“Nope, you better wake up. We have news.” Malek was the one to speak that time, and his voice was not teasing.
Mikhail groaned and stretched. He felt his muscles cry out and knew he had run longer than he should have the night before. Mikhail swung his legs round and put them on the floor and was happy to find that at least the heating was turned on.
It wasn’t until he’d stretched and yawned properly that he opened his eyes, and, of course, there stood Malachi and Malek.
“For fuck’s sake, you could have let me sleep.” He glanced at the wall where his clock was and shook his head. “It’s barely 8 a.m.”
“When you have kids, you’ll learn ‘sleeping in’ is a thing of the past.” Malachi’s words were followed by a yawn, and he saw the large mug in his brother’s hand that smelled distinctly of coffee.
“Could you go back to said kids instead of bothering me this early?” Mikhail stood and stretched again. His eyes landed on the coffee cup in Malek’s hands too. “You’d better have left some coffee for me.”
“Do you want to keep bitching, or would you rather listen to the reason we left our mates on Christmas morning before breakfast and trudged over here?” Malek asked, brow raised.
Mikhail rolled his eyes at his brother’s tone. He wasn’t in the mood for this. He needed to come up with something that would make Rowan stay instead of dealing with their attitudes.
He wished he could complain about having to get out of bed and leave his mate… at least it meant that his mate was in his bed.
“Well, then why did you bother coming over? You should have just stayed with them and opened presents. What do you want?” Mikhail didn’t even try hiding his impatience.
“Well, I thought you would like to know that your mate took off this morning like he was being chased by an enforcement officer.” Malek’s voice was flat.
When his words finally pierced Mikhail’s caffeine-free brain, he jolted, and his eyes drilled into Malek.
“He left?” He turned to Malachi and added, “Youlethim leave?”
“Let him?” Malachi repeated. The look on his face telegraphed how stupid a sentence he thought that was.
“What do you mean ‘let?’” Malek’s voice was a bit milder, but he could hear the rebuke in it. “Were we supposed to tie him up? Or maybe puncture his tyres to stop him from leaving?”
“I thought I would get a chance to…” His voice trailed off, and he sank back into the couch. “He just left?”
Mikhail figured maybe they would have a chance to talk, perhaps make plans before Rowan left. He didn’t expect his mate to steal away before daybreak.
“Fuck,” Mikhail cursed, then jumped to his feet again and began pacing. “Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.”
“Very succinct,” Malachi said in a dry tone.
“Fuck off,” Mikhail snapped at his brother. His patience and civility levels were all the way down at zero.
“I see someone’s vocabulary has become limited, but ‘fuck’ does not a plan make. Soo... how do you intend to get your mate back?” Malek was the brother who teased you but still stayed while you came up with a plan.
“So nothing. He left. I think that’s a clear indication of ‘I never want to see you again.’” Mikhail huffed and carried on pacing. But then his mind went to the way Rowan had felt in his arms, the moment their lips met, and how that slim body let go in his arms.
For a split second, Rowan’s walls had come down, and maybe there was a way they could again.
“But what if he rejects me again?” Mikhail muttered. “Then again, if you don’t try, how would you know?”
“I see someone is having a lovely conversation with himself. Let us know when we should chime in.” Malek’s voice was teasing.
“Yeah, he clearly doesn’t need us,” Chi chimed in.
Mikhail rolled his eyes at their banter. He would have kicked them out if he didn’t need their help.
“Just for the record, has he actually rejected you?” Malek’s asked.
“Doesn’trunning awayin the middle of the night count?” Mikhail replied, and hoped theduhin his voice was evident.
“Not technically,” Malachi said. “Besides, he left in the early hours of this morning, so…”
