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Everett cuddled me all night. Not once did he take his hands off me and I loved every second of it. He woke up this morning and planted kisses all over my face, across my lips. He said he had things to do with Fran and Jesse, he asked if I wanted to come but I wanted him to have some time alone. I certainly wanted to sleep more after last night.

So when he left I drifted in and out of sleep. Dreams felt real. I wish they were but when I woke up, the reality was Everett was gone.

I take a shower and head downstairs. I expect it to be past midday but it's only ten, so I make some breakfast. Saying good morning to pack members I see along the way.

Just as I begin to crack some eggs in a pan, I hear the front door open and slam behind me. I whip my head over my shoulder, eyes colliding with Milo as he enters.

He looks like a mess. Eyes red and sore like he's been crying for hours non-stop. His brown hair looks like a bird's nest and his shirt is all creased and crumpled.

"Milo?"

He doesn't meet my gaze. He's whimpering and crying and I have no idea what to do.

I rush to his side but he's murmuring things I cannot hear.

"Milo," I say again, not realising how much my heart is currently pounding. "What's happened?"

He is terrifying me and I have no idea if I should mindlink Everett and let him know what is going on, but I refrain so that Milo can speak before I make any impromptu decisions.

I grip onto his arm gently. "Milo," I say again, tears are streaming down his face. It's obvious that he's intoxicated, or he's taken something. "Let's sit down, okay? Then we can talk about what's happened."

With a tug of his arm I take him to the living room, away from anyone who could hear or want to eavesdrop. Milo can't control his emotions, he's bawling like a child and my heart aches for him.

My hand slides over the sofa and I take his hand. I've never seen him like this, that's why I'm so concerned.

"I found him." He blubbers.

I crease my brows. "Found who?"

"My mate."

My eyes widen instantly. "What happened? Did he–" I can't even bring myself to say the words reject. I couldn't even imagine that pain. Even though I wanted Everett to reject me when he first found me, that pain must be excruciating knowing what the bond feels like now.

It would feel like half my soul had been ripped out and trampled on.

Milo shakes his head. "It's worse," he squeezes my fingers in a death grip. "It's so much worse. I've fucked up, Reign. I've fucked up and I don't think he's ever going to forgive me."

I lick my lips and squeeze his hand back. "What is it, Milo?"

"I went to a party," he starts, wiping his tears for them to be replaced with new ones. "I decided to have sex with some guy upstairs, it was one of those type of parties."

"Sex parties?"

Milo nods. "We were going at it and suddenly I started to feel weird. The door opened and I looked at who it was to shout at them, turns out it was my mate. Standing there, watching me get fucked by some other guy and I–"

He breaks down again and I wrap an arm around him. "I never expected to feel the bond instantly, I never thought it would feel like that. I always thought everyone exaggerated because they thought they were instantly in love, but I felt it. Everything was perfect and then it cracked because of the horror, the betrayal on his face."

"Hey," I whisper and stroke my hand down his creased shirt. "There is no shame in having sex."

"But there is so much shame in having sex and having your mate walk in whilst someone is pounding you into the next fucking century," his voice grows louder but I don't flinch. I understand how upset and distraught he is. He's beyond heartbroken.

I drop my head onto his shoulder softly. "And what happened after that?"

"I raced to put my clothes on but he was already out of the door," he grumbles quietly. "I felt so confused because I didn't know that's how I would feel. It was amazing and utterly heartbreaking at the same time."

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah," his voice cracks. "He was angry, more heartbroken than I was. But fuck, he was so beautiful. So fucking beautiful and now he hates me. He hates what I did to him, he said that this isn't how we should have met. He's never going to get the idea of me fucking someone else out of his head. It's all ruined."

Milo leans forward to place his head in his hands. He's disappointed in himself, that's obvious but it is shattering me to pieces.

"I'm sure he will come around," I say optimistically. "You guys are meant to be together. The Moon Goddess said so. Okay, maybe you made a mistake but is he really going to throw that away for a moment before you actually knew each other?"

He sniffles and turns his head towards me, eyes burning and sore. "He won't forgive me. Ever. He's going to reject me and it's all going to be over and I'll have no one."

"Stop that," I scold him. "Stop talking like that. You're really saying that all wolves keep themselves for their mate?"

"They should," he grumbles deeply, eyes rolling at himself. "I'm just a fucking whore who can't keep their legs shut."

I frown instantly. "Hey, none of that. You're telling me that Everett has never slept with someone whilst waiting for me?"

Milo looks at me apprehensively. But I already know the answer. There is no way he can have the skills and fuck-ability he has without having some kind of experience. And I'm not angry about it, I can't be when I'm not a saint myself.

"He has," he nods. "But not as many as me. I've probably shagged half the district, I can't help myself when it comes to parties and alcohol. I have too much fun, I end up horny as fuck and end up sleeping with someone or the other. And now because I've been selfish, I've ruined everything I could possibly have had."

"Everything can be fixed."

Milo laughs sourly. "No it can't," his words are harsh but I don't take it personally. "You didn't see his face. You didn't hear what he said, how he said it. He made it clear that he wants nothing to do with me. That I should have respected him. And I should have. This is all my fault and I have no one else to blame."

I purse my lips for a moment and suddenly Milo collapses into my arms, sobbing again. My arms wrap around him, cradling him like a baby as he grips onto me for dear life.

"You need to try and talk to him again, tell him that it can be fixed, that you can make it up to him. Prove to him how much you want this, how much you want to work on your relationship." I stroke my fingers through his brown hair.

Milo chokes back another cry. "Why does this hurt so much?"

I ache inside. "Because it's incredibly painful to be rejected, to feel not wanted. I understand what you're feeling completely. But you can fix this Milo, I promise you, you can. You might have fucked up but you're mates, he needs you, you need him. Go and show him how sorry you are and that you'll put things right no matter what."

His dark blue eyes are watering so deeply that I can see my own reflection in them. When they fall I wipe them away, holding him close so that he knows that he's not alone.

"I'm so scared," he murmurs. "I hate this."

"You have us, you have Everett and Fran and Jesse. We're all going to be here for you," I say softly, continuing to stroke his head. "It's okay to feel upset and scared. But everything is going to work out. It worked out for me when I thought the worst of everything."

Milo looks at me as I wipe away his last tear. He nods and hugs me tight. "Thank you, Reign." he mumbles into my shoulder, my blonde hair everywhere. "I really appreciate you."

"I'm always here," I say, smoothing my hand down his back to calm him. "We all are."

"I'm so happy you're Everett's mate," he sniffles and pulls himself together.

I smile to myself. "Me too, even if I've been thrown into this crazy family."

Milo exhales a slow laugh and moves away from the hug. Finally his cheeks are dry from his tears but his eyes are slightly watery, I hope they are the last of his tears. I don't want him to be upset anymore, it's hard to watch.

"How are you so cool knowing Everett has been with other people?"

When I think about it my stomach churns but I don't hate him for it. We all have needs. He's in his late twenties, I'd be worried for him if he never had sex. Quite frankly, he'd be losing the plot.

"Because everyone has a past, as long as I'm his future then it doesn't matter to me," I say honestly. "I mean, it's not like he's slept with thousands of people. Is it?"

Milo furrows his brows. "Well not thousands of people. I might have encouraged some of it when he used to mope around, struggling knowing that he was getting older and he was yet to find you. I thought it would make him feel better, distract him from how he felt but it never filled the hole in his heart."

He studies me like I'm about to shout at him but I don't. "It's okay, Milo."

"God," he exhales his head to the ceiling. "Why are you so fucking nice, Reign?"

The corners of my lips twitch. "Because I want to understand everyone. I've lived a life of judgement and I'm over it now. I want to understand people and their needs, their emotions. At the end of the day, we all have feelings. We all feel crappy and down sometimes and we're certainly horny as fuck."

This makes Milo laugh and I'm relieved. I need to stop him from crying and to keep laughing. "You can say that again," he huffs out a breath. "Everett really cherishes you and adores you, you know that right?"

I nod. "I know. He makes it obvious."

"You guys are good together," his shoulders relax. "I'm happy for you both."

"Even though I'm still figuring shit out, I'm happy too," I smile confidently. "This is the first time in years where I have been truly happy and you're all to thank for making me feel so welcome and settled within your family."

Milo grips my fingers gently. "Even Everett has changed. Things have been hard for him in the past. He struggled keeping up as Alpha without you, without his Luna."

"He struggled?" I frown.

"Big time."

"He never said anything about that."

"Because he hates showing his weaknesses, and you, Reign, are his weakness."

I can feel my brows crease at his words. "I make him weak?"

"No," Milo shakes his head. "You make him strong. He is just weak for you. Soft."

"Oh," I stabilise my heart rate.

"He was lost without you," he offers me a smile. "Before you, he was a mess. Now he's strong, he has his shit together. He's an even better Alpha, although I thought that would be impossible. You make him a better man, Reign."

I flick my eyes between his tired ones. Suddenly I feel guilty. He's been going through his own shit too, with his mother and struggling to find me. A knife feels like it's seared through my heart.

Now realising I should make more of an effort to understand him as much as he tries to understand me.

"Thank you," I say to Milo.

No one has ever told me I make someone better. That's a new compliment for me.

"And thank you for your support. I really needed you," his eyes falter a little.

"Are you going to find him and put things right?" I ask.

"I'm going to try my fucking hardest to win him back."

And I have every faith he will.

♦ ♦ ♦

Read the rest of the story, epilogue and bonus chapters over on Patreon!
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Author's Note

Hello my loves, what did we think of this chapter?👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼

Our poor baby Milo, ugh this part hurts me so much. If you want to read ahead, Milo's story up to chapter 17 is on my Patreon and includes the scene at the sex party!

I love their friendship and how much they care about one another! It's so cute🥰

Don't forget to leave a vote if you enjoyed. It means the world to me!

Love Savanna x

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