Bear the Burden (Midnight Falls #25)

Chapter Three

Wesley sighed, enjoying how good the massage on his calves felt. Someone was finally touching him, kneading the leg that had brought him nothing but misery.

As the strong yet gentle fingers worked his tense muscles and damaged nerves, Wesley wondered who those powerful hands belonged to.

Since the night of… Since then, there had always been a constant ache in his leg. Most days it was manageable. Other times, like earlier, he just wanted to die from the unbearable pain.

At that moment, he felt nothing. Not even a small twinge of discomfort. For the first time since he’d woken up in the hospital, Wesley felt as if his leg was normal.

And those fingers… So incredible. He never wanted them to stop. They made him feel whole again. He didn’t want the massage to end because Wesley was desperate to feel the touch of another person. He’d craved it for so long.

Maybe if he pretended to be still asleep, they would continue to touch him. If so, he might be able to convince himself he wasn’t a monster.

Wesley trapped a moan in his throat when the firm hands worked their way up to the back of his knee then kneaded their way down to the arch of his foot.

Where were his shoes? The question melted away as his skin turned into pliable dough, resulting in the best relaxation he’d ever experienced. He wasn’t even sure how long he’d been out of it, but the rhythmic rotations of the deep tissue massage were lulling him back to sleep.

Just as he felt himself dozing, the sound of Jackson’s ringtone disrupted the quietness. The tune abruptly stopped, accompanied by a soft curse.

Dad! Wesley hadn’t taken the pills home, and he could only imagine the pain Jackson had to be in right now.

Shoving to his elbow, Wesley glanced around the unfamiliar room, and then his gaze landed on Hyett. The guy was on the other end of the couch, those smoky eyes watching him closely.

The gorgeous man Wesley had steadily pushed away, had been a complete asshole to, had just given him the most amazing pain-free moments since that horrific night.

Not even the massage therapist he’d seen six months ago had been able to achieve in an hour what Hyett had accomplished in just ten minutes.

“What am I doing at your house?” He assumed it was Hyett’s place.

“You passed out before you gave me your address.” His fingers flexed against Wesley’s legs. “I tried to get it from your boss, but you left that part of your paperwork blank.”

“It was an oversight.” Wesley wasn’t even sure why he’d purposely left it blank but was thankful he had. If Hyett had taken him home, the guy would’ve seen what Jackson was like without his pills.

An unhinged man with no brain-to-mouth filter. The most hateful words had been slung at Wesley more times than he could count when he hadn’t gotten them to his dad on time.

Despite knowing it was the pain that caused his father to spew such vile things at him, the words still cut him deeply. Maybe Wesley was wrong for buying pills for his dad, but it was better than the alternative.

When Jackson’s insurance stopped covering his pain meds, he’d found a guy he could get them from. But it was Wesley who paid for them and picked them up. Every time he entered Morton’s house, he felt like prey wandering into a den of snakes.

Wesley could never just grab and go. Morton didn’t want his neighbors to become suspicious, so the guy made him sit there for at least twenty minutes to make the visit seem legit.

They were the longest, most uncomfortable twenty minutes of Wesley’s life. He always sat there terrified the place would be raided. It made him feel like a straight-up criminal.

Before his deep dive into the sketchy underbelly of the drug world, Wesley had never done anything illegal. Now he was making freaking drug runs for his father.

Wesley’s phone erupted again. The tune used to make him bop around, but now he despised it.

Leaning over, he grabbed his phone and turned off the ringer so it would only vibrate, and then he set it back down. “Can you take me to my car? I swear I’m okay to drive now.”

“Does your medication always effect you that way?” The pad of Hyett’s thumb circled Wesley’s ankle. If he kept doing that, Wesley would never get up. The guy’s hand felt too damn good.

“I took an extra by mistake.” Yet another lie, but what was he going to do? Tell Hyett he’d accidentally taken pain meds meant for his dad, which he’d bought from a goddamn drug dealer?

He patted Wesley’s calf. “I’ll take you to your car.”

If he didn’t have to deliver the pills to his dad, he wouldn’t have moved a muscle. It was hands-down the most comfortable couch he’d ever laid on. Not only was it plush and soft but it had wider cushions, giving it a more spacious feel. As huge as Hyett was, Wesley could see the benefit of extra leg room.

Groaning, he sat up, thankful the pills had worn off. He never wanted to feel that way again. He spotted his shoes sitting neatly together on the floor in front of the coffee table. Wesley put them on then stood and stretched, feeling so much better since he’d finally gotten some decent sleep for the first time in forever.

When he bent to swipe his phone off the coffee table, Wesley noticed his leg had begun to throb again.

Now that he thought about it, his pain had significantly eased at work when Hyett had rested his hand on Wesley’s shoulder.

Curious, he turned then pretended to stumble. Hyett caught him, and in a matter of seconds, the growing ache started to recede. How was that possible?

“Careful,” Hyett murmured, his hands on Wesley’s upper arms. “Are you sure you’re steady enough to drive, hon?”

“Yep. I just tripped over my own feet.” Wesley gave him a reassuring smile, though he was still totally baffled that a single touch could bring him so much relief.

Hyett flexed his fingers then dropped his hands and walked away. The ache started to throb softly right above Wesley’s knee and in his calf.

Still bewildered, he followed after Hyett. They strolled into an incredible kitchen with dark cabinetry, marble countertops, and probably the largest kitchen windows Wesley had ever seen. They let in the fading sun that bathed the room in a soft glow.

Fading sun?

“What time is it?” Wesley asked just as his phone started to vibrate in his back pocket. If he didn’t hurry up and deliver the pills to Jackson, his father was going to unleash a verbal assault on him that would leave Wesley even more scarred in the heart than he already was.

“A little after seven.”

Wesley stopped short at the sound of the deep voice to his left. He turned his head and saw a massive guy standing at the counter. The stranger was even larger than Hyett and Killian, who looked like an older version of the two. This had to be their father or maybe an uncle.

“Wesley, this is my dad, Quinton,” Hyett said. “Dad, this is Wesley.”

“Nice to meet you,” the guy said.

“Hi.” Wesley couldn’t stop marveling at just how large Quinton was. Midnight Falls had an abundance of tall, muscular men, but Hyett’s father was even more colossal than Sheriff Harper. “How tall are you?” Wesley grimaced. He hadn’t meant to blurt that out.

But Quinton didn’t seem to take offense. In fact, he was smiling. “A whopping six-eight.”

Holy fuck. How on earth could the guy breathe at such a high altitude? Clouds should have been drifting by his head.

“And you?” Quinton asked, but Wesley had a feeling he was just being polite in returning the question.

“A gigantic five-eight,” Wesley replied teasingly. He turned to Hyett, who was watching him with amusement, something close to pride shining in his smoky eyes. “How about you?”

Hyett’s muscles flexed, like he was preening for Wesley. Even though nothing would ever happen between them, Wesley liked how the man flirted with him. It made him feel desirable. “A measly six-six.”

Wesley snorted. There wasn’t anything measly about his height. There probably wasn’t anything measly about his cock either. Unfortunately, Wesley would never find out.

“How are you feeling?” Quinton folded his bulky arms over his broad chest. Wesley felt sorry for anyone on the receiving end of the guy’s beefy fists.

“Much better. Thank you for asking,” Wesley replied, his mind still stuck on Hyett’s cock size, though he briefly wondered if Quinton knew why he’d been asleep on their couch.

Then his thoughts went right back to Hyett’s groin. Only now, Wesley was trying to picture the man naked with a hard, fat erection between his legs.

Had it suddenly grown hot in the kitchen? Shit! Wesley quickly averted his gaze, his face catching fire when he noticed Hyett grinning knowingly at him.

Busted.

“You’re going to tell him why you scarfed down his food,” Killian said as he and another guy strode through the back door, carrying at least half a dozen large pizza boxes and four plastic bags with the Papa’s Pizza Nest logo on the front of them.

The other guy looked like the rest of Hyett’s family, which meant he was related in some way. Probably their brother.

“You could have bought him some more while we were there,” the brother replied.

The two stopped when they noticed Wesley. Then the other guy turned to Hyett. “Dude, I might have eaten your order from earlier, but dickhead said he wasn’t replacing it since you abandoned him like a litter of kittens on some fire station steps.”

“ You ate it, so why should I be the one who pays to replace his food?” Killian argued, but Wesley noticed how the other guy was curiously staring at him.

“Because you insulted my mate,” Hyett growled. “Consider yourself lucky I didn’t run your hairy ass over instead of just leaving you in town, jackass.”

Mate? Wesley wasn’t sure if Hyett was referring to a friend or a lover. If it was the latter, why had the guy flirted with him and massaged his leg?

Wesley wasn’t a poacher. If Hyett was taken, his partner needed to know what a lowlife the man was. And why did the thought of Hyett with someone else make his chest ache?

As Hyett and Killian argued, the other guy drew closer and grinned. “I’m Ryker, the eldest brother of Jackass One and Jackass Two.”

“Hi, I’m Wesley.” He furrowed his brows as he watched Killian and Hyett snarl at one another like they were about to exchange blows. Their faces were so close they were breathing each other’s air. “Are they about to fight?”

He hoped not. One, Wesley didn’t like violence, especially among family members. Two, their sheer sizes would demolish their beautiful kitchen.

“If they do, Killian deserves an ass-kicking for insulting you.” Ryker stood there grinning at his siblings, as if he honestly hoped it would come down to that.

Wait. Hyett was referring to Wesley as his mate? The guy had to have been calling him a friend. “What insult?”

Hyett snarled at Ryker. Damn if that deep, rumbling sound didn’t remind Wesley of an animal.

“All I said was that you were acting like a meanie,” Killian said to Wesley. “How is the truth an insult?”

“One more word,” Hyett warned in a low, threatening tone.

Wesley blinked at the two of them. “I was being an asshole. Not that it’s any excuse, but I was in a lot of pain and took it out on Hyett, which I’m truly sorry for.”

“See.” Killian jerked his hand toward Wesley. “Even he admits it. And I said it before I found out he was your mate.”

“Dude! You said it five seconds after I told you he was my mate, you goddamn liar,” Hyett shot back.

Okay, now Wesley was certain it meant something other than friend. They were putting too much emphasis on it.

“What’s a mate?” he asked Ryker.

The room fell silent, and although Hyett and Killian were still glaring at each other, no one answered him.

Snatching the pizza boxes from Killian, Ryker took them to the counter, where Quinton had started grabbing plates from one of the cupboards. Killian set the bags on the large table then grabbed some drinking glasses.

Nope, that wasn’t suspicious at all.

Wesley glanced at Hyett. “Are you going to tell me or pretend you’re suddenly too busy like your family is currently doing?”

One of the three stifled a laugh.

“Hang on, hon.” Hyett grabbed a mega-sized plastic container and piled food inside of it. Then he tucked a stack of napkins under his arm before heading back to Wesley. “I had to rescue our food from those hungry bears.”

Wesley wasn’t an idiot. It was obvious Hyett and his family were hiding something. “Well?”

Hyett took a large bite of pizza then headed toward the back door. Wesley glanced toward the other three who were stuffing their faces while actively avoiding his gaze.

Fine. If no one wanted to answer him, he would just take his butt home. Once Hyett dropped him off, Wesley would never see them again anyway, so what did it matter to him if they refused to answer his question?

* * * *

Wesley stomped to the SUV and got in then folded his arms over his chest. Hyett sat in the driver’s seat, chewing while he wondered the best approach to take.

It wasn’t his family’s place to answer Wesley. It was his, but Hyett was struggling on how to begin.

“Please, can you start the car so you can get me back to mine?” Wesley said with a bite.

Oh yeah. His mate was livid. Earlier, Wesley had been in pain and lashing out. This was different. He had a legitimate reason to be pissed.

After wiping his hands with a napkin, Hyett started the SUV. “A mate is…” He twisted his lips, strumming his fingers on the steering wheel. “Well, it’s kind of like…”

“I don’t even care anymore,” Wesley ground out. “I just need to get home, so please drive.”

Hyett could hear his mate’s phone vibrating in his pocket.

“Why is your dad blowing up your phone?” Repeated calls from a parent would signal an emergency. It would to Hyett, but Wesley hadn’t answered any of them, which meant he already knew the reason.

“Really?” Wesley stared wide-eyed at him. “You won’t even answer my question, but you expect me to answer yours?” He huffed and turned his head toward the passenger window. “If you’re not going to drive me back to my car, tell me now so I can get out and walk.”

“I understand your annoyance at not getting an answer, but that doesn’t justify you biting my head off.” Hyett blew out a breath.

It seemed his mate was back to being a meanie. Hyett couldn’t even say it was from pain, because Wesley wasn’t rubbing his leg or wincing. He sat there with his jaw clenched, his arms folded over his chest, and then his anger just visibly drained. He dropped his arms then folded his hands in his lap as he looked at his feet.

“I just need to get home.”

Hyett studied him for a long moment and then pulled around the house and headed down the driveway. “I was drawn to the peaceful way you were cutting the mushrooms. But then it struck me that it was you who’d drawn me in, and that’s when I felt our connection, and I knew in that moment you were my mate. Someone fate had handpicked just for me, Wesley.”

His mate side-eyed him. “I don’t understand what you’re telling me, Hyett.”

Pulling over to the soft shoulder of the road, Hyett put the SUV in Park and turned toward his mate. “This is going to sound completely insane, and I’m worried about your reaction, but we can’t move forward if… You keep lashing out at me, and I don’t understand why,” he said softly. “You told me that you were in pain, but my gut tells me it’s more than that.”

“What’s going to sound insane to me?”

Hyett wished he could pull Wesley into his lap and hold him. He didn’t like all the secrets he saw hidden in the man’s eyes. His mate was struggling with something, and all Hyett wanted to do was help him.

With a sigh, Hyett said, “I’m a bear shifter, Wesley. In my world, we’re given mates, someone specifically chosen for us, and I don’t think I’m explaining this right, so forgive me, because I’ve never had to explain what I am to anyone before.”

Wesley scowled. “You’re saying I was specifically chosen for your family?”

“What? No.” Hyett wanted to snarl at the thought of his brothers or father touching Wesley. “I told you I was screwing this up.” He sat back and rested his elbow on the doorframe, his forehead against his fingers.

“You’re saying you’re given a harem of men?”

Hyett gaped at him. “How did you even come to that conclusion?”

“You just told me you were given mates , as in plural,” Wesley argued in exasperation. “Then you said specifically chosen for us , again, plural. What else was I supposed to think?”

“Me, bear. I get one mate. You, mate.”

Wesley glared at him. “Dude, I’m not a moron. You just suck at explaining things.”

“Clearly,” Hyett groaned.

“So, let me see if I get this straight.” Wesley held up a hand, palm out. “You can change into a bear. Right?”

“Yes.” Hyett nodded.

“In your world, your kind is given a mate.”

Okay, this was much better, so Hyett wasn’t going to tell Wesley that there were many different shifter species or the fact that vampires, demons, and other preternatural beings existed. “Yes.”

Wesley slid his tongue over his bottom lip and damn if Hyett didn’t want to feel it sliding over his. “When you stood at the counter earlier, you knew I was your mate.”

“Yes!” Hyett felt as if they’d just climbed a fucking mountain, but they’d finally made it to the top.

“So now I belong to your family?”

And they just fell off the mountaintop. “Why do you keep circling back to my family?” Hyett asked incredulously. “You were nailing it perfectly until the last part. You belong solely to me , Wesley. Me. Not Killian or Ryker or my dad. Just me . Now do you get it?”

The side of his mate’s mouth twitched.

Hyett narrowed his eyes. “You were just fucking with me.”

Wesley’s smile fully blossomed. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. You looked so hopeful and—” He shrugged. “Now, the question is, do I believe you?”

“But you just—”

“Let me finish,” Wesley said calmly as he held up his hand again. “Please.”

“Go ahead, babe.” Hyett would just sit there and listen to the guy call him seven kinds of crazy. Then he would show his claws to prove he was a bear, followed by his mate having a meltdown.

Just your average Friday evening.

“I’m open to the possibility that something is going on, simply because my pain completely disappears when you touch me,” Wesley said. “But the mate thing? My attraction to you can be explained by, you guessed it, simple attraction.”

While Hyett wasn’t thrilled that his mate thought their connection was merely attraction, at least he hadn’t called Hyett a flat-out liar. “And my bear?”

Wesley’s gorgeous smile widened. “You are utterly insane.”

Locking gazes with his mate, Hyett raised his hand and slid his claws free.

The skin under Wesley’s eyes twitched.

Hyett retracted his claws, but his mate had yet to move a muscle. It was as if he was frozen. “Talk to me, hon. You have a weird look in your eyes. Tell me if you’re about to run.”

They were on the side of the road, and Hyett didn’t need the guy running into oncoming traffic, even though there currently weren’t any cars in sight.

“Right.” Wesley grabbed the handle, gently pushed the door open, then got out. He simply walked into the field next to them.

“Shit. He’s having a silent meltdown.” Hyett jumped out then flattened himself against the front panel of his SUV when a semi rushed by. Jesus. He was about to die going after his mate.

Jogging after Wesley, who was walking at a steady pace, Hyett wondered where the guy was heading. “Wesley?”

His mate stopped. “I’m working this out in my head,” he said to Hyett. “I can’t be…” He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I’m a monster.”

What was his mate talking about? How was he a monster?

“And you’re apparently a bear.” Wesley let out a quick, hysterical laugh then grew quiet. “Clearly I’m the one who’s insane.”

Wesley was definitely having a meltdown, and Hyett wasn’t sure how to stop it.