POV: JACKSON
"What?" Owen asked, clearly taken aback by Tom's response.
"I don't know who it was. The face had so many mouths that I couldn't see it clearly," Tom replied quietly.
"But you said..." Owen started, looking bewildered at Tom, who was avoiding eye contact and focusing on his hands.
Was he lying?
"Alright, that's alright. The important thing is that Saint is safe now and the child is free," Owen said as he stood up. "This wraps up my work here. I'm leaving soon." He then walked out of Tom's room.
"Stay here, I'll be back," I told Tom as Chris and I followed Owen out.
As soon as we approached him, he said, "He's lying. He knows who the child is."
"How do you know that?" Chris asked.
"Because he spoke to the child, and it sounded like he recognized him. When he was in Saint's mind, I could hear him and talk to him, but I couldn't see either him or the child. At first, he felt scared, but as he talked, that fear turned into familiarity. From Tom's voice, it was clear he knew who he was talking to," he explained.
"Why would he lie, though?"
Owen shrugged. "One possibility is that the child threatened him. Or maybe the child is his friend, and he was lying to protect him."
"That makes sense because there's no other reason for him to lie," Chris said. "But if the child is his friend, that could mean a lot of his classmates, since Tom is very friendly."
"That's something for you two to figure out," Owen replied.
"Will Saint be alright?"
"Yes, he will. He'll have a really bad headache for a few hours, but aside from that, he'll be fine again."
"Thank you for your help with Marcus and Saint," I said sincerely.
"It's no trouble at all. I've told my friend (the pack doctor) that I'll be leaving after this. Would you mind walking me to the gates?" Owen asked.
I nodded and walked with him. It was quiet as we made our way through the pack until we got closer to the gates. "I can see you trust your Beta," he remarked.
Confused, I responded, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"Not really about him, but I'm not so sure about your... what is it called? Delta," he said.
"Sam? What do you mean?"
When we reached the gates, he stopped and faced me. "You know, I kept my word and didn't tell anyone about Tom or what we were planning with Saint. Not even my friend knows. But Sam kept asking me why you needed me. I noticed you didn't include him earlier, so I didn't say anything. At first, I thought he was just curious, but it seemed more like desperation."
«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«
Tom ate quietly at the dining table. He had been really silent since everything happened with Saint, and I couldn't help but think about what Owen said.
"Have you seen Blake?" he suddenly asked.
"No, why?"
"Nothing. You mentioned he was supposed to come over to play today. Or..." He paused. "Did something happen to him?"
"I don't think anything's wrong. We'll just ask him to come over tomorrow."
"Okay," he replied and went back to eating.
"You didn't ask about Lily. Don't you want her to come too?"
"Oh, she can come as well," he said quickly. After that, we ate in silence before heading to our separate rooms. I planned to talk to him about the child's identity the next day to find out if he really knows something or if Owen's guess was off.
Saint had woken up and eaten by then. I told him to take a shower and relax before I filled him in on what happened. I knocked on his door, waiting for him to answer. He opened it with a smile, stepping aside to let me in.
That smile made my heart flutter, but I kept my feelings hidden. I remembered that night when I couldn't hold back and kissed him.
After breaking away from that kiss, the desire to keep going and touch him all over was so strong that I couldn't sleep. I wanted to blame the mate bond, but I knew that would be a lie. Plus, there was that little voice reminding me of Anto.
Still, that reminder wasn't enough to lessen my feelings for him. It kept me awake that night.
"Does your head still hurt?" I asked, noticing the small towel around his neck that he was using to dry his hair.
"Not really. I'll be completely fine by tomorrow," he said, still wearing that smile that made his eyes shine. He had a great smile, the kind that made his cheeks look fuller.
Why was he so cheerful? Well, I would feel the same way if I had just gotten rid of a bothersome voice inside my head.
He broke our eye contact and looked down briefly before meeting my gaze again. "Is something on my face?"
"Huh?"
"You're staring."
I shook my head and changed the topic. "Tom said he doesn't know who the child is, but Owen thinks he's lying."
"Why would Tom lie?"
"I'm not sure. I plan to ask him about it tomorrow."
He seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Would you mind if I talked to him instead? Maybe he'll reveal something about the child if I can get him to share what he saw in my head."
"Sure, let's do that. If he still doesn't say anything, I'll talk to him."
Saint nodded and then dropped the towel on the table before coming over to hug me. I was taken by surprise, standing still as his warm body pressed against mine.
"Thank you," he said, his voice sounding emotional. Wait, wasn't he just happy a moment ago?
I slowly wrapped my arms around him and hugged him back. "That's what mates do."
He giggled softly and hugged me tighter. This was the first time I'd heard him giggle. Why was his mood changing so quickly?
"Why?" I asked.
"This is the first time you've called us mates when no one else is around," he replied softly.
Was this really the first time? Seeing his happy reaction made me want to do and say things that would always bring him joy. I wanted to make him happy.
As I caught a whiff of the scent from his neck, I couldn't help but be intrigued. Why does it...? I inhaled deeper, causing his shoulders to twitch. "Why do you smell different?" I asked, my nose still buried in his neck.
"H-Huh?"
"You smell..." His scent was intoxicating, making me hug him tightly as I lost myself in it.
"I smell?" he replied, sounding confused.
"No, your scent is... different." I managed to say as I pulled back and moved to sniff the other side.
"O-oh, I don't know. I didn't use a different body wash, though."
Then why? I kept sniffing his neck, and before I realized what I was doing, I licked it. Saint let out a soft moan into my neck as he buried his face in my arms.
I pulled back suddenly. "Sorry." He opened his mouth to respond, but I interrupted him. "Will you be out tomorrow?"
He looked a bit disappointed but nodded. "We still don't know who is behind all this, so go out with Mateo. He's the only one I trust to be with you." He nodded again, tugging his shirt down over his waist.
"I'll be in my room," I said, walking away. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to sniff his neck like that, but I simply couldn't resist. He smelled so good, so different in a wonderful way, that I wanted to stay there longer. As I closed the door to my room, I realized that I couldn't control myself around Saint anymore.
"What is he doing to me?"