Page 46 of A Bear's Secret

Moments later, he could hear footsteps coming up to the door, and he braced himself as it swung open.

Then Austin was there, backlit by the warm, comforting light of the kitchen. He paused for a moment, taking in the sight of Trevor, naked, sweaty, and at his door.

“You look like hell,” Austin said, and pulled Trevor inside.

* * *

Half an hour later,he sat on one of the overstuffed couches, wearing an outfit of Austin’s that was the tiniest bit too big, drinking a mug of hot chocolate that Sloane had made, his hand wrapped in half a mile of gauze.

“You have to go to the police,” she said, her dark eyes serious, her own mug of hot chocolate half-empty.

Trevor just looked down into his mug, like he could find the right words there.

“The kid they wanted me to beat up probably went,” he said. He knew that he was trying to justify not going himself.

“You should go too,” Sloane said. “Two peoples’ word is much better than just one. Trust me, these asshole cops probably won’t believe anything that some teenager says. I mean, they wanted to string me up with zero evidence.”

Trevor turned his head sharply toward Sloane, and his heart started beating faster again. He’d nearly forgotten that she’d also had a terrible night, and he slipped an arm around her without thinking.

She leaned her head under his chin, and he could smell the warm, floral, almost spicy scent of her hair. It flooded his senses, and it made everything that had happened in the past six hours fade until there was nothing in the world but him, her, and Austin.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Austin called in a favor for me. Oh, Austin, that reminds me, Julius told you to RSVP to his wedding.”

Austin sighed.

“Maybe I’ll go in the morning,” Trevor said quietly. “Packs are a little complicated. I think it’s wolf thing, but my whole life, I’ve learned that what I want matters less than pack and family. That’s how we think: family, pack, then self. It’s in my bones.”

“What if the pack is wrong?” Sloane asked.

“A lot of wolves wouldn’t acknowledge that such a thing is possible,” offered Austin.

Trevor gave him a look, and Austin shrugged apologetically.

“I’m not saying you,” he said. “But you know how wolves can be.”

“I’ll go,” Trevor said. “Just give me a couple of hours, okay?”

He heard the clunk of Austin’s mug against a side table, and then the other man kissed the top of his head and snaked an arm around him. Austin’s huge, warm bulk felt perfect against Trevor’s still-cold skin, and even though Trevor was still hyper-alert and twitchy, he could feel himself starting to relax.

Here he was, between his two mates. None of them knew what the morning brought. To be honest, he was really jumping the gun, thinking of Sloane as his mate, when in reality, she was some girl he’d never even kissed.

But he wanted her to be. He’d wanted it since the very first moment he’d seen her walking away from him in the hospital. Maybe this was the closest he was going to get.

Just as Trevor closed his eyes, letting his final guard down, he heard a door open somewhere else in the house, and his eyes flew open, every muscle in his body stiffening.

Seconds later, Barb stood in the doorway, wearing a puffy robe and slippers, squinting into the light.

Trevor sat up like a bolt, his heart hammering, his hands curling into the soft leather of the couch. He jostled Sloane, whose hot chocolate sloshed onto the couch. She cursed, and jumped up, running to the kitchen for paper towels.

“Oh, is that Trevor?” Barb asked, still squinting. “I don’t have my glasses on.”

“Yes,” said Trevor, his voice pinched with stress. “Hi, Barb, how are you?”

“What on earth are you doing here?” she asked.

Austin sat up behind him and slid one arm around Trevor. Trevor only stiffened, wishing that Austin would stop touching him, but not wanting to rebuff his mate in front of his boss.

“Trevor needs a place to stay for a little while,” Austin said. “Mind if he stays here?”

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