Page 39 of Broken Trust

His brows shot up when Colt slid his arms under the enormous wolf and lifted him off the ground then carried him toward the back door. Atlas raced forward and grabbed the door, holding it open as Colt carried his brother inside.

“He said he had to shift to heal.” Atlas followed Colt upstairs. “Is he really going to be okay?”

Colt lay the wolf on the bed. “He’s going to be fine. The vampire must’ve done more damage than just the kidneys if Kellen couldn’t drive home himself.”

“It was all a blur.” Atlas paced in front of the bed. “The vampire’s hands moved so fast that I thought he was going to kill Kellen. I tried to help, but my boss held me back, refusing to let me go.”

Colt turned toward him. “You injured your hand punching me. How on earth were you going to take on a vampire?”

“I don’t know.” Tears flooded Atlas’s eyes. “I just couldn’t stand there and do nothing while my mate was being attacked!”

Colt gripped Atlas’s shoulders, forcing him to stop his pacing. “You got a set of balls on you, Atlas. I’ll give you that. Just do Kellen a favor and stop trying to fight men ten times stronger than you.”

Atlas narrowed his eyes. “Not if my mate is in trouble. I don’t care if I end up in a body cast. I’ll always have his back.”

Something passed behind Colt’s green eyes. “My brother couldn’t have asked for a better mate.”

Chapter Eleven

“This was a mistake,” Colt said from the backseat as Kellen pulled to the curb. “Shouldn’t you be sweating as much as I am? I think you need to go home and heal some more. It’s only been seventeen hours. You don’t want to overdo it.”

Kellen looked in his rearview mirror. He’d never seen his brother melting into panic like this. “Chill. It’s just dinner.”

Atlas turned in his seat. “My sister called and said my mom wanted me here for Sunday dinner. I told her I wasn’t coming alone.”

“But I bet you didn’t tell her you were bringing two guys,” Colt countered. “She probably assumed you were talking about Braylon.”

Kellen held back a snarl at the name. “How’s your seduction plan going?”

“I spotted them at Fearless Fox last night, before you got fucked up and Atlas had to drive Lucille home. When douchebag got up to use the bathroom, I made my move.”

“Which one is douchebag?” Atlas asked. “Glen or Braylon?”

“Your ex,” Colt clarified. “Within minutes, I had Braylon eating out the palm of my hand.”

“I don’t want to know.” Atlas turned back around, pain evident in his eyes. “I thought I would want to know, but what he did still hurts.”

Kellen entwined his fingers with his mate’s. “Try to let it go, babe. We’re about to go inside and face your family, and I need you to have your wits about you.”

As calm as Kellen was on the outside, he was a mess on the inside. Not panicked like Colt, but Kellen had never met anyone’s parents before, and he prayed he didn’t say or do anything to embarrass his mate.

“I’ll never talk about it in front of you again,” Colt said in a gentle tone. “Just seeing how this affects you only fuels my need to make them pay.” He glanced toward the house. “I still think I should have stayed home. They’re already going to be intimidated by Kellen’s size. You don’t need to bring two massive gorillas to dinner.”

Atlas got out and held the seat back for Colt to climb free. “You two are just as much family to me as the people inside that house,” Atlas stated. “If any of them have a problem with either of you coming with me, then all three of us will leave together.”

Kellen got out but took his time walking around the car so he could force back the emotions that flooded him. Not only had Atlas shown he wasn’t afraid to take on anyone who thought to hurt Kellen, but his mate was willing to battle with his family, too.

There was no goddamn way Kellen deserved him.

He and Colt followed behind as Atlas opened the front door and walked inside. The first thought that came to Kellen’s mind when he looked around was cozy. He could practically feel the love that had gone into making this house a home, in spite of the doilies.

He wasn’t a fan of doilies, but they seemed to be spread everywhere, from the arms of the couch to sitting under various knickknacks in the China cabinet to his right. There was even a large one centered on the coffee table.

Kellen could also smell a succulent pot roast cooking. He hadn’t had lunch, knowing he was going to Atlas’s parents’ house for dinner, and now his stomach was trying to eat its way out to get to the food.

“Son.” A man with thick black hair stood when he spotted them. If it wasn’t for the slight graying at his temples and the barely-there wrinkles around his eyes, Kellen would have thought him much younger.

“Dad.” Atlas smiled, just as a beautiful young woman came from a room farther back. She was Atlas’s height, and just as slender, but her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, curling at the ends. She had gray eyes, just like Atlas and the father, and the same smile as Kellen’s mate.

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