Chapter 9
Cole was at his door the second he heard Logan’s knock. Excitement, something he hadn’t felt in a while, making him impatient.
“All right?” Logan asked, giving him a curious look.
“Yeah.” Cole ushered them inside. “I’m just looking forward to doing something different today.” He was also more than a little excited about seeing what Nick had drawn for him. Even if it was his bloody pack tattoo, it was still a connection to his best mate, and that made all the difference.
Logan huffed. “You’re more eager than I was expecting.”
Cole shrugged. What exactly did Logan want him to say? “It’s something that needs to happen. Besides, I want to see what Nick came up with.”
“I still can’t believe he said yes,” Aaron muttered as they waited for Cole to get his trainers on.
“Me neither.” Logan caught Cole’s attention, expression turning serious. “Don’t ask for anything else.”
Cole glanced down to tie his laces. “I won’t.” If he was honest, he hadn’t expected to get his way on this one, but thank fuck he had. At least knowing Nick had designed it for him would make it easier to look at when it marked his skin.
* * *
West wasnothing like how Cole had pictured him in his mind. He’d imagined some huge shifter, covered in tattoos, who grunted rather than spoke. Stereotyping? Maybe, although he hadn’t exactly met many tattooists. Especially not shifter ones.
He’d got the tattoo part right. Sort of. As well as West’s McKillan pack tattoo, he had ink poking out the neck of his T-shirt and all up his left arm. His right arm held the pack tattoo and nothing else. He guessed Michael liked it to stand out.
“Hey.” West greeted them with a huge smile. He walked over and gave Aaron and Logan a quick hug, but thankfully only shook Cole’s hand. Either he’d sensed Cole’s apprehension or he didn’t fancy getting that close to the pack pariah.
His firm grip and easy smile suggested the former, though, and despite himself, Cole relaxed. West was about Cole’s height, slimmer than the average shifter, with short black hair and eyes an unusual shade of green. Cole glanced away quickly when he realised he was staring.
West was hot.
Not that Cole was interested, but he was only human.
Well, not so much anymore, but whatever.
As West turned away to get something from his station, a quick glance over at Aaron and Logan told him his perusal of West hadn’t gone unnoticed. Logan had his arms crossed, wearing a scowl, and Aaron stood there grinning.
“Not as hot as you,” Cole mouthed, adding a wink.
“Good,” Logan mouthed back, looking mollified.
West brandished a piece of paper in his hand as he faced them again. “Whoever designed this for you is pretty fucking awesome.” As he smoothed it out over the desk next to him, they all moved in to get a closer look.
Aaron let out a low whistle of appreciation.
“Wow,” Logan murmured, nudging Cole. “I can see why you wanted him to do it.”
Cole nodded, too choked up for words. The design Nick had done for him was stunning. He couldn’t deviate from the standard template the McKillan pack wore, but he’d managed to make it appear unique yet simple. Cole reached out to trace the outline of the blood-red moon. The best, and possibly the worst, thing about it all? It had Nick written all over it. Cole would recognise his work anywhere and it hit him like a sledgehammer.
I miss him.
Would he ever get to see Nick again? Probably not for a long time considering he wasn’t even allowed to leave his flat for anything other than training.
And this.
He was tempted to ask Logan if seeing Nick was a possibility, but then he remembered Logan’s warning from earlier.“Don’t ask for anything else.”Neither Logan nor Aaron had said anything about it, but he wondered how much trouble they’d got in for asking. All on his behalf.
Guilt stayed his tongue, and with a sigh, he gestured to the chair. “Shall we get started?”
“Yeah, we better had.” West gestured for Aaron and Logan to sit on the sofa pushed against the back wall. “I’d make yourselves comfortable, we’re going to be here for a while.”
