Chapter Six

"You want to make shit up to Atlas?" Kellen asked his brother once his mate was upstairs lying down.

"I handled that situation all wrong." Colt closed the refrigerator door. "If I'd known he was your mate, I would have never said those things."

"Even if you didn't know, that was some pretty nasty things to say to and about someone you thought I was hooking up with."

Colt looked down as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "I have no excuse, Kellen. I just saw some rando in the house, and it pissed me off that you would bring one of your hookups here. Worse, those bruises..." He looked up at Kellen. "How's Atlas doing?"

"His hand wasn't broken. His knuckles hurt like a bitch, and his wrist is sprained, but the doctor said he should be as good as new by tomorrow," Kellen said.

"He a shifter?" Colt asked.

"Lion shifter," Kellen replied. "He still put a splint on Atlas's wrist to protect it while it heals."

"I'm glad to hear that." Colt rested his hands on the edge of the counter behind him. "What did you have in mind as far as making things up to Atlas?"

Kellen told his brother about what happened in the emergency department earlier.

"His own best friend?" Colt's eyes blazed. "That's some foul shit. Do you want me to make them both disappear?"

The level of anguish in Atlas's eyes still haunted Kellen. His mate hadn't deserved what they'd done to him, and Kellen wanted to track Glen and Braylon down and beat their asses.

"You gonna tell me what's on your mind?" Colt asked.

Kellen grabbed a container of leftover stuffed peppers he'd made three days ago. He pooped the lid and sniffed. They still smelled edible. "I want them to pay for what they did to Atlas, but I'm not sure if getting revenge is the right thing to do."

"You're better than me," Colt replied. "I would already be plotting on how to make their deaths look like accidents." He held up his hand. "I tell you what. I'll seduce the best friend, string him along, make him fall for me, then dump his ass like he wasn't anything more than a lousy fuck."

It was better than killing them. Although they'd hurt Atlas, what they'd done didn't call for their deaths. It was the least Braylon deserved.

"Just tell me he's okay looking," Colt said. "He doesn't have to be a knockout, but if the guy is something only his mother loves, I'll find another way to make things up." He sighed. "Tell me I can work with it."

"He's all right." Kellen tossed the container of peppers in the microwave and pushed a few buttons until it started. "If Atlas hadn't flipped every trigger I have, and if he hadn't turned out to be my mate, and—"

"Then what?" Atlas asked from behind him. "You would have screwed me one night and Braylon the next?"

Kellen closed his eyes. How had he not heard or smelled Atlas's approach?

"I promise you I didn't see or hear him coming," Colt said under his breath.

"I'm dying to hear you finish what you were going to say," Atlas said with fire in his voice.

"His ex cheated on him and now he just heard you say that," Colt whispered. "You couldn't pay me enough to be in your shoes right now."

Kellen turned and looked at his mate, who stood just inside the entrance to the kitchen. Anger and betrayal warred in his gorgeous eyes.

"And if his best friend was the last man on the planet, I still wouldn't hit it because you don't play a grimy game like that," Kellen finished. It was exactly what he was about to say, but he knew that Atlas wasn't going to believe him. Not after the shit Glen and Braylon had just put him through.

Atlas jabbed a finger at him. "Fuck you, Kellen. Even if that was what you were going to say, those words should have never left your lips. You're just like everyone else."

His mate turned and stormed out.

When the microwave dinged, Colt took the bowl out, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and walked out of the kitchen, stealing Kellen's food.

Kellen whacked his head several times against the counter. It was less painful than learning how to navigate this shit. He felt as if he couldn't win for losing. Every time he turned around, Atlas was pissed at him for something. Kellen might as well build a doghouse behind the garage because it was obvious that he was going to spend most of his time in it.

With a deep sigh, he pulled his phone out, sat on the stool at the island, and dialed. Clearly, he had no idea what he was doing as far as this mating thing went, so he needed to talk to someone who did.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Deputy Morgan Savani said when he answered. "Just throwing that out there as a blanket to cover whatever reason you called."

Kellen shoved a hand through his hair. "I called because I'm completely wrecking shit with my mate."

Morgan was silent for a moment. "You have a mate?" He cleared his throat. "Well, I think, for starters, don't flirt with twinks at the ice cream hut, buddy."

Kellen growled. "I just met Atlas two days ago."

"Oh," Morgan said. "Then lay it on me and I'll try my best to rescue your mating."

"Hi, Kellen," Sam said in the background.

Kellen smiled. "Hey, Sam."

He'd taken an instant liking to the human when they'd met, which was very rare since Kellen trusted no one and kept everyone at arm's length.

"So how are you wrecking things?" Morgan asked.

It didn't bother Kellen to talk while Sam was listening. He'd made the guy family, and Sam and Morgan were mates. The bear shifter would tell Sam anyway, and maybe Sam could give Kellen a human's perspective on this.

"Settle in," he said. "I'll start from the moment I ran from the demon realm."

By the time Kellen was done talking, Morgan and Sam were dead silent.

"I can't wait to get back and meet him, Kellen. He sounds like a kindred soul," Sam said. "I just wanted to slap the taste out of that twink's mouth. Yours tried to fight a wolf shifter for you. Mad props."

"That isn't helping me with my current problem," Kellen growled.

"Oh, that," Sam said. "You're totally screwed. His best friend had just stuck a proverbial knife in his heart, and then Atlas caught you talking about hitting that?" Sam whistled.

"That's not what I said," Kellen argued.

"You didn't say it, but that's all Atlas heard," Sam replied. "He already doesn't trust that men are faithful after what his ex-boyfriend did."

"I'm faithful," Morgan said to Sam.

Kellen rolled his eyes. He recalled sitting at the ice cream hut with them, secretly envying what Morgan and Sam shared. Kellen might have played the field most of his life, but deep down, all any shifter wanted was to find their other half. Now that he'd found his, it was clear that he had no idea what he was doing.

"Please let Sam continue," Kellen said to Morgan.

"Let me ask you this," Sam said. "Have you actually talked to Atlas?"

What in the hell did that mean? "I talk to him all the time."

"You're hopeless," Sam groaned. "When Morgan found me in that house and stayed with me in the hospital, the only thing I thought when I looked at him was that he had an ulterior motive, because that was all I'd ever dealt with. Nothing is ever free. Once I moved in, we had a lot of deep discussions."

"Until you saw my polar bear," Morgan reminded his mate.

"I freaked out for a moment," Sam replied, as if the two had forgotten that Kellen was on the phone. "But it was the heart-to-heart talk my doctor gave me that helped shed a different light on things. Atlas already saw your wolf, so you got the hard part out of the way."

"Sam, I think the world of you," Kellen said. "But please tell me there's a point to this before Atlas walks out my door."

The thought made Kellen's chest ache and his wolf snarl. He didn't want to lose Atlas. The guy was his mate, but Atlas was also starting to mean the everything to him.

He'd gone into a full-blown panic over a broken wrist, something Atlas would have healed from. And Kellen had wanted to kill those two at the hospital for making his mate cry. He'd never been that close to showing his wolf in public, and it had taken the anguish in Atlas's eyes to refocus him.

"My point is lower your walls, Kellen," Sam said. "If you don't share anything about who you are or where you came from, how is Atlas ever going to trust you?"

"Gotta be vulnerable for him," Morgan said. "I thought for sure Sam wouldn't want me if he knew about my past."

"Farthest thing from the truth," Sam replied. "If anything, it made us closer. You flirt a lot, but have you ever laid yourself bare to anyone?"

The last time Kellen had, his heart had been broken. "Not in eighty years."

"Jesus," Sam said. "I'm finding you some hug therapy."

Kellen grinned. "The only hug therapy I want is from Atlas."

"Then stop being an asshole," Sam said. "You made me family, so I can say that. And stop arguing with him, Kellen. It's not always about what your mate says. Sometimes you have to read between the lines."

"I have to be a mind reader?"

"Consider yourself lucky I'll be home tomorrow." Sam chuckled. "You're adorable when you have no idea what to do with a guy."

"Hey!" Morgan snarled.

"We're family, so it's like me saying that to a brother," Sam argued. "Gross if you take it any other way."

"All joking aside…" Kellen rubbed his chest. "I want this to work more than anything. I know Atlas feels the pull, but honestly, I want what you guys have."

"It didn't happen overnight," Morgan said. "It took a lot of patience and understanding, and still does at times. Just like Sam, Atlas is new to our world. Your mate is still wading through that, dealing with you, your brother, those vampires, his best friend betraying him, and his sister's wedding."

"I thought I had a lot of issues," Sam said. "What Atlas needs is a best friend who won't screw him over."

"You?" Kellen smiled.

"No. You," Sam replied. "You're mates. But you have to learn how to be friends, too. You'll get there, Kellen. I know firsthand how terrifying it is being vulnerable, but it's worth it with the right person."

Kellen looked toward the hallway. "Should I talk to him now since he's pissed as hell at me?"

"That's when you do it, Kellen. Atlas is hurting," Sam said gently. "Think about all the stuff Morgan just listed that your mate is going through. Who's there for him? Don't you want someone there for you, too?"

Kellen squeezed the back of his neck, swallowing around the burning lump in his throat. "More than anything."

"Then take the first step, you big goofball." There was a smile in Sam's voice. "Go to Atlas and talk to him. Share a part of yourself, and I bet he'll take a step closer to trusting you. A mating can't work if don't have trust."

"We're going to let you go, Kellen," Morgan said. "We have to pack and get ready for our flight in the morning. I'll call you when we're home if you want to bring Atlas by so we can meet him."

Kellen tilted his head back, trying not to let any tears escape. He had no idea when he'd met Morgan sixty years ago how much he would treasure the guy's friendship. It was hard being close to Colt because of their past. Kellen had learned to rely on only himself.

Until Sam had entered Morgan's life and changed Kellen and Morgan's friendship for the better. Sam had no idea how deeply he'd impacted Kellen's life.

There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for the guy. "Have a safe trip home."

"Talk to you later, buddy," Morgan said.

Kellen set his phone down and used the heels of his hands to wipe his eyes. Clearing his throat, he grabbed his phone and headed upstairs.