Finding Forgiveness

Towers.”

“How the hell did you get a room there? And on such short notice?”

Ben wasn’t going to answer that if red hot pizza fell down from the sky and landed on his naked testicles cheese first. “How do we get to the Brown Derby from here?”

“Ben.”

Shit, Dave was using his power to demand an answer. Of all the Betas Ben had met only Dave seemed to have the ability to mimic a true Alpha. “I asked a friend for a favor.”

Dave scowled. “Steve.”

The anger in Dave’s voice worried Ben. “What do you have against him?” Ben turned to confront his mate. “He’s been a good friend for a long time.”

“Sure.” Dave’s smile was tight-lipped. “Is he here with you?”

Ben studied the look on Dave’s face. The anger there was mixed with…hurt? Ben was shocked. He’d known Dave hated Steve, but surely it wasn’t because of jealousy? “Dave. He’s just a friend.”

Dave’s jaw clenched.

“Seriously. He’s straight.”

One of Dave’s brows rose. “Really?”

“Let me put it to you this way: I’ve been thinking of introducing him to Chela. I think the two of them would get along great.” And if they turned out to be mates, so much the better. He’d love to make Steve Pack, but Rick had turned him down the one time he’d suggested it. They hadn’t been ready to add another Wolf to the fold, especially with the crap Dave’s sister Gina had been pulling at the time. Gina was gone now, and last he’d heard she’d begun an Amazon Pack with herself as the Alpha.

It was what she’d truly wanted in the first place. She hadn’t wanted Rick, she’d wanted power, and all of them had known it.

Still, Ben was planning on bringing his friend into the Pack by hook or by crook. All he had to do was ease his mate’s fears about the man and he knew everything would work out.

“I think Chela would take your friend, chew him up and spit him right back out.”

If they were still talking about Chela he’d eat that Goofy hat. “She might. She also might find he’s a good man who helped a friend when he really needed it.” He toyed with Dave’s fingers, glad when the other man didn’t pull away. “Please. I have a lot of groveling and explaining to do. Dinner?”

Dave looked off to the side, his expression uncertain. “Groveling?”

“Yup.”

“Lots of groveling?”

“Yup.”

“With beds of nails and hair shirts?”

Ben sighed. “I’ll do anything to make things up to you.”

Dave grinned, and Ben didn’t like the look of it. It was evil. The last time he’d seen that expression on Dave’s face the dining hall got painted purple. Rick had nearly blown a gasket. Rumor had it Dave had spent all night fixing the color. He still didn’t know what Rick had done to make Dave paint the hall that hideous shade of Barney. “Anything?”

Ben nodded.

“You’re sure? Because there’s no taking it back.”

“I won’t chop off my left nut or wear a clown nose.”

Dave started to laugh again. “You put clown noses and cut off balls in the same sentence?”

“Hey, those clown guys are creepy.”

Dave bit his lip. His cheeks flushed. “Fine. I’ll meet you at the Brown Derby in an hour and a half. There’s something I need to go get in my room.”

“I can go with you.”

Dave looked guilty for a split second before he smiled. He was a little wild-eyed. “No. That’s okay. I’ve got it covered.”

“Dave,” Ben drawled. He clamped down when Dave tried to pull his hand free. “What are you hiding?”

Dave pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. “Charlie.”

It was like a punch to the gut. “Charlie.”

Dave nodded. “Yeah. Charlie.”

Ben swallowed. God, it hurt to think his mate was here with another man, but it was his own goddamn fault. He just hoped they hadn’t gotten the chance to do anything more than unpack or he’d have to kill the fucker. “Okay. Charlie.” He blew out a breath and tried to reign in his anger. “Is Charlie back in your hotel room?”

Dave nodded, looking guilty as sin.

“How do you feel about moving into the Towers with me?”

“I paid a crap-load of money for my room.”

“Then let’s move Charlie into the Towers, okay?” Ben gritted out between clenched teeth. His jaw was beginning to hurt. It was all he could do not to mark his mate right then and there. His eyes turned, the colors of the Magic Kingdom changing around him. The reddish clay color of Splash Mountain turned a deep, bright gold. The greenery around it altered subtly, taking on a brownish cast. Skin tones became grayer. Even the bright blue sky took on more of a violet cast as green and red blended in his vision. If he were to try driving down the street right now, he knew all the traffic lights would look yellow to him.

Dave sighed. If he noticed that Ben’s nearly black eyes had lightened to his wolf’s golden brown he didn’t react. “I’m not sure Charlie would want to move.”

Ben growled. He really didn’t give two shakes of a rat’s ass what Charlie wanted. But he knew what he wanted.

Charlie gone.

Chapter Six

“Down, boy.” Dave grabbed his arm and got them moving again before Ben could go all Beast without Beauty. “Um. Why don’t we go back to my room and—”

The growls got louder.

“—not eat my friend for dinner.” Dave winced. Charlie was going to love Ben. The Lion would look at his mate like a giant squeaky toy if he kept this up. But Ben’s golden-brown eyes warned him that Ben’s wolf was close to the surface. “Don’t make me get the leash.”

Ben snorted, whether in disgust or amusement Dave didn’t know. He was going to walk Ben back to the Contemporary and introduce his mate and his friend and pray the two of them didn’t get them all kicked out. Dave was having the time of his life and didn’t need to lose out on his vacation because the two shifters didn’t get along.

Half of him was still convinced this was a dream. Maybe he’d fallen asleep on the plane and only thought he was in Disney. He’d been looking forward to this for so long he wouldn’t be surprised. Having Ben here with him had been a dream for just as long.

“Listen, the way you say Steve has been there for you? Charlie’s been there for me. Don’t give my friend shit, and I promise not to barbeque yours.”

Silence. Not good. If Charlie and Ben got into it, Dave could lose them both. Unless, of course, he was right, and this was all a dream. He had a sure-fire way of proving it one way or another. He just had to get Ben to his room first.

“Steve tried to protect me. He knew what my dad was doing to me.”

Dave froze. “Your dad?”

“That’s the explaining portion of tonight’s entertainment, remember? I explain my childhood, you explain Charlie being in your hotel room, we agree to move you into my room so we can have wild kinky sex to fireworks, the end.”

Dave started walking again. He did his best to ignore the thought of wild, kinky sex, but just thinking the