Page 6 of Beautiful Butterfly

“When I was at your apartment last night.” Wyatt drew the chair even closer, a playful, closed-mouth smile curving his sensual lips.

“You’ve known since last night and failed to mention a life-altering discovery to me?” Alister planted the heel of his hand against Wyatt’s forehead when the guy leaned toward him as if he wanted a kiss.

Wyatt sat back with a sigh. “Do you think last night would have been the right time to discuss it?”

Alister’s emotions had been all over the place after he’d shifted back into his human form. The overpowering smell of blood had wreaked havoc on his senses and nauseated him. The destruction of his apartment and learning what Paris had gone through only intensified his horror.

In that state of mind, he wouldn’t have been receptive to finding out Wyatt was his mate. Alister had already decided Paris was better off without him. He would have thought the same thing about Wyatt last night.

“It would have been the worst time,” Alister admitted. He stood and took his dishes to the sink, missing Paris so badly he wanted to cry.

But Alister was sticking to his guns. For the past forty years, Paris hadn’t been able to live his life the way he’d wanted to because the guy had been too busy saving Alister from one bad decision after another.

It was about time Paris lived for Paris, especially now that Cannon was in his life.

The thought of severing their friendship hurt like hell, but Alister knew it was the right thing to do.

Lord knew Alister was a pro at making bad decisions and prayed he didn’t screw things up with Wyatt. Hopefully, his mate never decided Alister was too big a burden and washed his hands of him.

Could Wyatt do that?

The only mated couple he’d ever known was his parents, and they’d never told him if mates could walk away from each other.

Great, now he had something else to fret over.

* * * *

As much as Wyatt wanted to ask Sheriff Harper for his two-week honeymoon period, Cannon was already on his, and Wyatt didn’t want to leave the station shorthanded. The two new deputies seemed to be working out, but if Wyatt took off the next fourteen days, that would leave the department shorthanded all over again.

Unfortunately, suggesting Alister hang with someone while Wyatt was a work hadn’t gone over as well as he’d hoped.

When Cannon hooked Alister up with people to hang out with, the red panda hadn’t seemed to mind, so why was he giving Wyatt so much grief over the same damn thing?

“I don’t need a goddamn babysitter,” Alister argued as they stood in the living room. “Do you think I’d fall for some guy’s charm knowing I have a mate?”

“No.” Wyatt scrubbed a hand over his hair, ready to pull it out. “But Negan said something about cashing in on you. You’ve yet to tell me what he meant by that.”

Wyatt had considered calling Cannon to get answers, but he wanted to hear the truth from his mate. Also, knowing how naïve Alister was didn’t set Wyatt’s mind at ease. Their town was a great place to live, but they still had their fair share of scumbags who wouldn’t think twice about pulling one over on a guy with a broken asshole detector.

Negan had been the worst, and Alister had fallen for his bullshit. Not that Wyatt thought Alister would fall for another asshole, but there were a lot worse things out there that could befall his mate.

“If I tell you what Negan meant, then you’ll only try to put me on lockdown,” Alister countered heatedly. “For a hundred years, my parents controlled my life. You’ve lost your gorgeous mind if you think I’ll let that happen again.”

Wyatt couldn’t count how many times he and his sister had argued because he’d stopped her from making foolish mistakes, with her resenting him for it. That was something he’d never understood, even to this day. Now he was clashing with Alister. Was Wyatt that bad a person because he wanted to protect those he cared about?

“I’m not trying to control you or put you on lockdown.” Wyatt sighed. “I’m your mate, not your warden. I want you to have your freedom, but I also don’t want sleezy fuckers taking advantage of you.”

“It just frustrates me that I need supervision,” Alister admitted through gritted teeth as he dropped onto the couch. “You have no idea how that makes me feel. No matter how hard I try I can’t tell who’s being genuinely nice to me and who’s trying to deceive me. I hate living this way, and now I’ve gone from being Paris’s burden to yours.”

“Stop that right now,” Wyatt snarled. “You’re not a goddamn burden.” He didn’t like that Alister saw himself that way. “You’re a feisty, stubborn, beautiful man who wants to think the best of everyone. Sadly, there are too many people who don’t have a good side to them.”

Alister huffed out a breath. “I’ve seen firsthand how rotten some people are. But you’re right. I want to believe the best about a person. It just sucks that they can hide their shady intentions behind a friendly smile, and I constantly fall for it.”

Wyatt crouched in front of his mate. “I don’t care if you call me a hundred times a day because you’re unsure about a person or situation.” He tucked his finger under Alister’s jaw. “We’re mates, hon. We’re supposed to look out for each other. I’d rather you blow up my phone than me being forced to hunt down and kill whoever tried to take advantage of you.”

“Be careful what you wish for.” Alister gave a small smile. “I can be a very needy bitch sometimes.”

“And I can be an overprotective asshole.” Wyatt smirked, glad to see Alister’s anguish fade. “I’ll make you a deal. If you tell me what Negan meant by cashing in on you, I won’t place you in ten layers of cotton.”

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