Page 14 of Christopher

Okay, so maybe it was a bit messier than usual, but still, there was no need for her to make that horrified face. “What do you want?”

Jennifer put her hands on her hips. “For you to stop hiding.”

“I’m not hiding. I’m resting.”

“You’re hiding, although I’m not sure from what. Drake? The pride? Me and Kyle?”

Chris went back to staring at the ceiling. “How about all of them?”

There was a moment of silence before Jennifer sighed. “You’re gonna have to explain better than that.”

The bed shifted as she climbed onto it. Chris lifted the blankets, welcoming her in his warm cocoon. She settled on her back and stared at the ceiling like Chris was. She was silent, not demanding an explanation or pushing Chris into anything, but it was almost worse. The silence was heavy and pressing Chris to say something. “I don’t feel like I belong,” he blurted out.

“Maybe it’s because you’re keeping yourself apart. I swear, if the cooks hadn’t assured me that you were eating, I would’ve thought you were starving yourself. No one’s seen you around the house.”

“I know it’s partially my fault.”

Jennifer snorted. “Mostlyyour fault.” She rolled on her side. “This isn’t like you. I know things aren’t easy with the pride, butwe have a second chance,allof us, but you’re acting as if you don’t. Why? I don’t understand, Chris.”

“You don’t understand because you left me behind. You have your new, shiny life, and youshouldhave it. You shouldn’t have to worry about me.”

“I thought we’d already had this conversation. I’ll always worry about you, okay? I know that things have changed and that we’re not each other’s everything like we were at the pack, but that’s not a bad thing. We both deserve more than the pack has ever given us, and the pride can be that for us. You’re going to have to give it a chance, though.”

“I’m not sure I know how to do that,” Chris whispered.

Jennifer took his hand and squeezed hard. “I know that telling you to make friends isn’t going to help. How about talking to your mate, though? If there’s one person who will like you no matter what you say, it’s him. He might not be a pride member, but he lives in town, and he’s friends with Dennis. You don’t have to bond with him, but maybe give him a chance? Allow him to take you on a date and get to know him, you know?”

Chris did know, but it wasn’t any less scary.

* * * *

Drake was tired, and he wasn’t even doing anything tiring. Hissoulwas tired.

Tired of wondering what Christopher was doing and why he was staying away. Tired of Christopher hiding. Tired of himself resisting the urge to storm the pride house, knock down Christopher’s door, and make him listen to him.

That wouldn’t exactly go down well, so instead of doing what he wanted during his lunchtime, he was at the coffee shop again, staring down at his hands.

Was he sure that Chris wouldn’t appreciate him knocking down his door?

He sighed. Every time he got angry, he switched from Chris to Christopher. He couldn’t help but wonder how Chris would take that. He hadn’t sounded like he hated his name, so it should be fine. Besides, it wasn’t like he was calling Chris that to his face. It just made him feel better, almost as if he could separate Christopher from Chris. Christopher was the guy who was afraid and hiding away from Drake, while Chris would hopefully want to be Drake’s mate.

Once he managed to kickChrisback from wherever he’d come from.

He didn’t understand why Chris was freaking out so badly. It wasn’t like Drake expected them to bond tomorrow or even next week. He didn’t have any expectations. He wanted to get to know his mate, for them to become close, and eventually, when they were both ready, for them to bond. Unfortunately for him, it looked like it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

That was really fine with him, but it was the only thing he was fine with in this situation. He hated that Chris was hiding, as if Drake was a serial killer running after him with a chainsaw. He hadn’t even talked to him since the coffee shop. Drake had begged Dennis to give him Chris’s number, but Dennis had refused. He didn’t want to get in trouble with his mate’s family, which was understandable, but Drake felt a bit betrayed. Dennis was one of his best friends, so shouldn’t he be on his side? It wasn’t like Drake was going to start blowing up Chris’s phone. He just wanted to text him, maybe talk to him for a bit.

Something would have to break eventually. They couldn’t continue like this, or rather, Drake didn’twantthem to continue like this. If Chris was going to reject him, he wanted to know. If Chris was doing this because he was afraid and freaking out, he wanted to know that, too. He would be happy to give Chris more time or to leave him completely alone as long as he knew what the fuck was happening.

The only way to get answers would be to talk to Chris, and Drake was done waiting. He’d given Chris time, but didn’t he deserve things, too? If he wanted answers, why couldn’t he get them?

He grabbed his coffee, drank what was left in the cup, and got to his feet. He’d already used almost his entire half-hour of lunch break, but he didn’t care. His boss would understand that talking to his mate was more important than returning to work on time.

Hopefully.

Drake texted his boss as he walked to his car. He was nervous, and he had no idea what would come out of this, but he didn’t care. As long as Chris was honest with him, he could start thinking about what came next. Maybe his life wouldn’t change just yet because Chris would need more time and space. Maybe his life would change completely, and he’d feel like a different person. Either way, he didn’t really care. He just wanted to know what was happening.

But what if Chris didn’t want him at the house? That was a possibility that he hadn’t allowed himself to think of yet. Chris could ask for Drake to be kicked out, and the alpha would have to do so because Chris was a pride member while Drake wasn’t. Alphas always put their people first—when they were good alphas, anyway. From everything Drake had heard about Gal, he was a good person, so he had no doubt that Gal would support Chris.

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