"Just milk." Wes smiled up at him. "Thank you."
"No problem."
Marcellus collected their tea and came back into the bedroom where he sat it down on the nightstand, and together, they dug into their breakfasts. Marcellus had never been so damn hungry. His wolf was ravenous, and so was he. Cellus sliced into a piece of toast and popped it into his mouth.
"This is so good." Wes practically melted. "I haven't had anyone make me breakfast since I was a kid."
"My brothers and I are used to making food for each other. It's just something nice to do when everyone is so busy, you know?"
Wes tilted his head. "I've heard a lot about your brothers." He chuckled. "One after the other has become attached to one of mine. That's all I keep getting updates about."
"They're happy." Marcellus grinned. "All of them and their adorable little babies."
Wes frowned. "Wait, their babies?" He tilted his head. "They all adopted?"
Shit. Marcellus knew immediately that he had fucked up. He'd just assumed Wes' brothers had told him that they had kids, but how could they explain it? They didn't know that Wes was a shifter. It would be exceptionally hard to inform him that they'd had the babies on their own.
Marcellus felt Wes' eyes on him. He tried to avoid his stare for as long as possible before he had to look over to him. Wes raised a brow, waiting.
"Oh, sorry." Marcellus chuckled. "My mind started to wander. You could say that."
"You could say that..." Wes narrowed his eyes. "What are you hiding?"
"Ah." Marcellus rubbed the back of his neck. "Me and my big mouth." He sighed. "Okay, I don't really have a choice but to spill it. My brothers are all wolf shifters, just like me. Your brothers didn't adopt. They had their babies naturally."
"Wait. Wait." Wes held up a finger, opened his mouth, and then shut it again. "I have so many thoughts, I don’t even know where to start.”
"Take your time."
Wes chewed his lip. "So they know about shifters then?"
Marcellus nodded. "Yeah. They've known for a while."
"So," Wes pushed around the food on his plate. "I've been isolating myself from them, worried that I could never say a word about what I really was, and they already know we exist." He snorted. "That’s bloody fantastic."
Marcellus touched his leg. "Hey, I know this is a surprise, but maybe now you can tell them. They can handle it, don't you think? Especially since they're living with it now."
"I’ve had to wait for so long." Wes shook his head. "I've had this tiger inside of me for as long as I can remember, and I couldn't tell anyone about it or even give in to it and let it exist. It's hard being on your own for so long, hiding things away from people. You can't really be close to anyone when you're hiding such a huge part of yourself."
Marcellus pushed their plates to the side and gathered Wes into his arms. Wes laid his head on Marcellus' chest and clung to him tightly.
"I'm sorry you've been so alone." Marcellus kissed the top of his head. "You'll never be alone again."
Wes glanced up at him. "Promise?"
"On my life and everything I am, love." Marcellus knew that was a promise he would die trying to keep.
Eight
Wes
Wes sighed while wrapped in Marcellus' grip. There was relief in finally getting to tell someone about what he'd been going through. He'd been on his own for so long, keeping everyone at arm’s length just to get by.
Now, he could tell his family. That thought was as comforting as it was exciting. Pretty soon, they would really know everything about each other. They'd been hiding things, too, so he was sure they would be just as happy. Especially considering the fact that he had a few new nieces and nephews to meet.
"I can't believe I didn't know they had kids."
"They were probably trying to find some way to tell you without it being weird."
