Finding Forgiveness

quick use of it, startled to see his own brushes and things right next to Ben’s. A thrill went through him at the thought of his toothbrush snuggling up next to the Marshall’s.

He shook his head. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be.

He tiptoed into the living room and headed right for the coffee maker. He needed caffeine to sort this all out, and he needed it now.

On the counter next to the coffee maker was his Imitrex. Suddenly, the day before came rushing back. Splash Mountain. Ben’s jealousy over Charlie. The T-shirt. Max and Emma’s wedding, and Dave in white tulle. Finding out it wasn’t a dream. He took a deep breath and leaned against the counter, staring at that box and trying to calm himself. He couldn’t risk reactivating the migraine. Not now.

Not when his dream was so close to being reality.

Ben had taken care of him last night. He’d been everything Dave had always dreamed he’d be: loving, attentive, caring of his mate’s needs.

Am I sure I’m not dreaming?

“Morning.”

Dave was very proud of the fact that he didn’t jump. “Morning.” He pushed himself up and turned to face his mate. “How’d you sleep?”

God, the man looked gorgeous in the morning. His hair was sleep-tousled, his eyes drowsy. Stubble highlighted his strong jaw. Ben’s brows rose. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Ben stretched, tightening the fabric of the T-shirt against his chest.

Dave shrugged, uncomfortable now that he knew this was really happening. How did he handle…? Dave blinked.

Ben was still wearing the T-shirt. From the scent, he’d slept in it. Every time he moved their combined scents drifted to Dave. It was as if he’d marked the man without laying a fang on him.

Ben’s smile was knowing as he stepped around Dave. “Coffee?”

“Dear God in heaven, yes.”

Ben laughed, but before he could start making the coffee there was a knock at the front door. “Room service!”

Ben let the waiter in. The man quickly deposited the food, got Ben’s signature, and left, leaving the tantalizing scent of waffles and coffee behind. Dave was already settling in to eat at the banquette when Ben slid in next to him. “So. I promised I’d explain this morning.”

Dave added some fresh fruit to the top of his waffles and cut into them. “And grovel,” Dave added around a bite of waffle. Damn, the food here was good.

Ben grinned. “And grovel. But explanations first.”

“That day in the woods when I found you with Steve and you told me not to tell anyone. It wasn’t because you were running off to have sex with him, was it?”

Ben looked shocked. “Hell, no. My dad told the Pack leaders I’d run away from home, which wasn’t true. I was trying to avoid him because he’d been drinking.” Ben added butter and syrup to his waffles, but Dave could tell his attention was really somewhere in the past. “Steve knew what was going on with my old man. He was the only one who believed me.”

“I would have.”

Ben sighed. “I know that now. But you were too young to deal with it, and I wasn’t quite old enough to trust you yet.”

“Yup. That only took…hmm. Do you trust me yet?”

Ben winced. “Yes, I trust you. I wore the damn shirt, didn’t I?”

Dave waved his fork at Ben. “That’s completely different, and you know it.”

Ben stood up and hiked up the tail of his shirt. He turned around and showed Dave his back. “You see the scar on my lower back?”

Dave leaned in. This was the first time Ben had allowed him this close to his naked skin. Sure enough, there was a faint scar. He ran his finger down it, enjoying the way Ben shivered under his light touch. “Your father?”

“That’s not the only scar.” Ben tugged the shirt back into place and sat back down to his breakfast. “He’d drink, he’d do horrible things, he’d get sober and he’d apologize. Lather, rinse, repeat. I was this close to leaving the Pack and going lone when Rick challenged his grandfather and won control of the Pack.” Ben grinned. “I never thought I’d see the old man relieved to lose his Alpha status.”

“He’d been Alpha a long time, waiting for a suitable replacement. His son and daughter-in-law dying so soon after Rick was born was hard on him.” Dave shook his head. “Sometimes I think that’s why he isolated us so much.”

“Maybe.” Ben shook his head. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter now. Dad managed to get them to believe him no matter what I said or did. It was like they didn’t want to know.” He sighed. “Dad… Let’s just say I can’t abide being around drunks.”

Dave picked up his coffee mug and leaned back in his seat. “I don’t drink as often as you think I do.”

“I’m beginning to realize that.” Ben stared at him, his expression so sincere Dave had to stop himself from leaning across the table and consoling him. “I should have talked to you rather than assuming things. I really am sorry.”

“Sorry enough to wear that T-shirt at the next Pack meeting?”

Dave was shocked when Ben nodded. “It smells like us.” Ben’s eyes had brightened, the golden brown of his wolf’s eyes bleeding away the dark, nearly black of his iris.

Dave was proud of the fact that his hands weren’t shaking when he set his coffee mug back down. He could feel his own eyes shifting in response to his mate’s desire. The scent of Ben’s need was stronger, overpowering their combined scent. “It does, doesn’t it?” He leaned forward and placed both hands, palms up, on the table. “What hurt the most was the fact that you never spoke to me like I meant anything to you.”

Ben laid his hands in Dave’s. “I couldn’t let myself. I couldn’t get trapped in a relationship with an alcoholic. I couldn’t give my life over to someone whose soul didn’t belong to them. I knew if I let you close to me we’d wind up mated. I pushed you away to save myself and wound up hurting you in ways I’d never dreamed of.”

Dave closed his eyes. “I needed you.”

“I know.” The pain behind those words told him that Ben had suffered too. Ben squeezed his hands. “I can’t change the past, but I can promise I’ll be there from now on. Can you forgive me?”

Dave stared into his mate’s eyes, reading the sincere regret, the determination to win him over and the urge to mark, to mate, that dominated his thoughts, and made his decision. “If you ever shut me out again I will feed you to Charlie. In bite-size pieces. Dainty bite-size pieces.”

The smile that lit up Ben’s face was worth it.

Still, there were some things that needed to be said. Dave had waited a long time for this, and he wasn’t going to lose out on it now. “We’re hitting the parks. This is our honeymoon, whether you like it or not. You will go on water rides and get soaked.” Ben grimaced, but Dave didn’t let up. “I’ve been saving for this for a really long time. No way are you getting out of it. Space Mountain will be conquered. Understood?”

Ben didn’t care what they did so long as he got Dave’s sexy ass naked and in bed within the next five minutes. “Fine. But first, I’m marking you.” Ben lunged across the table, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to catch Dave. The Beta was on his feet and gone, leaving Ben to clutch the air he’d occupied.

“Wait. Do you honestly think I’m going to be the catcher in this little ball game?” Dave grinned, the goofy look Ben had come to love on his face. His mate wanted to play.

Ben was willing to oblige him. “I’m sorry; which one of us lost that air hockey game?”

“That was for tulle, not tush.”

Ben started laughing. The man was insane, and everything he’d ever needed. “You’re so goin’ down.”

“You wish.” Dave leered at him, but Ben could see the remnants of fear lingering in his eyes. Part of Dave still believed Ben would push him away.

Once he’d marked Dave that fear would disappear. It had to. Ben couldn’t bear to see it in Dave’s eyes anymore. “C’mere, Dave.”

Dave’s goofy grin turned feral, the Beta’s power pulsing around him. “No.” He crooked his finger at Ben. “You