Page 67 of Tempting Fate

“Have I tried—Fuck, I don’t understand any of this. I don’t—”

“Don’t what?”

“I don’t know how it can work.” The backs of my eyes burn, even as I think of the way Drew surrendered to Adam’s hard kiss, completely unabashed about the fact that I was standing right there, watching them. “I’m not—I’m supposed to… I’m supposed to look after him. Them. And last night, I didn’t feel… I didn’t feel like I did that.”

“Hm.” Drew takes a sip of his juice, then sets it back down on the coffee table. “How so?”

I press my lips together. How much can I tell him? How much should I tell him? I don’t think Em and Jamie will mind, and I think Drew will keep it to himself, but—

“I won’t tell my mates, Patch. Or anyone. And whatever you’re going to tell me, I doubt it’s something to be ashamed of.”

“Em brought a picnic,” I say. I don’t know that I’m even going to say it until the words pass my lips. “He organised everything. Fed me. Provided for me. He asked if Jamie wanted to join us, and they both… I just did what they said.”

Drew leans forward, shoulders tense. My wolf reacts in kind, all the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. “You did want to do everything that happened, right? You said yes?”

“Yes! Of course, yes. It’s not that. It just feels different. Not… not right.”

Drew settles some, but he still watches me warily. “Not right how?”

“I’m the wolf. I’m supposed to take care of them. Feed them. Protect them. Let them know they’re mine.”

Drew smiles. It’s faint, but there, and at least that means his mates aren’t about to burst in and murder me or anything like that. “This isn’t about having two mates at all, is it? Not really.”

“I guess not.”

“Your sister’s mated, right? You and Dax mentioned her.”

“Yeah.”

“To another wolf?”

“Yeah.” I shrug. “So?”

“So who’s doing the feeding? The protecting?”

I growl. Drew doesn’t react to the sound. He continues looking at me, eyes all soft. “It’s not the same.”

“I’m trying to work out if this is truly a wolf thing or a man thing.”

“That’s not—”

“Because it doesn’t matter what you like in bed, Patch. Or out of it, for that matter. So long as you and your mates are on board.”

“I know, but—”

“I know what people think when they look at me,” Drew says, and I come up short. “And especially when they look at me and Sam. Out on the street, I mean. Wolves know. Vampires know. But humans? They see me, and they see him, and the assumptions I see on their faces… I don’t care about that. I think I did at first, but getting hung up on that, getting in my own head, wasn’t going to help him or Adam or me. That’s what’s important. Isn’t it?”

My throat is dry. It hurts when I swallow. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Providing isn’t all about food and protection.” Drew sighs. “My dad fed us plenty. Our pack was safe. But he was a terrible father and an even worse alpha. You show up for what they need. I feed my mates, sure, but I listen to them, too. I help them when they’re troubled. And they help me. That’s what being mates is.”

I rub my eyes. They’re hot, but not wet, though I’m probably a second away from everything spilling over. Drew watches, silent, as I try to breathe through it.

“Sorry,” I mutter, voice thick. “I really didn’t think—Jamie left. Last night. Me and Em went to make dinner and he texted us and I don’t think… I think I messed that up long before Em even arrived.”

“Oh, I do have good advice for that one.” Drew smiles. “Don’t mess up the way I did. Talk to them. That’s important. At least if you’re honest, you tried. Being dishonest… That can kill everything before it begins. Trust me on that.”

The words are grave and strike me as incredibly true. “Yeah,” I say. “I do.”