Page 12 of The Return
“I know you will, but that doesn’t make me feel better about what I did.”
“You did what needed to be done. I get it, and Corey will in time.”
“I hope you’re right. Call me later?”
“Sure will.”
We disconnected, and I followed the heartbreaking sounds coming from Corey. I found him lying on a queen-sized bed in what had been his parents’ room. After I toed off my shoes, I lay beside him and pulled him closer.
“He didn’t trust me. You didn’t trust me.”
“Can I say something? Do you promise to listen to me with an open mind?”
“Why should I? It’s not like you gave me that courtesy.”
He had a fair point. We’d hurt him badly, and he had no reason to trust us to tell him the truth now.
“I was four the first time I saw my mom and dad shift. I was so excited to have not one, but two puppies. It took them months to explain what they were and what I was going to be. They also told me how badly I needed to keep a secret, because people wouldn’t understand. Harken’s Corners was meant to be a safe haven for wolves. We vetted everyone who came to town very carefully. Somehow your family evaded every single safety protocol we had, and before we knew it, you were our first human members.”
He grunted, but at least he was listening.
“A lot of the people in town wanted us to force you out, and my father considered it. Then I met you and I knew balls to bones that you were mine. Every instinct in me screamed that I had to protect you, to keep you safe. My father saw us together, and he opened up the pack to take you all into it. He did that because he knew, without a doubt, you were meant for me.”
Corey scooched a bit closer, our bodies nearly touching. His heat rolled over me, warming me from the outside in.
“People weren’t happy about it, but all that changed the day of the fire. Your family was there, working shoulder to shoulder with us. You had such determination, and it made me insanely proud to know that one day we’d be mated. After that, no one questioned your family being here. You were one with us. But we couldn’t tell you our secret. It was a huge risk for the pack, you understand? It had the potential to blow up in our faces in the worst way. That was why Dad said we had to keep it a secret. Not because he didn’t trust you would understand, but because the pack was at risk, and as our Alpha, it was his job to protect us all.”
“But if I was part of your pack, then I should have mattered.”
Once again, he was right. Dad said Corey’s family was pack, and that meant they should have been told the truth and then spoken to about anything pack-related. Instead, we treated them like children. We made decisions that affected them, without considering how it would impact them.
“I can’t speak for my father. He messed up, and he’s aware of it. I know something, though. He loves you with his whole heart. He and my mom were beside themselves when we moved. Mom kept on Dad about how I needed to be near you, but she understood why I couldn’t. Doesn’t mean she liked it at all.”
He sniffled. Corey was so full of conflicting emotions, all looking for an outlet.
“If I could have, I would have run away and gotten back to you. I needed my mate.”
“You keep saying that. What does that mean?”
“In a nutshell, it means the two of us are meant to be together for our whole lives. There will never be another for me. I’ve wanted you since I was a kid.”
“What if I said I wasn’t gay?”
I frowned. “Honestly, that never occurred to me. Fate chooses our mates, but I suppose there could be a screwup somewhere. But I know we could make it work.”
He chuckled. “Totally gay, dude. Like as in I’d suck your dick for a Snickers.”
I jumped off the bed and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” he demanded, his eyes wide in what I could only assume was disbelief.
“To get you a Snickers. Duh.”
That earned me a laugh. Not a chuckle, but a full-on, body-shaking laugh full of snorts as he tried to draw a breath. “I missed you so much.”
I dove back onto the bed. “I missed you too. Sleeping by myself sucked. I couldn’t roll over and wrap my arm around you or pull you close.”
“You bastard. I thought you were conked out when you did that!”
