Page 16 of Kendrick

Everything okay?Alexis asked.

Just got a little distracted by Kendrick,Jonas lied.

It was only half a lie, anyway. He had gotten distracted by Kendrick—and by Devon and by the fact that the two of them were having a conversation away from Jonas, which meant that Jonas wouldn’t be able to protect Kendrick if anything happened. His wolf was howling in his head, needing to be close to their mate, but Jonas ignored it and went home. Kendrick would probably come around once he was done with Devon. Hopefully, that wouldn’t take long.

He’d barely had time to take off his shoes and jacket when someone knocked on his door. He swung it open, eager to find out who it was, and was relieved when Kendrick stood in front of him. “I thought it would take longer,” he said.

Kendrick smiled. “I thought so, too, but Devon was surprisingly understanding. He even apologized.”

“What did he apologize for?”

“For the way he was with me. He promised he wouldn’t bother us again. He said he just wanted to be loved, and I can understand that.”

“I think everyone can, but he went about it the wrong way. You can’t force someone to love you, especially when that someone has a mate.”

Jonas stepped aside and gestured at Kendrick to come in. Kendrick did so easily, looking around as if searching for something.

“Caroline isn’t home,” Jonas explained as he closed the door. “She’s made friends with some of the Vila who recently arrived, and she’s been spending a lot of time with them.”

“You haven’t?”

Jonas shrugged. “I’ve always had a hard time making friends.”

“Is it because you have a hard time or because you’ve never had the opportunity?”

Jonas had told Kendrick what had happened to his clan and how he’d lived since then. Kendrick knew that Jonas had been on the move almost constantly and that his only friends had been Alexis and Caroline after they’d agreed to stick together. He wasn’t wrong when he said that Jonas hadn’t had the opportunity to make friends. Jonas supposed that even now, it was easier to tell himself he wasn’t good at being friendly than to face the fact that he was afraid he’d lose the friends he’d make. He knew he had a place with the clan and that he could finally let go of the fear and breathe, but emotionally, it was hard to accept that.

“I guess only time will tell,” Jonas gestured toward the kitchen. “I don’t know what we have in the fridge beyond blood, but would you want something to drink?”

Kendrick’s smile was smooth. “I would love that.”

Jonas led the way to the kitchen. He hadn’t gotten around to renovating it yet because he and Caroline barely used it. When they wanted food, they went over to Alexis’s house and bothered him long enough that he gave in and fed them. Neither Jonas nor Caroline were great cooks, so it was the easiest way for them to eat. Right now, though, Jonas was annoyed at himself for that. He wished he could offer his mate more, but instead, it was coffee or water.

Kendrick leaned back in the chair he sat on and gave Jonas an easy smile. “Coffee is perfect.”

Coffee, Jonas could do, so he got to work. Both he and Kendrick were silent as Jonas made a pot, and he couldn’t help but wonder if something else had happened that Kendrick wasn’t telling him about. He wanted to ask, but at the same time, he wondered if it was his place. He might be Kendrick’s mate, but that didn’t mean that Kendrick needed to tell him everything that happened to him, especially when it involved a friend of his.

Once coffee was ready, Jonas put together two cups and sat with Kendrick at the table. He bounced his knee, waiting for Kendrick to say something. When he didn’t, Jonas had enough. “So? Do you believe Devon?”

“About what?”

“That he’ll leave you alone. Do you really think he will? Or is he only trying to get you to relax?”

Kendrick took his time answering. “I want to believe he finally got it. I mean, I compared him to my younger brother, so hopefully that did the trick.”

“It didn’t before.”

“I never told him about my brother. I’ve never told anyone here about him.” Kendrick hesitated. “But you’re my mate, and you should know.”

“You make it sound like something awful happened.” Jonas hoped that wasn’t so. He’d lost his entire clan and his family, so he knew what it felt like. He never wanted anyone to have to go through that, but especially not his mate. Kendrick deserved a happy life, and if he’d lost his brother, there would always be a part of him that wouldn’t be happy.

Jonas knew that from experience.

He hoped that now that he had a clan and that he’d met his mate, that would change, but he couldn’t be sure. His siblings would have wanted him to be happy and to live his life for them, too. They wouldn’t have the opportunity to do so, but he would. He’d survived.

Kendrick shook his head. “He’s fine, or at least, he should be. Things had never been great between me and my father. They didn’t get any better when my parents divorced, and my father remarried. He and his new wife had Ryan when I was ten, and I was instantly in love with my little brother. I lived with them, and things were hard, so eventually, I left. I thought that it would make everyone’s life easier and that it would give Ryan the opportunity to be at peace.”

“Is he?”

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