I'd finally managed to calm my shit from the craziness in the attic, and had eaten my sandwich. I was spread out my sleeping bag in one of the sitting rooms downstairs, and nestled in for the night. Milo hadn't responded to my text from earlier. I wondered if he was okay, and hoped that he wasn't sitting at home freaking out about our intimacy of the night before.

I could see a future with Milo. The longer I was in this house, the more I wanted to see him in it with me. I couldn't explain it, but it really felt like this house wouldn't be a true home without Milo in it with me. I sent him one more quick text to say that I was thinking about him, then opened Words With Friends to play my turns on the open games that I had going.

I had just scored sixty-eight points on a triple word with the letter 'x' when I heard a loud crash from upstairs followed by what sounded like a banshee wailing. Without hesitation, I jumped up from my nest on the floor and hightailed it upstairs.

I heard a floorboard creak above my head in the attic. Fuck. Again with the creepy ass attic? It was moments like this that I hated being an alpha. Alpha's were expected to be brave, but I honestly wasn't feeling it right now.

But, this was about to become my home, so I had to alpha up and investigate. I swung open the door to the attic and ran up the stairs, only stopping to retrieve the red croquet ball on my way up. It wasn't much of a weapon, but at least I had something solid in my hand.

When I shined my light on the intruders, the last person that I ever expected to see was Milo. If I hadn't been so scared, I probably would've smelled his strong pumpkin spice scent from downstairs. I wasn't exactly paying attention to those little details at the moment though.

“Rafe! Thank God it's you! Wait. What are you doing here?” Milo stopped then, and looked at me in confusion, as if I were the one that was out of place.

“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? What the fuck, Milo? Is this some kind of gaslight situation where you lure me in with your sweet act and then freak me out with the haunted house schtick? And just so that you two could break in here and rob the joint? Seriously? I don't even know what to think right now!”

My fear had turned to rage, and I wasn't thinking before the words came flying out of my mouth. Milo helped Tom up and handed him a flashlight without bothering to look at me. His rigid stance would have concerned me if I wasn't so fucking pissed off. “Tom, could you please pick up Grampa's croquet set while I talk to Rafe? The caddy is over to the left of the stairs.” Tom nodded silently and go to work while Milo turned to me. “Rafe? Could we talk over here, please?”

I was fuming, but I carefully stepped over the croquet shit that Tom was gathering. I paused and handed Tom the red ball I was holding before I made my way over to follow Milo. He was leading me over toward the gorgeous cabinet and trunk in the corner. When we got over there, he stopped in front of the moonlit window. I turned off my flashlight and shoved it in my pocket. I made myself ignore the way that the omega looked as he stood there in front of the moonlit window.

“Okay, Milo. You got me over here, now talk. I need you to explain your presence here tonight in a way that isn't going to piss me off or make me think that you're here to steal from me. I'm feeling more than a little betrayed right now, to be honest.” I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall.

Milo startled at my words. His hands flew to his hips as he leaned forward with outrage. “Betray you? Steal from you? That's ridiculous, Rafe! Are you seriously going to accuse and belittle me right now? Instead of hearing me out? Do you not know me by now? And for your information, if I'd wanted to clean this attic out, I would've done it long before now.”

“That reminds me!” I interrupted him as I recalled his words to Tom. “What did you mean by Grampa's croquet set? Did your family used to live here or something?” I was angry, but still needed answers. Too many weird happenings and coincidences had me on high alert.

Milo sighed and pulled off his glasses to wipe them on his shirt. I refused to smile at this habit of his that he did when stressed. “Or something is more like it, Rafe. This was my family's home, from the day it was built until about six months ago. Remember when I told you that I came from one of the town's founding families? Well, this was our home.”

Milo rolled his head back and huffed out a breath. “It's a long story, but basically, my dad took out a mortgage on this house after a string of bad investments. When he died, I lost everything. I had no idea what kind of hole he'd dug, and no way to save the family home. Everything else was auctioned off. The only reason this stuff is still here is because they didn't know where Nana hid the key.”

“Let me guess, you had it the whole time?” I asked him sarcastically. I was getting more pissed off now as I slowly realized that Milo had to have been behind my earlier terror up here. The idea that he'd seen me run away practically in tears didn't sit well with me.

“No. It's probably stuck in some random drawer or cabinet. Nana had a habit of putting things in safe places. The family joke was that she hid things so safely that not even Nana herself could ever find them again. When she died, my dad and I used the old servant's passage to move her stuff up here. That door you used just now hasn't been used since I was in fifth grade.”

“Wait. Back up. Servant's passage? What the hell kind of gothic horror tale have I fallen into here, Milo? You know, I thought we truly had something here. Are you gas-lighting me for real? What was with that shit that you pulled up here earlier? Was that fun for you? Because it sure as hell wasn't for me.”

“Rafe. Hand to God, I didn't get here until about fifteen minutes ago. I definitely didn't know that you were here. I had no idea that you were the new owner, or I would've just come to you directly instead of sneaking in here like a sneak-thief. I get how this looks, but I'm honestly just trying to find my Nana's recipe book. This was the only logical place to look.”

I rubbed a hand over my face. The more he explained, the more pissed off I was getting because every answer he gave just raised more questions. And if I was being honest with myself, I would have to admit that his mild, nervous manner didn't seem like he was playing me. Still, I couldn't ignore what had happened earlier.

“Okay. Let's set everything else aside for the moment. What are you really doing here, Milo?” I asked calmly.

“Well, technically, I could ask you the same question since we both know that you're not the legal owner yet. But whatever. We both need answers, I suppose.” He sighed and gestured toward the beautiful cabinet. “My PBF Bombz are from my Nana's personal recipe. Those are my top selling candy. My entire business relies on those little balls of deliciousness. I have a competitor that copied it and is now trying to say that I stole it from her.”

Milo put his glasses back on and stuck his hand in his pockets. He rocked up an down on the balls of his feet as he continued his story.

“That letter you saw in my shop was a cease and desist notice from her attorney. The only proof that will save my business is my Nana's handwritten recipe. It's in her old recipe book, which is up here somewhere. I'm pretty sure it's in the old wardrobe there. I mean, that's where she generally kept her important stuff if I remember right. I wish I'd taken it when she died, but I was just a kid. Who knew I'd need it someday?”

“You expect me to believe that your father just moved her stuff up without even packing it or looking through his mother's things? That's asinine.” I heard how rude I sounded, but I was too pissed and betrayed to care. “And why the fuck wouldn't you just tell me about all this before now? Even you have to admit that it sounds suspicions as fuck, Milo. If you honestly were having competitor issues, you have to know that I would have happily helped you. This bullshit was unnecessary.”

Milo's mouth clamped shut. Without another word, he skirted around me with the obvious intention of leaving. I grabbed his arm to keep him in place.

“Wait. You're not going anywhere, omega boy. I still want to know how you got in here, and what the fuck you were doing earlier when you tried to fucking gaslight me while I was up here poking around.”

Milo looked at me curiously, but before he could respond, another omega burst into our conversation. “Milo did not gaslight Rafe! Milo was at work all day, and with Tom since then! This was Milo's home, and whether the alpha chooses to believe Milo or not does not matter. Facts are facts, you alpha-douche! Now, either let Milo look for Nana's recipe book or let Milo leave. One way or the other, this interaction is done.”

I looked from Tom to Milo. With a sick feeling in my stomach, I said words that went against everything that I'd thought I wanted. “You know what? You're right. This is done. Milo, I can't be with someone who keeps thing from me, then lies to me and sneaks around my home in the middle of the night.”

Milo sucked in a tremulous breath, and pushed his way past Tom. He ignored the stairs and headed for a section of wall behind the toys with Tom on his heels. I followed them to see what the hell they were doing now. Milo touched a section of the wall, and a panel slid open.

My jaw dropped, but I followed them as they thundered down the stairs. We reached a landing area, and Milo spoke without looking at me as he pointed to a mechanism on the wall. “This will let you onto the second floor if you push it.”

He then turned and went down the stairs to the ground floor. When he reached the bottom, he used another mechanism that made another panel open. We ended up in the small potting room that stood off the kitchen. Milo opened the door that led outside and stepped through it.

Without a word to me, Milo passed something to Tom. “Give this to the new owner. This isn't my home anymore. I won't be needing this now.” My heart hurt when I heard the tears in his voice, but there was nothing I could say, or go back and not say, at this point.

Tom turned and glared up at me as he grabbed my hand and regally dropped a key into my palm. “Enjoy the house, alpha. And enjoy being alone. Rafe just lost the best thing that ever could have happened to that stiff alpha ass. Congrats on being an ass.”

With that, Tom turned on his heel and stalked off into the night in the direction that Milo had gone. I sighed heavily and turned to go back inside. Right as I stepped toward the door, it slammed itself forcefully in my face. I turned the knob, but it was locked tight.

I rolled my eyes at the way this fucked up night was going as I inserted the key that Milo had given me into the lock. The door opened easily enough, and I went back inside. I made sure the door was locked behind me before I made my way to the sleeping bag. Tom had right about one thing. I'd just lost the best thing that had ever happened to me. And I'd never felt more alone in my life.