“Dunno about that—I don’t even know what some of those things are—but we cleaned most of it,” Tristan said. “Couldn’t have done it alone.”
He squeezed Colby’s hand, and then looked up to meet Bryce’s eyes. They were on him, measured, unreadable, and a world away from their usual warmth and teasing. No nod of welcome, not even the smile he kept just for Tristan, the one that had seen Tristan through missing his mom, exam panic, and getting dumped by his first real boyfriend. He simply looked disappointed.
Tristan swallowed painfully, and Bryce’s gaze moved to Colby. Not openly hostile, perhaps, but definitely not welcoming.
Jason batted Jesse’s wandering hand with the spatula, making Jesse yelp, mock-offended, and Colby’s hand spasmed in Tristan’s. Like he thought it was real violence, real hurt.
Tristan drew him over to the table and pulled out his usual chair. It looked like Jason—or Riley, who often set the table while Jason cooked—had been thoughtful enough to set an extra place, so Tristan gestured to Colby to take the chair beside him. Everyone would just have to move down a place. No great hardship.
Jason was serving out, and Matt still wasn’t here.
“Where’s Matt?” Tristan asked Bryce. Maybe if he could get Bryce talking to him on neutral subjects, things would go back to normal.
“Making some calls.” Bryce’s words were clipped, and Tristan couldn’t tell whether the tension in his voice related to the phone calls or to the fact he was speaking to Tristan.
As the others sat down, Jason put a dish on the table, and Tristan grasped at a change of subject. “Is that lasagna? Alongsideroast beef and potatoes? Not exactly what I expected but good to know we’re not skimping on the carbs.”
“I’m trying out some new dishes for the diner,” Jason said. “Anyone want to give it a whirl?”
His words were scarcely out when Jesse reached over.
“It’s made with sweet potato sheets, not pasta,” Jason added, and Jesse’s spoon hung motionless in the air, poised over the dish he’d grabbed.
“Why?” he asked, sounding plaintive.
“Because I’m trying out dishes for people with intolerances,” Jason said.
“If it’s come out of your kitchen, it can’t be all bad,” Jesse decided, and began levering spoonfuls of it onto his plate.
“Does Sam know you’re using us as lab rats?” Bryce’s voice was rougher than usual, but it was a good approximation of his usual teasing. He took the dish from Jesse. “God’s sake, Jesse—you could have left me enough to taste.”
“Ain’t my fault you’re slow,” Jesse mumbled where he was licking the serving spoon. “Getting old, Bryce.”
Bryce snorted. Normally, that would have been the start of a long, teasing back and forth, insulting one another in a way that sounded brutal to anyone who didn’t know them. But not today. Bryce wasn’t himself, Tristan knew it. Knew it, and hated it. But he still wasn’t going to change his mind. Not about something as important as Colby, who was sitting very quietly beside him.
Like he’d shrunk in on himself, trying to take up as little space as possible so he wouldn’t be noticed. And while everything in Tristan longed to announce to his pack that they were mates, he had the feeling Colby would hate that right now.
For the first time, Tristan thought he fully understood Bryce’s point. He was going to have to make a lot more adjustments, tothinka lot more with Colby as his mate. But that was okay, because he wouldn’t change Colby for the world.
He nudged him gently. “If you see Jesse’s fork heading for your plate at any point, just growl. That usually works.”
Colby nodded but said nothing, not even a flicker of a smile.
A slightly awkward silence fell around the table as they waited for Matt. Awkward in a way it never usually was. Glancing around, Tristan could see Bryce was ignoring him, while Jason was flicking nervous glances at Colby. Riley had picked up on Jason’s tension, and Dave seemed fascinated by a loose thread on his fluorescent green and pink shirt, winding it around until it cut into his finger. It wasn’t like Dave to be so closed in on himself, and Tristan wondered if all was okay between him and Christian, who was out patrolling with Karl.
As he looked, he found himself seeing his pack through new eyes. Before Cale, before Colby, he’d never questioned how they were. They were his pack and he loved them with all he had.
Now, he was beginning to see them more as individuals. Without Matt’s steadying, unstinting leadership, he wondered if they’d even be together. But they were. They’d forged bonds and trust, andlove. The only problem was, the pack bond was so strong, it didn’t allow anyone in easily.
Tristan felt about twenty years older as he realized that he’d seen the pack through a kid’s eyes all these years. They weren’t actually perfect. And if he did what he wanted and announced Colby was his mate, they wouldn’t all be pleased for him. Jason would try for his sake, Dave too. But there was too much hurt there, inflicted by Cale’s pack, for them to truly welcome Colby.
He reached under the table and found Colby’s hand, twining their fingers together.
Colby didn’t look at him, didn’t smile, but he didn’t let go.
COLBY
Colby was exerting every bit of self-control he possessed to stop himself staring across the table. Because the sharp-eyed blond guy sitting next to Jasonwasn’t a shifter. He was human, sitting and eating as one of the pack.
