Read At Year's End (The 12 Olympians) for Free Online

The lights were all off and the house was eerily quiet. He stormed into the living room and that’s when he saw Elijah, face down at the bottom of the stairs.
    “ Elijah!” Jaxon ran over to him and gently picked him up. Blood flowed from the side of Elijah’s head and his lip was cut. He grabbed his phone and dialed the police. Once he was patched through to Detective Nicholas Stevens, a fellow werewolf, and had relayed all the information, he hung up and cradled Elijah’s body in his arms. Nicholas had assured him that Kellan, Jude and Scott — all paramedics and werewolves, would arrive quickly.
    “Open your eyes, Elijah. Please open them ,” Jaxon whispered. He bit his wrist and wiped the healing blood over Elijah’s open wound on his temple. Elijah stirred and then moaned.
    “That’s right,” Jaxon held Elijah close to him. “Come back to me.”
    “Jaxon?” Elijah licked his lips and tried to focus. “What happened?”
    “I thought maybe you could tell me.”
    The sound of sirens in the distance soothed Jaxon’s frazzled nerves. He held Elijah carefully and checked him over. Angry bruises covered the kid’s arms.
    “Um, think I fell down the stairs.” Elijah blinked and looked up to see Jaxon with worry in his eyes. “Hi.”
    Jaxon tried to smile. “Hi. How are you feeling?”
    “Sore.”
    “Well, the medics are coming. I want you looked at, okay?”
    Elijah nodded.
    “Do you think you can stand up?”
    Elijah stumbled to his feet and grabbed onto Jaxon for support. He realized his misstep and tried to pull away. “Sorry ,” he mumbled.
    “Don’t you dare apologize.” Jaxon put an arm around Elijah and supported him as he opened the front door. The ambulance pulled into the driveway, and then Kellan was off the bus and running to the house.
    “ What happened?” Kellan shouted, running straight to Elijah and assessing him.
    “I don’t know ; I found him at the bottom of the staircase.” Jaxon helped move Elijah to the bus where Scott and Jude were setting up an IV drip. He elbowed Kellan.
    “ I gave him some of my blood .”
    Kellan nodded and eased Elijah into the ambulance. “ Good. Let’s hope he can tell us what happened .”
    “I’ll meet you guys at the hospital.” Jaxon took Elijah’s hand and lightly squeezed it.
     
    By the time Jaxon arrived at the hospital maintained solely for the shifters, Caden was already there pacing in the waiting room. Jaxon smiled. The man cared for Elijah like a son, as he did all the boys. But Elijah was extra special to him. Caden noticed him and exhaled a breath.
    “Do you know what happened?” he asked.
    “I thought you would know by now,” Jaxon answered. “I found him on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. He’s got bruises on his arms.”
    “Well, he’s got a ton on his side , too.”
    They both turned to see Alexander Romasko , another werewolf and their physician, staring at them.
    “What?!” Jaxon fairly snarled.
    “He’s been beaten. Badly. Your blood began the healing process, but the bruises were slow to fade. Someone repeatedly kicked him in his ribs. Most of the bruises on his arms and hands were probably caused while he tried to protect himself.”
    “Son of a bitch!” Caden roared. “I am going to kill whoever did this!”
    “Get in line.” Jaxon balled his fists.
    “ I am positive he will recover fully, seeing as he has werewolf blood in his system now.”
    “Well, he’s not going back to that house!” Caden bellowed.
    “No, he’s not. He’s coming home with us.”
    Jaxon whirled around to see Skylar and Justice. He’d never been so happy to see his brother.
    “Justice,” Jaxon sighed in relief.
    Justice pulled Jaxon into his arms. “We’ll take good care of him. I swear.”
    Jaxon sagged in his brother’s embrace. The vision of Elijah at the bottom of the stairs haunted him. The thought that something very serious could happen to Elijah was something he just couldn’t handle.
    “He’s going