Finding Forgiveness

Lodge.

He stepped in and pressed the button for the first floor. He was in Disney, and he had every intention of visiting a park. Today he planned on hitting the Magic Kingdom. He had a runaway train to catch, a waterfall to go over and a haunted mansion to explore. And if he got really lucky, he’d run into some handsome pirates.

Ben who?

He chuckled on the way out the doors, following the footpath he’d seen earlier when they’d first arrived at the hotel. Who knew you could walk to Magic Kingdom from his hotel?

He resisted the urge to squeal like a child and practically ran for the magic, eager to let it wash away all his worries. He’d deal with Ben when he got home. Now, it was time to play.

Ben stared around the one-bedroom, one-bathroom timeshare he’d finagled out of Steve. The place was fucking amazing. There was a divider between the huge tub and the master bedroom that acted like a giant window. He could just picture his mate lying there, covered in bubbles and waiting for him, chatting while Ben got ready for bed. The king-sized bed was covered in tan sheets. The front room boasted a sofa and a small kitchenette complete with the food Ben had ordered delivered. The two flat-screen TVs were a bonus he hoped he didn’t wind up watching.

He’d rather watch his mate.

He dropped his bags and dug out his shorts, flip-flops and T-shirt. He had to find Dave. He knew the man was staying at the Contemporary, just a short walk away. It was incredible luck that Steve was able to get him this room at the Bay Lake Towers, right next to Dave’s hotel. Apparently Steve had planned on using the room himself during these two weeks. The wily bastard had made him work for it, though. Ben knew how much this little jaunt was going to cost him. He owed Steve big time. The man was going to get his free stay at the Lodge even if Ben had to bend over and spread ’em for Rick.

He changed quickly out of his jeans and sneakers into shorts and sandals, grabbed his room key and park ticket in one hand and ran for the door. If he knew anything from watching Dave covertly all these years his man would head for the closest park, Magic Kingdom. He wouldn’t be able to resist the lure of it no matter how tired he was from the flight. Ben dashed out the door, confident it wouldn’t take him long to find Dave and begin the process of healing their broken relationship.

After all, how hard could it be to find one lone Wolf in a theme park?

Jesus Christ! Ben glared around the park. He was tired, hotter than he’d thought he’d be, sweaty and ready to kill the next person who bumped into him. He’d been wandering the park for hours. How fucking hard can it be to find one Wolf?

He’d caught elusive whiffs of his mate, but so far he hadn’t found the man. Where the fuck was he? Hell, he’d managed to find two Lions, a Tiger, six Pumas and a Fox, but his mate was nowhere to be found.

He turned in place, staring around. He was at the entrance to Splash Mountain, wondering if the man had been eaten by Br’er Fox or Br’er Bear. Because this was where Dave’s latest scent trail led and, thanks to the fucking water, Ben couldn’t find it anymore. So he waited by the exit for the ride and prayed he didn’t miss him in the press of people that surrounded him.

Fuck.

There was a gasp behind him. “Holy shit. Ben?”

Oh, thank you, God. Ben turned and smiled into the startled, wary face of his mate. “Dave.”

Dave took a step back, his face pale. “Ugh.”

Ben held up his hands. The last thing he wanted to do was stress Dave out and trigger another migraine. “Hey. No worries, Dave.”

Dave blew out a breath, but his shoulders remained tense. “What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

Dave rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Right. Tell another me another fairy story, Grandma, I ain’t buyin’ that one.”

Ben glared at this mate. “I’m here for the nachos.”

He’d managed to startle a laugh out of Dave, easing the tension in his mate’s shoulders. He dared take a small step forward, lowering his hands back to his sides. “I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks.”

“About?” The wary fear was back in Dave’s eyes.

Ben took a deep breath. He had to figure a way to erase that look from Dave’s face before it became permanently etched there. He’d caused his mate enough pain. “Could we maybe have dinner together? I have a lot of groveling to do, and I think it would be better done over steak.”

Dave blinked, his expression blanking for just a second. His shoulders eased. A relaxed, easy smile graced his lips. “Oh. Sure. You have a Hopper pass?” Ben nodded. “Cool. How about the Brown Derby over in Hollywood Studios? I heard the food there’s really good.”

Ben’s brows rose. This was way too easy. “Are you all right?”

“Oh yeah.” Dave looked up at the sky. “It should start raining pizza soon, so we might want to get under cover.”

Pizza? Ben choked down a laugh. “You’re not dreaming.”

“No?” Dave was still smiling. “In about three seconds you’re going to tell me you’re sorry, you can’t live without me, and you’ve got a naked Gerard Butler stuck in your pocket.”

That forced the laugh out. “Two out of three isn’t bad.”

Dave put his hands on his hips, some of the wariness returning. “So you’re not planning on going down on me on the Merry-Go-Round?”

“Nope.”

“Haunted Mansion?”

“Nuh-huh.”

“Rockin’ Rollercoaster?”

“Rockin’— Are you insane? I’d bite your dick off.” Ben winced and waved an apology at the father of the five- year-old girl staring at him with wide, innocent eyes. “Sorry.” He could feel his face turning beet red. He cleared his throat. “Look, can we go somewhere and talk?”

“Just talk?”

Ben nodded. At this point, he’d take anything Dave handed him. Hell, the man was finally talking to him. That was a step up in Ben’s estimation.

“And you’re sure this isn’t a dream?”

“I just gave a five-year-old an accidental education in sex. Yeah, I’d say this isn’t a dream.”

Dave’s mouth lifted in a shy smile, so at odds with the dominant personality Ben knew existed inside the Beta. Ben knew firsthand exactly how powerful Dave was. No one but Rick had ever forced him to bow down the way Dave had, and that had been while the Beta was in blinding agony.

“What are you doing here?”

He took slow steps until he was right in front of his mate, Dave’s heady scent filling his nostrils. “I’m here to claim you.”

Dave’s jaw dropped. His wide eyes darted upward.

Ben, knowing what Dave was looking for, grabbed his arm and pulled him after him. “Nope, still no pizzas. Jesus, you are such a goof.” And now he got to finally enjoy his mate’s innate goofiness. Before he would have held himself aloof, thinking alcohol was the cause of Dave’s attitude.

Now he knew the man was just weird. Ben couldn’t be happier about that.

Dave laughed and pointed to a teenager wearing a huge green Goofy hat. “Then it looks like I’m in the right place.”

But his hand tightened around Ben’s like he was afraid Ben would let go of him.

Ben grinned. As if.

“Where are you staying?”

Ben winced. This was the only part of the situation he knew for sure would get him into trouble. “Bay Lake