Chapter 7
Seven
Bel hadn’t thought trying to get River and Wyatt into the car would be such a difficult task.
They’d been staying in his house for just over a week, but both wolves were sticking very close.
Once a night, they’d step out for a quick run in wolf form, but otherwise, the door wasn’t being opened for anything other than deliveries.
And there had been a lot of deliveries.
Mostly food.
Lots of food.
Dear God, they were like bottomless pits. Bel had secretly started writing down their food consumption just to try to estimate their metabolic rate. It was astounding.
Not that he minded feeding them at all.
Actually, watching them eat was fast becoming his favorite part of the day. There was something about their joy in rediscovering old favorites and trying new things that filled Bel with the purest wonder and happiness. Sitting around the table, they would laugh, tease, and tell stories.
Bel had thought he’d never feel comfortable sharing his space with someone, but after so short a time, he now couldn’t imagine Wyatt and River not there filling the rooms with their shouts and laughter.
The only other delivery to appear at the house was a small clothing delivery, and that Bel had to practically strong-arm them into ordering.
Tonight, that was going to change. Two grown men could not survive on a couple of pairs of sweat pants and a handful of plain T-shirts. His mother would be horrified that Bel hadn’t taken the situation into hand sooner, but he’d been trying to give Wyatt and River time to adjust to living with him.
Wyatt seemed to be acclimating to Bel’s home the easiest, though he found it necessary to make rounds through the house once every three hours to check all the windows and doors.
Bel tried to explain that everything was on a security system that would warn of any breach.
He wasn’t sure if this was Wyatt trying to prove he would keep Bel safe or his own feelings of insecurity about the house.
River was still acting like he was an unwanted guest whenever Bel entered the room. Too often, he’d jump up from wherever he was sitting and offer to get Bel something or to clean something even though the house was spotless. Nothing Bel said would get him to relax.
It hurt all the more to hear River’s laughter ringing out through the house when the two wolves were together. They didn’t make Bel feel unwanted, necessarily. Just that Bel’s presence made River uncomfortable.
This was all Brett and the MacPhersons’ fault. He wished he could raise Brett from the dead so he could kill the man all over again.
“Where are we going on this errand?” Wyatt asked from the passenger seat.
“Yeah, I thought we were going to divide up the household chores tonight,” River chimed in from the back seat of Bel’s plush sedan.
Bel relaxed in his seat and smiled at River in the rearview mirror. “We can do that now, if you’d like. It’ll take us a few minutes to reach our destination.”
“Fine. Wyatt gets the dusting because he’s the tallest. He can reach all the high places,” River quickly said.
Wyatt snorted. “Sure, you get the vacuuming because you’re the shortest.”
“What? How does that make sense?” River shouted.
“You’re closest to the carpet.”
A loud bark of laughter left Bel before he could catch it. He slapped one hand over his mouth while River groaned.
“Oh, har. Har. Har. You get the dishes, then.” Bel looked up at River, amused by his grumbly tone, and smiled when the younger wolf winked at him in the mirror.
“How about we take turns on the dishes? Whoever doesn’t cook gets to clean the kitchen,” Wyatt suggested.
“That’s fair,” River conceded.
“I’ll help too,” Bel threw in. Wyatt started to argue, but he was already shaking his head. “I’ve started eating what you’re both cooking. It’s only fair that I help clean up.”
River made a noise from the back seat. “Bel, eating three french fries off Wyatt’s plate and me talking you into trying a single ravioli off my fork doesn’t constitute eating.”
Okay, so maybe that was the other part of eating with them that was so enjoyable.
They both pushed until he tried little bites of food from their plates.
He liked that they cared, liked the feeling that he belonged with them.
Most people would probably see it as pathetic, and maybe it was, but he didn’t care. No one else had to know.
“What’s left? Laundry and grocery shopping,” Bel asked.
“River?”
The young wolf sighed heavily, sinking a bit in his seat. “Yeah, I’ll grab the grocery shopping if it means I don’t have to fold clothes.” Which wasn’t a bad deal for River, since all their grocery shopping was done via an app on Bel’s phone.
“That’s fine. I’ll do the laundry,” Wyatt agreed. He paused and scratched his jaw. “We forgot something.”
“What’s that?”
“Bathrooms.”
Just as Bel brought the car to a halt at a red light, River unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed the back of Bel’s seat, pulling himself forward so he was directly between the vampire and wolf.
“Bel, I will do anything you want if you will just keep your cleaning lady to take care of the bathrooms. Please, Bel, anything you ask. Anything at all.”
Bel’s body shook with laughter, and even Wyatt looked like he was struggling to not laugh.
“Is that your line in the sand? Bathrooms?”
River made a scoffing noise. “Isn’t it everyone’s?”
“That is true,” Wyatt agreed.
“Plus, you have like five bathrooms, and three of them are huge!”
“I’ll keep the cleaning service for the bathrooms if you put your belt back on,” Bel said with a broad smile.
River hooted happily as he settled in his seat and pulled his belt into place. Both wolves said they healed quickly, but Bel was not willing to put that to the test if they were in an accident.
The light changed, and Bel turned the sedan into an upscale shopping plaza. He could feel the tension zinging from both Wyatt and River as they took in their new surroundings. There was a hint of curiosity, but mostly anxiety.
“Bel?” Wyatt asked in a low voice.
“We’re going shopping,” Bel announced. “The clothes you have are nowhere close to adequate for your needs. We are taking care of that tonight.”
“Bel, no! We don’t need a lot of clothes. What we have is plenty,” Wyatt argued.
“No, it’s not, and it’s ridiculous to claim otherwise.
” Bel pulled the car in front of a fancy storefront, and a pair of men dressed in black slacks and shirts jumped to get the doors, but Bel held up one hand to halt them as he put the car into park.
Unbuckling his seat belt, he turned sideways so he could look at both River and Wyatt.
“If you want me to be your master, this is me doing my duty and taking care of your needs. If I’m not that, then let me be your friend and help you. ”
Bel fought hard to keep his tone firm and unyielding through that entire speech. He’d been practicing the damn thing since the night before, when he’d made this appointment.
But one look at Wyatt’s and River’s wary gazes had him crumbling.
“Please,” he said in a voice barely over a whisper. “I just want to help.”
Wyatt and River seemed to crack at the same time. “Of course! We don’t want to be any trouble. We didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.” They were practically talking over each other, and Bel could breathe again.
“Good. This won’t take long, and it’ll be fun.” Bel gave a nod to the man waiting beside his door, and it was instantly swept open. A valet grabbed both passenger doors on the other side of the car, allowing Wyatt and River to step out at the same time.
The surprising thing was that River hurried around the car to walk beside Bel, putting his body between that of the valet and Bel as if the vampire needed protecting.
Wyatt fell into step beside him at the sidewalk.
It was the strangest feeling, being so protected while the wolves vibrated with worry and cautiousness.
This was the first time they’d stepped out into public together.
Bel could only hope the discomfort would ease as time passed.
Another valet pulled open the door to the shop, and a tall thin man wearing a sharp suit with a bold red tie stood waiting for him.
“Beltran Varik! It’s so good to see you again!” the man greeted.
“Hello, Carl. Thanks for arranging this on such short notice,” Bel said, shaking his hand before turning back to his wolves.
“Wyatt, River, this is my personal shopper, Carl Plunkett. He’s been taking care of my wardrobe needs for about twenty years now.
I asked him to help get you both properly outfitted. ”
Carl smiled broadly, shaking their hands eagerly. “It is such a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Varik has trusted me with all his wardrobe needs, and I assure you that you are in very good hands.”
“Thank you,” Wyatt said, looking lost. River didn’t say anything. He nodded at Carl and seemed reluctant to move without Wyatt at his side.
“Now, let’s get you both measured by my assistants here while I pick out a few things for you to try on,” Carl directed, waving his hand toward a pair of men in suits with tape measures draped around their necks and little pads of paper in their hands.
Wyatt immediately started toward where Carl motioned, but River hesitated.
Wyatt gazed at his lover, a questioning look on his face, but Bel stepped forward first.
“Go ahead, Wyatt. River will be along in a second.”
Bel carefully took River’s hand in his, immediately noting the slight tremor. Fear was starting to spike through River, and Bel gripped him tighter as he stepped close enough to whisper. “You are safe here. No one is going to harm us, I promise.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
“But…” River’s voice drifted off and he squeezed Bel’s hand as if to silently indicate that he was nervous about how the people around them perceived their closeness.