“You sure I’m an Argent?” he blurted. “I checked, but I don’t see it. Tristan didn’t see it. You think maybe you made a mistake?”
Hope was in his eyes, along with a certain resignation, as if he knew he couldn’t be that lucky. Closing the drawer, Matt rounded the desk to sit in his chair. Jesse accepted the unspoken invitation and curled up in the other one. Not quite as loose and easy as usual, though.
“If you want, I’ll film you so you can see yourself through human eyes,” Matt said. “As for Tristan—all he saw, apparently, was a wolf intent on tackling him into the dirt.” His lips twitched, very slightly. “I think we may need to revisit the shifter history and culture side of his education, though on the other hand, I’m all for survival instincts winning out.”
Jesse frowned, like he wanted to argue. “I can’t be one,” he protested. “It don’t make no sense.”
Matt sat quietly, letting him process it in his own time.
Eventually, Jesse let out a big sigh, looking ruefully at Matt. Like he was squaring what he knew of Matt and his truthfulness against something that seemed like nonsense. “Guess maybe I am, then,” he muttered. “But what’s the big deal? I don’t get it.”
Matt had one eye on the time. It was dusk, and once darkness fell, Cale would come. But this wassoimportant. Jesse needed to understand so he could safeguard himself in future.
“You remember that conversation we had about shifter politics? Shifters tend to be damn superstitious at the best of times, and those who still remember the Argents venerate them. Hearingthat one’s come back to them now… ” Matt paused briefly, trying to figure out how best to say it without making Jesse feel like a symbol rather than a living, breathing shifter. “Some of them are going to think you’ve appeared now for a reason. Which means, anyone out there with an agenda simply needs to present you as a member of their pack, and half the shifters out there are going to be falling over themselves to agree with anything you say.”
Jesse’s lip curled. “Just cause I’ve got a fancy coat?”
“Because you’ve got a lineage that goes back to the dawn of time,” Matt told him. “Argents used to be our rulers. Having control of an Argent means money, power, and influence. You don’t have to believe me, Jesse, but the people who want power? They’re not going to care if you buy into it or not. They’ll just use you.”
“This is bullshit, Matt,” Jesse shot back. “No way in hell anyone’s gonna believe I’m special.”
Matt flicked his tongue out to moisten his lips, noting the way that, even in his indignation, Jesse tracked his movement.
“You’replentyspecial, though the color of your coat has nothing to do with that. But honestly, Jesse—Argents mean something to shifters. It’s not like, say, a dodo was discovered, living their best life somewhere. It’s more like… ” He cracked a laugh, suddenly. “Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but more like King Arthur’s come back and is about to pull Excalibur out of a stone.”
“Yeah, you lost me on that one,” Jesse said. “But is that Argent bullshit why Cale—did he say that? That he wants me?”
A muscle clenched in Matt’s cheek at the reminder of Cale. Of their conversation, when it had become so clear neither was willing to give ground to the other.
“As good as,” he said.
For the briefest instant, there was a flare of panic in Jesse’s eyes, but then it was gone, replaced by trust as he looked at Matt. HeknewMatt would never hand him over.
“I don’t know if he wants you for himself, or wants to sell you to the highest bidder. But it’s you he wants.”
“Yeah, but all I need to do is say I don’t agree with whatever it is they’re sellin’”—
“Think about it, Jesse. Having an Argent back among us is so mind-blowing that you’re not going to need to say a word.Noone’s going to risk disagreeing with what they’re told you want. And you’re probably way too important to talk to anyone directly. All they need is your presence in photos or video.” He lifted his hand to stop Jesse’s protest. “They can make it so you can’t speak to anyone. Or they can drug you.”
He raked his hand through his hair, scrubbing at his scalp as he thought about Jesse trapped in a life like that. He couldn’t bear it. “The only safety is keeping your existence secret, staying away from them all.”
Jesse was staring at him, mouth open, but no words came. His fingers curled, as if he wanted to grab onto something, but he forced them down into his lap.
Matt couldn’t tell what was going on in his head, but he could still see the moment he made a decision. Something raw flickered over his face, and he drew his shoulders tight, as if trying to hold himself together.
Then Jesse locked it all down. That was what Matt hated the most, the way Jesse seemed to have spent his whole life shutting himself off, like pain wasn’t worth acknowledging, like softer emotions were an inconvenience. Or worse—a weakness. Matt could feel him slipping away, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
“You’re right,” Jesse said roughly, his voice wrecked. “I need to disappear. Go somewhere no one knows me. Never shift again.”
He pushed to his feet, the movement abrupt, ragged, and Matt surged up out of his chair almost without thinking.
“What the hell, Jesse? You’re going nowhere.”
JESSE
Jesse wanted, so badly, to stay. To tell himself he’d had no choice but to obey an alpha’s order. But he could see it now with painful clarity—he, and no one else, had brought this deadly threat down on Matt’s pack. OnMatt,because he might just have been doing a bit more reading about shifters while staying here, and he’d read about clashes between packs, how they were so often a fight between alphas. To the death.
Hecouldn’tbe responsible for this.
