Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-six
TRISTAN
The world felt golden. Sunshine filtered through fall leaves, a light breeze stirring them with the faintest of rustles. Colby occasionally brushed against him as they loped side by side through the woods.
He darted behind a tree, pounced out at Colby with a gleeful snap, and was rewarded with a mock-growl and a gleam of mischief in Colby’s eyes. They wrestled, then ran again—two wolves playing like pups in the dappled afternoon light. It was better than anything Tristan could have imagined.
And then it shattered.
Colby froze mid-stride. One instant, he’d been laughing with his whole body. The next, he was motionless. His head was up, his ears were pricked, and he was rigid.
Tristan pulled up short, confused. Colby spun around and came straight at him, his body low and aggressive, teeth bared in a warning snarl.
Tristan backed away, heart thudding, startled, but not afraid of Colby, just of whatever made Colby look like that.
It took precious seconds for his brain to make the connection.
They weren’t even near the perimeter, and the possibility hadn’t so much as crossed his mind.
But ice froze in his gut as he realized—Nico.
Colby surged into him, shouldering him hard. Not to hurt him but to get him to move.
Tristan ran. Once, he glanced back, and Colby snapped at his flank, sharp and swift. They burst from the woods into the yard, and even then, Colby didn’t stop chasing him. He snarled again and didn’t stop until Tristan scrambled underneath the porch.
Colby followed him, wild-eyed and trembling, and Tristan realized—he wasn’t angry. He was terrified.
Tristan pressed up beside him, their bodies curled together in the dirt and shadows, his heart hammering in time with Colby’s. He licked Colby’s muzzle once, a gentle reassurance. Colby flinched like he’d been struck.
He stayed close as Colby shivered, hoping his warmth would anchor him. Surely, in this dark, cramped place, literally sheltered by the pack, they were safe.
And then he realized, he had to warn the others. He didn’t want to leave Colby, not like this, but Matt needed to know. He nuzzled against Colby one last time before squirming past him and crawling out into the yard.
Shifting, he bent down. “I’ll be right back, but I need to let Matt know,” he said into the darkness where Colby lay hidden.
He was only gone two minutes because Matt was in the kitchen, but by the time he came back, Colby was out from under the porch. He’d shifted and was changing back into the clothes they’d left there earlier, with hands that shook.
Tristan reached for him, gently gripping his shoulders. “Colby?” he asked softly.
Colby’s head stayed down. “Sorry,” he said hoarsely.
“For what?”
“For what I am.” His voice cracked on the words.
Tristan’s stomach twisted. “Hey. No. Don’t—” He touched Colby’s face, coaxing him to look up. “Was it Nico?”
Colby swallowed hard. “I scented him. He was there.”
Tristan’s wolf twisted inside him with a primal need to tear Nico apart.
“That fucker.” Tristan’s voice was harsh. His words bore the weight of his hatred for Nico, for what he’d done to Colby. They sounded strange in his mouth—like they belonged to someone else—and earned him a startled glance from Colby.
Tristan reached for him and pulled him close. Held him, because he didn’t know how else to fix it, and because some things didn’t need fixing—they just needed holding.
“You’re safe,” he whispered. “You’re safe now. I swear.”
And when Colby leaned into him, shuddering, Tristan held tighter.
COLBY
Even escaping the pack hadn’t felt like that. His wolf had taken over, wild and reactive, driven by fear deeper than thought. All he’d known was the desperate need to get Tristan to safety.
Tristan had dismantled every wall he’d put up to survive Nico, and he was left with no protection. He’d let himself feel safe, and he’d forgotten, damn it. He’d been shaking with the shock of it as he chased Tristan toward shelter.
And now, he had to live with the shame of what he’d done. See Tristan realize the truth of who he was—a coward, who’d never had the guts to get away from Nico. One who’d rather run than fight.
But Tristan folded him into his arms and simply held him, like he didn’t care about any of that. Like it didn’t even matter to him. Colby pressed his face into Tristan’s shoulder, his eyes closed against the mix of fear and shame, and clutched Tristan close.
He half expected Tristan to pull away and tell him he couldn’t do this anymore. That he deserved someone stronger, someone braver.
But Tristan just held him, his fingers rubbing small circles between Colby’s shoulder blades, his voice low and calm.
“You kept us safe,” Tristan murmured.
The knot in his chest didn’t vanish, but it loosened just enough to let air back into his lungs, to feel the sting in his eyes. He held on, his face pressed to Tristan’s shoulder, the solid warmth of him a tether. Tristan’s fingers kept tracing those slow circles, steady and sure.
He didn’t know how long they stayed like that, whether it was minutes or hours. But eventually, his breathing evened out, the tremors in his limbs began to ease, and his hold on Tristan gentled.
“You’re okay,” Tristan said again, this time more like a promise than a plea. “You’re okay, Colby.”
Colby nodded against his neck.
Tristan eased back just enough to look at him, brushing Colby’s hair back from his forehead. “Matt wants to talk to you because I couldn’t really tell him anything,” he said softly.
Colby didn’t speak right away. His fingers were still fisted in the back of Tristan’s shirt, reluctant to let go. But when he looked up, he saw the belief in Tristan’s gaze, and that mattered more than his fear.
“All right,” he said at last.
Tristan led him into the kitchen, holding fast to his hand. Matt was at the table, a mug of coffee in front of him, and Jesse was sitting on a counter, looking unusually serious while Jason peeled potatoes beside him.
“Guys, give us a minute,” Matt said, and Jesse slipped off the countertop to disappear out the back door, followed silently by Jason.
“What happened out there?” Matt asked. Not gentle, but neutral. That helped.
“Nico.” Colby dragged in a breath, and it turned into a gulp. “He was there, down by the creek. It wasn’t old scent.”
“Okay.” Matt raked his hand through his hair. “Karl, Christian and Dave are out there now, hunting.”
Matt’s eyes flicked briefly to Tristan, then back to Colby. “Was he alone?”
“I didn’t scent anyone else,” Colby said. Then he realized that, even if it cost him Matt’s good regard, he had to be honest. “Doesn’t mean there wasn’t anyone else, though. The instant I caught his scent, I just—reacted.”
And if Matt had seen him chase Tristan under the porch, his ears flat and his tail clamped between his quarters, he’d know exactly what Colby meant by that. So much for being allowed to become part of the pack. It had been too good to be true.
“You think he’s here for you or for Jesse?”
“I don’t know,” Colby said, and it felt like failure.
He tried to explain. “He knows what people would pay for Jesse, and with Cale gone, he wouldn’t need to share that money.
So he definitely wouldn’t let that go without a fight.
But Nico…” He hesitated, reluctant to admit it, even to himself. “I don’t think it’s just about Jesse.”
Tristan stiffened beside him.
Matt didn’t look surprised, but he didn’t look satisfied either. “Why?”
Good question. Nico could have anyone he wanted. Wasn’t like Colby was anything special.
“I don’t know.” His confession felt raw and shameful.
His wolf stirred uneasily, remembering the clench of Nico’s grip, the bone-deep wrongness of being held against his will.
“He always said I was his. Like I was something he’d claimed and everyone else better keep their hands off.
And the more I wanted out, the tighter he held on. ”
Tristan’s hand closed around his.
Colby drew a breath. “Sometimes I thought it was all about control, or power. But sometimes… sometimes it felt like he was trying to fill a space. Like I was a replacement for someone he lost, and he loved me for being there but he hated me for not being that person.” He shook his head, and his throat burned.
“I don’t know. It never made any sense how badly he wanted to keep me. ”
And he knew now… Before, he’d thought Nico was hunting him to punish him. But it wasn’t as simple as that. It never was with Nico.
Matt leaned back in his chair, brows drawn down. “You’re saying this is personal as much as it is anything else.”
“Yeah.” Colby looked down at his hands. “And that’s what makes it dangerous. He’s smart, but when it comes to me? He gets reckless.”
He hesitated, dreading what was about to come out of his mouth but knowing he had to say it. Had to warn them.
“I think—maybe, while he’s here, I mean…”
He was finding it hard to breathe and Tristan’s hand was on his back, rubbing soothing circles. Colby was so terrified over what he was about to say, he didn’t even care anymore what Matt must think of him.
“I’m scared he might go after Tristan, too.”
Tristan’s hand stopped moving for a moment. Colby snuck a sideways glance and found Tristan staring at him, looking confused more than anything else.
“You escaped, and that made him look weak in front of Cale,” Colby explained. “And if he knows you—that we’re—I’m his. No one else’s.”
He was unable to go on, because he’d done this. If not for him, Nico might not be here, and Tristan would be safe.
Matt breathed in slowly. “And he’s just lost his pack, which leaves him… untethered. That’s not great.” He fixed Colby with an assessing stare. “You said he was Cale’s beta. Presumably, that’s an accurate reflection of his capabilities.”
Colby nodded, a lump in his throat.