Jack wasn't an idiot. Everett had told him that there would most likely be other werewolves walking around by noon, and Jack was not looking forward to getting caught with any more Grahams alone.
Besides, a voice in his head told him as he followed Tiberius down the hall to the first floor, he smells so good.
Jack shut his eyes, shaking the thought out of his head. Then he tripped on a fold in the carpet and gasped. Tiberius caught him, a hand on his waist, the other on his shoulder. Jack was at once engulfed in a warm, musky scent.
"Are you all right?" Tiberius asked into the small space between their mouths, his breath fanning Jack's lips.
Jack was suddenly all too aware of Tiberius's thumb brushing his waist, his hand on his shoulder, his curls brushing Jack's jaw. He stumbled back, his hands shaking. "D-Don't . . . don't touch me . . ."
A smirk tugged at Tiberius's lips. Jack cursed inwardly. Why was he so breathless?
"You seem flustered," he said.
"I'm not," Jack defended immediately.
"Are you blushing again?"
"No!"
Tiberius raised a brow.
"Shut up."
Tiberius was looking more and more amused by the second. "I didn't say anything."
"I –" Jack swallowed, roughly wiped a hand across his face, and stormed past him. "Whatever, are you taking me downstairs or not –"
"I heard yelling!" a boy burst very suddenly out of a nearby door, and Jack stumbled back, reaching for Tiberius arm and clinging to it. Tiberius's hand instinctively closed around his, but Jack was more preoccupied with the mystery man who was now staring at him with wide, hazel eyes. Or one hazel eye. His right eye had a large scar going through it, from his hairline down to his chin, and the color was milky white. He was half-blind.
His blonde hair was rumpled and, like Tiberius and Mira, he had more scars all over his body. He looked a little too delicate for so many injuries, but then he grinned, wide and mischievous, and the scars made more sense.
"Wow," he tilted his head at Jack and stepped towards him, hand outstretched. "Pretty toy –"
"Wyatt," Tiberius growled as Jack moved a step behind him, hiding from sight. Wyatt stopped with a single twitch of his eye. "I'm going to say this once. You lay a single finger or a look I don't like on Jack –"
"Oh," Wyatt's shoulders fell with a pout. "You never got so protective over the other ones."
Jack flinched away from Tiberius. Tiberius frowned at him over his shoulder. "The other ones?"
"Nothings," Tiberius told him fiercely. "Nothing compared to you."
But Tiberius didn't know that Everett had already told Jack he'd been with other people. He just hadn't told him what had happened to them. Were those the bodies that had been disposed of in the forest? Had Tiberius been responsible for some of them, even if he hadn't killed them himself? Would he just dispose of Jack the second he got too bored or frustrated with him?
Wyatt chuckled, giving Tiberius a wide berth as he approached Jack. He watched him like he was some sort of volcano he couldn't wait to see erupt. "He really doesn't like you, sire."
"Didn't I say not to touch him?" Tiberius snapped.
"Hm?" Wyatt retracted his hand, and Jack moved to the other side of the hall, not taking his eyes off him. "Oh yes, yes, Your Highness, of course, I heard you loud and clear. I just thought I should introduce myself. Manners, you know." He leapt to the center of the hall, extending a hand to Jack. "Wyatt Haven," he grinned widely and tilted his head. "Ironic, isn't it?"
Jack hesitated only for a second before he decided to feign courage and briefly shook Wyatt's hand. "What is?"
"My name! 'Haven.' Makes me sound like a safe space, doesn't it?"
Jack yanked his hand back and reached instantly for his camera. He held it up, poised to take a picture. "Get away," he warned.
Wyatt barked a surprised laugh. "Oh I like him!"
"Jack, please," Tiberius held a hand out to him. Jack refused to take his eyes off Wyatt and his grin. "Wyatt," he growled, "walk in front of him."
"Why?"
"Because he's smart," Tiberius said impatiently, "and won't turn his back to you."
Wyatt giggled, and offered an elbow to him. "You can keep a better eye on me if you're right next to me."
Jack couldn't tell if Wyatt was serious or not. It didn't matter though because in a second, Tiberius was standing between them, glaring at Wyatt with a murderous scowl.
"Jack Hunter," he said darkly, "is my mate, Haven."
Wyatt's smile dimmed and he retracted his elbow. "Oh," he said. "So you're the one."
"No, I'm not," Jack huffed, stuffing his camera back in his bag. His heart was rattling in his chest and he was uncomfortable with all the newfound attention. He'd thought he'd had enough of an audience writing his columns, but only now did he realize that he'd enjoyed some measure of anonymity being one small part of the paper. Now people looked at him like what he was; their king's prized possession.
"I'm sick of telling people I'm not your mate," he said.
Wyatt hummed, crossing his arms behind his head. "Then I suggest you stop. No one believes you anyway." He sniffed the air. "Yep, you reek of matehood." He grinned. "Or is that just all the blood?"
Jack pulled his jacket tighter over his stained shirt.
"Can we just go downstairs please?" Jack mumbled.
Without looking away from Wyatt, Tiberius held a hand out to Jack. Jack swallowed and took it. I need the protection, he told himself. That's the only reason I'm holding his hand.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Wyatt fell into step beside them.
"What's the quickest way out of here?" Jack said, not really expecting an answer.
"Probably the northeast tunnel," Wyatt said. Tiberius's grip on Jack's hand tightened ever so slightly.
Jack narrowed his eyes. "Northeast tunnel?"
"Where the trolls live!" Wyatt said cheerfully. "It's filled with corpses! All kinds of corpses! Animal corpses, human corpses, fairy corpses! One of those is a lie, can you figure out which?"
"Are all of them like him?" Jack whispered to Tiberius.
Tiberius scowled at Wyatt. "No, they're not. Wyatt's just special."
"So have you two slept together yet?"
Jack tried to slip his hand out of Tiberius's right then, but Tiberius held him closer, his grip almost bruising.
"That's none of your business," he told him.
Wyatt made a noise in the back of his throat. "So no then."
"Wyatt," Tiberius warned, and Wyatt leapt back from him, hands up.
"Sorry, sorry," he mumbled.
They stepped out onto another bridge between towers, and found someone crossing the opposite way. For a second, Jack thought it was Graham. But this guy was skinner with gray hair and icy-blue eyes, he slouched like he was trying to hide his height, and where Graham looked at Jack with loathing, this guy didn't seem to dare look at him at all.
"Isaac," Tiberius sighed. "If you're looking for Graham, he's in the message tower."
"I'm just going to my room, Your Highness," Isaac murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "I haven't really slept since last night. I was up with – with him."
Tiberius looked cold at the mention of Graham. "He defied my orders," he said without remorse, "and attacked my mate. He deserved worse than what he got."
"N-No," Isaac's eyes widened and he shook his head. "I'm – I'm not arguing that, sir." He finally looked at Jack, bowing his head lower. "I'm very sorry about my brother, sir. I'm – er – Isaac Millen. I don't know if you've met Graham already . . .?"
"I had the pleasure," Jack said stiffly, then softened. "Sorry, he just freaked me out a little." He held out his hand. "Jack Hunter."
Isaac looked at Jack's hand, startled, but reached out and shook briefly before letting go. "King Tiberius told us not to hurt you," he said. "Are – are you okay?"
His voice was laced with so much genuine concern and he looked so shy that it caught Jack off guard. He could only nod in response and say, "Please don't call me 'sir.'"
Tiberius glanced at him, his expression inscrutable. Wyatt snickered. "Well, you are our superior, sir. Or do you prefer, Your Highness? Your Kingship? Your Eminence?"
"I'm getting really sick of you," Jack said angrily.
"Everyone does," Isaac chuckled, realized what he'd said, and looked down again, blushing. "Sorry. I'm just a little . . . tired. I – I should . . . head back to my room. Get some sleep."
Jack watched him leave. He could already feel Tiberius tugging on his hand, but he found himself watching Isaac disappear instead. "They're twins, right?" he said. "They don't completely look alike, but . . ."
Tiberius nodded. "Graham's my sergeant. If he's ruthless, it's because he's seen some horrifying things."
Wyatt hummed. "King Tiberius just means that if anyone else had attacked you like he had, they would be dead by now. Guess it pays to be the king's best friend and traumatized to high hell."
Tiberius gave Wyatt such a glare that Wyatt took another few steps back, murmuring apologies with an amused grin. "What kind of horrifying things?" Jack asked, fingers itching for the notepad on his belt.
"Death, death, and more death," Wyatt heaved a loud sigh. "Changes a man."
"Death?" Jack murmured. Who's death? he almost asked, but doubted anyone would answer him. He let go of Tiberius's hand only to scribble down, Ask Everett about Graham.
Tiberius pursed his lips as he watched him. "I don't want you going near Graham," he finally told him. "Not without me there. His anger is misplaced, and I've already warned him not to touch you, but –"
"Word of advice," Jack sighed, putting his notepad away, "don't force a guy to stay in a castle full of werewolves and then pretend to care about what happens to him. As long as you keep me here, you keep me in danger."
Tiberius looked pained. "Jack, don't say that."
"It's the truth, Your Highness," Jack said coldly. "If you wanted someone to go along with your lies, you shouldn't have picked a journalist." And then, just because Jack was still fuming with Tiberius's audacity to warn him away from monsters now, he hooked his arm around Wyatt's and trudged on. "Come on, you freak," he grumbled, pulling him along.
Tiberius's expression was stony, any hint of gentility gone as his eyes followed Jack's arm in Wyatt's. Wyatt, on the other hand, had a bit more of a spring in his step.
"Ooh!" he grinned widely, straightening his shoulders and raising his chin. "Look at me, with the king's favorite pet!"