26

"How is he?"

"About as well as you'd expect," Alpha Bowen sighed through the speaker. "He still thinks I'm the enemy and I'm going to hurt him. He won't leave the living room either. All he does is sit in the corner, hiding behind the arm of the couch all day."

"Give him some time. It makes sense that he's afraid, given what he's been through. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

Alpha Bowen sighed and I could tell he was thinking about his mate, Ezra. I could still remember how afraid he was when I met him, so hearing Alpha Bowen describe his behavior didn't surprise me much.

"I don't know how you did it with Milo."

I smiled at the mention of my mate. "Milo was a handful from the start. He may not have been as outwardly afraid as Ezra, but it definitely took time to get him to warm up to me. Honestly, I thought he didn't like me at first."

"How's he doing?"

"He's doing good. We've had a few setbacks, but he's still the same feisty omega from before."

I'd initially been worried that the situation with his parents would've gotten to him, but he seemed to be brushing it off which in a way, I supposed was a good thing, but it also worried me. Councilwoman Mira's suggestion of therapy had crossed my mind a few times and it was definitely something I wanted to look into—not just for Milo, but for all the rescues. I knew it would likely take some time and a lot of coordination and communication but if it could help then I was willing to try it.

"I was actually going to take him out today," I continued, leaning back in my chair. "After everything, I just want to give him a day to decompress."

"That sounds nice. Hopefully, he enjoys it." Alpha Bowen hummed. "Have you heard from your brother yet?"

"No," I bitterly answered as I thought about Solomon. I'd tried texting him but, predictably, he didn't respond to any of my messages. I could tell he was reading them though, which pissed me off even more. "I've sent some wolves to go find him. They should be back in a day or two."

"What is your plan once he comes back? You're going to talk to him and then what?"

I sighed. "I don't know."

Alpha Bowen remained quiet for a few minutes before finally saying, "Maybe it's time to consider banishment."

The words seemed to unlock a pain I didn't know existed. "Alp—"

"I'm not saying you have to, but think about it, Slater. If this was any other wolf, would you hesitate to banish or even kill them? I get that he's your brother, but he hurt your mate—the person who is supposed to stand by your side and help you lead your pack. If you lost Milo you'd be a mess and he knows that. Do you really think he'll stop if you welcome him back?"

I ran my hand through my dark hair. Truthfully, the thought had crossed my mind, but I hoped it would be the last resort. Solomon and I had drifted apart over the years. Part of me hoped we could patch up our relationship...but Alpha Bowen wasn't wrong. Even if Solomon and I somehow managed to mend whatever was left of our relationship, I'd never trust him again. I'd always be watching over my back, trying to figure out if he was planning something else.

I'd never trust him around Milo.

A dry laugh escaped my lips. Our parents would be so fucking disappointed to see what became of us.

"I'll consider it and make a decision next time I see him," I responded.

"That's all I'm asking you to do," Alpha Bowen said. "I'll let you go now."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later."

I hung up the phone call and leaned back in my chair. I stared up at the ceiling for I don't know how long before I got up to head back to the house and get Milo. Everything had already been planned for today, so now all I needed was him.

I drove the car back toward the house and did one last check to make sure I had everything we needed. Blanket? Check. Basket? Check. Games? Check.

I smiled to myself as I got out of the car and unlocked the door. Milo sat with Simon at his side as they seemed to play a Where's Waldo game. I could tell my omega was completely focused on trying to find the striped man because he didn't react at all to my entrance.

I walked up behind him, but still kept some distance to not potentially scare him, and stared down at the cluttered scene. Milo's hands traced over the page as he checked everything multiple times just to make sure he wasn't missing anything. It was only when he found Waldo tucked away at the bottom of the book near the spine, his concentration broke and a large smile spread across his face.

"Another," he told Simon, making me laugh.

"And here I was, hoping I could steal your attention for a few hours."

Light brown eyes glanced up at me and I watched as they filled with excitement that immediately had me grinning.

"Slate!" His warm voice filled my ears and a surprised smile formed on my face.

"Since when could you say that?" I asked as I leaned down to pull him into my arms.

"Indie's been helping him with talking," Simon explained. "It seemed like he knew what he wanted to say, but had trouble putting it into words so she's been trying to help him with that."

Hearing that made my own smile grow and I made a mental note to thank Indiana the next time I saw her.

"Thank you for sitting with him, Simon. I don't say it enough, but I truly do appreciate you and Indiana."

He grinned. "It's nothing. Milo's a sweetheart. He makes it fun."

Hearing this seems to make Milo proud. He leans toward Simon and pats his head as if he were praising him because of the compliment he said.

Simon didn't seem to mind my mate's behavior and once Milo moved his hand, he stood up and brushed off his pants. "I should probably get going, but it was fun seeing you again, Milo. Bye, Alpha Slater."

"Just Slater is fine," I assured him as I walked him out. "Thanks again."

I waited until Simon was out of view before shutting the door and returning to my mate's side. I took a seat behind him and pulled him into my arms.

"I'm glad you got to spend time with your friend," I told him. "It seemed like you had a lot of fun. Are you tired?"

His head shook. "No."

"No? Well, that's good. I wouldn't want you to be too tired for your surprise." The moment the sentence left my mouth, his body turned and he faced me with excited eyes. "If you're that excited now then I'm sure you're going to love it. Come on, let's get you dressed."

As expected, Milo hurried to comply. He quickly changed out of his previous outfit, got dressed, willingly took a shower, and allowed me to brush his hair for all of five seconds before deciding to do it himself. By the time we were ready to head out, he was bouncing off the walls which was pretty cute if you asked me.

The two of us left the house and got into the car. Unlike last time, Milo thankfully stayed on his side of the vehicle but he still glanced out the window with the same joy. We drove through the woods and when we came across a small picnic setup, his face broke out into a large smile.

I took everything out of the car and placed it on the ground before heading to his side, opening the door, and offering a hand to help him out.

"Wow," I heard him say quietly as he glanced around.

"I'm assuming you like it," I teased.

Milo glanced at me with a warm look in his eyes and leaned in, connecting his lips with mine. He leaned back, studied my face which I'm sure had a slight red hue to it, and leaned in to kiss me again. And again. And again.

We eventually found our way to the blanket and he flopped down, eyeing the basket with a predatory gaze. He wasted no time opening it to see what I'd packed which was a variety of sandwiches, two pieces of cake, and a bunch of other small snacks along with bottles of juice and water.

As we sat and ate, Milo's eyes kept shooting back to the trees—a telltale sign he wanted to shift. It made sense given how long it'd been, so when he was done, I hurried behind a tree before he could realize what was happening and reemerged in my wolf form. I nudged him with my nose and his eyes lit up. Unlike me, my omega clearly didn't care for his clothes and shifted, effectively ripping the clothing. I'd planned for this, though. I wasn't entirely sure if Milo was going to immediately shift when we arrived, so I packed extra clothes just in case which proved to be a good idea.

The two of us ran around, chasing after each other for what felt like hours. The memories of the last few days faded from my mind as I focused on spending time with my mate. The way he darted around and his tail wagged told me he was having the time of his life which was what I'd hoped for.

We eventually did shift back and get dressed again, but instead of sitting back down, I led Milo to a small lake in the pack's territory. We took a seat with our pant legs pushed up and our feet dangling in the water. Neither of us said anything, we just enjoyed the other's company.

My eyes drifted down to Milo's reflection and as I stared at the obvious joy on his face, I made a decision regarding what Alpha Bowen and I were talking about earlier. I never wanted Milo to feel unsafe in our pack; I wanted him to be able to walk around freely without the fear of someone harming him lingering over us. I wanted him to know he was safe and I was willing to do whatever it took and if that extended to exiling my brother...so be it.

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