Chapter Seven
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THE HOUSE STILL SMELLED of paint and freshly cut wood.
It would for a while. Peter had thought it would bother him more than it did, but as he lay in bed with Braden’s arm draped over his waist, he found that he actually liked it.
The smell meant change. It meant that this place was theirs, something they’d built together from the ground up.
Well, not literally from the ground up. The structure had already been here.
But everything else? The fresh coats of paint in colors they’d chosen together, the new floors they’d spent weeks refinishing, the kitchen cabinets Braden had insisted on installing himself despite Peter’s concerns about his carpentry skills—all of that was theirs.
Forever.
Peter moved slightly, careful not to disturb Braden, who was doing that thing where he wasn’t quite asleep but wasn’t fully awake either.
His breathing was slow and even, his face pressed against the back of Peter’s neck in a way that should’ve been uncomfortable but somehow wasn’t.
It was warm and safe, and Peter had never been this happy before.
The thought still surprised him sometimes. Happiness had seemed like something other people experienced, not him. With Lou, there had been moments that might have passed for happiness if he squinted hard enough and ignored all the rest, but they’d never lasted.
This was different. He was waking up every morning knowing that the person next to him actually wanted him there. Braden loved him, and Peter knew it because his mate never hesitated to show or tell him.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Braden mumbled against his neck.
Peter smiled. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t. I was already awake.” Braden’s arm tightened around him, pulling him closer. “What are you thinking about?”
“The house. How much we’ve done and how much is left to do.”
“Liar.” There was affection in Braden’s voice. “You’re thinking about something else. I can tell.”
Peter was quiet for a moment, considering.
He could change the subject and keep his thoughts to himself the way he’d learned to do while being with someone who used his words against him.
But this was Braden, and he’d proven over and over again that Peter’s thoughts and feelings mattered.
He never made him feel stupid for being honest.
“I was thinking about how happy I am,” Peter admitted softly. “And how weird that feels to say out loud.”
Braden didn’t respond right away, but Peter felt him move and press a kiss to the back of his neck. “It’s not weird.”
“It is for me. I’m not used to it.”
“Then we’ll just have to make sure you get used to it.” Another kiss, this time on Peter’s shoulder. “I plan on making you happy for a very long time, Peter. Might as well accept it.”
Peter turned in Braden’s arms so they were face to face. The morning light was shining through the curtains, casting everything in a soft golden glow, including Braden. He looked sleepy and content, his hair sticking up at odd angles and a crease from the pillow marking his cheek.
He was beautiful.
“I’m glad I left,” Peter said, the words coming out before he could second-guess himself. “I know I’ve said it before, but I need to say it again. I’m glad I had the courage to leave Lou. I’m glad I ended up here. I’m glad I found you.”
Braden’s expression softened. “I’m glad, too. For all of it. Even the hard parts that got you here.”
Peter knew what he meant. The hard parts had been brutal, including the last argument with Lou that had sent Peter running. The weeks after, when Peter had been terrified that Lou would find him, had almost been worse.
But Lou was behind bars now, somewhere far away where Peter didn’t have to think about him. Camden had made good on his promise. Peter didn’t know the details, and he didn’t want to. All that mattered was that Lou couldn’t hurt him anymore.
Peter was free.
“Do you ever wonder what would’ve happened if you hadn’t left?” Braden asked quietly.
“Sometimes,” Peter admitted. “Usually late at night when I can’t sleep. I think about what would’ve happened if I’d convinced myself that things would get better like Lou always promised they would. They wouldn’t have, though.”
“No, they wouldn’t have.” Braden reached up, cupping Peter’s face with one hand. “He would’ve kept hurting you. And you deserved so much better than that.”
“I know.” Peter did know, even if there were still moments when Lou’s voice echoed in his head, telling him he wasn’t good enough, that he should be grateful anyone wanted him at all.
Those moments were getting fewer and farther between, though.
It was easier to silence that voice when he had Braden’s voice reminding him of his worth.
“You know what I think about sometimes?” Braden said, his thumb stroking Peter’s cheekbone.
“What?”
“How lucky I am that you’re my mate. That of all the people in the world, the universe decided that you were meant for me.”
Peter felt his throat tighten with emotion. “You don’t think it’s strange that I’m a water shifter? That I’m a kelpie?”
“Why would I think that’s strange?”
“Because Lou—” Peter stopped, shaking his head. “Never mind.”
“No, tell me. Because Lou what?”
Peter sighed. “Because Lou hated shifters. He made it very clear that he thought we were less than human and that there was something wrong with us. I spent so long hiding what I was from him that I started to believe there really was something wrong with me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Braden said firmly. “And your kelpie form is incredible. You’re powerful and graceful, and watching you shift for the first time was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. Lou was an idiot who didn’t deserve you in any form.”
Peter managed to smile. “You’re biased.”
“Damn right I am. I’m your mate. I’m supposed to be biased.” Braden grinned. “Doesn’t make it any less true.”
They lay there in comfortable silence for a while, wrapped up in each other. Peter could hear birds outside their window, the distant sound of someone calling out to someone else elsewhere in pack territory. It was peaceful and everything he’d never realized he wanted until he had it.
“We should probably get up,” Braden said eventually, though he made no move to actually do it. “We told Vincent we’d come over today.”
“We did,” Peter agreed, also not moving. “He’ll understand if we’re a little late, though.”
“Will he? Because I seem to remember him saying something about how if we weren’t there by ten, he’d come drag us out of bed himself.”
Peter laughed. “He wouldn’t actually do that.”
“Are you sure? Because this is Vincent we’re talking about.”
“Fair point.” Peter glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost nine. They had time. “We could stay in bed for a few more minutes, though. Just to make sure we’re really awake.”
Braden’s smile widened. “Just to make sure we’re really awake. Right.”
“Exactly.”
“You know what?” Braden pulled Peter closer, tucking him against his chest. “I think that’s a great idea. We should definitely make sure we’re fully awake before we have to go deal with Vincent.”
Peter smiled against Braden’s skin, breathing in his scent and letting himself relax completely. This was home. Not the house with its fresh paint and new floors, though that was part of it. Home was this sense of belonging and safety and love that he’d found with Braden.
He’d spent so long believing he didn’t deserve happiness and that he wasn’t good enough for someone to truly love him. Lou had reinforced that belief at every turn, making Peter smaller until he’d almost forgotten who he was beneath all that pain.
But he remembered now. Slowly, piece by piece, he was reclaiming himself. And he had Braden by his side, patient and supportive, never pushing but always there when Peter needed him.
“I love you,” Peter said quietly.
He felt Braden’s smile against his hair. “I love you, too. So much.”
For a little while, Peter stayed right where he was, wrapped in his mate’s arms in the house they were building together. He’d come so far from the scared, hurt man who’d fled Lou. He’d found his courage, a pack, and his mate.
He’d found himself.
And he’d never been happier.