TAYLOR WOKE UP THEnext day still confused and worried.What was he supposed to do with a mate?What was he supposed to do with amalemate?
He wasn’t sure what had shocked him the most yesterday.He hadn’t expected to meet his mate, and he certainly hadn’t expected that mate to be a man.There was no denying what he’d smelled, though.
Taylor had been trying to convince himself that there was a mistake since he’d woken up a few hours ago.He’d spent the night alone in Jacob’s room since Jacob had moved in with Tony, and he’d hoped that having a little time on his own would help, but he still felt like he had when he’d first smelled Ben.
Really fucking confused.
He stared at the ceiling, wondering what he was supposed to do.He knew he needed to talk to Ben.He had no idea what the poor man had been through, but it couldn’t have been easy.He’d been on the run, had lived in the forest for who knew how long, and the only reason he’d agreed to come to the pride house was Taylor.If Taylor hadn’t been there when Ben was found, he suspected that Ben would’ve run away or continued hiding.He certainly wouldn’t be staying in Taylor’s room right now, safe and with food in his stomach.
Not that anything would happen to him even if Taylor decided he never wanted to talk to him again.Ben was safe here.He’d be safe even if he wasn’t Taylor’s mate.Taylor couldn’t ghost him, though.He couldn’t do that to Ben after whatever had happened to him.He couldn’t do that to hismate.
Even though his mate was a man.
Taylor had been thinking about that on a loop.He was glad that no one had forced him back into his bedroom and that Jacob had decided that he needed to spend some time away from Ben.It had made Taylor feel guilty, and part of him yearned to go back to his mate and soothe him, but he’d known that Jacob was right and that he needed a little time.He was glad he’d had that time, but unfortunately, it hadn’t helped.He still had no idea how he was supposed to deal with any of this.
It was still early.He felt exhausted, so he’d decided to stay in bed.He might as well think there, where he was comfortable and alone.
Just the other day, he’d been thinking that he was slightly jealous of Jacob.He’d never really thought about meeting his mate, but watching Jacob with Tony had made him wonder how it would go when he did.
He snorted.Well, he’d found out.It had been a disaster, and it was his fault.He really hoped he hadn’t hurt Ben, but he didn’t see how he wouldn’t have.It was too easy to put himself in Ben’s shoes, at least in this situation.How would Taylor feel if right after smelling him and recognizing their bond, his mate fled the room?He hadn’t even paused to explain to Ben that, until smelling him, he’d thought he was straight.
Taylor frowned at the ceiling.He’d been thinking about that a lot.Fate didn’t make mistakes, which meant that since Ben was his mate, he couldn’t be as straight as he’d always thought he was.It had made him reconsider a few things from his past, like how impressed he’d always been with that one football player in high school.He’d always wanted to spend more time with the guy, but he hadn’t realized it was because he had a crush on him.
HadTaylor had a crush on him?He didn’t know, and it was hard to say in hindsight.He’d only had a few years after that before the old alpha had closed off their pride, and he’d never had a crush on anyone who lived here.He’d never wanted to be with another pride member, man or woman, and for many years, he’d been forbidden to leave the pride house.How could he have explored his sexuality when he couldn’t even meet women back then?And when Gal had become alpha and had reopened the pride, Taylor had been focused on getting a job.Yes, he’d had girlfriends, but he’d always assumed he was straight, so of course that was who he’d gravitated toward.
But maybe he wasn’t as straight as he’d always thought.Maybe not being straight was okay.It wasn’t like Taylor cared that Jacob was gay or that he and Dennis had male mates.He’d just been shocked becausehewas the one involved this time around.He’d never suspected he was anything but straight, but maybe he should have.Maybe he should’ve remembered his crush on that football player.
He hoped that Ben would understand.Gal had visited Taylor last night to reassure him that Ben was okay, had showered and eaten, and was now sleeping on clean sheets in Taylor’s bed.He’d asked Taylor if he wanted Ben to be given another bedroom, but Taylor had said no.Even though he was confused, there was something comforting about knowing that his mate was in his bed, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt Ben.
Except that he’d already done that.There was no way Ben wasn’t hurt by Taylor’s reaction to finding out that they were mates.Taylor wasn’t sure there was anything he could do about that, unfortunately.He’d need to talk to Ben, and he would, but there was no way to know how Ben would take his apology and if he would accept that Taylor had been shocked and had needed some time and space to think.
He pushed up into a sitting position.He’d had that.Staying in Jacob’s bed, waiting for something to happen, wasn’t going to change anything.Ben was his mate, and Ben was a man.That was the least important thing in this situation.
Ben was on the run from something or someone.He was terrified.He hadn’t been eating regularly, and he needed someone to take care of him.Who better to do that than his mate?Even though Taylor was still a mess over everything, he could take care of Ben.Part of him desperately wanted to.His tiger wanted to spend more time with Ben.It hadn’t been happy to spend the night away from their mate, but Jacob had put his foot down that Taylor needed this, and Taylor had agreed.It would’ve been even messier if he’d allowed himself to follow that instinct.
He got out of bed and showered.He didn’t have clean clothes, but it wasn’t the first time he borrowed stuff from Jacob, and he knew Jacob wouldn’t care.He felt a little better now that he was clean, and it was easier to ignore the mess in his mind when he left the bedroom.Spending a little time saying good morning and chatting about nothing important with other pride members helped him relax, and by the time he was in the kitchen, he felt better.
Dennis was already there, sipping on a cup of coffee.He blinked at Taylor, and Taylor grinned at him.“Is your mate keeping you awake at night?”
Dennis laughed.“He is, actually.”
Taylor grimaced.“Never mind.I don’t want to know.”
“Then you shouldn’t have asked.”
“You’re right.I shouldn’t have, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
Taylor waited for Dennis to ask him about Ben, but he didn’t.Maybe he didn’t know about the mate thing.Only a few people were aware of the bond between Ben and Taylor, and none of them would have spilled the beans.It was a relief, but at the same time, Taylor wished they had.It would’ve made telling the people in his life that he had a male mate easier.He already knew he’d havesomany questions to answer when he did.
Dennis didn’t say anything as he watched Taylor put together a tray of breakfast foods.He’d been there when they’d found Ben, so he had to suspect that was who Taylor was getting food for.Taylor was thankful he wouldn’t have to explain himself just yet.That would come soon enough, but the first person who should get an explanation was Ben.
Ben, who’d spent the night alone for the first time since he’d arrived at the pride house.Ben, who was on the run and terrified and shouldn’t have been left alone.
Taylor kind of hated that he’d run away from his mate, even though he knew things would have been worse if he’d stayed.He hoped Ben would understand and that he would forgive him.He wasn’t sure what he’d do if Ben didn’t, but that was a problem he’d deal with when he had to.
* * * *
BEN HAD SPENT THE NIGHTon his own.He was used to it since he’d been spending the night on his own for months now, but after finding Taylor, he’d thought it would never happen again.He’d thought he was safe.
