“Ben,” I said softly. “It’s okay. Colt and I have already decided we want to mate with you. Both of us. But if you don’t want that…” I hadn’t considered that Ben might not be interested in either one of us. What if he wanted some other alpha and regretted the bond I’d accidentally initiated? He had mentioned an alpha the other day. Sudden anger coiled deep in my gut, and I clenched my fists in my lap.
Jerking his head up, Ben said, “B-both of you?”
“You don’t like that idea?” Colt asked.
“This is all very sudden. Why don’t you give Ben some time to think about it?” Laura suggested.
“Of course,” Colt said, and I nodded curtly. What alpha was Ben thinking about? Where did he meet this mysterious alpha?
“Go get some rest, Ben,” Laura told him.
The three of us watched him get up and go to his room. A moment later, we heard the door quietly shut.
“Seems he already has an alpha in mind,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Colt made a low, disgruntled noise in his throat that made my blood thrum in my veins.
“Don’t jump to conclusions, Angus. Undoubtedly, he’s overwhelmed. I doubt Ben expected either of you to ask to mate him, let alonebothof you,” Laura said reasonably. “And I have to say, I don’t understand it. Did you mean he could pick one of you? Because it sounded more like—”
“Angus and I have been involved for a couple of years,” Colt said, meeting my eyes. It was the first time either of us had told anyone. It felt momentous.
Laura’s brows shot up. We’d clearly shocked her. “Two alphas together?”
We both nodded.
“It’s been a slow progression, and we’ve found there are hurdles we aren’t sure we can get over,” Colt said.
Laura thought for a moment. “I see. An omega would round things out nicely. This might explain why Angus bonding with Ben didn’t send him into immediate rut. He was already committed to you.”
Colt gave me a soft look that quickly morphed into worry. “Do you think Ben can form a bond with two alphas?”
Laura sighed. “I wish I could help you, but I just don’t know. All I can think to say is, go with your gut. I understand why you brought it up with Ben today, but perhaps you should back up a bit now and spend some time together with him. Let him know that you both care, and what you want from the relationship. Be forthright.”
“Okay. We’ll do that. Thanks, Laura,” I said. We said our goodnights and Laura headed for her bedroom.
“Do you really think Ben has another alpha in mind?” Colt asked when we were alone.
“I can’t imagine who it would be,” I said, pushing away the strong possessiveness that tried to overtake me when I thought about it. I squeezed Colt’s hand. “Spend the night with me?” More than anything, I wanted to just be with him. Ben wasn’t the only one who was overwhelmed by all the talk of mating.
“Okay,” Colt said. He pecked a kiss on my lips.
Twenty minutes later, we lay in bed talking. After going over the earlier conversation in the living room, we agreed that Laura was right—we had to be completely truthful with Ben. He was young and innocent and in such a vulnerable position. His only experience with an alpha had turned into a kidnapping, when Neil Havers had turned him over to a government beta and left the country. We decided to ask him to go on a picnic the following day so we could relax and have an uninterrupted talk.
Chapter five
Colt
Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate with our plans. When we got up the next morning, it was pouring rain.
“Angus and I have got to have some private time with Ben,” I told Maddox after breakfast, which had been quiet and a little awkward. Maddox and David kept casting questioning looks at me, Angus, and Ben, but the baby was irritable and would hardly let David get a bite of food in his mouth, much less question us. Maddox finally took Ollie into the nursery to rock him, which is where I’d followed him.
“Just take him into Gramps’ wing of the house,” Maddox suggested after I told him about the picnic ruined by the weather. “David and I won’t interrupt.” He looked down at the baby, whose eyes were drooping. “As soon as I get Ollie to sleep, we’ll have some alone time, too.” He winked at me.
“That’s not what we’re going to be doing,” I protested. Maddox laughed. He was teasing me.
Shooting him the bird, I went to get Angus and found him standing outside David’s sewing room.
“What are you doing?” I asked.