Benjamin steeled himself for what he knew was coming. Jayden shrieked and hurried toward the bed. Benjamin didn’t know if he intended to hug him or Lucas, but Lucas intercepted him and hauled him into a bear hug, leaving Benjamin intact and hug-less.
He sighed in relief, because he didn’t think his wounds could have taken it.
“I can’t believe it!” Jayden said loudly. “I told you there was someone for you out there! See? I was right! I knew it’d be Benji!”
Lucas put Jayden down and Jayden turned to look at Benjamin. Lucas seemed to hover close until they was sure Jayden wouldn’t jump on the bed and try to hug Benjamin, then he turned to Heath, who’d come closer.
“I can’t believe Lucas is your mate,” Jayden told Benjamin.
Benjamin shrugged, unsure of what he was supposed to answer, but of course his lack of response didn’t stop Jayden.
“I mean, you’re one of the last single guys in the mansion, well, you’re not exactly single anymore, but you know what I mean. I really should have brought Lucas here sooner, just in case. Maybe he could have helped you and you wouldn’t have been wounded. Oh, how are you feeling, by the way? Are you better? Is it finally time for you to leave this place? I’d really want to leave if it were me. I mean, you’ve been in here since the attack. How can you stand being here still and seeing the same four walls all the time?”
“Jayden, his eyes are glazing over,” Heath said.
Benjamin didn’t know if it was true, but he was glad for the interruption. Jayden snapped his mouth shut and Lucas gently pushed him aside so he could sit on the edge of Benjamin’s bed. Benjamin started to move sideways, but Lucas looked at him and shook his head, taking one of Benjamin’s hands in his and squeezing.
Heath sat in the chair Lucas had left empty and Jayden settled in his lap. They all looked at each other and Jayden opened his mouth, but Heath noticed it and spoke before Jayden could start again. “What was Jared saying about Benjamin staying here?”
Lucas’ hold on Benjamin’s hand tightened for a second. “Benjamin and I talked about how we could make this work,” Lucas said. “Since I live at the ranch, we thought he could move there with me, but you heard Jared. He wants to keep Benjamin close.”
“So are you going to temporarily move into the mansion?”
Lucas shook his head. “I can’t leave you alone at the ranch. You need help.”
“I can ask my brother. It’s what you did when I ended up here, right?”
Lucas looked like he wanted to object, but Heath continued. “You know I’m able to take care of the ranch and the customers. I’ve been working with you for almost a year.”
“I know you can, I just—”
“You just nothing. You did it for me when I needed it, I can do it for you now. Move to Whitedell for a while, Lucas. I’ll find help. Benjamin needs you.”
Benjamin wanted to protest and to say he didn’t need anyone, but Heath was trying to convince Lucas to stay, and that was exactly what Benjamin wanted, so he kept his mouth shut. He didn’t exactly need Lucas. He could be without him, even though they were mates. It didn’t mean he wanted Lucas to leave him, though. Actually, that was exactly what he didn’t want.
Lucas looked at Benjamin, then back at Heath. “If you’re sure... ”
“Of course he is,” Jayden interjected. “He wouldn’t have proposed it if he wasn’t, and besides, I’ll be there to help.”
Lucas looked at Heath and they both looked like Jayden helping would probably be a disaster, but Jayden didn’t notice and continued happily yapping about what he’d do to help.
Lucas smiled and shook his head, looking at Benjamin again. His gaze was soft, and Benjamin could see he’d already made the decision to stay. Benjamin smiled back, feeling like maybe, after everything that had happened to him, he was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
“Oh, by the way,” Jayden said, “What did Dominic want from you, Lucas?”
* * * *
Lucas really didn’t want to tell Jayden about Dominic’s plan, but he knew Jayden wouldn’t let go. “He wanted me to infiltrate the hunters and find out what their plans are.”
There was a moment of silence, then everyone tried to talk at once.
“What the fuck,” Heath spat out.
“You can’t go!” Jayden yelled.
“What did you tell him?” Benjamin asked.
Lucas waited until they were all looking at him. “I’d said yes initially, but meeting Benjamin put a stop to it.”
“Have you told Dominic?” Benjamin asked.
“Yes. That’s why I left you when you fell asleep, well, one of the reasons. He already knew, of course. It’s not like it was a sure thing anyway, since I told him I didn’t have any training.”
“But you were ready to help anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Lucas looked at Benjamin, wondering why he was asking so many questions. “Why not? I could have helped.”
“You could have been hurt while helping. I’m the proof of that. I know I’m not nearly as big as you, but still. Those hunters aren’t nice.”
“I know that, but if your alpha got to the point where he’d ask me, a guy he’d met once and who isn’t a pride member, then the situation can’t be a good one. Saying no could have potentially put everyone here in danger, including Heath and Jayden, and I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“Not even if it would have meant you being hurt, or worse?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say, Benjamin. Yes, I would have helped anyway, because Dominic looked like he needed it.” Lucas hesitated, but he decided Benjamin probably needed to know. “It’s not like a lot of people would have mourned if something had happened to me. I only have Heath, and to a certain point, Jayden.”
Benjamin’s hold on his hand tightened. “Your family?”
“My parents died in a car crash several years ago, and I don’t have siblings.”
“Aunts? Uncles?”
“My parents were both only children.”
“Damn.”
Someone swatted Lucas’ shoulder and he looked at Jayden, who was now standing in front of him and staring daggers at him. “How can you say that?” he asked, his voice trembling.
“Say what?” Lucas had no idea what was going on, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.
“That you have me to a certain point? What does it even mean?”
“We’re not exactly friends, Jayden. We interact only because of Heath.”
Jayden looked hurt, and Lucas suddenly wanted to take his words back.
“That’s not true,” Jayden said. “I think of you as a friend. I love you as one. We’ve been living in the same house for a year. I thought we were friends.”
“Oh, hell, Jayden. I’m sorry. I’m just not good at this, and really, we don’t talk that much.”
Jayden looked down and shrugged. “I don’t talk to you because I didn’t think you’d want me to. I know I talk a lot and that most people don’t like it and would rather have me be silent, but it’s not something I can do, at least not with people I like and feel comfortable with. I thought you’d like me better this way, so I kept some distance.” Jayden looked like he wanted to continue talking, but instead, he pressed his lips together.
Lucas looked around Jayden at Heath, silently asking him what the heck he was supposed to do, but Heath just shrugged, and Lucas glared at him, because it didn’t help. He had no idea how to deal with a sad and angry Jayden. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Jayden sad and angry, actually, and if he had, there was no way it had been directed at him.
He reached over and awkwardly patted Jayden’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to stay away from me. I don’t mind your talking.”
Jayden snorted. “Really? Everyone minds, even Heath. He just doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t want to stop having sex.”
&
nbsp; “Can you please avoid talking about Heath and you and sex? I really don’t want to talk about that.”
Jayden shrugged. “It’s true, though.”
Heath opened his mouth, but Lucas needed to get this out before he could let the couple talk it out. “Heath loves you. That’s why he doesn’t care about how much you talk, not because he wants to have sex. Believe me, I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen him behave like he does with you. You’re his world.”
Heath smiled and nodded, and Lucas resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at his best friend. “And as for me, well, I don’t mind either. You know I’m not a big talker, so it’s actually nice to have someone fill the holes in the conversations.”
Jayden sniffled, and Lucas found his lap full of weasel shifter a few seconds later. He had to let go of Benjamin’s hand to make sure Jayden didn’t topple to the floor. He looked at Heath, fully aware he probably looked terrified. Heath, the bastard, was silently laughing.
Lucas looked at Benjamin, and while he wasn’t laughing, he was biting on his lower lip and obviously doing his best not to laugh too. Lucas obviously wouldn’t get any help from either of them, but then he probably should learn how to deal with Jayden on his own, since he’d just given him permission to talk to him whenever Jayden wanted to. Lucas would probably see a lot more of Jayden in the near future.
Jayden sniffled a few more times before climbing down and going back to sitting on Heath’s lap. Lucas squirmed, and Benjamin took his hand, a smile still playing on his lips.
“So you’re staying here,” Heath said.
“And you’re not going to do anything stupid like trying to infiltrate a group of fanatic nutcases,” Jayden added.
“If you’re sure you can take care of the ranch on your own for a week or two,” Lucas answered.
“We’ll have no problems, and if we do, I’m sure a few of the pride members can help, or my family. Stop worrying so much, Lucas. The world doesn’t rest on your shoulders. We can go on without you for a while,” Heath reassured Lucas.
Lucas knew it was true, but he was so used to spending all his time on the ranch, working or doing ranch related stuff, that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay away. He wanted to, because Benjamin was important, but it would be the first time in years he’d be away from the ranch for so long. It had never happened, not since they’d bought the ranch, and it made him feel a little panicky.
“And you’re sure Dominic won’t ask you to help again?” Jayden asked.
“No. I just talked to him, and since the plan wasn’t a sure thing to begin with, he told me to forget about it.”
Jayden chewed on his lower lip. “How is he going to do it, though?”
“No idea. There was another human guy there. John.”
“Nah. Dominic can’t send him because he’s mated. The hunters probably look for mating bites and stuff like that. They’re not stupid, and their leader is a shifter himself. He knows what to look for.”
Lucas sensed there was a story there, and he wanted to know it, because it was strange that a shifter was the leader of a group of humans intent on killing shifters, but he didn’t think now was the right moment to ask.
“So, we can move you back to your room, huh?” Jayden asked Benjamin.
“That’s what Jared said,” Benjamin answered.
“Great! Heath and I will help, since we’re here.”
Benjamin looked almost scared for a moment, but he smoothed his expression out. “I don’t need help. I can walk on my own, and even if I couldn’t, I don’t need three of you to help me back.”
Jayden waved his words away. “Heath and I are going to go see if your room is neat and tidy. We’ll clean up before you go back so you and Lucas won’t have anything to do but get to know each other.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
Jayden was already at the door, dragging Heath along, and Heath turned to look at them and shrugged. Lucas sighed and looked back at Benjamin. “Are you a good friend of Jayden’s?”
“I wasn’t, but something tells me that’s not going to last.”
* * * *
Benjamin was so happy to be back in his room that he thought he might cry. Well, not really, but it was a close thing. There was no way he’d cry just because of this, especially not in front of Lucas, who was still holding him as he opened the door.
Benjamin felt like a bride, except that he and Lucas weren’t married, and he wasn’t a woman. “You can put me down,” he tried, already knowing Lucas wasn’t going to do it. He’d already tried it when they’d left the infirmary, and Lucas had looked at him like he was crazy.
“I can open the door and carry you at the same time,” Lucas answered. Of course he could. He was a freaking giant.
“I know that. There’s just no need to carry me anymore. We did the stairs. I can walk.”
“I know you can.”
“I mean, I walked earlier, right? I ended up in Dominic’s office.”
Lucas snorted softly and pushed open the door. “And that ended so well.”
“Hey! I met you, yeah? So yes, it ended well.”
Lucas rolled his eyes and stepped into Benjamin’s room. Benjamin looked around, expecting something to be different, but everything was the same as when he’d left the room a week before to go down for breakfast. His pajamas weren’t on the bed anymore, and the bed was made with fresh sheets, but that was all.
It felt weird, like something should be different, because Benjamin was. He’d killed a man and had been wounded badly enough that he’d spent a week in the infirmary and a few days unconscious. How could things be the same around him when he felt like he was another person?
Lucas gently put him down on the bed and turned to close the door. Benjamin took that opportunity to move, sitting up and leaning his back against the headboard. His wound pulled, and it itched, but it didn’t hurt as much as he’d thought. Noem had healed him faster than they’d planned, and while Benjamin was sorry he’d made Noem tired or whatever, he was glad he had.
“You should be resting,” Lucas said.
Benjamin looked up. Lucas had closed the door and was by the bed again, looking down at him with his arms crossed on his chest.
“I am resting,” Benjamin said. He wasn’t able to look away. He’d known Lucas was his mate for what—a few hours? It felt weird and incredibly good at the same time.
Benjamin certainly hadn’t expected his week to go like it had. He kind of wanted time to rewind so he could live it again and change things, but it might mean not meeting Lucas. Besides, it wasn’t like he really could go back in time or something. He had to be happy with what he had, and he was surprised to realize that he was. He could have done without the wounds and killing that guy, of course, but he still didn’t feel guilty about that, and he had Lucas. That felt like a fucking miracle.
“Resting means you get on your back and close your eyes,” Lucas pointed out.
Benjamin batted his lashes. “I can get on my back if you want me to.”
Lucas blinked. “So this is the real you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dominic told me you were a shy little thing, yet you just propositioned me, unless I’m wrong, of course. I could be. I’m a bit rusty when it comes to flirting.”
“A shy little thing? Really? I’m going to kick Dominic’s ass.”
“Not until you’re healed.” Lucas smiled. “And I want to be there when you do. I need to see that.”
Benjamin huffed. “I’m not really going to kick his ass, but I want to, so bad.”
“To be honest, he didn’t actually say shy little thing. That was me. He just said you kept to yourself a lot and that not many people actually knew you, that you push everyone away.”
That sounded more like something Dominic would say. “I need to kick your ass, then.”
Lucas’ smile widened and he straightened his back, opening his shou
lders and arching a brow at Benjamin. “Really?”
Benjamin looked at Lucas. He’d noticed Lucas was tall, of course, but he hadn’t really paid attention to the rest of Lucas’ body, not yet. Lucas’ shoulders were wide, and Benjamin knew just how good it felt to be held by Lucas’ strong arms, to press his face against Lucas’ hard chest.
Benjamin licked his lips, wondering if all the muscles he guessed were under Lucas’ clothes came only from dealing with horses and the ranch. Lucas’ eyes widened and his gaze tracked the path Benjamin’s tongue was tracing on his lips.
“Why don’t you come rest with me?” Benjamin asked, not surprised his voice was lower than usual.
Lucas blinked as if coming back to reality and he shook his head. “You heard Jared. No sex.”
“Who said I wanted sex?” Benjamin tried to sound indignant, but they both knew that was exactly what he’d been thinking about.
“Please. Your eyes say sex, even if your mouth doesn’t.”
“That’s... oddly poetic.”
Lucas blushed slightly. “I’m not just a rancher.”
“I never said you were. I don’t know you yet.”
“We’ll get to know each other, don’t worry.”
Benjamin grinned and patted the bed next to his hip. “We can start right now.”
Lucas rolled his eyes, but someone knocked on the door before he could answer. He went to open it, and Benjamin frowned when he saw Blair and Delevan on the other side of it.
He might have had sex with Blair once, but that didn’t mean they were friends, and he’d steered away from Delevan ever since he and Blair had realized they were mates. The last thing Benjamin wanted was to become lion chow or to be kicked out of the pride because he’d slept with the alpha’s son’s mate. Not that anyone had mentioned kicking him out, but he wasn’t stupid. Dominic might be a good man, but Delevan was still his son.
“Hey,” Blair said, stepping in and looking at Lucas with raised brows.
“What are you doing here?” Benjamin blurted out. This was going to be awkward. Really awkward.
“Uh, we heard you were back in your room and we wanted to check on you.”
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