18
Theo
After all the uncertainty and chaos of the past few weeks, Maxwell finally settled right back where he started--in his original bedroom in our mansion. We hired movers to bring his belongings over from his apartment and cancelled the lease.
“That place was kind of a dump compared to the Tenebrae mansion anyway,” Maxwell had mumbled.
“Well, duh,” I’d said.
Benji and Pierce, as well as the girls, were thrilled to have Maxwell back. After our meeting in the dining hall, Pierce called them in to discuss the good news. The two omegas came hesitantly into the hall. I felt a bit guilty that Max and I hadn’t told them anything when we ran off the other night. They were probably confused at being left in the dark.
“What’s up?” Benji asked his mate. Lark stood beside him, holding his hand. I was glad to see her scratch wounds were already healed.
“Adriel and I have discussed some things,” Pierce told them, “and we’ve decided that Theo won’t be considered a threat to humans any longer.”
“That’s great news!” Caleb said, grinning at us both. “What changed your minds?”
Adriel quirked a brow in Maxwell’s direction. “A very stupid and risky experiment run by the doctor.”
As the attention turned on him, Maxwell smiled sheepishly. “What? It was for science.”
“And love,” I added, sneaking an arm around his waist.
He blushed. “Right. That too.”
“Wait,” Adriel began, narrowing his eyes at the human brothers. “Aren’t you two surprised to find out about Theo and Maxwell’s relationship?”
Benji and Caleb exchanged glances.
“Uh, not really,” Caleb said first, shrugging. “I’ve known about it for a while now. Since I walked in on them kissing, actually.”
“Man, people really have walked in on us doing things a lot lately, haven’t they?” I muttered to Maxwell, who groaned and gently elbowed me.
“What?” Adriel said, shocked.
“Yeah, they didn’t say anything about it to me, but I had a feeling, too,” Benji remarked. “I mean, the whole convoluted plan Theo made up? I had a suspicion that it wasn’t just about his freedom. I mean, it was ridiculous. I can’t believe I even went along with it, but I guess I only did because I knew there had to be another reason.”
“Geez, was it really that bad?” I mumbled, suddenly embarrassed.
“Yes,” almost everyone said at once.
I cleared my throat, then pulled Maxwell closer. “Well, that’s fine. I don’t have to have the greatest ideas ever because my mate is the smart one. Right, Max?”
Heat flushed to his cheeks, turning them an adorable shade of pink. “Right.”
* * *
In the daysthat followed Maxwell moving back in, my mind kept running through my thoughts in the clinic and my subsequent conversation with Jordan. It felt like there was still one last nagging puzzle piece that wasn’t in place yet, and I knew it was going to bother me until I spoke to Maxwell about it.
The only problem now was working up the will to bring it up.
He had settled into a routine of working at the clinic, then returning to the mansion at night, which gave me time to settle my nerves. I didn’t like that my doubt had moved on from one thing to the next.
Adriel was wrong about me. The seed of doubt he buried in my brain had shrivelled up and disappeared now that I knew the truth about myself and my limits. I wasn’t an uncontrollably bloodthirsty monster, much to my own relief. But now new doubts squirmed in my mind like worms.
What if Jordan was right, and Maxwell really didn’t want children?
I leaned against the balcony with a frown. The night sky and all its stars glimmered above me. I overlooked the front of the estate and the winding driveway up the sloping hill. I could see for miles--or at least, I would’ve been able to if the city wasn’t in the way. In any case, I’d see Maxwell coming, which was all I cared about.
