Chapter Four
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BEN LOOKED UNCOMFORTABLE, sitting on the couch and talking to Drake.
To be fair, he often did when he and Taylor spent time with other people, but he’d never said anything about it.
He’d never refused to meet Taylor’s friends.
He’d also never mentioned the fact that Taylor had introduced him to them without mentioning that he was Taylor’s mate.
Taylor should tell his friends about Ben being his mate.
The only reason he hadn’t was that he knew they’d have questions, and he didn’t have answers.
He wished he did. He wished he understood himself and what being Ben’s mate meant better, but no matter how much time he spent thinking about it, he still had no idea.
Did it mean that he’d never been straight?
How could he not have known that? Now that he knew, he’d been rethinking his relationships with guys, but doing that made him anxious.
He felt like he’d lied to people when he hadn’t.
He just hadn’t known. Hell, he didn’t even know if he would have found out about his queerness if Ben wasn’t his mate.
Taylor knew that Ben hadn’t turned him gay, but it kind of felt like it because this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for him.
All in all, it was very confusing, and Taylor wasn’t ready to tell his friends, even though they’d be happy for him.
The only one who knew was Jacob, but between his new job and his mate, he hadn’t been spending a lot of time with them lately, so he probably hadn’t noticed that Taylor was keeping this close to his chest. Even if he had, he would never tell their friends because it wasn’t his place.
Taylor glanced in Ben’s direction again.
They were supposed to watch a movie, but Drake had been chatting since Taylor had turned the TV on.
He was acting like he and Ben had been friends for years rather than having just recently met, and while it was sweet, Taylor could see that it was overwhelming for his mate.
Ben had gone from being completely alone in the forest to being surrounded by an entire pride of people who wanted to know him.
Most pride members stayed away because they weren’t that close to Taylor, so even though they were curious, they kept their distance, but others, like Drake, were friends with Taylor and were spending more time with Ben.
It would be good for Ben. He needed more people than just Taylor in his life.
Taylor didn’t know if Ben was planning on sticking around, but they were mates.
If he was, he would become a pride member, which meant he should let other pride members in.
Even if he didn’t become best friends with any of them, Taylor expected him to be close to his friends and their mates.
He frowned. He was thinking as if he and Ben were together, which wasn’t the case.
More than that, he was thinking as if he and Ben had a future together.
They hadn’t talked about that, though, and he didn’t want to assume, but at the same time, they were mates.
Ben had made it clear that was important to him, which was why Taylor assumed that he’d stick around, but what if he wanted to go back to his family?
What if he didn’t want to stick around Green Hill?
Taylor wasn’t planning on leaving. He’d always lived here, and now, he had a job that he enjoyed. He didn’t want to leave all of that behind. At the same time, though, was it fair to ask Ben to do just that?
“Do you want me to tell him to leave Ben alone?” Dennis asked, startling Taylor out of his thoughts.
He blinked at his friend. “Do you really think you can tell Drake to do anything and have him obey if he doesn’t want to?” They both knew their friend, so they were aware that it wasn’t going to work.
Dennis chuckled. “Not really, but I can try.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure Ben can tell him himself if it’s too much.”
Dennis glanced at the two. “I wouldn’t be so sure. Drake can be a lot, even when he doesn’t mean to be.”
“I’ll talk to Ben and see what he thinks, but I really think it’s fine. He needs to get used to living here, you know?”
Taylor turned his attention back to the TV screen, but he could feel his friend watching him.
He tried focusing on the movie, but he had no idea what it was about.
He’d picked the first thing on his Netflix home page.
He didn’t think any of them were watching it, anyway. They’d just put it on for some noise.
“I think it’s sweet that you took it upon yourself to take care of Ben,” Dennis eventually said. “Even though I know that Gal didn’t ask that of you.”
Gal hadn’t because he hadn’t needed to. Of course Taylor was going to take care of Ben.
Ben was his mate. Taylor wanted to be there for him and to protect him.
He wanted to make sure that whatever had happened to Ben to make him end up alone in the forest didn’t happen again.
He never wanted Ben to be on his own, having to survive in the forest. If there was someone coming after Ben, Taylor needed to know so he could protect him.
Dennis didn’t know about their bond, though. He thought that Taylor was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Taylor wasn’t sure he would’ve done it if Ben hadn’t been his mate.
But no matter how slowly Ben and Taylor were moving and how confused Taylor was, in the end, Ben was his future.
Taylor couldn’t imagine one without his mate now that he’d met him.
It didn’t really matter that Ben was a man.
He was Taylor’s mate, and Taylor wouldn’t get a second chance at that kind of bond.
It wouldn’t be fair to Ben to push him away, but it also wouldn’t be fair to Taylor himself.
Did that mean that he was ready for more?
He wasn’t sure. It did mean that he wanted to know what had brought Ben here, though.
Even though Gal hadn’t pushed, he’d have to eventually if Ben didn’t go to him.
They needed answers. They needed to know if the pride had to prepare for someone coming for Ben.
That meant talking to Ben. He and Taylor spent a lot of time alone, so it wouldn’t be hard to find a moment to do so, but there was no guarantee that Ben would answer Taylor’s questions.
He’d been avoiding them and didn’t talk about what had brought him here, and while Taylor had been happy to give him time, they were running out of it.
If someone was after Ben, Taylor needed to know.
He waited until Dennis and Drake left. Ben got to work cleaning up the small sitting area in the room he shared with Taylor as soon as the door closed behind them, and Taylor watched him.
It was clear that Ben was busying himself so he wouldn’t have to sit down with Taylor.
It was almost as if he didn’t want to do so, even though he’d spent several days attached to Taylor’s side when he’d first arrived.
At the same time, it was good to see him move as if he belonged here, in this room, with Taylor.
Things had gotten better. Taylor was back to work, and Ben stayed in the house when Taylor wasn’t home.
It was why Taylor had introduced Ben to his friends.
That way, Ben would never be alone. It would be good for him to make friends, and it would mean that Taylor could work without obsessing over whether or not his mate was safe.
But spending less time together also meant that they hadn’t gotten as far as Taylor had hoped they would.
He felt like Ben was more than happy to ignore the many conversations they needed to have, both the private ones and the ones with Gal.
Unfortunately for Ben, he couldn’t avoid them forever.
Gal wouldn’t kick him out if he didn’t tell him what had happened, but they’d have to come up with a solution to protect the pride without knowing who was coming.
Taylor didn’t want Ben to have to leave, even if it was only to an apartment in town. He suspected that if Ben did, he would follow, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wasn’t like Jacob. If he could convince Ben to move in with the pride so they could both live here, he would.
“I think we should talk,” he said softly.
Ben had been picking up the bowls of popcorn, and he froze. He didn’t move or say anything, and Taylor knew that he’d have to take the lead. He’d already been aware of that. He’d just hoped that Ben felt comfortable enough with him now to be honest with him.
“You know you’re going to have to tell someone what happened to you eventually,” Taylor continued.
He also continued watching his mate. He didn’t think that Ben would run, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Ben tried to avoid answering his questions.
He didn’t feel safe yet. Even with Taylor and his friends, he still jumped at every loud noise.
He still looked around like someone was hunting him.
Maybe someone was, and if that was the case, Taylor needed to know.
* * * *
BEN HAD KNOWN THIS time was coming. He’d known that he wouldn’t be allowed to stay with the pride if he wasn’t honest with them and told them what had happened to him.
It made sense. Gal wanted to know so he could protect his pride.
Taylor wanted to know so he could protect the town.
It was his job, and Ben felt proud of him for that, even though he didn’t think that was his place.
Taylor was his mate, but they weren’t together, and considering everything, Ben wasn’t sure they ever would be.
He hoped, of course. Taylor had introduced him to his friends.
He’d been spending as much time with him as he could when he wasn’t working.
He was making sure that Ben ate enough and got enough rest. None of that meant that he wanted them to be together, though.
Taylor was a protector. It made sense that he’d want to protect his mate of all people, even if he wasn’t planning on them being together.