They belonged together.
There was no way he could stay away from this man before him.
“I don’t know, uhh...” His mate flushed and lowered his gaze.
“You can tell or ask me anything,” Ronin said. He wanted to reach out and take Oliver’s hands in his, but he didn’t want to do anything to make his mate feel uncomfortable. He didn’t know what he’d been through, and now was not the time to ask.
“I could hear you before, and now it’s almost like I can feel you. I knew the moment you were close, even though I couldn’t see you.” Ollie’s eyes on him were questioning. “I’m new to the whole ‘wolf’ thing.” His mate lowered his voice when he said wolf, almost like he couldn’t believe he was saying it. “Jax—and the other guys—kinda explained things to me.” Ollie met his gaze briefly, but his eyes flitted away. “I guess, uhh… they said… areyoumymate?” His mate asked the question in one breath, and when Ro glanced down, he saw that Oliver was wringing his hands, and his cheeks were even redder than before.
Ronin would come back to the whole new to the wolf thing. Before asking what Ollie meant by that, he took his mate's hands in his. “Look at me, Ollie.” His mate kept his eyes on their joined hands. “Please,” Ronin added in a soft, pleading voice.
When Ollie finally did, Ro said, “Thank you,” while smiling at his mate. “I am your mate,” Ronin continued, and the magnitude of what that meant hit him. Ollie was his to love, to cherish, to protect. “I would love to be your mate, if you’ll have me.”
He made sure to make his mate aware that it was his choice. Ronin swore he wouldalwaysmake sure Oliver knew he had a choice.
“I know you don’t know me, and you probably have a hard time trusting a word I say, but I swear to you, I will always keep you safe.”
Ollie’s eyes on him never wavered as he listened to every word Ro spoke.
“We have a connection,” Ollie whispered. “I thought it was crazy, but I heard a voice in my head saying, ‘We’re here. We’ve got you,’and I believed it immediately. I knew I was out of harm’s way.” Ronin let Ollie keep talking. “I felt safe,” his mate whispered. “I haven’t felt that in a long time.”
Right at that moment, Ronin really regretted not killing Anton. “As long as I live, I will do everything in my power to make sure you always know and feel you are safe. And I swear we have time, so don’t worry, there’s no pressure.”
Ronin didn’t realize he was holding his breath until his mate nodded and his lips curved into a smile.
“Thank you for coming to rescue me,” Ollie whispered.
“I always will, but hopefully you never need rescuing again.”
His mate's eyes twinkled, and he saw a spark of his personality. “But I love having my own knight in shining armor.”
“How about you stay safe, and we role play the knight part.” Ronin watched as Ollie’s eyes widened. He thought maybe he’d scared his mate off, and he was about to apologize.
“I’ve never role played before, but I would like to try.” Ollie’s voice got even lower, and his eyes darkened, going from a gorgeous hazel to almost fully black. “Is this the naked kind?”
Ronin started coughing. Yup, his mate would keep him on his toes. And he was looking forward to it.
Ronin kept a hold of his mate’s hand, even as his gaze skimmed over the camp. His eyes landed on Cybil and Sophie as they talked between themselves. Sophie seemed to be trying to self-soothe, rocking back and forth where she sat while just staring into the fire. Ro knew it was going to take some time, after everything they had been through, for any of them to be even halfway to okay. But he also knew they were in good hands with Zander, Marco, and Nix. And when they got to Wildwood, he knew they would all definitely find a home.
The omega who sat beside his mate was fair-haired and looked tired as he quietly stared into the fire. Ronin didn’t dare begin to think of what hell they had been put through. After a short time, he turned and seemed to study Ro before looking away and leaning over to whisper in Oliver’s ear. Not wanting to intrude, Ro busied himself by standing to get another log for the fire. He made the trip quick, neither he nor his wolf wanting to be far from his mate, and when he returned, Ollie was standing waiting for him with one of the omegas behind him
“Is something wrong?” Ro asked as he hurried to Oliver’s side.
“Jax asked if he would be able to bathe. He hasn’t in almost a week, and he really wants to wash.”
Ro looked from his mate to the omega who was timidly watching him with pleading and hope in his ice-blue eyes
“I think that we can make that happen, Jax.” Ronin smiled at the omega. “Does anyone else need to wash?”
Jax slowly nodded and motioned for Shawn and the other male omega to join them.
Ro made sure to keep a smile on his face as they approached and stuck his hand out. “I don’t think I’ve officially been introduced yet. I’m Ronin, as I am sure Ollie has told y’all,” he said while looking at the omega he had not been introduced to.
It was Shawn who was the first to take his hand and timidly shake it. “You already know me from earlier, but I want to thank you so much for saving us. This is Marco,” he said, as he pointed over to the dark-haired man at his side.
Marco looked up with clear green eyes and smiled, but instead of taking the offered hand, he pushed forward and gave Ro a hug, repeating “thank you” over and over. Ro stood there, not quite sure what to do, and so he tapped the omega on the back in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.
“Hey, hey, hey. Get your own mate!” Ollie joked as he playfully smacked Marco across the shoulder, causing all the omegas to laugh.
