Page 17 of Christopher

Chris shook his head and gestured at Drake to come in. “Good thing only you and my four walls will see me, then.”

“You do realize I’m still here,” Dennis said.

Chris grinned at him. “Not for long. You can run to my brother and tell him about this. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that Drake’s finally here to drag me out of bed.”

“Or keep you in it,” Drake teased before slapping his hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry. I tend to talk a lot when I’m nervous, and you make me very nervous,” he confessed.

Chris was still laughing as he closed the door in Dennis’s face. He looked around the room, but it was still as much of a mess as it had been five minutes ago, so he gestured to the bed. “Why don’t you sit down?”

Drake’s eyes were huge as he looked from Chris to the bed. For a moment, Chris wondered if he’d said something wrong, but he was sure he hadn’t propositioned him. He’d remember that.

Drake sat on the very edge of the mattress, as if he was ready to bolt. Maybe he expected Chris to kick him out once they had their chat. Chris hated that he’d pushed his mate away so hard that Drake felt that way, but this was his chance to fix that.

“How are you feeling?” Drake asked instead of getting straight to the point like Chris had expected him to.

“I’m fine. I mean, physically, there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“There doesn’t need to be something wrong with you for you not to feel okay. You don’t have to lie to me, Chris. No matter what you say, I’ll be there to support you, and I won’t tell anyone.”

“Not even Dennis and my brother?”

“Especially not them. I know how nosy family can be.”

“You have a big family?”

Drake shrugged. “Not really. I had a pack, but I’m kind of a loner, so I’d rather have only a few selected people in my life.”

“And I’m one of those selected people?”

“You, Dennis, Taylor, and Jacob. Oh, and Kyle now, too, although not everyone is convinced he isn’t going to kill Gal in his sleep to take over the pride.”

It was said with a smile, so Chris was pretty sure Drake was teasing, but still. “People still think my brother wants the pride?”

“Not really. He’s happy with Dennis, and Dennis would kick his ass if he did something like that.”

“What about becoming a pride member? Would you want to do that?” Chris had doubts, considering Drake had just told him he was a loner, but Chris wasn’t going anywhere. The pride was where his family lived, and he had no intention of abandoning them.

Not that moving into town would be abandoning his family, but it wasn’t something Chris was willing to consider. The pride was his home now, and hopefully, it could be Drake’s home soon, too.

* * * *

Drake wasn’t surprised by Chris’s question. Chris had only recently become a pride member, as had his family. It made sense that he wouldn’t want to leave anytime soon.

“I wouldn’t say no if I had a good reason to become a pride member,” Drake offered. “I’ve only heard good things about the pride and Gal since I moved into town a few years ago, but I know things aren’t always like that.”

Chris shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. The old alpha is my brother’s father, but I never knew him, and Gal was already in charge when we arrived.”

“I guess I can visit more often and see if it’s something I might like. I don’t think I would say no if you asked me, and Dennis and the others have been trying to convince me since I arrived in town. They really want me to be a pride member.”

“I think I do, too,” Chris murmured.

“Then I’ll think about it. I’m not making any promises, but I’m pretty sure my answer will be yes.”

“Because your mate is asking?”

“And because it’s not like I hated being part of a pack. I’m pretty sure I disliked the pack members more than being part of the pack itself. When people are insufferable, it doesn’t get any better just because they’re part of a pack.”

Chris’s lips twitched as if he was repressing a smile. “Oh?”

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