Nathan smiled, soft and a little sad. “She had a way of saying you were shit at something without making you want to give up.”
Alec laughed because he’d forgotten how true that was.
They both startled, as if only just realising what they were doing. Reminiscing about the past was not something Alec expected to be doing with Nathan. Not in a million years.
Nathan looked down at his hands and then back up, pinning Alec with his gaze. “The point I was trying to make is, it took four strangers to remind me how great my parents were. They were loyal, brave, and believed in treating people fairly. But they were also part of a fighting unit, in the middle of a pack war. They knew the risks involved.” He paused to quickly wipe at his eyes. “And I’m pretty sure they’d both be bitterly disappointed in me with the way I’ve behaved. I should never have blamed you for their deaths, and I should never have implied you were a coward.”
It still stung, even in apology. Alec opened his mouth, but he had no words.
Nathan refused to look away, even though he seemed ready to bolt any second. “I’m sorry. I know it’s ten years too late, and I don’t expect this to make everything all right between us, but I wanted to say it.” He stood abruptly, the chair scraping across the floor. “Seeing you these past few days….FuckAlec, I never truly appreciated how it still affects you, even after all these years. And I’m sure most of that’s down to me. So, I’m sorry. So fucking sorry. None of it was your fault, and I should have said that to you years ago.” He left the room without waiting for a response or asking for forgiveness.
Thank fuck, because Alec wasn’t capable of either at that moment.
He was still sat staring into space when Gareth put a hand on his shoulder, startling him.
“Hey, you okay? You look like shit, and I’ve asked you twice already if you want a coffee.”
Fuck.
Alec rubbed at his eyes, trying to get his focus back. They had too much going on for him to zone out like that. “Yeah, I’m good. And I’d love a coffee if the offer still stands.”
“Sure.” Gareth set his own mug down and walked back over to the coffee machine. “Did Nathan find you?” His tone sounded too casual, forced, and Alec sighed.
“Yes.” He turned in his chair to get a better look at Gareth. “You knew what he was going to do?”
Gareth finished making the coffee before replying. Setting it down in front of Alec, he took the seat opposite. Where Nathan had sat.
“Not exactly. But I had a rough idea.” He glanced down, fingers smoothing the edge of his mug. “Did he apologise?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck me.” Gareth’s smile was wistful, and an inappropriate bubble of laughter burst out of Alec.
Who the hell knew why, because nothing about this was funny.
Meeting his gaze, Gareth said, “It’s about time. I never thought he’d get his head out of his arse, I have to say.”
Alec still struggled to talk about it. Blindsided by the whole thing, he felt off-kilter. The anger he’d held onto for so long was slipping away, and he didn’t know whether to hang onto it with both hands or let it go.
Whatever expression was on his face right then obviously gave him away, because Gareth reached out and clasped his forearm. Not something he would usually do. As betas, they were all close, had a huge amount of respect for each other, but Alec had only ever known Tim or Cam to offer comfort like that. Alec wasn’t the sort to invite it. It wasn’t unwelcome, though, and the words loosened inside him. “I don’t know what to do or how to feel about it.”
“You don’t have to. Nathan apologised becauseheneeded to. You can either accept it, ignore it, or forgive him.” Gareth paused to take another drink of his coffee. “But there’s no time limit. Nothing says you have to decide now. If you don’t want to think about it, then don’t.”
Alec slumped in his chair and groaned. Of all the times for Nathan to apologise, he had to choose now, when Alec’s life was already more complicated than he liked.
Maybe he should heed Gareth’s advice and just not think about it. “I take it the council are done with Jared? You sat in with him, yeah?”
“Yeah. I left him at their flat when Nathan got back there.”
“How did it go?” Nathan’s worried expression flashed in Alec’s mind, and he felt the familiar need for his pack to be safe, no matter who. “Will they want to take things further?”
Gareth blew out a breath and sat back in his chair. “I don’t want to tempt fate, but Jared was pretty convincing. He told the council again and again how Nathan had offered to take him to the police, but Jared had refused. I think he convinced them that he didn’t get coerced or tricked into bonding with Nathan. The bite was an unfortunate case of wrong time, wrong place. I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll get out of that with just a warning, despite Newell’s insistence that Nathan should be punished.”
Alec bristled. “Fucking Newell.”
Raising his coffee mug in a toast, Gareth agreed. “Yep.”
Glancing at the clock, Alec was surprised to see he’d been in there two hours already. Mark would be finishing work soon. His offer of meeting up sounded more appealing by the second, but Alec still had work to do. “Where are the council now?”
