Page 33 of Christopher

“Have you ever skated?” Chris asked.

Drake shook his head. “I wanted to, but it feels a bit dangerous to go on my own because I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I’m not going to say it’s easy, but I’ll help you.”

“Then I’m sure I can do it.”

He couldn’t do it. As soon as he was on the ice, his legs started going in opposite directions. He clung to the boards on the side, refusing Chris’s hand because he didn’t want to take him down with him. He pushed one foot forward, then the other, and it felt like someone had yanked a carpet from under his feet. He tilted back, and it was only by some miracle that he didn’t hit his head on the way down.

“Everything okay?” Chris asked as his face appeared above Drake’s.

“I’m not sure. I think my dignity is broken.”

Chris laughed. “That’s fine. You can live with no dignity, but it would be better if you didn’t hit your head.” He offered Drake hishand, and this time, Drake took it because he had no idea how he was supposed to get to his feet on his own.

“Ready to try again?” Chris asked with a smile that would have gotten Drake to say yes to pretty much anything.

And if Drake ended the evening with more bruises than he’d had when it had started, it didn’t matter. He also ended the evening with more kisses from his mate than he could ever have hoped for, andthatwas what he chose to focus on.

Chapter Six

Chris could tell that Drake was nervous as soon as he opened the front door. He wasn’t surprised. After all, he’d been in Drake’s position not that long ago. Drake was here to talk to Gal and Liam, the alpha and the alpha mate, about becoming a pride member. Chris had done the same when he’d arrived in town with his family, so the memories were fresh in his mind.

“They’ll love you,” he promised.

“You can’t know that. I’ve lived in town for a few years now, and I never asked to become a pride member. Won’t Gal wonder why? Won’t he be offended that I changed my mind just because I met my mate?”

Chris grabbed Drake’s hand and pulled him into the entrance. He closed the door and turned to face his mate, who was wringing his hands. Chris had been nervous when he’d met Gal, but not that nervous. Drake looked like he was about to explode.

“Look, I don’t know Gal well because I’ve only recently met him, but he doesn’t strike me as a bad person or a bad alpha,” Chris said, trying to soothe Drake. “You probably know him better than I do. Do you really think he’d do something like that?”

Drake sighed, and his shoulders slumped. “He wouldn’t. He’s a good person.”

“Yeah, he is.” Because it would have been easy for Gal to refuse to welcome Chris and his family into the pride after what Kyle had done. Kyle had defied Gal’s authority. He’d tried to take the pride from him. He’d been an idiot, and thankfully, Gal had seen that. He hadn’t held it against Kyle or his family, and now, Kyle was the happiest he’d ever been.

Chris wasn’t yet, but he was getting there. He was definitely happier than he’d been in recent years. After his mother had died, he’d felt like he couldn’t ever feel that way again, and he’dbeen terrified, but moving had been the right choice. It had brought him a new home and his mate, and now that he was finally getting out of his head, he could see he could be happy here.

“So don’t obsess over this. He’s going to listen to what you have to say, and he’s going to welcome you into the pride.”

“Even though I didn’t want to be part of it until I met you?”

“I think that more than a lot of people, he can understand being wary of packs and prides and whatever. Just tell him how your birth pack made you feel. But even if you didn’t have a bad experience with them, he wouldn’t care. He sees the pride as a big family, and he’s always happy to welcome more people into it, but it’s not an obligation.”

Chris still had a hard time wrapping his mind around that.He’dnever viewed his old pack as a family. He and his family had always been isolated because his mother had refused their alpha when they were younger. It wasn’t normal to be pushed away by people who were supposed to be part of your family like the pride was. It had made Chris wary of becoming a pride member, but he was glad he hadn’t resisted too much. They could be happy here.

As long as Drake managed to relax and be himself.

He checked the time on his phone. “Are you ready to meet Gal? We’re running a few minutes late.”

Drake paled. “He’s going to hate me.”

Chris grabbed his arm and pulled him along. “He’s not going to hate you. No one could hate you.”

“I’m pretty sure Karl hates me,” Drake pointed out.

“I’m pretty sure Karl only has two brain cells, and at least one of them was absent the day you met him.”

Drake laughed.

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