♥

"Again, Nathaniel!" My father barks as Imogen lunges for me.

I try to attack back but she's already got the upper hand, pinning me to the floor without any hesitation. I don't even try to resist. Footsteps crunch against the forest floor, my father looms over my body.

He takes a fistful of my shirt and yanks me upwards. "What is wrong with you today? Imogen is beating your ass."

My lips release a scoff. "Let me guess, she's a female and shouldn't be able to beat me?"

His eyes flare in my direction. "Don't use that tone with me, boy."

"Let go of me," I shove his iron tight grip from my shirt and I stumble backwards. "I'm having an off day."

"Off day..." he quirks a brow at me. "More like an off week, what has gotten into you?"

Milo. I say to myself. Milo ignoring me and distancing himself has got to me.

I told myself I'd give him a few days, maybe he needs to sort out his own shit and see his therapist, spend time with his family. But the longer time goes on, the more I think he's purposely shutting me out and is refusing to let me in.

Every mindlink ends up dissolving into the air. He's blocking me out, that wall is so high and so strong that nothing could slip past it. He must be in a really bad state and it doesn't sit well with me.

That's all I can think about. That's why I've been so distracted because I can't help but be worried about him, about his state. He crumbled after what happened at the park, after he brought up that I once called his hands disgusting.

Guilt forms in my throat, it hasn't budged in days. Only increases the more I think about it. Even so, I'm still haunted with what I said and now I feel that Milo is ignoring me because he's putting ideas into his own head.

When in fact, I only said what I said because I was angry and felt betrayed.

I never once thought he was disgusting. I'm the disgusting one for saying such cruel things. Everyone has a past, everyone has feelings. It was totally uncalled for and now I need to fix this before it spirals and I lose Milo for good.

My eyes flick towards Imogen as she stands and watches us. "I have to go and do something," I mutter before turning towards my father.

His nostrils flare. "We're in the middle of training."

"And if I don't do this now, I'll be assy for the rest of the week. Please just trust me and let me go, I have to sort something out before I end up destroying myself." I focus my eyes on my fathers, noticing the deep wrinkles in his skin.

When he says nothing more I take a step back, earning a firm nod from Imogen. She doesn't know about Milo but she could tell something was off, we all support each other and our needs. If someone needs a break, needs to fix their temperament–we understand that.

People like my father don't.

I rush to the pack house and take a quick shower and get changed into everyday clothes. I don't bother attempting to mindlink him again because I know that he won't respond, the next best thing I can do is turn up unannounced.

He did say I can do that anytime. I have Reign to back me up for that.

As I reach their house later in the hour, I'm greeted by the guards who inform Everett and Reign that I'm here. When I watch them walk towards the gate, it's obvious that something has been going on because both of them look agitated and Reign looks particularly tired–and not in a good way.

"Nate," she exhales when our eyes meet one another. "Oh thank goodness, you're here."

The relief in her eyes makes my wolf howl in agony. "Is he okay?"

Reign wraps herself up in her jumper and shakes her head, turning her saddened eyes towards Everett. I glance at Milo's brother and wait for him to speak. "He's shut himself away in his room, refuses to speak to us. He doesn't want us to help, he wants to punish himself."

Punish himself?

"Why?"

Everett shrugs. "All of a sudden he doesn't think he's worthy of happiness."

My lips have turned into a heavy frown. "Let me talk to him."

"We wanted to contact you but we were worried if it was going to push Milo away even more," Reign says, her voice now sounding strangled. "But we don't know what else to do."

We begin to walk towards the pack house when Everett claps a hand over my shoulder. "Don't be disheartened if he doesn't say anything," he says slowly.

I glance at him but Reign catches my eyes instead. Something glitters in them, like hope. Almost like she believes I can be the only person who he will open up to, despite his breakdown.

"I've got to try," I say as I walk into their house.

"He's in his room," Reign says as we pause by the stairs. "We'll be down here if you need anything. Good luck, I'm rooting for you."

The corner of my lip twitches gently. "Me too."

I give Everett one last nod before I head upstairs and down the hall, remembering where his room was from the day he gave me his clothes after we got caught in a rainshower. I stop outside his door and I raise my knuckles, what's the point in knocking if he's just going to ignore me?

My eyes glance down to the handle and I press onto it, cracking the door and peaking my head through the gap. I instantly spot Milo in his bed, tucked behind the sheets with his back facing me. He doesn't even flinch or move at the sound of the door opening, he just lays there.

But what hits me more than anything is the mixture of smells. Sadness, hatred, arousal.

It feels like someone has taken a pick-axe to my heart and is tapping away at all the little pieces. He's been struggling like this for days and I didn't come to see him sooner? Damn me for thinking he needed space when in fact, he needed support.

I close the door silently behind me and take four steps towards his bed. I can't tell if Milo is awake, asleep, or even aware that I'm in the room. But without thinking about what I'm doing, I toe off my shoes and climb into the bed behind him.

My body sinks into the mattress and I pull the covers up and over us. I scoot closer to him, close enough to hear his shallow breaths and close enough that I can see the fluttering of his lashes.

He knows I'm here but he's not responding.

For a few moments I keep my distance but I can't lay here and act like my mate isn't struggling. My wolf cries out for me to comfort him, to do something because he needs it–we all know it.

Within the next two seconds I extend my arms and I wrap them around his body, tugging his back into my chest. I lay my head against his pillow and tuck his head under my chin. I close my eyes for a brief second and enjoy the sensation of being with my mate after being ignored for days.

He's okay. He's alive and breathing, that's the main thing right now.

I clutch my arms around the front of his body and he tenses as I close around him. "It's okay," I whisper. "I'm here. It's okay. It's just me. You can relax, Milo."

For a moment I feel Milo's shoulders tense quicker than before but when I press a kiss to the top of his head, it's like all that tension washes away. "It's okay," I tell him again, I grip onto his hand gently and swipe my thumb across his wrist.

His chest vibrates and the smell of salt and sadness filters through the air. Silently he begins to sob and I only clutch him tighter but he doesn't push me away, he folds further into my chest and I kiss his hair again.

"Please don't shut me out," I beg him quietly. "I want to be there for you."

Milo's entire body shakes and I clench my eyes shut, seeing him distressed is agony and I never wish to see him like this again. Only if I can resolve it and make him smile when he deserves to be happy.

After a few moments he shuffles and I expect him to shove me off, move away from my grip but he rotates in my hold. He doesn't look at me as I smooth back his dark hair and clutch his forearm, wrapping it over his shoulder to pull him into me.

Tears have coated his face and his eyes are red and sore. "You should run," he murmurs with a hiccup. "Far, far away from me."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He sniffles and flicks those dark blue eyes at me and I suddenly can't take a breath. "Why? This isn't what you want."

"And what do I want?"

"A mate who is stable," he heaves, closing his eyes as if this conversation is too painful for him. "Someone who isn't sick, who you don't have to worry about cheating on you. A mate you can trust, a mate that you can see your future with. Someone who can give you everything you've ever wanted."

I study him with his eyes closed and I take his cheek in my hand, gently tilting his chin until his eyes flutter open and find mine. He takes down a shuddering breath and I can hear his heart thrash in his chest, matching mine. "Would you cheat on me?"

"No," he says instantly. "I'd never actively cheat on you, Nate, but I can't guarantee how I might feel in the future if something goes wrong or if I take a bad turn. I would never want you to be fearful of me, to not be able to trust me because truth be told, I don't even know if I can trust myself. That is the scariest thing."

I clear my throat. "So if you don't believe you'd cheat on me, who are you to tell me what I want?"

Milo's lips are now trembling and I hate the sight of it. "You're good, Nate. This isn't the life you want, the uncertainty, having to deal with this stupid addiction when you're probably wanting something simple and easy. I have baggage, I might fuck everything up. I never want to upset you, Nate. It's my biggest fear."

My thumb grazes over his cheekbone and I examine that face. Even though he's been wound up in bed for days, he still somehow manages to look as handsome as ever. "This is what I want. The Moon Goddess gave me you, and she gave you me in return. Us. Together. She doesn't make mistakes, she does everything for a reason. I am telling you, Milo, this is what I want. I want to give this a go, no matter how many times you try and change my mind. I won't. I want this."

His eyes sparkle in my direction, tears building again.

He doesn't speak right away so I do instead. "And I know you know that's true, because the bond tells you."

Since I slipped into his bed, since I brought him into my arms and spoke the truth about how I feel–the bond has been glowing and zapping around us. Strengthening by the second.

The corner of his mouth twitches, so subtly but I catch it. "I can't believe it does that," he whispers under his breath.

"Maybe it's what we need to be able to trust each other until we can fully learn to trust each other on our own accord." I respond.

It's true. We haven't known each other long and without it, we might not be where we are today. Once we learn to trust one another from the legitimacy of the bond, we can find true trust in one another without the help of our bond.

He nods and thrusts his head into my chest, I cup the back of his head and hold him tightly. My fingers brushing through his strands of hair. Milo's breathing begins to even and it's like I can see the chemicals inside his brain attempt to get back to level out again after distancing himself.

"They're so worried about you," I whisper to him.

"I was an asshole to them."

I pull back slowly and tilt his chin. "Then apologise and tell them you'll be better. We all want to be there for you, we all want to support you. We don't want to see you struggling when we can talk it out. They're your family, they're there to support you. As am I."

Milo purses his lips and nods.

"Do you trust me?" I ask.

He blinks rapidly and grips my fingers that are cupping my chin. "Of course I do."

"Then let me take care of you when you need, and when I need the support, I know you'd be there for me too. Wouldn't you?" I raise my eyebrow slowly.

"I'll always be there for you," he states, his voice becoming louder.

I flash him a small smile. "And I'll return the favour. It's what mates do."

Milo drags his eyes all over my face and huffs out a morbid sigh. "You're handsome and have the heart of gold, why are you trying to kill me?"

A chuckle rumbles from my chest and Milo watches my lips. "Far from handsome."

His mouth falls open in shock. "Are you joking? You're the hottest man on the planet."

Heat invades my cheeks because the hottest man on the planet is a bit of a stretch and I don't know if he's being biassed because we're mates. But when the bond sends me waves of approval I relax back into his bed. "You think I'm that dashing, huh?"

Milo gives me a bright grin in return. "Dashing doesn't even cut it."

For a few seconds a comfortable silence washes over us. "Hey," I say to catch his attention. "So I've been searching up on sex addictions and what I can do as a partner to help you, especially with tough days and when you might feel guilty. I really want to be there to support you."

His expression folds and then softens. "You did?"

"Of course I did. I had to research otherwise I wouldn't be taking it seriously."

A tear escapes his eye and he crumbles into my chest. We hold each other for a long moment because it's exactly what he needs. Exactly what I need.

He finally let me in and I'll never take it for granted.

♥ ♥ ♥

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Author's Note

AHHHHH Milo let Nate in. Ugh. I'm seriously rooting for them.🥹🥹❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰

The fact Nate just climbed into his bed and held him and whispered that it's okay is EVERYTHING to me.

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