Moving Forward

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Max wanted to go back to bed. Or better yet, go home to his isolated, quiet house where there was no one to disturb the peace, and take Kyle with him. As pleasing as it had been to watch Kyle pull a pair of jeans over those powerful thighs, it wasn't really worth the effort of getting up from the comfort to go talk to his mate's brother.

But when they arrived at Carter's office, Andy, as politely as she could, asked Max to hold back. He and Kyle shared a look.

"Please," Andy said, "Carter isn't trying to be rude."

Kyle raised a brow. Max shrugged. "It's alright, I can wait here."

With a last, uncertain look, Kyle stepped through the door and left Max to entertain himself until his mate came back out.

For a moment, Max just took the time to appreciate being on his own. Sure, Andy was just a little way down the hall, but she wasn't trying to get his attention or talk to him. He was alone. And it was a little strange to realise just how tired he was.

Being around everyone for this past... what? Three weeks? A month? He'd spend so much time around these people, most with such high energy, he hadn't noticed how much it all took out of him.

No wonder he spent so much time asleep.

In all honesty, he was feeling the haze of sleep settling over him, just waiting there in the hallway. It couldn't have been ten minutes, but there he was, nodding off like a newborn. He wouldn't sleep. Not here in a public place, but he was most certainly capable of dozing. And in the quiet, it wasn't difficult.

He did, however, notice that there was a lot of sound proofing in the house. Normally, in a house of this size, the sound would carry. He'd be able to hear what was going on outside as much as what they were talking about in the room behind him. But at the moment, he was practically deaf. It was a little eerie... but perfect. Especially once he felt his eyes start to close.

And that was how Kyle found him, asleep standing up and leaning against the wall of Carter's office.

Max didn't even startle at the tap on his shoulder to wake him up, but on seeing Kyle's mostly bewildered expression, he quickly became much more alert.

"Are you alright?"

Kyle nodded, seeming quite out of it.

"Are you sure?"

"We... I need to... somewhere else?" Kyle managed.

Well that was a little disconcerting, but Max followed Kyle's lead. And surprisingly, it wasn't just to go back to Kyle's room. They only stopped there for a second before walking straight back out and making the hour long trek through the forest. It noisy, with birds singing, but none of that appeared to be filtering through to Kyle.

Max could tell when a person was swimming in their own thoughts, and right now, that was exactly what Kyle was doing. Processing. And this walk - when they could've easily ran, or simply driven, both of which would've taken much less time - was for Kyle more than anything. So Max refrained from asking Kyle about it. He would later, just not... now.

And they walked. Nothing more, nothing less, passing the lake with barely a glance at the almost Eden-like scene.

Kyle wasn't really speaking. But he didn't need to. His body spoke for him. The slight hunch in his shoulders, bunched up muscles, creased frown of his eyebrows... he was confused.

And here, in the clearing before they made it back to Max's home, he stopped.

Max took that as his cue. From behind, he wrapped his arms around and pressed his forehead into the man's back.

"What did Carter say?"

Kyle shrugged, putting a hand on Max's. "My parents were in there too."

There was a long pause. Max kept quiet, supportively rubbing his free hand over his mate's stomach.

"I'm... they..." Kyle sighed, collecting his thoughts. "I'm not gonna be Alpha."

In all honesty, Max wasn't entirely sure how becoming Alpha happened. But he knew Kyle was the oldest child, and had been assuming the alpha title would go to him. Max tightened the hug.

Kyle sighed again. "They... they're going to give the title to Carter."

"How're you feeling?" Max asked quietly.

With a shrug, Kyle turned in Max's arms to rest his head on Max's. "I'm not sure. I'm a little angry. But mostly relieved."

"Angry?"

Another shrug. "They decided without me. Didn't really speak to me about it. I just wish they discussed it with me first." His voice was surprisingly soft.

Max had never heard him like this before. Of course he'd always been a little distant or sparse with his words - Max was sure Kyle was a little bottled up - but he wasn't soft with his words.

"Relieved?" Max prompted.

Kyle's body relaxed almost completely, the tension in it running out and leaving him leaning a little more heavily on Max. "I didn't want to be Alpha." It was barely more than a thought passing on the wind, he was so quiet.

Max held him.

"I didn't wanna be Alpha." Kyle repeated, louder. "I've never said it before. My parents seemed to expect me to be the next Alpha and nobody suggested that I might be allowed to choose not to. And now that I'm not... I'm not sure what to do with myself."

"It'll be ok." Max said, pressing a gentle kiss to his mate's collar bone. "We'll work it out eventually."

They would. Together. Because there was no way in hell that Max would let Kyle go through this alone. Sure, he was relieved, but now, there was so much uncertainty where that tension he held used to be.

"Before we do..." Kyle murmured into Max's hair, "can we go to yours? I know I only woke up a couple hours ago but I'm exhausted."

"I feel that." Max agreed.

The house was only five minutes from the clearing they'd stopped in.

Max walked with his hand firmly clasped in Kyle's.