Torn Between Tides

Chapter Twenty One

"Trevor's outside," Roman spoke, looking up from his phone. "He's waiting."

"He can wait for a minute more. Finish your breakfast first," Colt retorted.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're kind of bossy?" Roman said with a light chuckle.

"Once or twice—" Colt muttered. Roman raised a brow, as if saying 'oh really?' Colt sighed, before shrugging and continuing, "—a day."

"That's more like it," Roman hummed, eating the last piece of bacon. He stood up, grabbing his bag as he gave Colt a quick peck on his cheek, not wanting to make his friend wait for him for too long. "Gotta go now."

"Wait," Colt grabbed the swimmer's elbow, pulling him back as he wrapped his arms around him. Roman was startled at first, but he relaxed in Colt's warm embrace as he hugged him back.

The two men stayed like that for a minute or so, breathing softly and feeling as if their racing minds had finally slowed down. Eventually, Colt half-heartedly pulled away. He kissed Roman's temple, giving him a small smile before taking a step back.

"I'll see you soon," Colt whispered.

Roman parted his lips, but no words came out. The gentleness that Colt showed him never failed to surprise the swimmer. His hold, his words, his everything was so goddamn tender at times that Roman simply could not comprehend how to respond. Nobody had ever treated him that way, and Roman was both scared and excited about getting used to this side of Colt.

"Yeah," Roman's voice was equally soft, "soon."

With one last lingering look, Roman finally went out the door, leaving Colt with the familiar emptiness that being away from his mate always seemed to cause.

However, there were other matters on his mind at the moment. Theo had spread the word about the pack-wide meeting in the evening, and Colt still had to figure out how he was going to tell everyone about Roman.

What was he supposed to say? 'Hi all, I found my true mate. Oh, by the way, he is human and doesn't know about the existence of werewolves or mates so don't mention that in front of him. Plus, we aren't even exactly dating yet, is this what the kids call a situationship nowadays? Also, don't worry, I won't abandon my pack for him like mom did!'

Colt groaned as he sat down on the couch, running a hand through his hair. Having a mate was supposed to be the purest thing for werewolves, and it didn't usually matter whether they were human or not. It would've been a blessing and Colt would've been sure of his pack's support if it wasn't for what they went through in the past.

Colt didn't have any family or a protegé that could become the next Alpha. If anything were to happen to him then...then the pack would be in shambles. So he knew that people were going to be wary of Roman and the news, and it just might make their already puzzling relationship all the more complicated.

But Colt had no choice. The truth was going to come out sooner rather than later. He was sure that there must already be rumors about the human that frequently visited Colt's house, so it would be for the best for everyone to know what was going on from their Alpha himself.

"You're Colton fucking Rhodes," Colt mumbled to himself, "you can handle making a small, stupid announcement."

The announcement was neither small nor stupid, and he was Colton Rhodes, one of the most feared Alphas in the country. But matters related to his swimmer had already proved to have the tendency to make the oh so powerful Alpha weak in the knees.

Colt didn't want to worry or sulk anymore, so he went on with his day as normally as possible. Keeping up with his human job was tough, especially now that his assistant, Diana, who usually dealt with most of it had cut down on her hours as she was pregnant.