How could Ben think so little of him? And why hadn’t the man ever asked him if he drank? All of the pain and sorrow of the last nine years could have been avoided if Ben had only spoken to him. But no. Ben had chosen his path, and now it was time for Dave to choose his.

Starting with Gay Pride Week at Disney World.

With luck, Dave would find that he was one of the rare Wolves who had more than one mate. It was so far from common that most Wolves looked only for one, but if Dave was one of the fortunate few, he’d find someone who loved him. Someone who didn’t have the emotional baggage he and Ben had.

It didn’t matter that he still carried around that stupid shirt, hoping Ben would come to his senses. It definitely didn’t matter that, even if Ben did, he’d never have the balls to wear it. It had become the symbol of Dave’s hopes and dreams, and he took it everywhere he went. It was under his pillow at night, in his desk drawer during the day. Hell, he’d even taken it on vacation before, but not this time. Dave reminded himself not to pack it. He wouldn’t need it. The odds of Ben showing up in Disney World, looking for his ass and ready to apologize, were pretty damn slim.

His fingers dove under the covers, his hand clenching around the soft material of the T-shirt.

God, he was such an idiot.

“What’s your plan? Going to torture him? Going to make him beg for forgiveness?”

“Rick told him about the migraines?”

Emma snorted. “Rick was all set to Outcast him.”

Dave froze. Oh hell no. No. No matter how pissed he was at Ben, he couldn’t picture putting his mate through that torture. Ben would be stripped of his powers as Marshall and sent down the mountain. He would be fair game to any Wolf who thought they could take him. Odds were good he’d be dead within a year or two if he didn’t find a new Pack and Alpha willing to take a chance on him.

Most wouldn’t. Most would assume he’d been Outcast with good reason and would drive him away with prejudice. That new Wolf living in Halle, the pretty one with the green hair and the huge Bear mate, was the exception to the rule, and the only way she’d managed was by staying wolf for years at a time.

“Please tell me he didn’t.” Because if Ben had been Outcast Dave would go to him, rejected or not. Dave would protect his mate until they found a new place, a new home.

Dave would kill Rick if his mate died.

“He didn’t.”

Dave collapsed, his fingers once more brushing over the material of that goddamn shirt. “Fuck. Don’t scare me like that.”

When he looked over at the Curana, he saw that she’d had every intention of scaring him just like that. “Honey, you need to claim him.”

Dave snorted. Yeah. No shit. Just the thought of Ben in danger was enough to send his wolf howling for the door, any thought of protecting himself or his heart gone in an instant.

Maybe that was what was needed. Maybe, instead of waiting for Ben to take matters into his own hands, Dave should do the claiming. Ben might be older, but apparently he was nowhere near wiser.

Maybe, just maybe, the trip to Disney would restore Dave’s spirits and make approaching Ben easier. He grinned and bit into his burger.

Maybe it was just what the doctor ordered.

Ben dropped the package of meat at the back door of Dave’s cabin. Flowers hadn’t worked. He’d found them strewn across Dave’s back yard. The chocolates he’d left had melted into a gooey mess. Ben had caught sight of Dave rinsing the back porch off and muttering dire threats about whoever had left them there.

That left his wolf’s suggestion of meat. Maybe this would win Dave’s attention in a way the more feminine offerings hadn’t. Besides, he had to replace the hot dogs he’d filched from Dave’s refrigerator when the man was off working. If Rick saw them there he’d tear the Beta a new one.

Ben bounded back into the woods, pleased with himself. He knew Dave was home, but from the smell of things his mate wasn’t alone. That didn’t bother Ben. He knew the person Dave was with and trusted him implicitly. Rick would take care of Dave in a way Ben couldn’t, not yet anyway. He just hoped his mate hadn’t developed another one of those debilitating headaches. It would just about kill him to know his mate hurt and wouldn’t let Ben near.

He’d tried a few times to get Dave’s attention in the week since he’d been back from New York, but Dave was avoiding him like…well, like Ben had once avoided him. Aggressively polite when cornered once, Dave had calmly waited, arms crossed, for whatever Ben wanted to say. Before Ben could even begin his apology, Chela had arrived and dragged the Beta off. The only reason Ben wasn’t pissed was because it had to do with Dave’s job as an event coordinator with the Lodge. Chela had actually apologized to him for dragging Dave away, but the relief on Dave’s face was unmistakable.

He was happy to be dragged away, even if it meant working just before a Pack meeting.

Ben trotted through the trees until he came to his own cabin. He slipped back into his human skin, changing easily from wolf to man. He strode into his cabin and prayed that this time, his offering to his mate would be accepted.

If it wasn’t, neither man nor wolf had a clue what to do next.

“Did you scent him?”

Dave nodded. What kind of teenage hell was this? Ben was leaving things—nasty, flowery, melty, bleeding things—on his back porch and then slinking away like a terrified Scooby-Doo. “The man needs a clue.”

“Then give him one.” Rick picked up the meat, his brows rising in surprise. “Fresh venison. Straight off the deer.”

Dave wrinkled his nose. “Ew.” He darted back into the house and grabbed his bottle of Mr. Clean. He doused the back porch and grabbed the hose. “I’d move if I were you.”

Rick moved. He knew Dave meant it.

Dave started the hose and rinsed off the blood and disinfectant. “Has he ever heard of ‘I’m sorry’?”

“Rumor has it he’s been trying to say it, but the women have decided he needs to grovel more.”

Dave stopped the flow of water and stared at his Alpha. “What?”

“Yup. They want you to go on vacation and come home, calm, rested and ready to claim your mate. They want Ben to suffer while you’re gone. And they want to have a hand in it so later they can whisper and smirk and look all smug when you two snuggle-bunnies coo at each other.” Rick rolled his eyes. “Hey, I tried to stop them.”

“But stopping Belle and Chela when they’re on a roll is like trying to stop a hurricane with tissue paper.” Dave leaned against the back wall of his cabin and sighed. “They’re more likely to drive him off than drive him closer. Ben hates games.”

Rick held up the bloody slab of meat.

“Don’t ask me. I don’t know what the fuck that’s about.” Dave threw up his hands and got dripped on. He ignored Rick’s chuckles and coiled up the hose. “If he really wants to apologize, why didn’t he knock on the door? Why this stupid-ass shit?”

“Maybe he thinks it’s romantic.”

The two men eyed the blood dripping to the ground from Ben’s latest “present”.

“Nah.”

Rick laughed and threw the meat in the garbage. Dave had no idea how long it had been sitting out in the sun before they found it, but the scent was already beginning to turn sour. “He gave you flowers and candy and venison steaks. What more does a guy need?”

“How about actually talking to me?”

“How about a fifty-two-inch LCD flat screen with surround sound and a vibrating recliner to sit in while watching Jessica Alba in that skin-tight Fantastic Four outfit?”

Dave blinked. “That’s oddly specific.”

“Thanks. I’m warming Belle up for our anniversary. Think it’ll work?”

“Not if you mention Jessica Alba.” Rick had claimed Belle the previous February; it was now nearly June. She’d been Luna for over a year now, and Dave had a good idea how she’d react to her mate’s obsession with Ms. Alba. “You’ve got a ways to go before then.”