Elliott Read online

“Is Monday okay?” Kameron asked.

  “I can start tomorrow.”

  “Nope. Tomorrow is Friday, so take the rest of the week to go shopping. Oh, and you’ll have to see what you need for your office, because I have no clue what a computer tech needs. Zach will give you another card for that.”

  “I... thank you. I just want to be sure you know I didn’t actually go to college. Maybe you’d rather have someone who did do the job.”

  “Look, at this moment, we need someone willing to do the job and who knows what he’s doing more than me. Once we’re better with everything else, you can decide to go to college, or we can hire someone to help you. But for now, it’s fine. Isaiah is doing the bulk of the work for the council, so you’ll only have to think about the pack.”

  Mihaja nodded. There was nothing else he could say, and he was sure Kameron and Zach didn’t need to hear another thank you.

  Zach smiled and got up. “So, you’re staying for dinner?”

  * * * *

  Being with Mal a few days before had made Elliott realize Gentry and his mother were right—he really needed to get out of the house more. He’d had fun, even though he’d gotten scared a few times, especially when Arlen had come home. Elliott hadn’t stayed long after that, but he’d felt good for the first time in weeks.

  So he’d made a decision. He knew he was probably running ahead of himself, but he felt he needed to do it. He grabbed his cell phone and typed a text to Mal.

  Can I ask u something?

  Elliott put his phone on his bed and stared at it. When Mal didn’t answer right away, Elliott bit on his thumbnail and tried to watch some TV, but he wasn’t really focusing on the screen. When his cell chirped, he jumped and snatched it.

  Sure.

  I was thinking it’s time to leave home.

  Leave home? What do u mean?

  I’m almost 25. I can’t live with my parents 4ever.

  So u want to move out?

  Yeah.

  That’s great. What’s the question?

  Elliott sucked on his lower lip. He’d thought about this a lot, but now he was having doubts. He still typed it and sent the text, immediately regretting it.

  Want to move in with me?

  What if Mal thought Elliott was an idiot for thinking that? What if Mal didn’t want to live with him? Would he be angry with him for asking? Would he turn him down? How would he do it?

  Elliott’s cell chirped.

  Like, in the same house?

  Yes.

  As friends, right?

  Of course.

  I thought u were telling me you wanted us to b together 4 a moment.

  No! Just live together. I trust u.

  Aww. Yeah, OK. Let’s do it. It’s time I stop cramping the throuple’s style.

  Elliott blinked at his phone. Mal had said yes. He’d said yes, so that meant they could find a house and Elliott could leave his parents’ house. He typed quickly.

  How do we do this?

  We need to talk to Kam, see if we can get 1 of those houses he built.

  When?

  When you want. Now?

  Elliott flopped on his back and looked at his ceiling. Now? It wasn’t like he had anything better to do, but he wasn’t prepared. Was he really up to walking to Kameron’s house to see him? He knew it was always possible he’d freak out, but he hadn’t the other day, so maybe he’d be lucky. Besides, both Kameron and Zach knew what was wrong with him, so they wouldn’t be offended even if he did run out. And if he really wanted to live on his own, he needed to work on it.

  Elliott couldn’t expect Mal to grocery shop and do everything else that needed someone to leave the house to do. He was doing this because he knew he needed it to get better. He grabbed his phone.

  Sure. Let’s go now.

  Great! See u at Kam’s house in 30 minutes?

  OK.

  Elliott couldn’t back out now. He turned the TV off and got up. He grabbed a T-shirt from his closet and put it on, slipped on flip-flops, put his phone in his pocket, and took a deep breath once he was in front of his bedroom door.

  He opened it and stepped out. The house was silent. His parents’ were at work and his sister with friends, so no one would bug him when he left. For all his mother said she wanted him to do more, she became panicky when he actually followed her advice.

  Walking to the front door was easy. Stepping out of the house, too. It was when Elliott started walking toward the forest that he got nervous. He knew he probably wouldn’t freak out if it was only Zach and Kameron, or at least he hoped so. But what if someone else was there?

  The alpha’s house was open to all the pack’s members. Only Jago, Corbin, Merle, Nootaw and their son lived there at the moment, but they had people over sometimes. Of course, Jago was probably at work, and Elliott could stay outside if he noticed too many people in the house.

  Nodding to himself, Elliott soldiered on. He paused at the edge of the clearing where Kameron’s house was and listened. He could hear someone talk from the open kitchen window, but he couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  He walked up the porch steps and knocked at the kitchen door. The voices stopped and a chair screeched on the floor. The footsteps came closer. The door opened to reveal Zach, and his eyes widened when he saw who was there. He stepped aside to let Elliott in. “Why did you knock?” Zach asked as Elliott slowly walked in.

  “Because my mother taught me to be polite.”

  Zach gaped for a few seconds, then he snorted. “Right. I forgot how sassy you can be.”

  “Yeah, well, I haven’t been in a while.”

  Zach closed the door and Elliott looked at the kitchen table, thinking he’d find Kameron, but the man sitting there definitely wasn’t Kameron. Elliott took a step backward, but he was trapped.

  “Elliott?” Zach asked, his voice tense.

  Elliott shook his head. “I’m fine.”

  The man got up. “I can leave.” His voice was melodious and spoke of a country far from the States, of something exotic.

  Elliott felt himself relax without meaning to. He swallowed and looked at the man, trying to understand if he was going to feel threatened or if he’d be lucky enough that his usual knee-jerk reaction to new people—and old friends too, most of the time—wouldn’t appear. “You can stay.”

  “Are you sure? You don’t look too comfortable with me here. I can come back later.”

  “No. Please, stay.”

  The man nodded and slowly sat back down. Zach walked around Elliott just as slowly and sat in front of the man. He turned in his seat and pointed at one of the free chairs. “You up to sitting with us?”

  “I... I think so.”

  Elliott took one step, then another. He was anticipating the terror he usually felt around men who weren’t his father or Mal, and while he did feel anxious, the fear was much less than he usually had to deal with.

  He sat as far from the man as possible and nodded at him. “I’m Elliott.”

  “Mihaja. Pleasure to meet you.”

  Elliott felt the need to say something, to explain why he was the way he was. “I’m sorry. I, well, something very bad happened to me, and I still haven’t recovered from it.”

  Mihaja nodded. “And whatever happened to you made you afraid of strangers?” he asked in a soft voice.

  “Afraid of men in general. I was raped.” Elliott pressed his lips together. Damn him! Why had he blurted that out? Way to make new friends.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Elliott stared at Mihaja. The usual reactions he got when he told people what had happened to him varied from disgusted to incredulous to pitying. He saw none of those in Mihaja. The man looked sorry, and his eyes had gone soft, but that was all. “Aren’t you going to say more?”

  Mihaja splayed his hands on the table. “What should I say?”

  Elliott shrugged. “Usually people are horrified, or they don�
�t believe me.”

  “I can’t say I’m not horrified, because it’s something that shouldn’t happen to anyone. As for not believing you, why shouldn’t I?”

  Elliott registered the fact that Zach got up and left the room, but he kept his attention on Mihaja. “Because I’m a man.”

  “So? Men can be raped.”

  “I should have been able to stop him, though. I would have if I was a real man.”

  “Who told you that?”

  Elliott looked down. “No one.”

  “I don’t believe you, but I’m still going to answer that. Whoever said it was a fool. Rape has nothing to do with gender. Anyone can be raped, and it doesn’t make you less of a man.”

  “What does it make me, then?” Elliott asked in a soft voice.

  “It makes you a man who’s been through something terrible, yet is doing what he can to survive. I admire you.”

  Elliott’s head snapped up and he looked at Mihaja with wide eyes. “Really? But... why?”

  “Like I said, because you’re trying to go on with your life even after what happened to you. Not everyone has the strength to do that.”

  “No one has ever said that to me.”

  “You can come talk to me any time you want, and I’ll repeat it as often as you want me to.”

  * * * *

  Mihaja looked at Elliott, wondering why the man’s reaction mattered so much to him. What Elliott had been through was terrible, but Mihaja knew it could have been worse. He’d seen worse, when he’d been in the first lab. He hadn’t been the one to get hurt, but he’d seen things that still gave him nightmares, even though years had passed.

  “I don’t know what to say,” Elliott said in a soft voice.

  “Then don’t say anything. I’m not saying this to be praised, just to help.”

  “Thank you.” Elliott looked down and slowly put his trembling hands flat on the table. He rubbed the tips of his fingers on the wood, then just as slowly, he slid one hand toward Mihaja.

  Mihaja could tell it was taking Elliott a lot of courage and a good grip on his feelings to do so. He waited until Elliott’s arm was fully extended to reach for the offered hand. Elliott’s fingers twitched, as if he was ready to snatch his hand back at any moment, and he probably was.

  He didn’t, though, and Mihaja covered Elliott’s hand with his own. A spark of electricity stung his palm, and Elliott’s head snapped toward him, but Mihaja still pressed his hand against Elliott’s.

  It was trembling, but Elliott didn’t move away. Mihaja heard him take a deep breath, then another, and he squeezed gently. “I won’t hurt you.”

  “I know. It’s weird, but I know.”

  Mihaja nodded. He traced a finger on Elliott’s, keeping the touch light, until Elliott stopped trembling. Then Mihaja gently wrapped his hand around Elliott’s and raised it to his mouth. He kissed the back of it, his fingers, then turned it to kiss the palm. He never looked away from Elliott, watching his reaction.

  Elliott’s eyes were wide, but not in fear. He was staring at Mihaja, his mouth slightly open, his chest rising fast as he breathed.

  Mihaja kissed Elliott’s palm again and took a deep breath. He smiled slowly when he realized why he’d been so keen on making Elliott feel better about what had happened to him. Mihaja’s smile dimmed a bit when he realized everything Elliott had told him had happened to his mate, but he didn’t want Elliott to think he pitied him or was disgusted, so he smiled again.

  “What?” Elliott asked, a bit breathless.

  “Do you think you’re up to smelling me?”

  Elliott frowned and cocked his head. “Smelling you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You smelled my hand just now, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Elliott’s eyes widened even more. “Are you—are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  Mihaja laughed. “I wouldn’t know. What do you think I’m saying?”

  “That I’m your—that you’re my—” Elliott stopped and took a deep breath. “Am I your mate?”

  Mihaja nodded and squeezed the hand he was still holding. “Yes, you are.”

  “So that’s why I’m not as afraid of you as I should be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t react well to strangers—I already told you that. I usually run away, and I certainly don’t let them hold my hand. I don’t offer them my hand. I don’t do that with my friends, so strangers...”

  Mihaja relaxed his fingers so that Elliott would be able to move his hand away if he wanted to. “I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

  Elliott shook his head. “You’re not, not really. It’s not that I’m uncomfortable, I’m just... surprised, but it makes sense.”

  “You instinctively know I won’t hurt you.”

  “I guess. I don’t completely trust you, though.”

  “I’m still a stranger, even if something in you recognizes me. You don’t know me.”

  “Do you think it’ll get better? That I’ll be able to be with you like a normal man?”

  There was so much hope in Elliott’s eyes that Mihaja wanted to say yes, but he couldn’t lie to his mate. Not now, not ever. “I don’t know. I’d like to think that you will, but how can we be sure? After what you’ve been through, I don’t expect anything between us to be easy.”

  Elliott swallowed and looked down again. He didn’t move his hand away, but Mihaja could feel Elliott’s dejection almost as strongly as if it were his own. He tightened his hold on Elliott’s hand again and leaned forward. “Hey, that doesn’t mean we won’t get there. We have all the time in the world.”

  “I just wanted things to be easy, just this once. We’re mates. It should be.”

  “In a perfect world, yes, but the one we live in is far from being perfect. I think we should be grateful for finding each other in the first place. It could have not happened.”

  Elliott opened his mouth to answer, but a soft knock at the kitchen door stopped him. He snapped his mouth shut and pressed his lips together. Mihaja raised Elliott’s hand and kissed the back of it again. “We’ll talk later, all right?”

  Elliott nodded and Mihaja called out, “Come in.”

  Zach’s head appeared at the door. “Umm, sorry to disturb you, but Mal’s here and he’s looking for Elliott.”

  Mihaja didn’t miss the way Zach’s gaze flitted to where Mihaja and Elliott’s hands were twined together on the table.

  “Tell him I’m here?” Elliott asked, and Zach nodded.

  “Do you need more time?”

  Elliott looked at Mihaja in question. “We can talk later,” Mihaja said. He started to get up, but Elliott didn’t let go of his hand. “Yes?”

  “Can you stay? Mal’s one of my best friends, so I’d like him to meet you.”

  Mihaja nodded and sat back down. He chose another chair, one closer to Elliott, but not close enough that Elliott would be uncomfortable. At least they didn’t have to almost lie down on the table to hold hands.

  The door opened again and Zach came back in with a blond guy. His hair fell in front of his eyes and he wore jeans and a black T-shirt with some cartoons on it. Mihaja saw his eyes move from Elliott to him, then the man slumped in the chair in front of Elliott and nodded at their clasped hands. “What’s up with that?”

  Elliott looked at Zach, then back at his friend. “This is Mihaja. He’s my mate.”

  Zach made a small surprised sound, but Elliott’s friend just cocked his head. “That mean you’re going to dump me?”

  Mihaja tensed. The words hadn’t been unkind, quite the contrary, actually, but Mihaja didn’t know what they meant. It sounded like Elliott had something going on with his friend, though.

  “I don’t know, Mal,” Elliott answered. “I still want to leave my parents’ house, and I’d love to live with you, but even if I do, for how long will it be? I wouldn’t want to leave you alone after only
a few months.”

  “Were you two supposed to live together?” Mihaja asked, having decided that Elliott and Mal weren’t together. They looked like good friends, but he couldn’t see any of the small gestures lovers would have for each other, and Elliott was still gripping his hand.

  “Yes,” Elliott answered. He looked at Zach. “We’re here to talk to you about it, actually. I don’t know if there’s a house we could use. Of course, we’d work for it, but it’d be—”

  “Of course we have a house for you,” Zach cut him off. He looked at Mihaja, then back at Elliott. “And I’m very happy for you.”

  “Thank you. I’m not sure about what to do now, though.”

  “I might have a solution,” Mihaja said. Everyone looked at him. “Elliott, your problem is that you fear we might mate and move in together and you’d leave Mal alone, right?” Mihaja was pretty sure there was something there. Maybe Mal had been hurt, just like Elliott, and that was why Elliott didn’t want to let him down.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m moving here, and I just went to see a house with Zach. It would be big enough for all three of us, if it’s what we want.”

  Elliott blinked. “All three of us?”

  “You want us three to live together?” Mal asked, pointing at Elliott, himself, and Mihaja.

  “Yes. There are three bedrooms, so it wouldn’t be a problem.”

  “And why would you put up with me?”

  “Because you’re Elliott’s friend and I want him to be happy.”

  “You just met him.”

  “He’s my mate.”

  Mal snorted. “You shifters always say that like it’s the solution to all your problems.”

  Mihaja hadn’t realized Mal wasn’t a shifter. “Are you human?”

  “Yes, so you won’t have to worry about me staying too long, right? What’s sixty years for you?”

  “Mal!” Elliott protested.

  “You can stay for however long as you want to, as long as you’re civil to me and a good friend to Elliott,” Mihaja told Mal. Mal looked at him thoughtfully, and Mihaja seemed to pass his inspection, because he nodded.

  “Yeah, okay. Not sure what I’m thinking about since I’m leaving a throuple for a couple, but okay. I guess it’s your turn to make do with me.”