Page 28 of Devon

“Whatever you need.”Ryan wasn’t kidding.He’d give his mate whatever he needed.Devon just had to ask.

Devon plucked at his t-shirt.“I need to shower and change clothes.I smell like coffee.”

It was a pleasant smell, but it covered Devon’s scent, so Ryan found both him and his tiger agreeing.They wanted Devon to smell like himself.

Devon hesitated.“You can come in if you want.Melissa and Haley are probably sleeping, but you can wait in the living room.”

“I’ll wait here, don’t worry.Go do what you have to do.I’m not going anywhere.”

Devon hesitated, then quickly vanished into the house.Ryan sat back down, still wondering.As much as he wanted to give Devon space, he always felt off-balance with him.He couldn’t tell what Devon was thinking, but the situation was complicated, and he wished there was more he could do for his mate.Devon didn’t trust him yet, and Ryan wouldn’t push, but he wished Devon would open up to him.

It didn’t take Devon long to shower.They were both silent when Devon came out again, and Ryan decided to give him the time he needed.If Devon wanted to talk to him, he would.In the meantime, silence would be fine, or maybe Ryan could talk about his plans.

He never wanted to push Devon and make him uncomfortable.He especially didn’t want to push him and make him run.Devon was still skittish, and something told Ryan he would be for a while longer.

That was why he was surprised when Devon opened his mouth to speak almost as soon as they stepped into the forest that surrounded the village.

There were paths everywhere.Ryan had followed several of them after he’d moved to the village, and he’d found a nice clearing where it would be fun to shift and play around.He’d been planning on taking Devon there today.

“Nic kissed me.”

Ryan stumbled on a root and almost fell on his face.He caught himself on a tree trunk and quickly straightened.He glanced at his mate, but he wasn’t sure what to say.

Did Devon want Nic instead of Ryan?The two of them were friends and had known each other for longer.There also weren’t any expectations when it came to Nic, unlike Ryan.

Devon shook his head before Ryan could ask any of these questions.“I didn’t want him to kiss me.He’s a friend, and I like him.That’s all there is to it.I’m just confused.”

“What happened?If you want to talk about it, of course.”

“I told him that I changed my mind about leaving the village.I thought he’d be happy for me, but he wasn’t.I could tell there was something weird about his behavior, but he didn’t do anything until we left the coffee shop.He kissed me in the parking lot, told me that Ihadto leave, and ran.”

Ryan wasn’t sure what to focus on first.Devon hadn’t wanted Nic to kiss him, and Ryan wasn’t jealous.He didn’t care about the kiss.It hadn’t been Devon’s fault, and it sounded like he saw Nic only as a friend.No, that wasn’t what worried Ryan.

“You were planning on leaving the village?”he asked.

Devon’s cheeks flushed.“Right.I never told you about that.”

“You can tell me about it now if you want.”

“Not really, but I guess you should know.”

“Only if you feel comfortable telling me.”

“It’s just that after what happened with Kendrick, I felt I shouldn’t stick around.I didn’t want to leave Haley and Melissa or the village, but I thought it would be too awkward and not fair to Kendrick and Jonas if I stayed.”

“They don’t want you to leave your family.”Not even Jonas wanted that, and he wasn’t Devon’s greatest fan.

“I’m pretty sure Jonas does, but that’s not the point.I decided that it would be better for everyone if I left, which is why I found a job at the coffee shop.I needed money.”

“But you changed your mind.”

“I don’t think I ever really wanted to leave.Do you know how long it’s been since I had a home?Besides, I never wanted to leave Haley.I convinced myself that it would be better, but it wouldn’t have been.Then I met you, and I tried to stay away because I knew I’d change my mind if I didn’t.”

“And you did.”

“Yeah, I did.I still don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but I have too much to lose if I leave.I guess I’ll have to learn to live with Jonas staring daggers at me at every family dinner.”

“He’ll get used to having you around eventually.He knows you’re my mate and that you’ll never do anything to come between him and Kendrick again.”

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