll talk later." He looked straight at Bryant. "I have some things I want to tell you later."

"Okay."

"Let's talk later."

How many times was he going to say a version of "talk later." My stomach clenched. Nothing good ever came of talking later. Nothing.

"Sounds like a plan." One I hated. But, with Bryant here, it made sense. "If you change your mind on the milk, we'll be down here for a while."

He gave a nod and started to leave.

"I really am sorry," I called after him.

"Sorry" never seemed like enough. I wanted to make him feel better, but after a quick nod of acknowledgement, he kept walking.