Chapter Twenty-Five
Beau woke to the sound of someone humming. Opening his eyes, he took in the familiar surroundings. He was back in the cottage, sunlight streaming through the open doorway. Getting to his feet, he noticed what was different. No chain.
The humming was coming from outside. He stepped toward the door cautiously, not quite trusting himself. Griffin was sitting outside, his bag by his side, three oranges sitting on top of it.
Beau sank to his knees beside the door.
“Hi, Beau,” Griffin said, giving him a soft smile. There was faint bruising along his jaw and a healing cut on his lip.
“Hello, Griffin.”
It came back to him in a rush. The fight, the alpha house, rescuing Griffin. Getting lost in the call of blood.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m okay. What about you?”
Beau looked down at his hands, turning them over. “I’m still me.”
Griffin stood, closing the distance between them before kneeling in front of him. “I am very glad to hear it.”
He wrapped his arms around Beau’s neck and pulled him in for a kiss before pressing their foreheads together.
Beau wondered why they were out in the cottage again.
“You thought I’d gone feral?”
Griffin pulled back, staring up at him, his hands on Beau’s shoulders.
“What you did, to rescue me, was very brave. But it took a lot out of you. Do you remember leaving the party, coming home?”
Beau shook his head, a sudden worry coming to his mind. “Did I… did I hurt anyone?”
He remembered the alpha he’d attacked and the guards in the corridor but after that…
“No,” Griffin said, hesitating. “But we had to sedate you just to get you into the car.”
Beau worried about what he wasn’t saying.
“Come on,” the omega said, getting to his feet. “Let’s go home.”
“I don’t have to stay here?”
Griffin stepped closer, cupping Beau’s cheek. “Of course not. Bringing you here was just a precaution in case you were confused when you woke up.”
He took Beau’s hand in his and lead him back to the house. Ronan and Noah met them in the woods.
“Welcome home,” they told him as they walked alongside them.
Others met them as they reached the house, greeting them both as they went inside.
“Let’s go up to our rooms,” Griffin said.
“We’ll send some food up,” Ronan told them as they parted.
It was nice to walk through the familiar door and into the place that had started to feel like home. It was a relief to know he was still welcome, still wanted.
He yawned, covering his mouth with his hand.
“How about you go lie down in the lounge?” Griffin suggested. “I’ll be in soon, I just have some work to finish.”
Reluctantly, Beau let go of Griffin’s hand and padded into the lounge. He settled down on his favorite cushion and let his eyes drift closed.
When he opened them again, he was alone but could hear voices talking nearby. Getting up, he went to see where Griffin had got to. Not to mention the food.
Griffin was talking with Ronan, and he paused to listen.
“It hasn’t gone unnoticed that we have Beau. I’ve gotten two offers through third parties just this morning. One of them offered half a million for him.”
Ronan whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”
Beau pushed the door open, stepping inside.
“It’s a good offer,” he told Griffin, “considering everything that happened to me. You should take it.”
Wide-eyed, Griffin stared at him before glancing at Ronan.
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Ronan said, clapping Beau on the shoulder as he passed. “That was a great job you did, Beau. We couldn’t have gotten Griffin back without you. You’ve more than earned your place here.”
He left, and Griffin got up, coming around to stand in front of his desk.
“I sell you for half a million, and then what? I buy myself a new alpha?”
Beau shrugged. “It’s a lot of money.”
“Do you want to go back, is that what this is about? Do you want to be a fighter again?”
Beau looked down at his feet, shaking his head. That life wasn’t what he wanted anymore. How many fights until he lost it again? How long until they put him down because they couldn’t control him?
Griffin’s hand clasped his, squeezing tightly.
“Do you remember what I told you about trust?”
Beau met Griffin’s eyes. “You told me to trust you when I couldn’t trust myself.”
The omega nodded.
“You are not mine to sell or to chain up or to put to work. I’m not handing you over to the highest bidder. You are my alpha, the one who has my heart.” He pressed a hand to Beau’s chest.
“I’m your alpha?” Beau asked, not sure he’d heard right.
“And I am your omega,” Griffin said, taking Beau’s hand, and laying it on his chest, just above his heart. “I love you.”
Beau smiled, feeling the thump of Griffin’s hand beneath his heart.
“I love you, too.”
“And I know we can’t become mates, in the physical sense, with a bond and all that. But in every way that matters to me, that’s what you are. My mate.”
Hours later, he and Beau lay sprawled on the couch, their stomachs pleasantly full. Beau’s head was in his lap, and the alpha was drowsing as Griffin ran light fingers through his hair.
As much as he wanted to relax now that he was home, there as a lot on his mind.
“You can talk to me, you know,” Beau rumbled suddenly, his eyes opening.
“Talk? About what?”
“About what’s bothering you. I can feel the tension in your fingers.”
Griffin let his hand still where he’d been combing through the alpha’s hair.
“Sorry, Beau.”
“Don’t do that. You didn’t do anything wrong. But if I’m your alpha, you have to trust that I can handle the hard stuff.”
He pulled his hand away, and Beau sat up, his eyes filled with concern.
“Is it… those men. Your… parents. You were gone for days, Griffin. Did they hurt you?”
Griffin was an expert at burying his emotions. Being unguarded left you exposed and people could use that against you.
“I’m fine,” he tried to say but the words got caught up in his throat and just wouldn’t come out. He clenched his hand tightly, his nails digging into his palm, desperate to keep a grip on himself as he avoided Beau’s eyes.
The hand that cupped his cheek took him by surprise, the touch warm and firm against his skin. Still, he tried to resist, afraid of what giving in to the kind touch would lead to. But the warmth of the palm pressed to him, the soft sound of Beau’s breathing, and the alpha’s heady scent inched past the armor around his soul. He surrendered and pressed into the touch, rubbing his cheek against Beau’s hand
He was drawn closer to the alpha, Beau’s hand sliding around to the back of his neck. His other hand found Griffin’s fist still tightly clenched and gently unfurled his fingers, holding Griffin’s hand in his.
“Shh, that’s it. Talk to me, Finn.”
There was still a part of him holding back, trying to keep his distance from the alpha embracing him. Beau’s chains had been physical, tangible things, while Griffin’s had been chains of the mind. Loyalty to his parents had been ingrained in him, had held him in a prison he couldn’t even see. He had freed Beau. Could the alpha free him, in turn?
Letting go of the tight grip he had on himself, he let himself leaned forward and bury his face into Beau’s chest. The alpha rumbled something under his breath, his hand stroking the back of Griffin’s neck.
“They won’t let me go, not now. They know we’re here, they know what we are, they…”
“If they ever come for you again, I’ll kill them.” Beau’s soft vow took him by surprise, the alpha’s fingers gently kneading the back of his neck.
“They’re my responsibility,” he tried to argue.
“And you’re mine.”
Griffin had strived for so long not to be reliant or dependent on anyone. People lied, betrayed, disappointed. The only person he could truly trust was himself. But that was before. Before Ronan, before his pack. Before Beau. If they were truly to be alpha and omega, he had to trust Beau in the same way he asked the alpha to trust him.
“It won’t come to that,” he said finally, lifting his head to meet Beau’s eyes. The alpha stared back at him.
“If it does, I’ll be there.”