Page 214 of All Packed Up

This was his own apartment and yet the alpha made him feel so unsure. Was he supposed to go sit by Griffith on his bed?

His bed? Seemed dangerous.

“I did right by him,” Griffith agreed. “But I never thought…” The alpha’s gaze speared him. “I made the place my own because I never thought I’d have another option. I never thought I’d see you again. Not after you didn’t show.”

The confession escaped his lips before he even knew he was drawing breath to speak.

“I was there,” Nic admitted.

The silence in the room was louder than a roar.

“What?” Griffith asked.

“I was there. I came for you,” Nic said, dropping his head to stare at the floor. He crossed his arms if only to hold himself together. “I had it all planned out. I brought you a milkshake and a burger. Figured you’d have missed those. But I just… I couldn’t move.”

“Why? Why come all the way there if you didn’t intend to do anything?”

“I did!” Nic argued, snapping his head up. “I drove there with the full intention of picking you up. Bringing you back here. Figuring it out from there.”

“Then why didn’t you?” Griffith growled.

“I saw you,” Nic said. “I saw you and you looked so different. Mature. Ready to start over.”

“I was ready! I was ready to start over with you, Nic!” he roared.

“It was my fault!” he yelled in return.

The alpha was gripping the edge of the bed so tight, Nic worried he’d have to buy something new if he didn’t let go.

“When are you going to stop believing that?” Grif asked, voice rasping.

“When it stops being true,” Nic said, gritting his teeth to hold the emotions at bay. “I was still in when your release date came. I was still betting. I was training Stellan, I was betting on fights, and I was winning, and I was using the money to fix my gym. And you—” Nic sucked in a harsh breath. “You had just suffered for years because of me. And I didn’t want to be responsible for dragging you back down. You looked so good Griffith. So… ready to start fresh. Ready to have a happy ending this time.”

“I was. With you,” Griffith said, voice tight.

Nic stared at the alpha, watched his jaw clench and his eyes water.

Nic’s chest cracked open at the pain in his voice.

“I wasn’t going to ruin your life for a second time.”

Griffith stood from the bed and crossed the room, steps thumping against the floor until he caged Nic in against the doorjamb. When Nic tried to avoid his gaze, the alpha gently grabbed his face, fingers biting into his cheek so he couldn’t escape. “When are you going to realize that you never ruined anything? You are not responsible for other people’s actions. I made the choice to step out in front of those cops, and I knew what was going to happen when I did it. Don’t you get it, Nic?” he asked, almost begging. “I wanted to protect you. I was your alpha, whether we were too scared and immature to talk about it back then. And I’m still your alpha now.”

Nic’s heart pounded against his chest.

“The only question that remains is, are you finally ready to fucking believe it?” he asked, fingers twitching against his cheek.

Nic’s vision swam with stupid fucking tears, and he slammed them shut against the alpha’s waiting, expectant, hopeful, hurt-filled face.

Could he trust that Griffith was serious? That Griffith could accept their new direction? Nic had been afraid to let himself want what they’d had in the past weeks. As filled with tension, as awkward, as hard as he’d tried to avoid the alpha, it had been a taste of what they could have.

Even if it looked a little different now.

“Are you… Are you an alpha than can share me with an omega?” he whispered.

Griffith’s hand dropped from his face, framed his throat, and tilted his head up.

“We wouldn’t even be here without her. So you tell me,” he said, and lowered his head to Nic’s.