“My own family felt like strangers to me,” Eli said, deciding to share a part of his heart he only shared with his mate. “They only saw me as a pawn to further their alliances. I’ve only been here for a month, but Liam, Lucas, and you? You three feel like the family I’m always meant to have.”
Eli wasn’t done. “You guys have become important to me, you know?”
“Stop it,” Logan said, tone harsh. Were Logan’s eyes watering? “You can stay for as long as you want. I can’t do anything about this situation anyway.”
Logan finished his coffee and walked past him. The werebear retreated to the basement again. Was he afraid Eli would catch him wiping his tears away? At the very least, Eli had managed to bridge the gap between them, even just a little.
“Liam,” he whispered to the empty kitchen. “Come back soon with Lucas.”
13
Eli
The ringing bell made Eli pause from washing the cups Logan and he used. They weren’t expecting guests until next week. Maybe it was a local or a staff they hired?
His stomach churned. What if it was the police and they had news of Lucas? Eli wiped his soapy and wet hands on the nearby wash cloth and headed to the reception area.
“Eli, hold up,” he heard Logan call from the basement.
Eli rolled his eyes. Logan and Lucas were just as bad as Liam. Eli was pregnant. It didn’t mean he’d gotten more fragile or weak. He spotted a man tapping his foot impatiently in front of the desk.
Eli froze in his footsteps as a horrid and familiar scent hit him. Steve turned towards him, eyes narrowed. Every muscle in Eli’s body locked in his place.
He barely recognized Steve. The Steve he’d known was always impeccably dressed in expensive designer suits. Steve was always careful about his appearance.
Steve was the CEO of a large shipping company but he was CEO in name only. He knew Steve spent his days playing video games in the office. Steve wasted his nights, seeing other men behind Eli’s back.
Eli didn’t care Steve cheated on him. In fact, he was always happy when Steve didn’t come home for the night.
He would have mistaken the shifter in the red hoodie and messy hair for a stranger if it weren’t for Steve’s scent. Cigarette smoke and stale beer mingled with wolf musk. There were dark shadows under Steve’s eyes and he looked like he lost a ton of weight.
Was Steve real or a figment of his imagination?
“You fucking traitor,” Steve said in a low voice.
Steve’s eye color turned piss-yellow.
Steve’s teeth and claws lengthened, then shortened. It was as if Steve couldn’t control his shifts any more. The angry and murderous aura coming off him was so overwhelming that Eli took another step backwards.
“How did you find me?” He whispered.
Eli needed to buy him and his babies more time. Logan would be here any moment. Where the hell was he? Hearing a crash in the kitchen, Eli jumped. It was followed by a series of roars and snarls.
Sweat coated his back as the realisation dawned on him. Steve hadn’t come alone.Steve probably bought back-up and that shifter was probably tangling with Logan. This was all on him, Eli realized.
Despair and terror dug its claws inside him but Eli refused to let them take root. He brought this upon himself. Eli knew Steve would find him sooner or later.
Liam and he let their guard down when nothing happened after a couple of weeks. Part of him hoped Steve had written him off as dead and had given up looking for him. Wistful thinking. Eli couldn’t freeze up now.
“It wasn’t easy. I overturned the entire house looking for clues. None of the private investigators I hired could dig up anything on your escape. The PC you used finally gave me answers,” Steve said, feral gaze trained on him. “I hired a hacker to crack the PC password. I had him dig up your deleted search history.”
Steve crept closer to him. Eli felt trapped. He couldn’t run back into the kitchen. Logan was fighting another shifter there. Steve blocked his other exit—the front door.
Oh God. Where did Eli leave the gun Liam give him? Eli couldn’t seem to remember. Steve felt and looked unhinged. He was surprised Steve came here himself instead of hiring someone else to bring him back.
Eli’s mind quickly worked. Steve’s dad and Eli’s own father probably didn’t want news of his disappearance getting out to the public. The media would have a field day if word got out that Steve, an Alpha who came from a wealthy shifter family, couldn’t hold onto one Omega.
“You can make this hard or easy, Eli. Tell me you’ll make it hard.” Steve’s eyes gleamed with malice. “I’m up for a chase.”
The old Eli would shut his mouth and might even apologize. Eli didn’t owe this bastard anything. He stood his ground and lifted his chin.
“I’m not going with you anywhere. I’ve found my mate, my real one. We’re about to have kids. Leave unless you want to get hurt.”
Steve didn’t need to know the babies were his.Eli wasted six months of his life, letting Steve terrorise him. Steve was only a big bully. He wasn’t a real threat. Steve didn’t hold a candle to Liam.
Liam could break his ex in half—except Liam wasn’t here. He swallowed. He rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans and reminded himself he wasn’t alone.
Logan would make short work of his opponent soon. Meanwhile, Eli had to buy himself more time.Steve stared at his stomach and howled. Eli swallowed.
Shit. He shouldn’t have mentioned kids. Babies were a touchy subject for Steve. Clothing ripped and brown fur covered Steve’s entire body. He saw murder in Steve’s eyes.
There was no recognition, no mercy left there. Eli always knew there was something wrong, something missing in Steve. To see Steve devolve into a Rogue shocked him. Move, Eli silently yelled at himself.
Someone grabbed his shoulder.
