“N-n-no. S-s-she probably already hid it and she w-w-won’t tell you anything.”
“Rick...”
Rick shook his head and rose from his kneeling position. He stalked to his dresser and grabbed a bag, then dumped it on the bed. “It’s o-o-okay.”
“You’re sure?”
Rick nodded and heard Cole move behind him. The mattress dipped next to his bag, and he looked at Cole only to see the man looking around his room. “I-i-it’s not much. T-t-the room, I m-m-mean.”
“It’s nice. I like it. It’s obvious you take care of it.”
“It’s the o-o-only place that’s really mine.”
“I get why you don’t want to leave it. Maybe we could work on this house instead of having a new one built.”
Rick knew Cole was trying to include him in his future even if it was uncertain, so he tried to go along. “N-n-no. I love my r-r-room, but I hate the r-r-rest of the house.”
“Umm. Maybe we could replicate your room then. It shouldn’t be hard.”
“I w-w-want my own room.”
Rick clamped his mouth shut. With one sentence he’d just agreed to live with Cole in the house the man would build and told him he didn’t want to be close to him. That probably wouldn’t go down too well with him.
* * * *
Rick seemed to shrink on himself and Cole hated it. He knew it had nothing to do with him, but he hated seeing his mate afraid of him, especially over something like having his own room.
“Sure.”
Rick’s head snapped up. “R-r-really?”
“Yeah. You can have your own room if you want to live with me.”
“Y-y-you don’t want u-u-us to sleep t-t-together?”
“I’d love to, but I’m not expecting you to trust me and fall in love with me right away. I’m ready to give you all the space you need, and if that means giving you your own room, that’s fine with me. More than fine, really.”
Rick didn’t seem all that convinced but he nodded anyway. Cole watched as he pushed clothes in the bag he’d taken from the closet. There didn’t seem to be a method to it, but Cole didn’t point it out. He was ready to buy his mate anything he needed. He had the money anyway.
When the bag was full almost to bursting, Rick sneaked a peek at Cole. Cole wanted nothing more than to hug him, to tell him he didn’t have to be scared anymore, but he knew it’d probably be counterproductive, so he kept his hands to himself. “Are you ready to go?”
Rick nodded. He reached for his bag, but Cole was there before him. He stood, took the handles on the bag, and lifted the thing, frowning at how light it was. “Are you sure you have everything?”
Rick nodded again and to Cole’s surprise inched closer to him. He moved slowly, doubt etched in every move he made as he rose on his tiptoes and kissed Cole’s cheek before swirling around and nearly running out of the room. Cole watched him go, his free hand rising to touch the skin Rick had kissed.
The wonder of the kiss made him feel like a teenager again, and while Cole wasn’t sure he liked that, he didn’t actually mind it. It meant Rick was already slightly more comfortable with him, and he was ready to accept anything for that, for his mate.
He followed Rick’s steps at a slower pace but frowned when he found Rick standing in the hallway just at the edge of the living room. Someone was grumbling inside the room, and it could only be Rick’s mother. She didn’t sound happy at whatever Jared and the others were doing, and Cole tightened his free hand in a fist.
He knew Rick had told him not to ask about the money, but Cole wasn’t about to accept that, and he knew Kameron wouldn’t either. If Rick’s mother really had stolen the money he’d painstakingly put aside to have a better future, it was something the alpha should punish.
Cole dumped the bag on the floor next to where Rick was standing and a hand on his mate’s shoulder. He kept the contact light so as not to scare him and was satisfied when Rick didn’t even flinch.
Cole gently pulled him away from the door and stepped in the living room. Jared was crouched in front of Rick’s mother, who was sans blanket again. It was something Cole could have done without seeing, and he obviously wasn’t the only one. Zach was doing his best not to look her way. He was piling books in a box instead.
Kameron was standing in the corner of the room while Jared did his best to examine Rick’s mother. The alpha’s arms were crossed on his chest and he didn’t look happy. Cole was about to make him even less so.
He crossed the room and reached the alpha. “We need to talk.”
Kameron arched a brow. “About?”
“She stole money from Rick.”
“He told you that?”
“Yes. He said it doesn’t matter, but...”
“But it does, and not only to him.” Kameron let out a heavy sigh and raked one hand in his hair. “I so didn’t need to deal with that too.”
The alpha strode to the couch and crouched next to Jared. The doc looked at him but didn’t say anything, and Cole took the opportunity to go back to Rick. He looked down at his mate and hoped he’d forgive him. “I told him about your money.”
Rick opened his mouth but he didn’t say anything. He shook his head instead and looked at the couch again. Cole decided to take a chance and reached for Rick’s hand, lightly taking it in his. When Rick didn’t take it back, he tightened his hold just a bit, enough that Rick’s hand couldn’t slip away too easily.
“Abigail, did you take Rick’s money?” Kameron asked behind Cole.
Cole turned to look at them and saw Zach do the same. The alpha mate was frowning, a book still in his hand.
“What?” Abigail croaked.
“Rick’s money. He says it’s gone.”
“I needed to pay the beer.”
Cole grimaced. He’d hoped the money wasn’t gone, not yet anyway, and that Rick would have it back.
“When did you pay it? Rick wasn’t gone that long.”
“I don’t know. Earlier.”
“But you did take it.”
“To pay the beer.” She leaned toward the edge of the couch and rummaged until she made a triumphant little noise. She straightened, a new bottle of beer in her hand. Jared hurriedly took it away and Abigail growled at him. She swiped at his hand with a half shifted hand, but Kameron was already there. He grabbed her wrist and growled at her until she slumped against the back of the couch.
Cole felt Rick lean into him. He didn’t know if it was instinctive or something more, but it didn’t really matter. He was leaning into Cole for comfort, and Cole would give it to him. He didn’t move, didn’t try to hug Rick or even just to touch him any more than he was already doing. He just squeezed his mate’s small hand with his and stayed still, accepting Rick’s weight against his side. Rick didn’t say anything, didn’t look at Cole, but he also didn’t move away.
“I don’t think we can get anything out of her in this state,” Zach pointed out.
“I’ll call Finn and have him shimmer us to the hospital. She can stay there for a bit while she sobers up, but then she’ll have to make a decision,” Jared answered. He looked at the alpha. “What are you going to do if she doesn’t agree to stop drinking?”
Kameron sighed. “I don’t know. I don’t want to shun her, but she can’t go on like this. Besides, shunning her would only make things worse for her, and we can’t take the risk to have her tell anyone about shifters. We’ll just have to take it slow, see how things go when she’s better.”
Cole wasn’t convinced it was the better thing to do, but he didn’t have an alternative plan. His first priority was Rick, and if that meant Abigail had to stay part of the pack and get sober he would personally make sure she did just that, no matter how he had to do it.
He kept Rick close as they watched Jared get Abigail ready to go to the hospital, then Finn shimmered in. The Nix stayed only a few minutes, just long enough for Jared to grab Abigail and held her close as t
hey shimmered away.
Rick never moved from his place against Cole’s side, not even to say goodbye. He held onto Cole’s hand as if it was a lifeline, and maybe it was. Cole’s bear felt smug for that, but Cole himself only felt pain for his mate. He couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to see a parent act that way, steal their son’s money to get drunk. Cole’s mother hadn’t been perfect, but she was affectionate and she loved him more than anything. The situation with Abigail made Cole miss her more than ever, and the hole in his heart had never felt so big and painful, not since he’d first learned of the accident.
Zach waited until Abigail was gone to look where she’d taken the bottle from. He held up a worn wallet and handed it to Rick. Rick opened it and slumped a little in relief when he saw that not all the money was gone. He hugged the wallet close to his chest after that.
“We’re going back to the alpha house,” Kameron said. “Call us if you need help to move stuff.”
“I don’t think we will, not yet anyway.” Cole looked down at Rick. His mate was still looking away from him, and Cole squeezed his hand to get his attention. Rick’s head twitched to the side, a sign he was listening. “Do you have everything you need?”
Rick looked at the bag Cole had put down earlier and nodded.
“We can come back any time you want to get what you need, and we’ll start packing when you feel like it.”
Rick nodded again and Cole sighed. He knew he needed to give Rick some time and maybe some distance, but it wasn’t easy. He wanted to help, and he felt utterly useless because there was nothing he could do. Not for now, anyway. Not until Rick started trusting him a bit more.
Chapter Four
Rick burrowed his fingers deeper into Arlen’s fur and closed his eyes.
His life was changing, and it was happening too fast for him. He’d found his mate, his mother was gone, he’d moved out of the only home he’d ever known, all in the space of a few hours. A week had passed since then and he still wasn’t used to it.
He still wasn’t used to finding the alpha half-naked in the kitchen, drinking his first coffee of the day. He really wasn’t used to hearing the alpha couple going at it at the most improbable hours, and he could have done without actually seeing them when he’d brought the freshly made laundry upstairs.
He knew he didn’t have to do the chores in the house, but he didn’t have anything else to do, and he was used to it anyway. It wasn’t like he could do anything else to repay Kameron and Zach for what they were doing for him.
Arlen whimpered and Rick loosened his hold. “Sorry.”
The wolf whined and butted against Rick’s knee with his head. Rick wasn’t sure what Arlen wanted, but the wolf was a sucker for rub downs, so he scratched the top of his head. Arlen rumbled and put his head back down on his paws, closing his eyes.
“Sometimes I wish I could be like y-y-you. Just... stay a wolf. It w-w-would be so much easier.”
Arlen gave him a little growl that made Rick feel guilty. “S-s-sorry. I know this is not w-w-what you want. I’m just overwhelmed.”
Something rustled to their right and Rick tensed. Arlen didn’t move, though, which meant he didn’t see whoever it was as a menace. Sure enough, it was Cole who came out of the trees, a smile on his lips. Rick’s heart hurt when he saw just how perfect his mate was, and once again he wondered what he’d done to deserve a man like Cole. The answer was always the same—nothing.
Rick had done nothing in his life except surviving. He didn’t deserve Cole, and more importantly, he knew he couldn’t give Cole what the man needed. That was why he’d tried to avoid the bear shifter as much as he could over the past week, and while Cole hadn’t pushed, he hadn’t seemed particularly happy either.
“I knew I’d find you outside.” Rick shrugged and Cole sighed. “Can I sit?”
Rick was leaning against a tree on his left and Arlen was next to him on his right, but the traitor hurriedly rose from the ground to leave Cole his place. Rick scowled at the wolf and he could have sworn Arlen laughed at him—his chest rumbled with what sounded like laughter anyway—and then winked. Arlen gave Rick’s hand one long lick and skipped toward the tree without a glance back.
“They still don’t know what’s wrong with him?”
Rick shrugged. “No o-o-one tells me anything.” He risked a glance to the side and frowned when he saw Cole’s expression. The man was looking at his hands, his expression blank as he twisted one of his rings around its finger.
It hadn’t taken Rick long to realize Cole might look like a badass biker but really was a softie at heart. Rick had seen him handle Zach’s newborn nephew the other day. Cole had been both so careful and awed at having the tiny boy in his arms. It had almost hurt when Cole had looked up, his eyes searching for Rick, his smile blinding when he’d found him. Rick could see Cole as a father, and that would never happen if he stayed with Rick. Not that he thought he could actually make the man change his mind.
Cole might have been a softie, but he was also stubborn as hell. Rick knew that if he pushed Cole away and told him he didn’t want to mate with him, that he didn’t want to ever see him again, Cole would comply. He would comply, but he wouldn’t forget Rick. Yes, it was too soon, but Rick wasn’t blind. He noticed how Cole looked at him, like he held the answers to the questions Cole had always asked himself. It was fragile still, and Rick didn’t know if fortifying it was a good idea, but God, how he wanted it.
It didn’t matter that he was damaged, that Cole could have someone better—he wanted Rick. And Rick thought—and hoped—that he deserved something nice after the years of pain and loneliness. He just had to get over his fear and distrust, distrust Cole hadn’t earned and had to make do with anyway.
“W-w-what’s wrong?”
Cole looked up from his hands and gave Rick a tight smile. “Nothing.”
“B-b-bullshit.”
Cole sighed and looked down again. “I just wanted to spend some time with you.”
“I’m s-s-sorry.”
“For what?”
“I’ve b-b-been avoiding you. But I w-w-won’t do it anymore.”
Cole looked at Rick, a spark of hope obvious on his face. “Really?”
Rick nodded. “I’m n-n-not saying everything w-w-will be perfect. You know I’m d-d-damaged.” Cole opened his mouth, probably to protest, but Rick shook his head. “It’s t-t-the truth. I s-s-stutter, I was t-t-told again and again that I’m g-g-good for nothing, I was b-b-beaten up for most of my 1-1-life. I’m scared to t-t-trust anyone, i-i-including you. But I’ll t-t-try.”
“That’s all I ask for, Rick. I know I come on too strong sometimes, but... I’ve been on my own for a long time, and I don’t want that anymore. Even before my mother died, I was a loner. I, well, I’m rich, and I’m used to people getting close to me because of that. After a few times, I’d had enough and I left home. I got tattoos and piercings, my bike, and suddenly people didn’t want me so much anymore, not when they thought I was just another biker. It doesn’t mean I didn’t want to be with people, though. And now there’s you, and I know you’re the one man who will want me for me and not for my wallet. I just want to give it a try, see how it goes. I want you to trust me because I’ll never, ever hurt you, but I know that you won’t trust just my words. That’s why I let you be this past week, because you needed to see that you could trust me to give you the space you needed.”
Rick raised a trembling hand and slowly, very slowly, reached for the fingers that were twisting Cole’s ring again. He closed his fingers on them and they froze right away. He heard Cole hold his breath as he gently tugged on the fingers until they stopped resisting. Cole let Rick tug his hand closer to him and Rick could feel Cole’s gaze on him, on his skin. It made him particularly aware that it was the second time he’d touched Cole of his own accord, and he knew it was a huge step forward for him. The only person he’d touched since Erskine had died was his mother, and only because he�
�d needed to. This—this wasn’t something he needed to do. It was something he wanted to do.
Rick slowly turned the hand in his until the palm faced upward. He traced the lines of the fingers with one of his own, feeling the calluses under his fingertips, the smooth metal of the two rings Cole wore. He traced them before exploring Cole’s palm. He followed the lines etched there, wondering if they meant something.
There was a scar that crossed Cole’s palm, from the base of his wrist to the base of his index finger. “W-w-what happened?”
“Fell from my bike. It was when I first got it. I wasn’t good yet.”
Rick traced it, smiling just a bit when he felt Cole shiver next to him. He liked being able to make the man react like that, knowing that he was the one to make this big, burly man tremble only with his touch. “W-w-will you take me? On y-y-your bike?”
Rick looked up and sideways to find Cole smiling down at him. “Of course I will. Whenever you want.”
* * * *
“You want my peas?” Cole asked. He pushed the offending vegetables to the edge of his plate, away from the mashed potatoes.
He looked at Rick to see if he did want them and Rick nodded. He edged his plate closer to Cole’s and Cole scooped them onto it, happy to see the peas go.
“T-t-thank you.”
Cole grinned, his bear feeling oddly like they’d provided for their mate, even if it was only to give him the peas they didn’t like.
“Oh my God, you two are adorable,” Zach said.
Cole arched a brow. “I don’t think anyone ever told me I was adorable.”
“Umm, it’s not you, well, not entirely. You wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for Rick.”
“Yeah, he really is adorable.”
“W-w-would you stop talking a-a-about me as if I’m n-n-not even here?”
Zach grinned. “Sorry.”
Rick nodded and went back to his lunch. Kameron chuckled and looked at Cole. “So, did you think about the house? We should start building it as soon as possible, while it’s still warm anyway. If you want it done for winter...”
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