“I’ll get some horse blankets for us to lie on, keep off the chill from the floor,” he said, then paused. “You’re not allergic or anything, are you? I hope not, because half the pack smell of horse half the time, so that wouldn’t be great.”
And then he realized he was rushing ahead. Way, way ahead. Before that moment, he hadn’t eventhoughtabout Colby staying here forever. All he wanted was the chance to explore this thing between them, to discover if it could be something more. Tristan thought it could be, and he wanted that, so badly.
“Mind coming with me and helping with the light?” he asked, waving his phone. “If I put the overhead one on, the horses’ll think it’s breakfast time, and Diablo’s so damn loud that he’ll wake the entire house if he gets started. And that’ll wake the goats, and you really don’t want to upset them because they bear a grudge like it’s an Olympic sport. I don’t honestly know what Christian sees in Diablo,” he confessed. “Healwayswants attention, and then he’s liable to spook at the most ridiculous things when you take him out.”
About to launch into a recital of the random harmless items Diablo had taken exception to, he realized that Colby hadn’t followed him to the door. He glanced back over his shoulder inquiringly.
Colby was absolutely still, holding himself rigid and scarcely even breathing.
“Help me with the blankets?” Tristan asked again, softly, not sure what he’d said to cause this.
“I’m not sure I should leave the stall,” Colby said carefully, his eyes flicking between Tristan’s face and the floor.
It took him an instant to realize what he’d done, but then Tristan’s heart plummeted, leaving his chest hollow. He’d asked Colbyto do something Matt would disapprove of, not even thinking. And now Colby was frozen, too afraid to say no. Even tohim.
“Yeah, of course, that’s fine. Absolutely not a problem, of course I can manage,” he gabbled. “I’ll be right back.”
Safely in the tack room, he took a moment and breathed in deeply. Leather, linseed oil, and the faint scene of liniment filled his nostrils, familiar and grounding.
He’d come out to the barn looking for comfort. The truth was, he’d wanted Colby’s presence, his steadiness, the warm spark of connection he couldn’t stop thinking about. He couldn’t remember his dreams, but he knew they’d been about the brig. And for reasons he didn’t understand, the presence of his pack was no longer enough to comfort him.
It hadn’t occurred to him, beyond the obvious things like food and blankets, that Colby might be the one who needed comfort now.
Although things had changed a little after Cale’s pack came for Jesse, Tristan remained the baby of the pack. Some of them still called himpupeven though he was twenty. And while that sometimes grated, it was also safe. They looked out for him, took care of him. He wasn’t used to being the one someone else turned to.
But maybe that needed to change. He always gave back—he didn’t know how not to, even had he wanted. But this was different. Colby needed someone to lean on, to help hold the weight that threatened to crush him. Tristan wasn’t there yet, but he wanted to be. For Colby.
He returned to Colby’s stall, arms full of blankets, and met Colby’s gaze, his gray eyes shyly warm on Tristan. And as he looked into Colby’s eyes, everything inside him stopped. The world kept spinning, but he was completely, utterly still.
It hit him with the force of instinct, immense and sure, something ancient slotting into place inside him.Mine.
Certainty surged through him, wordless and bright, and Tristan, who usually blurted every thought before it was fully formed, stayed quiet. He didn’t want to scare it away by breathing too hard. But joy built inside him anyway, wild and fizzing, until it felt like it would escape through his skin.
He turned away, busying himself with the blankets, needing the movement to ground him. To hide the grin spreading across his face, huge and unstoppable. Colby—sweet, kind, heartbreakingly brave Colby—was his. His mate. And he would never be the same again.
Now that he knew, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it sooner. He thought back to that moment in the brig, when Colby had touched him for the first time—how warmth and a feeling ofrightnesshad filled him, even as fear spiked in his chest, sharp and wild. He’d chalked it up to panic, to adrenaline. But it hadn’t been just that. Something deeper had answered Colby’s touch, something primal and wordless that he hadn’t had time to unpack.
He’d dreamed of it so often, that first touch between him and his mate, when everything he was feeling would be amplified and the rush of joy he’d feel. It had never crossed his mind that it might happen when he was scared shitless. But even then, through the spike of fear, he’d felt something else.
He was still trying to work out how to tell Colby as he straightened once more. Bryce had always said he’d have years before he met his mate and not to worry about it yet, so he’d never eventhoughtabout how to approach the subject once his mate showed up.
Thoughts of Bryce brought him to a sobering realization. Telling Colby they were mates right now would be like the worst form of coercion. It didn’t matter that he wanted to shout it to theworld and wrap Colby in every promise that word carried. What mattered was that, for Colby, this could never be another kind of cage.
The understanding of how carefully he’d have to tread at least helped the smile reduce to something more manageable. But it was still there because, even with all the complications he’d have to navigate, he’dneverthought his mate would be someone as wonderful as Colby. He understood now why coming to the barn had been such an immediate decision. Why he’d been prepared to brave his alpha’s displeasure. He’dneededto be with Colby.
He grinned happily at Colby as he fetched the comforter from the straw bale. Colby blinked slightly, and Tristan realized his smile must still be out of proportion with what might be expected for laying out a bed in an empty stall in the middle of the night. He tried to dial it down further.
Colby looked from Tristan to the makeshift bed as he smoothed the comforter into place, and Tristan realized he hadn’t told him what he was doing. Damn, he was going to have to get better at communicating if he was going to have a mate. Especially when that mate was Colby.
“I didn’t want you to be alone tonight,” he said finally, sitting back on his heels.
Colby didn’t say anything, but he was listening. Tristan could feel it in the air, the stillness.
“I thought we could lie down here,” Tristan said, quieter still. “Because I want to be near you. That’s all. Just… near you.” His throat caught. “But if it’s not what you want, you can stay over there. Or tell me to go. And I will.”
Colby still said nothing, and Tristan decided to take his silence as permission to stay. Settling on his back beneath the comforter, he left plenty of space beside him. His heart was beating too fast, feeling like it was trying to burst out of his skin.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then came the faint shuffle of movement. Colby stepped over slowly and turned back the comforter long enough to climb underneath it. They weren’t touching, but Tristan could feel the shift in the air between them. Could feel him there, warm and real.
