Ulric huddled into himself on the bench, his eyes burning. Forget Gage, he told himself.
He lost track of time, all the way until the passing cars grew few and far between. Then footsteps sounded behind him, too quiet and purposeful to have come from a pedestrian.
A knife gleamed suddenly next to his throat. Someone shoved a large gloved hand over his mouth. “Hand over your wallet.”
Ulric sighed. “Did you have to do this right now?”
“What?” The robber lifted his hand off Ulric’s mouth.
Ulric shoved it away and crammed his bag of buns against the robber’s knife, springing to his feet. He didn’t have the advantage of speed, but he had some strength.
Except another person stepped out of the nearby shadows—also with a sharp knife. That was bad. Ulric froze, his heart thudding. He could possibly handle one assailant, but not two. There weren’t any witnesses; it was useless for him to shout. No time to call the police.
He backed away slowly, one step at a time. But one of the robbers lunged, knife outstretched. “Hand over your damn wallet!”
Ulric ducked sideways but he wasn’t fast enough. The knife stabbed into his arm. Pain lanced through his body. Then the other robber leaped, grabbing Ulric’s neck from behind.
“Grab his wallet,” the other robber muttered.
Ulric struggled. He knew he should let this go, he knew the wallet wasn’t worth his life. But his instincts surged beneath his skin, eager for a fight. He couldn’t submit.
He twisted around and slammed his elbow into his captor, shoving the knife away. Then he smashed the back of his head into the man’s face, breaking his nose with a crunch.
The robber swore. His accomplice heaved Ulric toward the shadows of an alley, shoving his hand into Ulric’s pocket. Ulric spun around and punched him hard in the face.
But a weight crashed into him from the side, ramming him into the rough brick wall. His breath punched out of his throat; two knives pushed up against his neck, nicking his skin. Blood trickled warm and ticklish down his throat.
“Hand it over, and we’ll let you live,” the robber said.
“Fuck off,” Ulric snarled.
He wanted to lunge forward and punch them, he wanted to break free. But the sharp tip of a blade dug under his chin, slicing into his flesh.
If he moved, he ran the risk of them slicing his throat open.
What were the chances of them taking his wallet, and stabbing him anyway? What were the chances of him leaving this place alive? Ulric did the calculations in his head. They weren’t so great.
In the moments when the robbers snatched the wallet out of his hands, their knives ruthless against his neck, Ulric’s mind drifted. He thought about Gage, he wondered what Gage would think, if he were here. He wondered if Gage would help him. If Gage would be concerned.
He wondered if he could’ve fixed their relationship, if he’d just straight-up told Gage that he wanted to be boyfriends. That he wanted Gage’s marking permanently on him.
He wondered if Gage would’ve acted differently, if Ulric had said I love you.
He wondered about a life where he believed Gage, where he thought he could be beautiful.
He wondered about a future where he and Gage had a family together.
And that broke Ulric.
He roared and shoved at the robbers, not caring that their knives dug into his skin, slicing him open. He needed to get free. To see Gage again. Just to find out if there was a way he could salvage things.
Maybe he wanted to steal a kiss. Just a last one.
Then a knife flashed, and metal stabbed into his side, a searing jab of fire that winded him. And the robbers shoved him onto the grungy alley floor, kicking at his face, his stomach, every blow thudding painfully through his body.
“Maybe we should kill you,” one of the men growled. “Remove the evidence.”
Ulric tried to stand. They punched him so hard, he almost threw up. He staggered, his vision hazy.
Maybe... he might not make it out alive, after all.
28
Gage Makes Amends
The text came in just as Gage was clocking off work. You broke up with your friend? Jesse asked. He told me he’s moving away.
Gage stared at those words, growing still. Ulric was leaving Meadowfall?
Why did that sound so wrong?
He shoved the phone into his pocket, pulling on a clean shirt. They’d broken up. He shouldn’t care anymore where Ulric was. But he couldn’t help remembering Ulric again, Ulric when he was vulnerable, cramming cake into his mouth. Ulric when he sought comfort, burying his face against Gage’s shoulder.
You need to protect him, his instincts whispered.
Ulric didn’t need protection. He was an alpha. Frustrated with himself, Gage grabbed his things from the locker, heading out to his car. It was dark, the parking lot lit up by orange streetlamps. His phone buzzed again.
Despite his resolve not to look, Gage opened up Jesse’s next message. He was sitting out by Ben’s Buns when we passed him earlier. He looked pretty upset.
Gage’s heart squeezed. He didn’t want to feel bad for Ulric, but... he didn’t like the thought of Ulric sitting alone, unhappy. Ulric had spent a lot of his life being miserable. He didn’t need more of that.
Gage got into his car, thinking maybe he’d drive by the bakery. Just to make sure that Ulric had gone home. There had been reports of robberies around here lately—Ulric knew that, right?
Probably not. He didn’t follow the news so closely.
Gage held his breath, pulling his car out onto the road. The bakery was a couple streets away—he’d just pass by and...
There was a bag of stuff that had rolled off the sidewalk, onto the asphalt. In front of a bench. Gage would’ve thought it was trash, except he recognized the
