Troubled Past to Perfect Future

Part 6

BRIAN'S POV

I wake up to the feeling of someone running their fingers through my hair. I slowly opened my eyes to see Dom smiling down at me.

"Good morning, babe," he says, kissing my temple.

"Good morning," I say softly, rubbing my eyes.

"Mia will be angry if we don't get up soon. She always makes everyone's breakfast before she goes to school. After we eat, I'll give you a tour of the house before we go to the garage," Dom says, getting up and getting clean clothes for today. I stretch before getting up and grabbing my bags to find clean clothes. I find clean boxers, socks, and pants, but all of my shirts are dirty.

"Damn," I mumble, checking again for a clean shirt.

"What's wrong, Bri?" Dom asks, grabbing my hands and stopping me from digging through my stuff more.

"I haven't been able to go to the laundromat. All of my shirts are dirty," I say, frowning. When Dom let's go of my hand and moves away, I look and watch him go to his dresser, grab one of his t-shirts, and hand it to me.

"You can wear one of mine. We'll put your dirty clothes to wash before we head to breakfast," Dom says, smiling at me. I smile before I head to the bathroom down the hall to get dressed and do my morning business. After I am done, I go back to Dom's room to find him placing all of my dirty clothes in a clothes basket.

"I can do that," I say, quickly moving to finish the job.

"I am also able to do it, and you do not have to do everything yourself, Bri. Part of being a pack is that everyone helps. You were getting dressed, so I helped," Dom says, taking the shirt I had just picked up and placing it into the basket.

"That is my job though as your mate," I say, tears rolling down my face.

"Oh, Bri, no," Dom says, sitting down and pulling me into his lap. "A true mate bond means we are equal. It means we help each other whenever we want. You do not have to do everything for me while doing everything for yourself." Dom wipes the tears streaming down my face. I went to question what he said when there was a knock on the door.

"Dom? Brian? Breakfast is ready," Mia says through the door. I stand up and go to leave, but Dom stops me.

"We'll be there in a bit, Mia," Dom says, not letting go of my hand he had grabbed to stop me from leaving.

"I'll put you guys some back, so Vince doesn't eat it all," Mia says before I hear her walk away.

"Bri, I know this is all new and completely different from what you were taught. Do you understand what I was saying earlier?" Dom says, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"No, I don't. I don't understand at all. My whole life I was taught to do everything and never allow an alpha to do something as trivial as the laundry. I'm so confused," I say, crying again. I bury my face into Dom's neck when he pulls me against him.

"I promise I will help you to understand the true meaning of a pack and a mate," Dom says, rubbing my back.

"Dom, can I talk to him alone for a couple of minutes?" Jesse's voice says from behind me, making me jump.

"Don't take too long. I don't want your food to get cold," Dom says, kissing my temple, grabbing my dirty clothes, and walking out. I frown and move to follow Dom, but Jesse stops me and pulls me over to sit on the bed, which I now notice is made.

"Brian, I don't know what all you went through growing up, but I do know how it feels to be raised like a slave," Jesse says, putting one of his hands over one of mine.

"You do?" I ask softly.

"Yes, I do. When Leon found me and brought me here, I struggled at first. I thought I had to do everything for everyone, but everyone helped me. You just need to remember everyone here are equals," Jesse says, squeezing my hand.

"Can I ask about before Leon found you?" I ask.

"Of course. I figured you might. My mom died when I was born, and I was very small and sickly. I always have been small and sickly. My father blamed me for what happened and told me I had to make it up to him and the pack by being their slave. I thought he was right. If I did something wrong, he would beat me up and chain me to a tree outside our territory so other people could do anything they wanted to me. Leon was passing by one day and found me. He freed me, and we ran. We ended up at the Toretto store. Dom's dad took us in, and we have been here since. Dom has been so kind to me and Leon, though he had no reason to. They helped me realize what a true pack was," Jesse says.

"Thank you, Jesse," I say, hugging him.

"No problem, Brian. Just remember I am here for you," Jesse says, hugging me back.

"We are all here for you, Brian," Leon says from the doorway, which makes me let Jesse go and look up to see the whole pack standing inside the room.

"As I told you last night, we all know about a crappy past in some way," Vince says.

"Some of us are worse than others," Letty says.

"But crappy nonetheless," Mia says, walking forward and hugging me. I hug her quickly before walking over to Dom.

"I know this is going to be hard for me, but as long as you are all here and help me, I think I can learn," I say, looking Dom in the eyes.

"We will always be here for you," Dom says, hugging me close as everyone walks over and makes it a giant group hug.