The butterflies floating in my chest were now rampaging. How was he so sweet? That nasty nagging doubt in the back of my mind kept thinking Nero was going to disappoint me somehow, but he never did.
Nero one, doubts zero.
I snuggled closer to him, feeling safe and warm and secure. I rested my face against his chest, which smelled of sea-salt and his natural scent. Nero put his arm around my shoulders and let out a content sigh.
Was this how it felt to find your fated mate? Because if so, I could seriously get used to it.
10
Nero
It wasdark when something roused me. I blinked blearily, taking a moment to remember where I was. My senses were alert before I was—Remington’s warmth and scent surrounded me. But that wasn’t all. He was gripping my arm and shaking. His eyes were clenched shut and his forehead was damp with sweat.
I immediately snapped awake. Was he having a nightmare? I put my hands on him gently and tried to wake up.
“Remmy, it’s me. It’s Nero,” I said. “Can you wake up for me?”
Remington jerked and twitched in his sleep, then gasped. His yellow eyes flashed wide open. He stared at me for a second before his expression was swamped with relief. He exhaled and relaxed, slumping against me like all the breath had left his lungs.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “That was really embarrassing…”
“What are you talking about? Are you okay?”
“I usually sleep alone—or at least, far away enough from my pack mates for them not to notice—but I get nightmares a lot.”
My heart clenched with sympathy. I had bad dreams once in a while, but this seemed different. To hear that Remington went through it often made me feel awful.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
After a small hesitation, Remington sighed. “I usually don’t, but… I’ll tell you.”
“You don’t have to,” I insisted. “Only if you’re comfortable.”
Remington smirked dryly. “If we’re going to be sleeping together more, I may as well tell you. And… because you’re my fated mate. I trust you, Nero.”
Hearing that made my heart beat so hard it rattled my chest.
“It’s not a big deal to me, just something that happens.” Remington shrugged. “But I have nightmares of my time as a stray. Usually of being alone. Sometimes Klimt is there. Those are the worst.”
I bristled at the name. I wished I’d bitten that guy’s head off when I had the chance.
“Do you have a history together?” I asked.
Remington stared into the darkness, like he was caught in the memory. “Not a good one.”
He trailed off into silence. I let him take his time. Whatever he wanted to say, it was obviously important. He sat up in the bed and I joined him.
“My father died when I was eighteen,” Remington began. “It was sudden. A shock. To this day, I still don’t know what happened. He was an older man, sure, but he was a fit, strong alpha. He was the one who raised me my whole life. I never knew my omega father. He died giving birth to me.”
My heart broke for Remington. I thought I had it bad with my deadbeat dad, but his story was awful. To lose both parents at such a young age was something I couldn’t imagine. I felt an immense surge of gratitude to have both Nishiki and Mom in my life again.
“My father was a bit of a paranoid man—I guess that’s where I get it from—so he left behind a will,” Remington went on. “In it, he said that I would inherit the manor and the wildlife reserve. The money, too.”
I remembered the run-down, abandoned manor in the human town. I hadn’t known at the time that it belonged to Remington. It cast the memory of it in a different light.
“If I was smart, I would’ve stayed in the manor and kept living my life and used the money for something good. But I was young and stupid. I blew the money on useless stuff and gave a lot of it away. The only thing I remember buying was a lot of books, since they used to make me happy, but they didn’t bring my father back. It felt like my life was over.”
He bit his lip. His voice was soft with anguish. I wanted to reach out and comfort him but I didn’t want to interrupt his story.
