Dishonoured 🌿 Book 2.5

Reluctant Alpha

Despite the early hour, Montréal was already bustling. Aidan wasn't a huge fan of cities, but this one did have charm. Stunning architecture, plenty of greenery—at least there was when there wasn't a foot of snow blanketing everything. His phone talked him through turns to get him to the airport on time. By the time he found a place to park, Cain's plane was due to land.

He hurried to the waiting area and joined a throng reading the arrivals board. Since Aidan could see right over the heads of everyone assembled, people nearby turned to ask him to check their own queries, some in English, most in French. But he had spotted Cain's flight—which was right on time, to his utter surprise—and so he apologised and hurried to where Cain would emerge.

Aidan felt bad lying about his arrival time, but Cain had requested time for them to catch up alone first. Aidan shuffled his feet, thinking of him and Antoine to keep his mind out of remnants of his dreams which had haunted him all morning.

Though far from the first out of the gate, Cain and Aidan locked eyes and smiled. He weaved through the crowd with only a duffel bag over one shoulder. Aidan met him halfway with open arms. Cain made no pretence of being gentle, crushing Aidan to his chest. Aidan returned it in full.

"It's been too long."

Aidan smiled, stepping back. "It's only been a couple of months."

"The conference doesn't count, you were working the entire time. We never had the chance to discuss how you're faring." Cain gestured for Aidan to lead on. "How was the drive down?"

"Oh, fine. Only a little traffic." Which he passed at reckless speeds.

Aidan retraced his path to the car with relative ease and got them back on the road to the heart of the city. Cain guided him, with the help of a map, to a breakfast joint near the water. The ride was mostly silent, but in a different, distinctly familiar way. They didn't need to fill the silence to be comfortable.

Their server gave them funny looks the whole time they seated them; probably because they were both forced to duck through doorways on their way through. They folded into opposite sides of the booth. Aidan sat nearer the window, and Cain near the aisle to allow each leg room.

"So," Cain began as he added sugar to his coffee. "How have you been?"

The question was more layered than it sounded. "Where should I start?"

He hummed as he sipped. "With you, if you would."

Aidan's lips pressed flat for a moment. "Fine, I'm getting by." At his unimpressed brow arch, Aidan sighed. "All right, sorry. Being alpha is hard, and I'm only looking after four people. I can't imagine doing more than this, yet Chase has been talking about adding to my responsibilities."

"In all fairness, you are caring for Noah almost full time. I imagine if you weren't you would feel differently." His gaze slid to the window, to the frozen lake beyond. "You have more on your plate than most, it's all right to feel overwhelmed."

For some reason, this made Aidan uncomfortable. He clutched his mug and watched cars roll past for a minute. "I feel like I'm still waiting."

"For what?"

"Before the spring, I would have said I was waiting for the day I brought Noah home, then I would start moving forward again."

A cyclist persevered through slush and salt on the way to wherever they were going in such a hurry. Their back was soaked despite the barrier over their rear tire.

"And now?"

Aidan shrugged a heavy shoulder. "I wish I knew."

His vision blurred and time became meaningless until a plate was set before him. He barely remembered ordering. When he agreed to this, he didn't think it would be so hard to talk about. Perhaps his dream had affected him more than he first thought.