“Now look what you’ve done, Huston. Go somewhere else. You’re embarrassing the omega.”
“I have a name,” I piped up. “Not just the tenant or the omega. My name’s Candrin.”
“Sorry, love. Let’s go to my room and we can finish what we started before my brother interrupted us.”
“The fuck you are,” Huston shouted.
20
TANNER
Fate can be a B…
I was fuming. My brother came home when he wasn’t supposed to. Fine. That happens. But at no point did that mean he had to be a fucking dick about things.
Poor Candrin was so embarrassed. It didn’t help matters that I fucking called him our tenant. It wasn’t a lie or even a negative term in general. In any other context it would’ve been just fine. But I went from having my tongue on his slick entrance to calling him a tenant when what I really wanted to yell was he was my mate.
Only Candrin was human and had no clue what a mate was. In my head at that split second of time,tenant was the better option of the two. Of course his name was also an option, but my stupid brain didn’t bother to take the time to think of that. And given my brother called him an omega, we’d both royally fucked up.
I hated my past word choice. I freaking dehumanized my mate and in front of my brother which made it worse somehow. Not that it felt like it could get worse at this moment.
“The fuck you are!” I shouted at my brother.
“Why are you…” Candrin never finished his thought, instead running upstairs… running from me, his mate.
And just like that I learned that this night could get freaking worse.
“Why are you here?” I turned to my brother. “Everything was going great and then you decided to just traipse on in and make Candrin feel awful.”
I looked to the stairs wishing he hadn’t run away. Not that being down here with me yelling at my brother was a better option. This entire thing was completely fucked up and my head was spinning. I didn’t even knowwhat to do about any of this.
My bear was pushing at me to run up the stairs and comfort my mate—to make everything alright. And besides, what could I possibly say that could fix this mess?
“Why were you fucking Candrin?” My brother was seething. And I got it. We were technically in a power position since we were the ones who owned the house. But it wasn’t like that. He was my mate.
I was just about to explain that to Huston when the door to Candrin’s room creaked open. My eyes shot to the stairwell, unsure if he was coming out to throw shit at us, which we both deserved, or to yell some more, or simply to gather his clothing. Whichever it was, I refused to make the same mistake again and treat him as less than the gift he was.
“This is my fault,” Candrin said halfway down the stairs, wrapped in his robe, hugging himself as he spoke. “All of this is my fault. I should’ve known better—I did know better, but Tanner you are so… and Houston you’re so… how could I not.”
It took me half a second to realize he was talking about both of us as if he’s been with both of us as if he’d seen our dicks, had them inside him. Not just me, but my brother too. What the fuck? Didn’t he feel our connection?Mates are different—special. Even as a human he should feel it, right? But he didn’t, not if he was banging my brother too.
“I’m sorry about what I said. You’re not just a tenant. You’re more.” Because fuck it. I didn’t care that he was with my brother, not in the way I should. It would hit me… probably. But for now I just needed to get my omega back. Not that I ever really had him.
Huston
“And I’msorry I called you the omega. I really am.”
Candrin visibly relaxed at our apologies. Not a lot, possibly not even enough for most people to notice, but I did.
“I’m the sorry one. I was with you Tanner and I felt all these feelings,” he mumbled. “I won’t say love because it’s too soon, but also it’s the only word that fits and I don’t know what to replace it with.”
He turned his head slightly, locking his eyes with mine. “And then I met you, Huston. And it’s not the same as with Tanner, but ourconnection is as equally strong. I care about you as deeply as I do about your brother and the guilt I had cheating on your brother with you… it wasn’t fair to either of you.”
Mate.
Mate.
Mate.
