AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Colt instantly regretted his words when agony flashed in Kellen’s eyes. He wasn’t out to cut his brother deep. In fact, since they’d reconnected, neither of them had mentioned their upbringing. It was an unspoken agreement to never broach the subject, and Colt had just thrown their shared trauma in Kellen’s face like the worst piece of shit to ever live.
“The fuck you say?” Atlas jumped off the island, shoving himself in front of Kellen. “I don’t know what your problem is, but that was some really messed-up shit, Colt!”
“I—” Colt whipped the bottle across the kitchen and stormed to his bedroom, slamming the door so hard the walls rattled. He should never have moved in with Kellen. No matter how hard Colt tried to forget his past, he was constantly living it like a vicious cycle that refused to end.
With a growl filled with self-loathing, he swept his hands over the top of his dresser, sending everything flying. Unable to contain his anger, he slammed his fist into the mirror above the dresser, shattering the glass into a thousand pieces.
Colt destroyed his dresser and the head and footboard of his bed, splintering the wood until his hands were a bloody mess. He despised himself for throwing that bullshit in Kellen’s face, but even worse, he hated that Milo’s rejection was ripping him to shreds.
For once, why couldn’t he have a tiny sliver of happiness? Why did life always snatch hope out from under him whenever he stupidly thought things were finally turning around for him?
The weight of his pain became too much at times, but it wasn’t Kellen’s fault. Yet Colt couldn’t help but feel a slight resentment toward his brother for not being able to save them from their mother.
For not being able to save Jared.
It had been sixty-seven years since he’d fled that night, but time hadn’t eased a fucking thing. Colt still woke in a cold sweat, listening out for his mother’s footsteps, fearing her wrath. He still saw Jared’s cold, dead eyes staring back at him when Colt and Kellen had found their cousin locked in a cage in that ice-cold shed. He still saw in his mind the raw torment in Kellen’s eyes every time he had to punish Colt with that leather belt.
He still heard his mother’s sinister taunts of how her boys were worthless mongrels that deserved being beaten and starved. How they’d made her life a living hell and how much she hated that she’d given birth to them or taken Jared in.
The bedroom door swung open, and Kellen rushed in, wrapping his muscled arms around Colt, stopping him from wrecking more in his room. “Breathe, brother. One deep breath at a time.”
Colt’s chest rose and fell heavily as he closed his eyes, fighting against the toxicity boiling inside of him. It wasn’t just about Milo rejecting him, even if that had been the catalyst for him losing his shit. It hurt so badly that he wasn’t sure how he’d survive the pain.
“I didn’t mean it,” Colt sobbed. “I’m sorry I threw that in your face. All we could do was survive what she did to us.”
Kellen squeezed Colt tighter. “I’m just as fucked up, little brother. The only difference is I have Atlas to ground me now. Tell me what set you off.”
He jerked from Kellen’s hold and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. “Milo rejected me.”
“Are you sure?” Bewilderment laced Kellen’s voice. “Doesn’t he feel the pull?”
“Apparently not.” Colt dropped his hands then used his shirt to wipe away the tears. “We were texting each other like crazy since Sunday, and then last night, he didn’t respond to my texts and left me hanging at the diner just now. He didn’t show up for our lunch date or have the balls to even send me a middle finger emoji.”
“I’m not trying to be nosy, but did something happen to scare him away?”
Colt glared at Kellen. “You mean did I say or do something to ruin this?”
Kellen snarled. “Don’t twist my words, Colt. I fucked up a lot with Atlas. I nearly got him killed several times because of the vampires after me. No matter how much of an asshole I was, Atlas didn’t give up on me. There has to be a reason Milo stopped contacting you.”
“I have no goddamn clue.” Colt wished he knew. Everything had been going great, or so he’d thought. “The last texts we exchanged were talking about…things. I didn’t sext him or pressure him to see me. I kept it cool and the conversation light.”
“Then all you can do is wait for him to contact you, Colt. The night Atlas fled, I wanted to rip the town apart to look for him, but what would that have accomplished besides scaring him even more?” Kellen asked.
“My wolf is going insane.” Colt rubbed his chest, feeling as if the ache would cripple him. “I just want to talk to Milo, to know what’s going on.”
“I’ve been where you are,” Kellen replied. “I let doubt creep in and was positive Atlas had rejected me, but all he’d needed was some space to work things out. I highly doubt Milo is rejecting you, Colt. It sucks being separated from your mate, but you’re just gonna have to wait until he reaches out to you.”
“A vampire choked Atlas out. That was how you got him back here,” Colt reminded his brother.
“Stop trying to find reasons to sink even further into despair. If I had a choice, I would have preferred he’d called me when he was ready to talk instead of finding him dangling from a bloodsucker’s fist. Consider yourself lucky Milo isn’t in danger.”
He prayed that Milo contacted him soon, because if Colt had to wait much longer, his wolf was going to take over and track their mate down.
* * * *
Waking up, Milo whimpered as he eased himself into a sitting position on his bed. He didn’t think Eric had caused any major damage, but Milo’s body pulsed heavily with pain. If he’d known that Dan had talked to Eric about the debacle at the reception while Milo was at work yesterday, he wouldn’t have come home.
As soon as he’d walked through the door last night, Eric had beaten Milo senseless for nearly losing his job. He’d called Milo all kinds of perverted names for “inappropriately” fondling a guest. It had taken what little strength Milo had left just to crawl from the living room and get into his bed.
