Page 54

“Don’t run, please,” Bruiser murmured. “Aerie.”

Uriel’s heart tumbled. All of a sudden, he felt awful. Ashamed. He felt the phantom ache of every scar on his body, he felt the bulk of his muscles, too big and nothing like what he was supposed to be. “I-I’m not—”

He tripped on his own feet, his stomach plummeting as he fell backward.

Cassie was behind him; she was going to be crushed under his weight.

Bruiser was there in a flash, grasping Uriel’s arms, pulling him upright. Then he slid his arms around Uriel and tugged him against his chest.

It took Uriel too long to realize that Bruiser was hugging him.

“Please don’t run again,” Bruiser said quietly in his hair. “I didn’t know how to find you, that first time. I asked everyone I knew, but nothing turned up because I was giving them the wrong info. I realize that now.”

Uriel flinched and tried to pull away. “I don’t look anything like—” He choked down a sob. “I’m fucked up. You said I didn’t belong. You took one look at me and wrote me off.”

Bruiser cringed. “I’m sorry. I was an idiot. I didn’t realize you were hiding that big of a secret. I had never met anyone like you. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have reacted like that.”

Uriel didn’t believe him. But Bruiser was still hugging him despite everything; Bruiser sounded sincere. In a small voice, Uriel said, “You’re not mad at me?”

The alpha sighed. “I don’t know what was done to you, but it doesn’t seem like you wanted any of it. How can I be angry? You’ve just been trying to protect yourself the best way you can.”

Uriel swallowed hard. “That sounds... incredibly mature of you.”

Another sigh. “I had some time to think about it. Then I realized I probably would’ve done the same thing you did.”

“Oh.” Slowly, the tangle of anxiety began to unwind in Uriel’s chest. “How do I know this isn’t some ploy for you to get Cassie?”

Bruiser’s arms tightened around him. His breath puffed into Uriel’s hair. “I can’t deny that I want to hold her. I... I knew she existed, you know. In an abstract way. The condom broke. That was why I wanted to find you; you were in heat. I wanted to tell you and offer any help you needed. But I couldn’t find you.”

That was... nice of him. “You were an asshole the moment you saw the real me.”

“You’re going to hold that over my head forever, aren’t you?”

“Probably.”

Bruiser exhaled. “I want to be her dad, if you’d let me. But I understand that I haven’t done much to gain your trust. I’d do whatever it takes to make that happen. I’ll be patient. I just... Don’t leave again. Please.”

Uriel drew back, squinting at him. Bruiser returned his gaze plainly, patiently, with no posturing and nothing to hide on his face.

He looked... raw, like that. Vulnerable, more than Uriel had ever seen him.

“You don’t have to stick around with me,” Uriel said finally. “There’s a ton of prettier omegas out there, people who aren’t fucked up like I am.”

“No. I’m not leaving. You need me.”

“Even if you don’t know what was done to me?”

Bruiser looked heartbroken. “I hate that I wasn’t there to get you out of that place. I hate that I was elsewhere in the world, alive and oblivious, while you were suffering. You didn’t deserve it.”

“I didn’t,” Uriel agreed, pressing his forehead against Bruiser’s chest. He hadn’t shared much of his story with his omega friends; he didn’t want to burden them with the horror of what he had been through. It was nice to hear all of that from Bruiser, though. Nice to have someone who knew, at least a little bit.

But it was still difficult to believe that Bruiser wanted to spend time with him.

Someone’s stomach growled. Uriel startled, looking down. The sound hadn’t come from either of them.

“Shhh!”

“I can’t help it!” someone hissed.