Page 12 of Back to You
Vincent glanced at Ronan before nodding.He was tense and looked ready to bolt, and Ronan was sure he wasn’t the only one who knew that.It was obvious in every one of Vincent’s movements, but instead of doing that, he followed Cam.
Ronan had always been impressed by Vincent’s courage.His father had been a scary man, but Vincent had told him to fuck off more than once.Fulton had never hurt Vincent, but he easily could have.Vincent probably didn’t even realize just how easy it would have been for Fulton and the kind of man he’d been.
Ronan wished he’d never found out.Vincent hated Fulton, but the man’s blood was in his veins.Finding out that his biological father was a monster couldn’t have been easy for him.Ronan wanted to tell Vincent that it didn’t make him a monster, but he’d have to get Vincent alone to do that.He wasn’t ready for everyone else to know about them.
They finally reached Cam’s house.It was dark and silent since Toby had been at Bryson and Preston’s house when Ronan had left it.Bryson and Preston didn’t seem to care that people were still partying without them in their living room, though.They were talking softly, and it was clear they weren’t going anywhere.Bryson wouldn’t leave his brother in a dangerous situation.Where Bryson went, so did Preston, so he wasn’t going anywhere.
Neither was Ronan.
* * * *
VINCENT WAS PANICKING.He was about to walk into the alpha’s house, and it looked like Ronan would do the same.
What was Vincent supposed to do?He needed to talk to Ronan, but at the same time, he didn’t want to do it in front of all these people.He had no idea how they would react—or howRonanwould react.After all, he’d ghosted Vincent.He hadn’t wanted to be with him anymore, even though they were mates.He’d left Vincent and had never come back, and Vincent wouldn’t have seen him again if he hadn’t come here today.
He was starting to regret that decision.
Peter had cautioned him because they didn’t know what the alpha and the others would do, but Vincent hadn’t realized that wasn’t what he should be afraid of.How could he have?He’d believed he would never see Ronan again.Part of him wished he hadn’t.Ronan had left him, and Vincent doubted he’d want to get back with him.
If he’d had feelings for him, he wouldn’t have ghosted him.Ronan had to know that Vincent would have given him time if that was what he needed, right?But instead of talking to him and telling him about his problems, he’d left him.
Vincent needed a second.He had to allow himself to freak out for just a moment before packing it all up and going back to the conversation he was about to have with the alpha.He could think of only one way to get that.
“Can I ask where the bathroom is?”he asked Cam when they walked into the house.“I drove for a while.”
“Of course.”The alpha turned, but Ronan got there first.
“I’ll show him where it is.”
If the alpha thought there was anything weird about that, he didn’t show it.He nodded at Ronan and walked away, followed by Bryson and the man who’d been standing with Ronan.
This wasn’t what Vincent had been trying to do, dammit.
“This way,” Ronan said gruffly before walking away, clearly expecting Vincent to follow him.Vincent didn’t have a choice, even though there was nothing he wanted less than to talk to Ronan.He was afraid he’d start screaming at him and maybe even crying, and he didn’t want to do that in front of people he didn’t know.
They already knew he was vulnerable.He was human, and while he had no idea what kind of shifters Cam, Bryson, and the other man were, he could guess that Cam and Bryson were wolves since this was a pack of wolf shifters.He knew that Ronan was a wyvern shifter, of course, so even if the last man was human, it would be enough to hurt Vincent.What could he do against two wolf shifters?He didn’t even want to consider the possibility of Ronan hurting him.
“How can you be here?”Ronan asked in a whisper as he glanced back.He didn’t want the others to hear him, and Vincent was on board with that.
“I guess you didn’t think I’d ever find you after you left,” Vincent hissed back.“I’m not here for you, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Of course I didn’t think you’d ever find me.You were dead.”
Vincent had a reply ready, but Ronan’s words stopped him in his tracks.“Dead?”
“Your father told me you were dead.It was right before he imprisoned me and auctioned me off.”
None of those words made sense.Ronan had thought he was dead?That couldn’t be right.“You left me.You packed your things, and when I came home, there was nothing left.You didn’t even leave an address where I could reach you, and your phone was disconnected.”
“Why would I have left you?You’re my mate.”
“People leave me.”Vincent’s father had left him before he was even born, and no matter what Fulton had said toward the end, Vincent knew he hadn’t been enough for him.He’d been hurt by Ronan leaving, but deep inside, he hadn’t been surprised.Ronan could have done much better, especially considering the kind of person Vincent was related to.
“I wouldn’t have.Ididn’t.Your father told me you were dead.”His voice shook, and Vincent realized what all of this meant.
He’d lived with the knowledge that Ronan had left him for years, and it hadn’t been great, but how much more painful would all of this have been if he’d believed that Ronan was dead?He could imagine that pain, and he didn’t want Ronan to feel it, no matter what had happened.
He reached out and took one of Ronan’s hands, squeezing it tightly.“I’m all right.Nothing happened to me, no matter what my father said.I was never even hurt.”
