**BOOK FOUR**
Reuben is running. Running from a life he never wanted; one he never fit into.
Eli is chasing. Chasing a future he is desperate to call reality.
After Reuben's rejection, Eli thought he'd never see his mate again. However, when repo...
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I wasn't surprised to find Arlo curled up on my couch when I woke up. The omega had a habit of showing up at strange times. He was wrapped up in a fluffy, white blanket while he watched some show.
"What time did you get here?" I asked him.
Arlo shrugged. "Originally around eight, but you were still sleeping so I left and came back about twenty minutes ago."
I checked the digital clock that sat on the dresser beside the couch and frowned. It was now twelve-thirty. Normally, I would have been up and moving by now.
"You could have woke me up," I said as I took a seat beside him.
"You looked comfortable. I didn't want to disturb you," he admitted. "Not to mention you can sometimes have an attitude when you wake up and since you're already mad with me, I didn't want to risk it."
I turned to him, but Arlo didn't meet my gaze. He was fiddling with the blanket so I sighed and shook my head. "I'm not mad at you, Arlo."
I wasn't mad. Annoyed? Yes, but not mad.
"You were before," he replied quietly.
"I wasn't mad at you per se. I was mad at..." My words trailed off, but we both knew what I was going to say. Arlo opened his mouth, but I held a hand up. "Stop it. I don't want to start this argument right now."
He frowned, but I didn't let it get to me. Arlo knew how I felt about Cronan; to be more specific, he knew how I felt about their relationship. It wasn't my place to judge, but it was hard not to whenever I saw the two of them together. The issue wasn't so much that they were together, it was mainly because I knew that it'd only end in pain.
Arlo cared about Cronan and I knew the blue-eyed man cared about him too, but it was different. When Arlo fell for someone, he fell hard and I knew that when it came to Cronan, he was already in too deep. They didn't share a mate bond, but he was determined to prove to not only me, but everyone else as well that the two of them could make it work.
The issue though was where Arlo saw the potential for a relationship, Cronan saw a fling. I knew he cared about Arlo, I did, but it was a different type of love and I knew that Arlo wasn't ready to hear or accept that. My problem with Cronan wasn't because of who he was. Cronan was aggressive, rash, and lacked a filter on top of many other qualities; however, my only concern was that Arlo would get hurt in the end and there was nothing I could do but watch.
"I like him, Reuben," he told me and I just nodded.
The two of us fell into silence as we watched the TV. However, I was sure that neither of us was really focused on it. Eventually, I got up and went back to the room to get my phone. I wasn't surprised to see messages from my parents and brothers.
