“What are you thinking, baby?” Wyatt lifted his head and brushed his lips along River’s temple in a reassuring caress.
“I feel like I should trust him.” He stopped and frowned. This wasn’t coming out right. “I mean, if he was a wolf we’d just met, and not some vampire, I…I feel like I’d want to bring him into our pack.”
“You want to adopt him?” Wyatt asked, his mouth moving in this strange way, like he was trying not to laugh right in River’s face.
River directed his best glare at Wyatt, not that it made a bit of difference. “He just…feels like he fits. He’s got your same perky, optimistic, ‘There’s always a solution to every problem’ attitude. And his sense of humor is definitely weird like mine.”
“Yeah, I noticed that.”
“But how do we know this isn’t some vampire magic trick to brainwash us into trusting him?”
Wyatt sighed heavily, and River couldn’t blame him. He’d just talked himself into a damn circle. Instincts were screaming to trust Bel and protect him and adopt him into their pseudo-pack of two even though he was a freaking vampire, but he was scared to trust those instincts because of Bel’s magic.
“I’m broken, Wyatt. I can’t trust.”
Wyatt’s arms tightened around him so hard his ribs were in danger of cracking. “You are not broken. There’s nothing broken about you.”
“But—”
“Listen to me. We’ve both been through a lot. I want to trust Bel too, but it’s hard. He does nice things, and I want to believe it’s all a ploy or a trick, but I have to remind myself that there’s no reason for him to trick us. We’re offering to be his wolves. There’s no reason for him to lie or trick.”
River pressed his face into Wyatt’s chest and dragged in a couple of deep, calming breaths. “You’re right.”
“Bel is nice because that is who he is.”
“And kind of adorable in that geeky, eager way.”
Wyatt snorted. “Yes, that too. But I also think he needs us to stick close and protect him because he is so nice.”
River’s heart swelled in his chest at Wyatt’s words. His man wanted to protect the whole damn world. Even if it meant including the vampires, regardless of the pain he and River had already suffered. Falling in love with Wyatt had been the easiest thing ever. How could he not love his strong, brave, protective man with a heart of gold?
“What do we do now?” River asked, hoping Wyatt’s answer didn’t mean he’d have to move or release him. He was quite comfortable standing in Bel’s lab, holding Wyatt.
“I guess we should go find him and see if we can convince him that we’d be useful for more than a science experiment.”
River led the way through the house, checking the rooms on the first floor until they located Bel standing at the center island in the kitchen. There was an empty glass in front of him with a thin ring of red liquid in the bottom. Apparently, he drank a pint of blood when he slipped away from them. Nervous eater?
A strange sense of relief ran through River when he saw that Bel had turned to bagged blood rather than feed from him. He’d occasionally supplied blood to the MacPherson vampires, and it had always been an uncomfortable experience.
“Sorry about that,” River said lightly, drawing Bel’s eyes from where he’d been looking at his phone.
Bel smiled back at him, even if it was a little stiff. “No apology necessary. Marcus and Ethan are much the same way.” He gave a little shiver and added in a low voice. “Rafe and Philippe are worse.” He turned his eyes on Wyatt who was just behind River. “Any problems on the perimeter?”
“All is quiet, though I think your raven was following me.”
Bel snorted and the last of the tension in his shoulders eased. “Ozzie is just curious about you. Marcus and Rafe have become too boring for him.” Picking up the glass, he carried it to the sink and rinsed it out. He paused for a moment after turning off the water and held the edge of the sink.
“Bel?” Wyatt asked.
The vampire jumped and twisted around. “I’ve been thinking about our situation,” he started. He flashed them both an unsure smile and walked over to where his phone was sitting on the counter beside a tablet. “If we’re being completely honest, being trapped with yet another vampire is not an ideal situation. You both have hopes and dreams, even if nothing more than building a home together and having a normal life. You can’t do any of that because of stupid pack mentality and being stuck with me.” Bel stopped and took in a deep breath, his eyes locked on the dark phone while his fists rested on the edge of the counter.
River took a step forward, wanting to say that the three of them could make an amazing pack, but Wyatt’s heavy hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed, silencing his words.
“It’s not as bleak as you paint it,” Wyatt murmured.
“Maybe. I don’t mind offering you protection. I’m happy to do it,” Bel said quickly. He looked over at them both for only a second before looking down again. “But I don’t want to be the latest barrier that keeps you from happiness.”
“What are you suggesting, then? Do you want us to leave?” River asked. There was no keeping the edge from his voice. Old fears of being hunted started to resurface, but also an unexpected feeling of disappointment. He thought they’d had a good evening together. They’d laughed and shared little bits about themselves. It felt more like a growing friendship.
“No! God, no! I was thinking you could stay here on the understanding that it’s temporary. Just until we came up with a better solution. The ultimate goal would be for you both to live your own lives, free of the pack and vampires.”
Ten years ago, River would have rejoiced at Bel’s words. Nothing would have sounded better to his ears. It had been a dream for far too long.
But something had changed. Bel describing himself as a barrier when they had been laughing and happy minutes ago felt wrong. Bel not being in their pack felt wrong. Bel helping them to find happiness but not including himself in that picture was wrong.
Unfortunately, everything was so new, and despite Wyatt’s efforts to convince him otherwise, River knew something in him was broken. And it was now keeping him from figuring out how to make things right.
“We greatly appreciate your offer,” Wyatt said. His words were very slow and cautious. “But how would that arrangement work? What would we be doing for you?”
“Nothing. You’d be my guests.”
River shook his head. “That is not going to work.” He crossed the room so that he was standing beside Bel, his forearms resting on the counter. “You’re allowing us to stay in your home. Feeding us. Giving us a safe place to sleep. Protecting us. You must let us do something for you.”
“I couldn’t.”
River bumped his shoulder against Bel’s. “Please. We can clean. It’s been a while, but I think I remember how to use an iron. Wyatt can figure out how to use a vacuum cleaner.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Wyatt grumbled, but River’s heart leaped at the way Bel’s lips twitched as if he were trying to hide his smile.