Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
[RONAN]
For a little while, things were perfect.
Harlem was happy to stay on pack land, Ronan could finally get some decent sleep, and they’d fallen into a rhythm of work, school, dates, and nights in bed wrapped around each other that made Ronan’s structure-loving heart happy.
But he’d noticed recently that something was off.
Harlem had started acting strangely, almost like he was anxious, and kept cutting himself off mid sentence.
It was odd, and Ronan was determined to get to the bottom of it. Starting with lunch.
His boyfriend had shot a few covert glances at a seafood restaurant during their walks from campus to Harlem’s apartment.
It was a nice one, probably a little on the pricey end for a student no longer on a feeder’s budget, and Ronan wanted to treat him to something nice.
He hadn’t expected to run into Harlem’s friends on the way to the restaurant, but Harlem seemed happy to see them, bouncing along beside the half-fae he’d introduced as Kian with a lot more exuberance than he’d had in the past few days, despite the ribbing they’d given him.
Ronan had questions about that. If they were serious, he needed to know.
“I apologize for ambushing you,” Dorian murmured. He walked beside Ronan, his posture relaxed and his smile a little apologetic. “My mate can be mischievous at times. We hadn’t intended to interrupt your date.”
“It’s fine,” Ronan replied, smiling when Harlem glanced over his shoulder with a bright smile. “Tell me more about the gifts. With the way he’s acted so far, I thought he’d be uncomfortable with the idea of me buying him gifts.”
Dorian snorted, trying to hide it by clearing his throat.
When Ronan raised his eyebrows, the vampire grimaced.
“I may have spent the last few years spoiling Harlem rotten. He was my feeder, as I’m sure you’re already aware, and it’s hard to find a feeder that doesn’t push boundaries or take advantage. I wanted to show I appreciated him.”
They stopped in front of the restaurant Harlem had been eyeing and Ronan pulled the door open, his attention still on Dorian. “Spoiled rotten, huh?”
Harlem froze, his eyes wide with horror as he turned to look at them. The scarlet flush in his cheeks made a smile tug at Ronan’s lips. He didn’t have to be embarrassed. This would actually work out best for the both of them. He’d been holding back before now. “I guess I need to up my game, then.”
Blinking rapidly, Harlem didn’t seem to know how to react to that.
Kian chuckled, taking Harlem’s arm and pulling him inside while murmuring something in his ear low enough that the noise of the street prevented Ronan from hearing it.
Whatever he’d said made Harlem blush again, glancing back at Ronan with a hopeful expression.
Harlem kept sneaking glances at him through lunch, nibbling on his lip and fidgeting just enough that Ronan noticed the behavior.
He wanted to talk to him about it, to ask why Harlem felt the need to hide his preferences and reassure him that he wasn’t bothered, but he didn’t want to have that conversation in front of Harlem’s friends.
He was embarrassed when first Kian, then Dorian, alluded to him being spoiled regularly. Ronan refused to tease him further.
Despite Harlem’s distraction, the meal was pleasant and the conversation was nice.
Ronan better understood why Harlem checked in so often on his friends after hearing the story of their mating, agreeing with Kian that the druid’s refusal to share the whole truth might’ve caused more damage than good.
By the time the meal was over, he felt more connected to the man at his side, nuzzling his neck when he wouldn’t look in Ronan’s direction after his friends walked away.
“Come on, baby. Let’s talk.”
He didn’t miss the little whimper and he gave Harlem a reassuring lick before guiding him back to his office. This conversation deserved privacy.
By the time they got back to the office, Harlem was practically shaking and the scent of anxiety was so strong, every pack member in the office turned to look in their direction with a frown.
Ronan shook his head, silently telling them to leave it alone, and ushered Harlem into his office, closing the door quietly behind him.
Before he had a chance to sit, Harlem started talking a mile a minute, his face pale as he rushed to get the words out.
“I’m not like that anymore! I swear! I don’t expect you to do what Dorian did, he was just being nice and gift giving is his love language and it would’ve been rude to refuse and throw the gesture into his face. I–”
“Did you like being spoiled?” he asked calmly, leading Harlem to his desk and pulling him into his lap after sitting in his chair.
Harlem immediately latched onto Ronan’s shirt, fisting it like he was afraid of being pushed away and didn’t want to let go.
Ronan wanted to reassure him, but he needed to know the whole truth first.
“I…” Tears filled Harlem’s eyes, his bottom lip trembling. “I don’t need it…”
“That’s not what I asked, baby,” Ronan murmured, cupping his cheeks and forcing Harlem to look at him. Seeing those gorgeous amber eyes filled with tears tore at his chest like a thousand knives. He needed to fix it. He couldn’t live knowing Harlem was upset. “Can I tell you something?”
Harlem nodded, careful not to dislodge his hands, tears slipping over his cheeks. His body went taut, like he was bracing himself for the worst, and the ache in Ronan’s chest grew.
“I’ve been holding back too.” When Harlem’s startled gaze whipped up, Ronan chuckled.
“I like spoiling my partners, but not everyone is comfortable with that. I try to hold back those urges when I’m still getting to know my partners, until I’m sure they’d be receptive to that.
You were so insistent on things being equal, I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable by smothering you with gifts and attention.”
Harlem’s countenance broke and he choked on a sob, blurting, “I like it! I just didn’t want you to think I was a spoiled demanding brat! I didn't want to chase you away!”
Those words didn’t come from Harlem. Ronan got the feeling those were someone else’s words, possibly an ex or a former friend.
Someone had gotten into this gorgeous man’s head and made him think wanting to be cherished was wrong.
Dorian had done the groundwork in fixing that mindset, but Ronan needed to be the one to cement it in Harlem’s head that there was nothing wrong with asking for his needs to be met. Ronan was happy to do it.
“I don’t think there’s a reality in all the realms where I’d ever think you were a spoiled, demanding brat,” he murmured, pulling Harlem closer so he could nuzzle the side of his head.
Harlem melted under the gentle treatment, clinging to Ronan as he muffled little sobs.
“You enraptured me from the day we met, and you letting me spoil you how I want only makes you more perfect in my eyes. You don’t need to hide who you are from me, baby.
I love everything about you. I love you. ”
Harlem jerked up with a gasp, amber eyes searching Ronan’s. “You do?”
Ronan nodded once. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you since the first time you smiled at me. I wanted to ask you to move in with me that first week.”
Huffing out a watery laugh, Harlem leaned his forehead against Ronan’s. “I would’ve said yes if you’d asked. I hate my apartment. It’s too quiet. I’m lonely when you’re not there.” He closed his eyes, that soft smile Ronan loved finally overtaking his face. “I love you too.”
It was a good thing Harlem had been clear about wanting Ronan to spoil him. He wouldn’t have been able to hold back if Harlem had given him that confession before this conversation.
“Then I guess you’re moving in. Because I’m not going to be satisfied until you’re smiling every single day.”
[HARLEM]
Ronan wasn’t kidding about moving Harlem in.
He had several members of his pack at Harlem’s place before the work day was done, packing up his belongings and moving them to Ronan’s house.
By the end of the night, his apartment was empty and all of his necessities were unpacked and put in their place in Ronan’s home.
Their home. Harlem had a hard time muffling the squeal of excitement. This was really happening.
Some people would probably consider it too fast, they’d only known each other a few weeks, but Harlem didn’t care. Ronan wanted him there. And he wasn’t taking no for an answer. Not that Harlem would have said no.
When Ronan left for work the following morning, he urged Harlem to sleep in, smothering him with little licks and kisses until Harlem gave in with a laugh.
He curled himself around Ronan’s pillow, basking in the sexy werewolf’s scent, and drifted off with a smile on his face, waking up a few hours later relaxed and happy, without that painful ache in his chest whenever he woke up alone in his apartment.
He’d just finished brushing his teeth when he heard noises coming from downstairs.
He knew it wasn’t Ronan, he’d texted Harlem good morning once he was finally awake and they’d been chatting ever since, so he was curious who was in the house.
He tip-toed down the stairs, poking his head into the kitchen to find several unfamiliar werewolves lounging or rustling around in the fridge.
“Um, good morning?”
All eyes swung his way and the werewolf who’d been leaning back in his chair and balancing himself on the back two legs straightened abruptly. The movement sent him toppling backward, but he rolled out of it gracefully enough, shooting Harlem a sheepish grin.
“Morning!” He eyed the fallen chair, then Harlem, eyes going wide and soft as he asked, “You won’t tell Alpha I was doing that, will you?”
Harlem’s mouth dropped open. “The puppy eyes are real?” He slapped his eyes over his hands to block out the surprisingly effective look. “Oh goddess, stop! How does that actually work?”
Snickers filled the room, and when Harlem peeked through his fingers, the other members of the pack that had been poking around were all grinning at him. He dropped his hands, wiggling his fingers in greeting.
“Hi. I’m Harlem.”
“We know who you are,” the one by the fridge said, returning to her perusing like poking around in the alpha’s fridge was just a regular occurrence around here. Ronan did mention that his house was basically the place the pack liked to hangout… “You’re the guy who’s got our alpha all in a tizzy.”
The guy from before with the chair nodded, picking up the fallen furniture and spinning it around so he was sitting on it backward. “We don’t normally get emotions from him, he’s usually all about control. The fact that we keep picking up on how he’s feeling shows just how distracted he really is.”
Harlem frowned, fidgeting with his fingers. “Is that… bad?”
“Not bad, no,” another werewolf sitting at the island in front of a laptop said without looking up. “Curious, though.”
Chair guy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, that’s why we’re here. We wanted to meet the guy that’s got our alpha feeling so schmoopy that the whole pack is picking up on it. Figured you had to be something special to have him putting off those kinds of emotions.”
Harlem felt his cheeks flushed, unsure if he should be embarrassed or pleased. He was glad Ronan was happy, but it was a little embarrassing that the whole pack was picking up on it.
“What are you guys doing in here?” a familiar female voice said behind Harlem. She put a hand on his shoulder, scowling at the wolves in the kitchen suspiciously. “Didn’t Ronan tell you to let Harlem sleep in?”
“We didn’t wake him,” the one with the laptop murmured. “He was awake when we came inside. I heard him.”
Harlem looked up at the woman next to him, the one who had rescued him from his ‘kidnappers’ the other week and protected him from their overenthusiastic questions until Ronan came downstairs. She was nice and Ronan seemed to trust her. She smiled down at him in return.
“Hi, Harlem. I’m Tasha. Ronan asked me to keep the pack from driving you insane today. I can’t guarantee they won’t try, but I’ll do my best to keep them off your back.”
Harlem grinned up at her. Now that he didn’t have to pretend anymore, he didn’t feel bad letting a little sass out to play. “I think I can handle them.”