Demonic Regime

Chapter 22: Old Folks Home (Jax)

I scratched out a line I had written in my notebook. I continued to black it out until I was sure Max would never be able to read it. With a sigh, I relaxed into the pillows. Maybe I did have some melodramatic teenager tendencies.

There was a light tap on the door.

Max hurried out of his office to answer it. "Hi, how are you?" He ushered the pair inside.

A brown werewolf led a fragile looking sub into the room. He had amazing red markings that covered his lower arms and leg with a bit on his chest and muzzle. There were even some on the tips of his ears. Why had I gotten stuck with a damn diamond?

"Thank you so much for coming." Max hurried on ahead of them. "This is Jax, my mate."

I pulled my legs close to me.

The sub sat down by my feet and smiled. "Jax, I'm Aden." He held out his hand.

I shook it. "Hi."

He looked at the others. "Why don't you two give us some time alone?"

"Are you sure?" asked the woman.

Aden laughed. "I'm not going to break. It's sub stuff. It's easier to talk without you upper ranks hovering." He waved at them. "Go on. Titus is with Andreas. Go talk and fuss over him for once."

"Alright." She walked toward the door.

"If you need anything, just pressed the green square on the speaker." Max motioned to the panel on the wall.

"I can handle it," stated Aden. "Out." He pointed.

The door closed, and the sub climbed off the bed. "That's my granddaughter. She's convinced I'm made of glass." He shuffled around and looked at different things. "This is a nice room. Aha, here it is." He wandered into the closet.

I sat up and tried to figure out what this strange werewolf was doing. Aden returned with a few different clothing options.

"What are you doing?"

"Human-born, sweetheart." Aden changed forms, and a man with bright white hair appeared. His spine was sticking out along with his ribs. He pulled on an oversized t-shirt. "I get tired of always being covered in fur. We weren't born like this." Aden came back to where I was sitting and place the clothes near me.

I sucked in my lips and stared at them.

"Don't mind me, I won't look."

"Max hasn't taught me how to change back."

"Good heavens, the dominants in this family." He shook his head. "It's a good thing Daven asked me to come." He patted my leg.

"You're his uncle?"

Aden nodded. "I'm an only child, and my mate has one brother. We had one pup and raised him alongside the twins. I love those three boys all the same. So when Daven said we had a sub emergency, I knew it was time for me to step in. I had to do it for Raven. Mind you that was years and years ago—" he smiled at me—"but I still know how to handle these upper ranks."

I massaged my feet. "Could you teach me? Max hates human form. Getting him to shift for me was like arguing with a toddler. He loves how much I look now, so I don't think he'll ever teach me unless I bug him for weeks." I rubbed my forehead.

Aden grabbed my hand. "I see why. You have adorable markings."

I frowned. "Yours are better."

He laughed. "I got so much red on me, I might as well just be red." He gripped his knees. "They're gotten smaller over the years. Maybe yours will too. But I hope that little bit never goes away." He tapped my forehead.