Page 12 of Christopher

Drake was still freaking out, but it was for entirely different reasons now. He’d thought there was a good chance that he’d never see his mate again, yet here he was, having just found outthat his mate was the brother of Dennis’s mate. What were the odds?

As soon as Dennis had realized who Chris was, he’d started texting.

Drake didn’t have to ask to know who he was talking to, and he hoped this wouldn’t start trouble for Chris. It was the last thing Drake wanted.

What he did want was answers. “What do you know about him?” he asked.

Dennis finally set down his phone and leaned back in his chair. “Honestly, not a lot. I know he’s seven years younger than Kyle and that he’s the baby of the family. They lost their mother not too long ago. The situation with their pack was complicated, and they had to move when Kyle got kicked out. Their old alpha was in love with their mother, and he never forgave her for not marrying him and for having three kids with someone who wasn’t him. He tolerated the family until she died, but as soon as she did, he kicked Kyle out. Chris and Jennifer are wolf shifters like their mother and the rest of the pack, but Kyle’s a tiger, and the alpha used that as an excuse. He knew that if he kicked Kyle out, his siblings would follow, and he was right. Their grandfather left, too, and they moved here because of Kyle’s father.”

Drake sucked in a breath. “I’m really sorry to hear that.” He’d left his pack a while ago and had never regretted it, but he knew that some shifters preferred to live with their families.

He was fine without them. He didn’t need an entire community of people treading on his toes or to share living spaces with them, which was one of the reasons he hadn’t requested to become a pride member.

He hadn’t needed the pride then, and he didn’t need it now, especially since he had his best friends. Sometimes they jokedabout how he should become a pride member, but until now, Drake had been satisfied with his life.

But what about his mate? Chris was part of the pride. Did that mean he expected Drake to be, too? Or would he be happy to leave Drake be? Drake wasn’t sure he was ready for all these very serious conversations they needed to have, but they didn’t need to have them now, anyway, so he forced himself to relax.

Dennis nodded. “It hasn’t been easy for them, especially since Kyle thought that the only way to get his family to safety was to become the pride’s alpha, but all of that is behind us now.”

“You’re sure?” Jacob muttered, earning himself a scowl.

“Dennis wouldn’t be with him if he thought Kyle would take the pride,” Drake said.

“You’re only saying that because you’re related to him now.”

Drake blinked. It was true. He and Kyleweretechnically related now. Drake and Chris weren’t bonded yet, but there was a very good chance they would be eventually, and that made them family.

“All of that is to say that he and his family have been through a lot,” Dennis said, glaring at Jacob. “It would probably be good if you were a bit careful with him initially.”

“I will be. I don’t want to overwhelm him.”

Dennis shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about you. It’s just that while the family has been working hard to integrate themselves, Chris has been keeping to himself. I’m sure everything’s fine and that he’s just an introvert, but just in case, maybe give him time?”

“I’ll give him whatever he needs.” Drake meant it. Whatever his mate needed or wanted, he just had to say the words, and Drake would try his best to provide it.

That was what mates did. They were always there for each other, always ready to help or hold or comfort. Drake had yearned for that for so long that he could hardly believe he’dfinally found it. He might not know what would happen with Chris, but there was a good chance they’d end up together, which was what he wanted.

But what did Chris want? Dennis had said he was probably overwhelmed, and it made sense. He’d been kicked out of his home, had lost his mother, and even though he’d found a new home, it was still a lot. Drake knew a bit about the pride, both from when he’d looked into it when he’d first moved here and from his friends, so he knew they were boisterous and that it was always quite noisy and overwhelming.

Chris didn’t need anything or anyone to overwhelm him even more. That meant Drake wouldn’t be able to be himself, but that was okay. He didn’t need to be as open and relaxed as he would normally be. He could hide part of himself until Chris felt more comfortable with the pride and with him. It wouldn’t be easy, but Drake was ready to do pretty much anything to keep his mate happy. He wouldn’t do it for anyone else, not again.

He’d always been a lot. People told him that he was too bouncy, too happy, and that he talked too much. He hyper-fixated on things and talked about them twenty-four-seven for weeks at a time, annoying and boring people. He started things only not to finish them and abandon them. He still had half of a blanket he’d crocheted somewhere in his closet, but he’d never finished it, and he wouldn’t do so anytime soon. because for now, he wasn’t interested in crochet anymore.

But this chaos wasn’t what Chris needed. He needed a mate who was calm and composed, who could be his rock in the storm that was his life right now. The fact that Chris’s mate happened to be Drake didn’t change any of that. Drake wanted to be what Chris needed right now, and that wasn’t going to be easy, but he could do it.

He didn’t have a choice.

“Drake, I can already see that you’re thinking the wrong things,” Jacob said, reaching over the table to squeeze Drake’s free hand. “Dennis isn’t saying that you can’t be yourself. You tried that already, and it was a disaster, remember?”

When Drake had first arrived in town, he’d known it would be hard for him to find someone to date if he was himself, so he’d kept things as low-energy as he could. He’d started dating a guy, and they were together for almost six months, but Drake had hated most of that time. He’d liked the guy, but he’d hated who he was with him, and eventually, he’d exploded. His boyfriend had run for the hills, probably more shocked than anything, and Drake had felt he’d ruined everything all on his own.

But Chris wasn’t just a boyfriend, and now that Drake knew how much work it took to hide his natural self, he could do it better. He wouldn’t explode on Chris.

“He’s my mate. Everything will be fine.”

“I know you keep trying to convince yourself of that, and I hope everythingwillbe fine, but it won’t be if you’re not yourself. Don’t you want Chris to fall in love with you instead of a manipulated image he has of you? What do you think will happen when your personality slowly comes through and he realizes he doesn’t know you?”

Drake pulled his hands away and rubbed his face. “I’ll be fine. It’s only going to be a few weeks, just the time for him to settle in and understand that me being his mate isn’t a bad thing.”

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