I love you, bud, and I promise to see you soon. Take care of Eliseo.
Keon.
Milo set the letter down with a smile. When he rummaged through the papers on his desk for a pile of medical notes he’d mislaid, he never expected to come across Keon’s writing. As he sometimes left notes pertaining to Beta duties, Milo hadn’t thought twice about reading it. It was on his desk, after all.
To read about how excited he was for their mating to secure their bond in a permanent way made his heart ache with joy and relief. “He’s a part of me I never knew I was missing” was exactly how he felt about Keon, and he thanked the Mother every day for bringing him into Milo’s life.
The importance of those words became tenfold when he realised it was Drew he’d been writing to. Drew was, perhaps, the most important person in Keon’s life until their mating bond flared for the first time. To think Keon wanted to share his job, their mating, and his feelings for Milo in a letter to Drew was the final proof, if he’d needed it, that Keon was fully invested in this relationship.
Finding the notes he’d come looking for, Milo readjusted his crutches before returning to the sofa in the living room. It was strange to think he’d been given a better chosen mate by the fates?who must have had a hand in the extraordinary events that brought them together?than either he or Keon had been given as true mates. As Keon said in his letter, it must have been for a reason. Some life lesson, or path, they must walk and endure before finding the m’weko they weretrulymeant for.
He felt lucky, hoping the Fates would smile on his union today and bless them with a long, happy life together.
With the notes retrieved, he placed them into his medical folder as Keon had requested. Why, he didn’t know, but it was supposedly part of a mating gift he wouldn’t divulge. Milo was excited to discover what it might be.
Milo set the folder onto the coffee table, where Keon said Weston would ‘take care of the rest’, and retreated to their bedroom to begin the final preparations for the mating ceremony. He was halfway down the corridor, planning what had to be done next?a change of outfit, drinking a cleansing herbal tea, and small exercises to prepare for the final part of the ceremony?when he heard a knock at the back door.
As everyone had left the house to prepare for the day’s events, Milo frowned at the intrusion and reluctantly diverted his feet. Weston had left with Keon hours ago to organise the many contributors to the pack meal and celebrations, while Haley had offered to take care of any aesthetic necessities. Milo had no clue what they might be, but had been happy to opt for a quiet morning alone, and an agreement to use his wheelchair whenever he left the house to save his strength.
This was an aggravating delay to those plans.
Opening the back door, Milo blinked in surprise to find Usher standing there, with a faint, nervous smile. “What?” He stopped, finding it rude to ask what Usher wanted, or why he was here.
Tucking hands into his trouser pockets, Usher glanced behind him, then stepped close, but not over the door threshold. “I only have a couple minutes, and I’m not in the best of shape to make a run for it. If you sense your Alpha making his way back, let me know,” he said, low and rushed, to the point Milo was rendered speechless. “Father told me about your union today. I managed to find Haley on my way here, and I’m glad you’re happy. That you can have what you always wanted, and the happiness you deserve.”
Milo’s eyes welled at the unexpected words. “I wish you could be there,” he said, the words tumbling out before he’d thought them through.
Usher smiled, nodded, and lifted a hand to brush a strand of hair from Milo’s eyes. “Things are changing fast, aren’t they?” he said, the words enigmatic and his eyes dark and foreboding. Milo didn’t like where this was leading, but Usher didn’t give him time to talk. “This is the last we’ll see of each other, maybe for a long time. I wanted you to know I’m sorry for how it happened, but I don’t regret that it brought you and the Alpha together. You’ve sacrificed enough for our family. You’ve more than earned your happy ending.”
“It’s just the beginning,” Milo argued weakly, not sure he was following.
Snorting, Usher shook his head. “Trust you,” he murmured, then sobered to duck in and kiss Milo’s cheek. “I wish you the best in your union. All the joy and love you can withstand.” Taking a step back, Usher swallowed, leaving Milo wondering if Usher felt as emotional about this unexpected moment as he did. “Keep taking care of Haley and raising her right. You’re all she’s got now. I’ll see you again someday. Until then, let your Alpha take care of you. That’s what mates should do.”
He turned and began a slow jog away before Milo could argue or invite him inside. He didn’t understand what Usher was doing, or most of what he’d said, but it sat heavy on his heart. Either Usher was planning to do something stupid, or he was the only one left with any hope their father could be won round by the union. Either way Milo didn’t see it ending well.
The only consolation he could find in the conversation was that Usher promised this wouldn’t be the last time they saw each other. Milo only hoped that whenever they next met it wouldn’t be under drastic circumstances. He couldn’t bear for someone else to get hurt because of the choices he’d made.
Mother, protect him from my actions, our father, and his own recklessness. Protect Usher always, and bring him back to us. Let him find his freedom from our father, and live a better, safer life.
As Usher paused at the treeline to glance back, emotion clogged in Milo’s throat. He recognised this moment from his latest vision. Proof this was a momentous shift in one or both their lives, as all the other clues he’d deciphered had been.
Closing the door to the sight of Usher disappearing beyond the treeline, and praying the Mother heard his pleas, Milo returned to his original plans. There was nothing he could do for Usher now, but perhaps being the mate to an Alpha as kind and wise as Keon would help him find a solution, some way to help the situation and free Usher from his sense of duty to their father.
Along the way, Milo hoped he might become an asset to Keon, as a mate and as a secondary Beta, as Weston hoped. If his life was about to change, this seemed the best time to face his fears and challenge the doubts his father had put into his head from a young age.
He was not useless, incapable, or stupid. He had never been a burden, a waste of space, or someone to be tolerated. Milo was strong, brave, and smart. He was everything he saw in Keon’s eyes, and more. Everything his mate claimed to cherish about him.
It was time he exorcised his father’s voice from inside his head to replace the bad memories and scolding remarks with sweet teasing, loving words, and the support of his mate.
*
Keon
AT THREE O’CLOCK, Farley stood from his seat at a long table where he’d been made guest of honour. A feast had been prepared, taking the whole week to organise and orchestrate efficiently. Time to end the nervous snacking and complete the ceremony they’d come to witness.
Farley had united Leo and Weston at dawn, under a willow tree in the clearing behind his family home. The place they’d solidified their bond while Keon was gone. It was fitting, and the winter blossoms on the surrounding trees made it perfect for a wedding. They recited vows, as humans did, and exchanged rings Leo had bought in Dnara, knowing he would give it to Weston one day.
When Milo cried over the ceremony, a piece of Keon melted.
