Page 9 of Back to You
He ran toward the gate that opened into pack territory.It didn’t take long for him to reach it, and when he did, it was to see four people standing there.He wasn’t surprised that Preston had been left behind or that Cam was outside the gate with Bryson, talking to a man.Ronan couldn’t see the man’s face from where he was, but it wouldn’t be long.
From a distance, this man could really be Fulton’s son.It hurt to see, but that pain quickly morphed into confusion.The closer Ronan moved to the gate, the more confused and in pain he was.
What the fuck was happening?
He came to a stop next to Preston.Preston quickly glanced at him and nodded, but Ronan couldn’t nod back.He couldn’t do anything but stare at Vincent.
His mate really was here.
It shouldn’t be possible.Ronan had been told that Vincent had died.Of course, that had happened just before Fulton caged him and sold him off for the first time.Had Fulton lied about his son dying?Ronan had never thought of that possibility, but he couldn’t ignore what was right in front of him.
Vincent glanced up.Ronan knew the second he saw him and recognized him.His eyes widened, and they stared at each other.
“Everything okay?”Preston asked as he leaned closer and touched Ronan’s arm.
Ronan continued staring.“I’m fine,” he croaked.
“You don’t look fine.Do you know this guy?He said he’s Fulton’s son and that he never knew what his father was doing.Is that a lie?”
Ronan started to shake his head, butwasit a lie?He didn’t know anything for sure anymore.“I don’t think so.”It couldn’t be a lie.Vincent couldn’t be like his father.Ronan’s mate couldn’t be a monster.
“Are you sure you’re okay?You’re pale, and you look like you’re about to keel over.Maybe we should go back to the house.”
In any other circumstance, Ronan would’ve allowed Preston to convince him.He couldn’t move, though.He couldn’t step away from Vincent.His mate was back from the dead.
Ronan couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened a few years ago.Fulton had told him that Vincent had died.Then he’d turned and ordered the people who were there with him to pack up the apartment to get Ronan.Ronan hadn’t understood what it meant until they’d circled him and had told him that if he followed them, he wouldn’t be hurt.
It had been a lie.He hadn’t gone willingly, and they’d spent the next few years hurting him.He’d been numb for most of the time, lost in his pain over his mate’s death.
And now, his mate was standing in front of him, very much alive.
* * * *
VINCENT WAS FROZEN.He couldn’t look away from Ronan, who, for some reason, was standing behind the gate, staring back at him.
Vincent hadn’t seen his mate in a few years.After Ronan had ghosted him, packed up his stuff from their apartment, and vanished, Vincent had looked for him, but he hadn’t been able to find him.He’d even hired a private investigator, but nada.
Ronan had been a loner before meeting Vincent.He’d lost both of his parents, and he’d never had a pack.He’d often told Vincent that he was the first person who’d made him feel seen, yet he’d abandoned Vincent without ever telling him that he wasn’t happy.Vincent had tried making his peace with it, and he’d thought he’d managed, but with Ronan standing in front of him, he realized that he hadn’t.
He still loved the bastard.He was also angry and confused and in the middle of something important that meant that he couldn’t storm over to Ronan and demand an explanation, no matter how much he yearned to get one.
He was also afraid to find out.There had to be a reason Ronan had left, and Vincent wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that reason was.They were mates.Ronan was never supposed to run from him.
“The pack accepts your apology, even though it’s clear you had nothing to do with what happened,” Cam said, pulling Vincent back into the conversation he’d been having with the alpha.“I’m not sure I understand what you’re doing here, though.”
This was what Vincent should focus on.He was here for a reason.He wanted to offer Cam the money he’d inherited from his father, but he wasn’t sure how to do so without offending anyone.He also wanted a reason to come back, even though that probably made him an asshole.“I’m not sure, either.I just know that I needed to talk to the people who finally saved the world from a monster.”
He could feel people watching him.Now that he’d turned back to Cam, he found that he couldn’t look back at Ronan again.He was afraid of what he’d see if he did.
There had been a man standing next to Ronan.That man had been touching Vincent’s mate, and it made Vincent wonder.Was he the reason Ronan had left him?Had he fallen in love with someone else?
Mates might belong together, but that didn’t mean theyshouldbe together.Vincent had heard the stories about mates who were so mismatched that their relationships ended up being a disaster.He’d never thought that was what would happen between him and Ronan, though.When they’d met and Ronan had told him that he was his mate, Vincent had been happy.He’d thought that meant that he and Ronan would be together forever.
He’d been wrong.
He’d known it when Ronan had suddenly disappeared from his life.He hadn’t thought he’d ever see him again, yet here he was, standing there, staring at him.The guy next to him was still leaning close, clearly worried, and it took everything Vincent had not to storm over there and pull him away.
Ronan washismate, dammit.He didn’t belong to anyone else.He couldn’t.
