“Waiting for you,” Angus said. “Ben’s in there with David.”
“Maddox suggested we take him to your part of the house. He said Ollie’s going to sleep and nobody will interrupt us.”
Approaching the open doorway, I saw Ben inside watching David sort through his thread.
“Ben, could you come talk to me and Colt?” Angus asked.
Ben hesitated, then nodded and followed us into Angus’s part of the house. The sitting room was decorated in blues and grays and had a large, comfortable couch with recliners at each end and a painting of a pine forest hanging on the wall behind it. Angus sat on one side of Ben, and I sat on Angus’s other side so Ben could look at us both easily.
“First, we want to say that we’re sorry we sprung that on you yesterday. It must have been a shock,” Angus said.
Ben bit his lip and nodded. “It was.”
“Did we upset you?” I asked, hating to see him so subdued. “That wasn’t our intention. Angus and I talked about it last night, and we realized that you may not want to have either one of us for a mate. Or maybe you don’t like the idea of having two alpha mates. We want you to be honest with us. We won’t be upset with you; we want you to be happy.”
Ben seemed to be struggling with what he wanted to say, so I ventured, “Maybe you have a question for us?”
Meeting my gaze, Ben pressed his lips together, as though gathering his thoughts.
“You can ask us anything, Ben,” Angus assured him, and I was proud of him for how levelheaded he sounded when I knew his emotions were roiling just beneath the surface.
Ben looked from Angus to me. “You said last night that you two are a couple.”
“Yes,” Angus said.
It was just a word, but it was also a claim on me, and I didn’t expect the thrill that shot through me when he said it.
“Then, why do you want me?” Ben asked.
Angus and I shared a look. I got the feeling Angus wanted me to answer this one, so, clearing my throat, I did my best to explain.
“We want you for a lot of reasons, Ben. For one, both Angus and I care about you very much. We want you to be safe, taken care of, and happy. And Angus and I want to be the ones who do all that for you.”
Twisting his fingers in his lap, Ben didn’t look me in the eyes when he said, “I think maybe it’s more like you feel sorry for me.”
“No,” Angus said loudly, eyes fixed on Ben. “That is simply not so. If anything, we expect you to turn us down because you could have any alpha you want.”
“And, if that’s the case, just say the word, and we’ll make it happen for you,” I said, although the words tasted like dust in my mouth.
Ben shook his head, which I hoped meant he didn’t want anyone else, but I wasn’t sure.
“Is it that you only like one of us?” I asked him.
Ben’s cheeks reddened. Had I hit the mark?
“If you want Angus and not me, that’s okay,” I rushed to say. “It would be understandable. You started a bond with him. And if you want another alpha entirely, we’re good with that, too.”
A low growl issued from Angus’s throat, startling both me and Ben, who jumped.
“Angus?” I asked. His fists were clenched at his sides, and the expression on his face was not a happy one.
Shaking his head, he said, “I thought that was true, but…I…damn it to hell! I think I really have bonded with the boy.” He stood up and began to pace. “I can’t stand the thought of another alpha around him. Any alpha except for you, Colt, but I’ve got to be there, too!” He pointed his finger at me. “No way am I lettinghim go off and choose someone else, and no way are the two of you leaving me out in the cold, either. It’s got to be all three of us.”
I turned to Ben to see how he was taking Angus’s outburst and was surprised to see him smiling. When he looked at me, his grin widened.
“I’ve been so confused. I thought I just wanted Angus, but lately I’ve felt things for you, too. Not just arousal. I found myself liking you a lot. And I didn’t understand how I could do that when I was pretty sure I’d bonded with Angus. It made me feel disloyal to him, even though I didn’t think he wanted me. And if I was his, how could I want you, too? Last night, when Angus said you both wanted to mate me, I thought that Angus felt it was his duty to take care of me since he’d started the bond and that you just had to go along with it because you love him. But now I see that Angus really does want us both.”
“I feel like I’m back in junior high,” Angus mumbled, shaking his head.