Chapter Nine

"You see what they just did." Sam grabbed a cracker off the platter and took a bite.

"What?" Atlas looked over his shoulder, but his mate was already gone. He faced Sam, unsure what the guy was talking about.

"Though I'm sure that Kellen really does want to see the repairs on Morgan's truck, he's also giving you space so we can talk."

Sam got up and took Kellen's seat, pulling the platter toward them. "It's amazing how hungry you get after a long flight. We ate when we got home, but I'm still starving."

The guy made a sandwich out of the sausage, cheese, and crackers and then pointed at the tray. "Don't be shy. If you don't eat, I'm only going to scarf all this down and look like a pig in front of you."

Atlas wasn't hungry, but he also didn't want to be rude.

"We weren't always like this." Sam stood and poured them each a glass of lemonade, sliding one of the glasses to Atlas. "I was kicked out of my house at sixteen when I came out to my parents."

"I'm sorry to hear that." As much as his mom detested his sexuality, at least she hadn't booted Atlas out. Not that his dad or sister would have let her if she'd tried. Aside from her not accepting that side of Atlas, she really was a caring and loving mother. Atlas had never felt neglected growing up, unlike Kellen's childhood.

When he'd come out, his mother had remained the same person toward him. She'd just pretended that Atlas had never told her that he was gay.

She would get upset whenever Atlas brought a guy home, which only made him feel more and more alienated.

"I lived on the streets for years before I got my own apartment," Sam continued. "Then I lost my job and couldn't find any steady work, so it was back on the streets."

Kellen hadn't told Atlas any of that. He'd just said that he wanted Atlas to meet his friends. Not that he blamed his mate for not telling him. It wasn't any of Atlas's business. "So how did you meet Morgan?"

Atlas bit into his cheese and cracker, leaving the sausage on the platter. He wasn't a fan of summer sausage. His mom always put a platter out when they'd had company, and Atlas hated the way it tasted.

"I was attacked by a guy who'd offered me his couch." Sam took a drink of his lemonade. "He wanted to pimp me out to his friends since I didn't have any money to pay him for staying there."

Atlas's jaw dropped. He couldn't fathom something like that happening to him and felt horrible for Sam. "That's so messed up."

"Tell me about it," Sam said. "I had no idea he was a hyena shifter or a drug dealer. He threw me down on his bed when I refused to sleep with his ‘associates', whatever that meant, and used his claws to make gashes in my back."

Atlas remembered Kellen saying something about Sam having two hundred stitches in his back when he'd tried to fight that twink. Atlas was also stuck on the fact that there were hyena shifters.

"How did you get away, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I don't mind. I'm the one bringing this up." Sam ate another sandwich he'd made from the contents of the platter. "Daryl left the room, assumingly to get his friends. I wasn't sticking around. Not after I saw sharp teeth in his mouth and even sharper claws that had my blood on them. I forced myself to get off the bed, so scared I wasn't thinking straight. I grabbed his bag in the corner, the one he never let out of his sight, and was only there because he'd thrown a party and didn't want anyone walking away with it. I threw open the window and fled."

Atlas wasn't sure what he would have done if that had been him. He wasn't street savvy the way he assumed Sam was. Hell, he'd frozen in the parking lot behind his building when that vampire approached him.

"Between my injuries and the heatwave that had struck, I was delusional," Sam said. "I don't even remember leaving my car on the side of the road and going to that empty house."

"I remember the heatwave. I stayed in my apartment unless I had to go to work." Thankfully Mason had kept the restaurant chilly, offering anyone who came in free bottled water and a place to cool off.

"It was stifling outside," Sam said. "But that was where Morgan found me. He's a deputy and spotted my car. He was concerned because of the heat and checked the old Clark farmhouse."

"I know where that is." Atlas inwardly chastised himself for continually interrupting Sam.

"He found me in the closet, bloody and unconscious, and called for an ambulance. When I came to, I was terrified to find him at my bedside."

"Why?" Atlas asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Morgan wanted answers as to why he found me that way. I wasn't about to tell him that someone who wasn't even human had done it." Sam glanced away. "When you live on the streets, you learn not to trust anyone, Atlas. If someone is nice, they have an ulterior motive."

Atlas wanted to hug the guy. Their situations were nothing alike, but Atlas knew what it felt like not to trust people. "Not to diminish what you've gone through, but I just found out that my boyfriend, while we were still together, was having sex with my best friend."

Sam took Atlas's hands in his. "Please don't get mad at Kellen, but he called Morgan yesterday, upset at how he was handling his mating with you. He told us what was going on with you, only because he wanted to know how to fix things."

That explained why Kellen had come upstairs and told Atlas about his past.

"You're upset." Sam let Atlas's hands go. "I haven't known Kellen long, but Morgan tells me that he doesn't let anyone get close. For Kellen to call us was a big deal for him."

"I'm not upset." Honestly, Atlas was stunned that his mate—who had confessed that he refused to be vulnerable to anyone—had reached out to his friends so he could find out how to fix things between them. "I'm touched."

Sam grinned. "I also heard you punched a wolf shifter in the jaw to defend your mate. I only cussed out a twink who disrespected Morgan, ready to tear out his bleached roots. I'm in awe of you."

Atlas rolled his eyes. "Don't be. It wasn't something I planned on doing. I didn't even know I was going to do it until my fist slammed into his concrete jaw. Trust me, I paid for that moronic stunt." He held up his hand. "The only reason it's healed now is because I'm mated to Kellen."

"I think all that unfolded so you could find out about your friend." Sam took another sip of his drink. "Fate didn't want you to continually be played for a fool. If you ask me, it was Braylon's jaw you should have slugged."

Atlas told Sam how Kellen had reacted at the intake desk.

"I wish I'd been there." Sam narrowed his eyes. "I would have made sure both of them stayed overnight in the hospital. Good friends are hard to come by, and your ex better thank his stars that Kellen backed down. I just wish those two had paid for what they'd done to you."

He told Sam about Colt's plan.

Sam threw his head back and laughed. "I love it! A guy after my own heart." Sam glanced over his shoulder. "Don't tell Morgan I said that. My mate is very possessive of me."

"So you moved in with him after you left the hospital?" Now Atlas was hungry, even though he and Kellen had stopped at the diner before heading to his apartment.

"Morgan offered me his spare room when he found out I was homeless. Even offered to pay me to be his housekeeper. Since I knew that Daryl was still after me, and with nowhere else to go, I accepted."

Atlas was glad things had worked out for Sam. He'd feared he would meet a couple who had a great life and that wouldn't understand what Atlas was going through.

How wrong he'd been. If anything, it was Atlas who'd had a pretty mundane life in comparison to Sam and Kellen. Aside from finding out that Kellen was a wolf shifter and being attacked by a vampire.

"So what happened to Daryl?"

"Kellen happened," Sam said. "When he makes you a part of his life, the guy means it."

Atlas wouldn't know since he and Kellen hadn't known each other that long, though the guy had come to his rescue when that vampire attacked him.

"Morgan's truck was in the shop, so he called Kellen to drive us into town," Sam went on. "Later that evening, Daryl broke into the house. Morgan was upstairs sleeping, and I had no clue he was even in here. He grabbed me and held his claws against my throat. When Morgan rushed downstairs, Daryl was backing me toward the kitchen."

Atlas held a hand over his mouth, even though he could see that Sam was fine. "Morgan couldn't do anything for fear the guy would rip your throat out."

"Exactly." Sam's eyes watered. "I thought for sure I was going to die. I just told Morgan that, no matter what, I didn't regret meeting him, though I'm paraphrasing because I don't remember my exact words. All I do remember is the anguish in my mate's eyes because there wasn't any way to get me away from Daryl without Daryl killing me first."

Atlas grabbed Sam's hands, squeezing them when a few tears escaped the guy's eyes. Sam gave him a watery smile, cleared his throat, and pulled his hands away to wipe at his tears.

"Then next thing I know, Daryl's hands were off me, and I heard bones breaking above my head. Morgan rushed the guy, pummeling him until Daryl was dead. When I saw movement to my right, Kellen stood there, and I knew he'd saved me." Adoration filled his eyes. "He said no one fucks with his family."

"But how did Kellen know that Daryl would break into the house?" As horrific at the story was, and as glad as Atlas was that Sam hadn't been killed, he loved hearing how badass his mate was.

"I have no idea," Sam said. "If you ask me, when he found out I was in trouble, he made it his job to watch out for me." He patted Atlas's knees. "And I'm just family to him. Imagine what he'll do if his mate is in trouble."

He told Sam about the vampire attack. "I guess you already know since you talked to Kellen yesterday, but being there takes it to a whole different level, especially when I didn't know that Kellen was a wolf shifter."

"I freaked out and became comatose when I saw Morgan's bear for the first time," Sam confessed. "Like you, I didn't know he was a shifter. At least your brain didn't shut down on you."

"It wanted to." Atlas sat back. "I hauled ass out of his house, nearly running Kellen over with my car to get away, and then spent the rest of the night pacing my apartment flipping between thinking I'd imagined the whole thing and trying to figure out what Kellen was. I saw firsthand what he was when that vampire attacked me and Kellen's wolf attacked. Then he changed back into his human form and ripped the vampire's heart out."

Sam grimaced. "That's disgusting."

"Try watching it happen." Atlas ate some more cheese and crackers, washing the food down with the tasty lemonade.

"I'm just glad I have someone who knows about their world that I can talk to. Being with Morgan is wonderful, but a guy's gotta have friends he can hang out with."

Atlas set his lemonade aside and looked toward the wall of glass that showed off a stunning backyard.

"I'm not trying to be your best friend, Atlas." Sam touched his arm. "I just thought it would be nice to go get a coffee or grab a bite to eat together sometime."

"It's not you." Atlas cleared his throat, refusing to cry over what Braylon had done to him. "I just have trust issues."

"Hello?" Sam waved at himself. "You're talking to the king of mistrust. All I'm going to say is that you don't have to worry about me trying to sleep with Kellen, and I don't have to worry about you having an ulterior motive. Besides, Kellen is like a brother to me, and that would be gross."

Atlas arched a brow. Sleeping with Kellen was the farthest thing from gross. It was the best sex of his life. "I have no ulterior motive if we hang out, Sam. The only thing I'll want is to have a nice time."

"Then I'll give you my phone number." Sam scarfed down more of the platter.

"Why don't you just make something to eat if you're still hungry?" Atlas asked.

Sam held up a finger as he chewed. When he swallowed, he said, "That's a damn good question."

"Because I'm going to fire up the grill," Morgan announced when he and Kellen returned. "You fellas are more than welcome to stay."

Kellen swept Atlas into his arms, kissing him right below the ear. "If that's okay with you," he whispered as Morgan led Sam to the backyard.

"How much did you guys hear?"

"Just the part where you asked Sam why he didn't make something to eat. We made sure to stay out of earshot so you two could talk, so I took Morgan outside to drool over Lucille." Kellen grinned. "The guy is dying to drive her."

"Not unless I can." Atlas tilted his head to the side as Kellen worked his way around his neck with soft kisses.

"I would do anything for you, but letting you drive Lucille isn't going to happen." Kellen pulled away but took Atlas's hand as they headed toward the sliding glass doors. "If you're that pressed to drive a muscle car, I'll see which one in my garage I won't mind getting damaged."

Atlas slapped his arm. "I'm a very cautious driver! It's my dad you'll have to watch out for. He loves muscle cars."

Kellen stopped walking and looked down at Atlas. "Are you saying you want me to meet him?"

That wasn't what Atlas was saying, but if he and Kellen were mates, he wasn't hiding the guy from his family, no matter how his mom felt about Atlas's sexuality. "Why do you look on the verge of passing out?"

Changing direction, Kellen led Atlas to the living room. "I'm not. I've just never had to meet anyone's family before."

"Now who's nervous about meeting someone?" Atlas was teasing the guy, but he also saw how important this was to Kellen and how truly nervous his mate really was. "We don't have to do it tonight. But if you're going as my date to my sister's wedding, you'll eventually meet them."

Until now, Atlas hadn't thought about how bringing Kellen as his plus-one would affect the guy. He'd had a shitty upbringing, kept everyone at arm's length, and Atlas was asking the guy to attend a wedding.

"You don't have to go to the wedding with me. I understand if this is too soon." Atlas really wanted Kellen to go, but if his mate wasn't ready for it, he wasn't going to push him.

Kellen buried his face in Atlas's neck. "I really don't deserve you."

That didn't tell Atlas if Kellen was going or not, but for now, he let the subject drop. They were there to have a good time, and Atlas really liked Sam and Morgan. If his mate wasn't ready to face Atlas's family, especially in such a large gathering as a wedding, then meeting them could wait.