Chapter Two

Colt sat there, elbows on knees, watching Milo as he worked. Why in the hell had he practically bitten the human's head off? It wasn't as if Milo had assumed that Monica was Colt's mom. Colt had made the claim when he'd been talking to that dickhead boss.

Even so, Colt struggled to justify his short temper toward Milo, but deep down, he knew the real reason. The hurt and betrayal caused by his own mother still cut deeply, although it had been a very long time since their last encounter. The pain was still raw and ever-present, a constant reminder that he hadn't been enough for his own mother to love.

Logically, Colt knew that his mother's cruelty was the root of her heartlessness, but the little boy within him still longed for her love and acceptance, believing himself to be too broken, too damaged, to ever receive it from anyone. It was a constant internal battle, leaving him feeling worthless his entire life.

When Milo had snapped at him, Colt found he couldn't hold back his own sharp words. The memory of what his mother had done to him was too vivid.

Colt wished to god he'd had a mother like Atlas's. Monica's kindness only reminded him of what his own mother could have been like, of how she'd robbed Colt, Kellen, and Jared of a safe and happy childhood.

Closing his eyes, Colt tried to force away thoughts of his dead cousin as he felt a presence next to him. He didn't have to open his eyes to know who it was. Atlas's scent floated toward him.

The guy patted Colt's leg. "Your mate, huh?"

Colt smirked as he opened his eyes and sat back. "So much for hooking up with some random twink at the reception. I guess that plan is blown to hell."

So was Colt's plan to seduce Atlas's ex-best friend to get revenge for what the guy had done. Braylon had betrayed Atlas, sleeping with Atlas's boyfriend behind his back.

The plan was seduce Braylon, get the guy to fall for him, then dump him, leaving Braylon brokenhearted. Although Colt had made contact with Braylon in Fearless Fox and had the human eating out of his hand, it hadn't gone any further than that.

And now, it never would.

"Technically, Milo is a twink," Atlas said with a grin. "He's slim, very pretty, and his ass is nicer than mine."

Colt chuckled. "Do you have ass envy?"

When Atlas had walked into the kitchen the morning they'd met, the first thing Colt had noticed was how effeminate Atlas appeared. The human had delicate features, just like his mom, with pretty gray eyes and soft-looking black hair.

Kellen had only ever had hookups, and Colt had assumed that Atlas was one of them, though he was shocked his brother had brought one home since he'd never done that before.

For a brief moment, before he'd found out that Atlas was Kellen's mate, Colt had considered hooking up with the twink, as well. He'd never bedded any of Kellen's skanks, but Atlas's beauty had taken Colt by surprise.

Then he'd seen the bruising around Atlas's neck and had lost his shit. Painful memories of Kellen beating Colt with that leather belt seized him, and Colt wanted to kill his brother for abusing someone so small.

But it hadn't been Kellen who'd hurt Atlas. It had been a vampire.

Rationally, Colt knew that his brother hadn't had a choice in abusing him. It had been their mother's sadistic heart that had forced Kellen to either beat Colt or get twice the punishment.

Colt, Kellen, and Jared had been at her mercy. She'd manipulated them, tried to turn the three against each other, and used their love for one another against them.

Still, a part of Colt resented Kellen for what he'd done. And when the two had fought that morning, it wasn't just about the bruising around Atlas's neck. It was also about unleashing nearly one hundred and fifty years of rage and pain. What scared Colt was the fact that he'd wanted to kill his brother that day.

"I don't have any kind of envy since Kellen makes me feel like the sexiest man alive," Atlas replied. "He reminds me all the time how much he loves and desires me."

"If you start giving me details about your sex life with him, you're the one going in time-out," Colt teased with a grin. "No goddamn way I want to know how he is in bed, or I just might throw up and ruin this suit."

Atlas rolled his eyes. "I'm surprised you haven't tugged at your suit all night. You whined like a baby about wearing it."

Colt lifted his feet. "And my shoes, too."

It wasn't that Colt didn't like dressing up. He hadn't wanted to go to the wedding. Although Atlas's parents were nice to him, Colt wasn't a part of this family. He also didn't want to see how a loving family interacted, reminding him of what he'd never had.

"The reception is almost over, so I guess you can kick them off." Atlas looked around. "What are you going to do about Milo?"

That was a damn good question. "He handed me my ass, and I didn't handle it well."

Atlas turned in his chair to look at him. "What did you do, Colt?"

With a sigh, because he knew the guy was about to lay into him, Colt told him.

Atlas smacked his own forehead. "Between you and Kellen, I have my work cut out for me. Milo's feelings were justified, Colt. Everyone around him is dressed to the nines, and my sister and Craig went into debt to make this their dream wedding. Of course your mate thinks you're some rich, spoiled guy just trying to pass the time."

"People shouldn't assume things from appearance alone," Colt argued. "Look how fucked up things were when I assumed that Kellen put those bruises on your neck."

"You still assumed, Colt. Now that Milo has done it, you're pissed? There's a word for that," Atlas replied.

"I'm not a hypocrite." Colt clenched his jaw. When he'd taken off after his mom had killed Jared, Colt had been in a very bad place. He'd spent a good twenty years taking out his rage on people, starting fights just so he could release some of his rage.

But at the same time, there had been people who'd assumed he was just some asshole out to prove something. They had no idea just how badly he was hurting on the inside, how he'd cried most nights wondering why his own mother had hated him so much.

Why he hadn't been good enough to be loved by her.

"When Milo is done for the night, go talk to him, Colt."

"I doubt he wants to see me." Colt rubbed his nape as he watched a guest talk to Milo. His mate nodded and hurried away, returning with a small stack of napkins.

"When I felt as if being with Kellen was a mistake, he bared himself to me," Atlas confessed.

Colt wrinkled his nose. "I told you I didn't want to hear about your sex life."

Atlas smacked his leg. "He bared his soul, perv. He gave me a part of himself, and it helped me to trust him. I'm not saying to bear your soul to Milo, at least not tonight, but being vulnerable is a good way to break down walls. Don't flirt or try to be smooth and charming. Just be yourself, Colt."

"If I did that, he would run from me. I'm nice around you and your family, but…" Colt stopped himself from saying he wasn't worth the effort.

"You're just like your brother." Atlas sat back. "Kellen thought he was too messed up for a decent guy like me."

Colt was a bit stunned that Atlas had guessed what he'd been thinking.

"I had a lot of self-esteem issues because of my mom and what Glen did to me," Atlas said. "I didn't think I was good enough for Kellen."

"Seriously?" Colt was surprised to hear that. "You're the best thing to ever happen to him."

"If you don't give Milo a chance, you might miss out on the best thing to ever happen to you." Atlas stood. "Just don't demand that he comes home with you again. Start out by getting his phone number and invite him out for coffee."

Colt turned over Atlas's advice in his head as the guy walked away. He watched as his brother-in-law slid into Kellen's arms and the way Kellen looked at his mate as if the human was his reason for breathing.

Colt longed to have someone look at him that way. The guys he hooked up with only had lust in their eyes. They'd only wanted him for his body, never taking the time to get to know him.

Except Hayley, but he hadn't wanted to get to know Colt. The gazelle shifter had wanted to possess Colt. Just thinking about how obsessed Hayley had been with him made Colt shudder. He'd dated Hayley off and on for two months, but Colt had never caught feelings for him.

Hayley's behavior hadn't helped matters. The guy flipped out every time Colt didn't call him. He'd tracked Colt down more than once, acting like a complete ass, uncaring who was around to witness his tantrums.

Hayley had said that fate had gotten it wrong and they should have been mates. Colt thought fate had gotten it right because the guy was too damn unstable and self-centered.

It had been a month since he'd told Hayley that what they had wasn't going anywhere, and thank fuck the guy didn't live in Midnight Falls or know Colt's address. He never planned on seeing Hayley again, and now that he'd found his mate, there wasn't a chance of Colt changing his mind.

An hour later, there were only a handful of people remaining. The bride and groom had left thirty minutes ago, a majority of the guests leaving shortly after.

The catering staff had cleaned up everything, so this was Colt's chance to talk to Milo.

He got up and headed to where his mate stood, talking with what Colt assumed was a coworker.

"May I speak with you a moment?" Colt asked as he interrupted them.

"It was great working with you tonight, Milo," the female said as her interested gaze slid up and down Colt before she walked away.

"I'm not going home with you." Milo crossed his arms, a sure sign he was closing himself off.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about." Colt tucked his hands into the pocket of his slacks. "I wanted to apologize for losing my cool earlier. You had no idea that you'd touched a nerve, but I could have handled it better."

Milo eyed him warily. "I shouldn't have assumed things about you. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was panicked because I thought I'd lost my uncle his job."

"Can we start over?" Colt stuck out his hand. "Hi. I'm Colt Sager. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He could tell Milo was fighting a grin. He shook Colt's hand. "I'm Milo Landon."

He let Colt's hand go, but all Colt wanted was to feel his mate touching him again.

"I just wanted to ask if we could exchange phone numbers and maybe grab a coffee sometime." Colt saw Dan in his peripheral vision and hoped like hell the guy didn't interrupt them. He didn't want to deal with the asshat and dress him down again. Colt would rather spend his energy on his mate.

"I guess that would be okay." Milo took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Colt. "Call your phone so I can store your number."

Colt hid his shock at the phone cover when he'd turned it over to look at it. The case itself was black, but there was a glowing moon partially hidden by clouds, and below that was a wolf with its head thrown back, clearly howling.

"Got a thing for wolves?" Colt asked as he called his phone and then hung up when he heard it ring in his pocket.

"They're majestic animals." Milo accepted his phone back. "There's a certain haunting quality to them that I find intriguing, yet they're also incredibly fierce. They have a strong sense of protection and won't hesitate to attack anyone who threatens their mate."

Neither would Colt. "Haunting?"

Milo shrugged. "The image on my case always makes me think the wolf is howling because its lonely and in pain. I just want to hug it and brush my hand through its fur."

Colt was taken aback because that wolf was a representation of how he felt almost all the time. "Are you free tomorrow morning? I'd love to meet up with you at Bluebird Café and hear more on your take of wolves."

"I have to work my job tomorrow afternoon, but I guess we can meet an hour before my shift starts. Does ten sound good?"

"Sounds perfect." Colt wanted to stand there for the rest of the night and talk to his mate. He knew the human felt the pull. It had been evident when Milo had touched his face and rested his hands on Colt's hips earlier.

Now Colt wanted to kiss him, wanted to feel those soft-looking lips on his.

"I have to help load everything on the truck. I'll see you tomorrow." Milo walked away but glanced over his shoulder, giving Colt an enchanting smile.

Colt had to remember not to come on too strong when they met in the morning. Evidently that made Milo uneasy. He also had to act like he had two brains cells between his ears and try to refrain from pulling his mate into his arms when they saw each other again.

That was going to be a challenge, but Colt loved challenges.

"You all set?" Kellen asked as he and Atlas joined him.

"Did you take my advice?" Atlas asked.

With a wide grin, Colt replied, "We're having coffee tomorrow."

"See!" Atlas chuckled. "I knew that approach would work."

"Congratulations on finding your mate." Kellen clapped him on his shoulder. "Just give us a heads-up when you finally bring Milo to the house so we can give you two some privacy."

"I'll hang this tie on the staircase railing." Colt loosened the tie around his neck. He liked how nicely he cleaned up but couldn't wait to slide on some comfy jogging pants and a T-shirt.

"Let's go, Casanova," Atlas said before he and Kellen headed toward where they were parked.

Glancing at the catering truck, Colt was hoping to catch a glimpse of Milo but didn't see him.

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.