Authors note
Thank you for your patience whilst waiting for this update. Covid definitely gave me a good kick in the ass, but thankfully I'm finally feeling good again. I've got 3 more days of work before I get a month break! Obviously with Christmas and the new year coming up I'm going to very busy with family & friends. If I don't get to update prior to this, I wish you all a Merry Christmas (if you celebrate) and a happy New Year with loved ones <3
~
The familiar vibration of Blaze's phone buzzing on the bedside table broke him out of his sleep. Still half-asleep, Blaze reached over with his left hand to grab hold of the phone, bringing it up to his ear. With his eyes still shut, he focused mainly on simply listening to whoever decided to ruin his sleep this early in the morning. He must've made some incoherent half-sleep sounds in greeting since the first thing he heard on the other line was, "Blaze? Don't tell me I woke you up. It's 9 am, you're always up by 8 am?" Arabella's voice sounded.
And she was right, Blaze practically never slept in. Only if he was hungover, or had no zero motivation to get up. But this morning he was neither. Instead, this morning he had Kai's head resting on his chest and arms wrapped around his waist, preventing him from getting up. Blaze attempted to sit up as best as he could, only the movement made Kai unconsciously grab hold of him more.
"It's holidays Arabella. Let a guy get some sleep," Blaze argued, hoping she wouldn't push further.
Arabella hummed, "I guess so. Speaking of holidays, how's your lovely trip with our best friends?" Her voice dripped with sarcasm at the end.
If only she actually knew. Blaze let out a small sigh, "Uh, honestly, not too sure how to answer that one. How's your vacation? You haven't talked much about it since you've got there." He quickly tried to change the topic, not wanting to talk about himself or this trip.
Arabella groaned, "I'm so ready to come home. This place sucks." Blaze could hear a thud on the other end of the phone, probably Arabella dropping onto her bed.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaze asked, his hand finding its way into Kai's curly brown hair, gently brushing through it as Arabella talked into his ear. Blaze guessed it should've felt strange to play with another person's hair. He'd never done it before, but oddly enough the action felt calming to him. Even more surprising, it seemed to soothe Kai's unconscious self as well, as he breathed a little deeper into his sleep.
"Well, I told you my dad remarried, right?" Honestly, Blaze had no idea. These past few days have been a blur to him. "Anyway, so my stepmother is alright. She's actually trying pretty hard for me to like her. But she's not the issue, it's her daughter. I swear to god Blaze, this bitch needs a good kicking up the ass and I'm going to be the one to give it to her," Arabella began ranting and Blaze couldn't help but let out a chuckle.
Once Blaze calmed down, he spoke up, "She can't be that bad?" Blaze asked with a smile spread on his face.
"Ooh, no!" Arabella exclaimed, "She's the bane of my existence. She acts like a prissy princess with a stick shoved up her ass. And worst of all, she wears these fake eyelashes that look like the literal end of broomsticks!" Blaze was pissing himself again. "And she's like two years younger than me! She only turned 17 two months ago, yet she's acting as if she's more grown than me." Blaze continued to listen to Arabella's ongoing rant, occasionally adding comments that only led him to laugh more.
"Pup, shhh," Kai's half-asleep voice broke Blaze out of his laughter, making him pause. Kai grumbled something else, but it was too incoherent to comprehend, before continuing his deep sleep. Arabella must've also heard it because she stopped ranting mid-sentence.
"I'm sorry. What was that?" She asked, curiously. "Did someone just call you pup?" Blaze was just as confused by it as well. Did Kai just call him pup? Blaze stared down at Kai's sleeping figure, a million thoughts crossing his mind. He almost forgot Arabella was still on the phone, until she spoke again, much louder this time. "Wait a minute. Who the fuck just called you pup? Blaze!"
"Um..."
"Blaze! Who the fuck is in the bed with you?! You don't sleep around with strangers, so it would have to be your mate. But you're on a holiday with Ryder and Elias and Elias' family. How the heck did you find your mate in the middle of nowhere? Unless..." Arabella's voice travelled off, and Blaze was praying she wouldn't put the pieces together.
"Arabella, please," Blaze begged, hoping she'd hear the pleading in his voice to forget about this.
There was no noise coming out of the phone. And Blaze could feel his heartbeat in his chest pumping. "It's one of them, yes?" Arabella asked gently.
He stayed silent for a second, and so did Arabella, who was patiently waiting for an answer. Finally, Blaze sighed before humming in response, hoping it would be enough of an answer.
"Okay." Arabella sighed as well. "You'll tell me when you're ready," she confirmed to herself.
"I will," Blaze promised in a whisper.
"Can you at least tell me if you're happy, Blaze?" She asked in all seriousness, and Blaze's heart felt warm with the amount of care she had for him.
Blaze smiled as he looked down at Kai.
Goddess, he's gorgeous.
From the first time his eyes had landed on Kai, he had struggled to look away. Everything about Kai had pulled him in, and Blaze had no interest in fighting it. The idea of ever being this close to him was only a wishful dream of Blaze's. But here Kai was; mouth slightly parted as soft breaths passed through his lips. Half of his freckled face was visible to Blaze, his eyes shut gently showing off his naturally long black lashes. His right leg bent at the knee, lying between Blaze's, and his right hand resting on his waist.
"I'm so happy, Arabella."
She seemed pleased with his response since she stayed true to her promise and let him keep his secrets. "Have you spoken to Ryder yet?" Blaze asked, changing the topic as quickly as possible.
He could hear Arabella sigh on the other side of the line. "I was going to call him before you but was too scared to interrupt anything... you know. But I guess I now need to worry about that with you," she added the last part in a teasing tone.
"Shut up," Blaze groaned softly and Arabella laughed.
The two of them stayed on the phone for a while longer, Blaze talking much quieter now, trying to not disturb Kai's sleep. After he ended the phone call, he stayed still, watching Kai sleep in the most non-creepy way he could possibly be. While doing so, he focused his hearing on outside the bedroom, wondering if anyone else was awake yet. After a few minutes, he gathered no one else was awake yet, after their long night last night, making Blaze feel relief. Mainly for Kai, knowing once he woke up he'll probably freak out about the time and if anyone noticed where he was. But also partly for himself, because although he wished his friends and everyone else knew he and Kai were mates, he still felt nervous about their reactions.
Would they be shocked? Would they think that he and Kai were a good pair? Or maybe they would question their mating.
Kai was beginning to wake up, his body stretching and mouth mumbling incoherent words softly. Blaze continued to gently brush his fingers through his hair, hoping it would help calm him once he became conscious. Kai moaned, snuggling his head into Blaze's upper chest, and Blaze's heart melted at the action.
"If you keep doing that, I'll never get out of bed." Kai's voice was deep, a little raspy from sleep. Maybe that was my plan. Blaze said only to himself. Instead, he simply hummed in response, without stopping his movements. Kai stayed where he was, eyes still shut, making no moves to get up yet. Blaze wondered if where he was simply hadn't hit Kai yet or after last night, something between them had actually shifted. "How long have you been awake?" Kai asked, still resting his head on Blaze's chest.
Kai mustn't remember waking up for a short moment while Blaze was on the phone with Arabella earlier. "Awhile, I'm normally an early riser."
Kai hummed. "Why didn't you get up then?"
Blaze wondered if he should answer honestly. He hesitated in his response, hand pausing in Kai's hair. "I didn't want to wake you, and when I moved an inch earlier, you wouldn't let me go."
"Lies," Kai grumbled, covering his face from him, using Blaze's chest as cover.
"If it's lies, then why are you still holding on to me?" Blaze asked with amusement.
"Do you want to me to move away?" Kai mumbled.
"No," he quickly replied, continuing to stroke Kai's hair, hoping he wouldn't move.
"Thought so," Kai replied with full confidence and slight teasing in his voice.
Blaze rolled his eyes, even though Kai couldn't see it. Let me forward so I can put him in his place. Nick offered eagerly, wanting to knock down Kai's ego a notch.
You'll scare him off, so no. Blaze was enjoying himself too much to let Nick shoo him away. Kai must've sensed him talking to his wolf since his body tensed up. He didn't understand the reaction from Kai, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong?"
Kai slowly lifted his head off of Blaze's chest, before creating a small distance between the two of them. The sudden emptiness and lack of weight on top of him made Blaze want to pull Kai back over to him. Even though there was no longer any physical contact between them, Kai's gaze never left his, which helped slightly.
Before he could ask Kai what was wrong again, Kai opened his mouth. "Does your wolf hate me?"
Blaze was left speechless, mouth hanging open slightly. He blinked a couple times before responding, "What?" He didn't understand where the question was coming from. "Why would you say that?"
Kai's gaze dropped to the bed, unable to meet his anymore. "Kaiden's worried that your wolf hates us because of my actions. I don't want my wolf to suffer because of me. He's never wanted to be separate from you or your wolf. It was only me."
Uh, Nick? What have you done?
Nick sighed in his head. I didn't do anything. Let me talk to him.
Blaze was unsure whether to listen to his wolf. Do you think that's a good idea?
Do you want your mate to think I hate him and Kaiden?
No... Blaze a deep breath before shutting his eyes and allowing Nick to come forward. He could feel himself slipping into his mind, his ability to control his body diminishing. Nick opened his eyes, taking a short moment to breathe and get used to his surroundings. He was sitting up on the bed, back resting against the headboard as he watched Kai, who was still sitting in front of him with his eyes downcast. He mustn't have noticed the switch between Blaze and him yet.
"Kai," Nick's voice felt raspy and was lower pitched than Blaze's. Kai's eyes shot up the moment he heard his name coming from an unfamiliar voice. His body moved backwards slightly, creating more distance between them. "I thought it would be easier for me to talk directly to you, rather than through Blaze. My name is Nick." He held out his hand, offering it to Kai to shake but Kai didn't make a move to touch it, only looking down at it with uncertainty.
Nick listened closely. He could hear Kai's deep controlled breathing, but inside his heart was pounding. "I don't hate you or Kaiden, Kai. I'm just protective of Blaze and I's heart and can't seem to figure you out yet."
"Kaiden will never hurt you," Kai responded firmly, finally reaching his eyes. Nick could sense Kaiden looking through Kai's eyes to watch him, and that fact warmed Nick's soul. Deep down he knew Kaiden wouldn't hurt him, but it was Kai he didn't fully trust.
Nick shut out Blaze, not letting him listen in further on their conversation. "And will you hurt Blaze?"
"I don't want to," Kai whispered.
The answer didn't feel good enough for Nick. He wanted Kai to answer him properly; wanted to know exactly why Kai was so hesitant to accept the fact that he was mated to Blaze. The fact that Kai tried to reject Blaze, but also didn't try to accept him either. But Nick didn't want to push him, because he knew they only just made somewhat of a progress last night and he didn't want to ruin it.
"We will be here for you Kai, we always have and always will. But you can't go back to avoiding Blaze once we leave this room, and no, I'm not asking for you to announce anything to anyone. Just acknowledge him and you two can figure it out from there."
Kai took a deep breath. "Okay," he replied softly. "Do you want me to let Kaiden take control?"
Nick wanted nothing more than to meet his mate, to get to know him, to understand him as his own person and not simply as Kai's wolf. But he also knew deep down that Blaze and Kai weren't ready yet, and he had enough respect to wait. If he got a glimpse of Kaiden, he knew he wouldn't be able to survive not getting it all the time. With a soft smile, Nick responded."Not until Blaze and you are ready."
Kai slowly nodded, understanding what he was indicating.
"Okay, thank you," Kai looked over to him with soft eyes, yet with a sad smile. Nick wanted to reach out to wipe that sad smile off of his face, but he held himself back.
Instead, he added in a teasing tone, "Not too long, though, or I'll force you to give Kaiden to me."
Kai laughed under his breath quietly. "I'm sure he'll love that, actually." Nick's heart skipped a beat. Fuck, if he didn't leave soon, he was going to take back his previous respect and instead demand to see Kaiden. He needed to get away.
Hopping off the bed and picking up his workout clothes from the chair Blaze had left out the previous day, Nick walked over to the bedroom door. "I'm going for a run. You can sort yourself out before Blaze comes back in 2 hours' time," he informed Kai, before exiting the room and shutting the door behind him.