Torn Between Tides

Chapter Twenty Nine

"How did you know I was in trouble, anyway?" Roman asked.

"Uh," Colt paused. How could he explain that he sensed that his mate was in danger? It would sound crazy to anyone that didn't know about the existence of werewolves. Thankfully, his eyes shifted to the backseat as he quickly thought of an excuse. "You left your gym bag in the car. I was just on the way back to return it."

"Can't believe my goldfish memory saved me from those fuckers breaking my leg," Roman chuckled, but Colt did not find that funny at all. His jaw tightened at what could've happened had he not found Roman when he did.

If they got to put their dirty mitts on him... Colt would've left them with more than just a few broken bones or bruises, no matter the consequences.

"Hey," Roman whispered, keeping his hand on Colt's arm as he noticed that the man had tensed instantly. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just a little pissed," Colt muttered. 'Little' was an understatement, but he didn't want to scare Roman away by expressing just how furious he had been when he saw the swimmer running from those punks.

"I'm okay, Colt," Roman said softly, trying to soothe him. "Completely unscathed. Nothing happened, you showed up just in time so you don't need to worry anymore."

"How can I not?" Colt questioned, making his mate sigh. "You could've gotten hurt and I— I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if..."

"Even if they would've caught up to me and you hadn't been there then I'm sure they would've just let me go after a mini beating. They only wanted to kick me out of the competition, not to cause any permanent damage," Roman reasoned, and Colt couldn't help but think how this was supposed to make him feel even remotely better.

"You don't know what I would've done if they hurt you even just a little bi—"

"Shush, let it go. Now come on," Roman cut him off as he gave Colt a quick peck on his lips. "Let's go inside. You can check my body for any scratches and then kiss them better. How does that sound, huh?"

"Don't tempt me," Cold said, making Roman let out a light laugh as he winked at the Alpha, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Maybe that's exactly my intention," the swimmer retorted.

"You should let your brother know that you won't be coming home tonight," Colt advised once they were inside his house.

Colt still didn't know much about Roman's brother, but he had noticed that the guy seemed to care about the swimmer a lot, and tended to worry too. As someone who once had a younger brother as well...Roman could relate. He was just as, if not even more, protective of Will back when he was alive.

"Oh. Yeah," Roman mumbled. Ezra was definitely not going to be happy, especially after their last conversation regarding Colt.

Roman gulped as he got hit by a wave of guilt. He was betraying both his brother and Colt. He told Ezra that he would end things with Colt, that he wouldn't get into anything serious. At the same time, he felt like he was leading Colt on. He knew he had to leave town after graduation, but it was very obvious that Colt wanted something more than just a casual fling.

The other dreadful part was that Roman wanted that too. He wanted to call Colt his boyfriend, he wanted to see where the future would lead them. He was never one to dream about having a white picket fence, but then he never imagined that he would meet someone like Colt.

But he also couldn't leave Ezra alone. Roman would never abandon his brother. Never. Not after everything that they had been through together.

He had to find a way to make both the things work. He didn't care how or what he would have to do to achieve that, he just knew that he had to do it.