MATT by Candace Ayers

Author:Candace Ayers [Ayers, Candace]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lovestruck Romance

14

Cannon

I pressed my lips to Matt’s chest and spoke against his warm skin. “What do you mean, he freaked out?”

“Just that. He freaked. Told me that I was a pathetic pussy. Knocked me around. Said that shifters weren’t gay. Shifters were straight and had mates of the opposite gender so they could mate, hence the name, and carry on our race. He beat me until I lost consciousness all the while letting me know how vile and disgusting I was. Claimed I wasn’t his, the whole shebang.” He looked down at me with intensity burning in his blue eyes. “When I came to, bruised and bloodied, we were driving in his truck. He drove me to the tip of Texas and dropped me off. Just dropped me, half dazed, with no luggage, no money, nothing. He told me not to come back until I’d learned to be a man. Said he’d tell people I’d run off.”

My heart felt like it was shattering when tears welled up in Matt’s eyes. I sat up and pulled him onto my lap. When I wrapped my arms around him, some of the tears escaped and streamed down his cheeks.

“It was a difficult year, a difficult few years, but I managed to pull myself up. I learned where to find the homeless shelters, got a job, a GED, then college for my undergrad, then veterinary school. One of my biggest accomplishments was graduating from veterinary school with my DVM. I had no friends or family there at the ceremony, but it was a turning point. It gave me some pride in myself. I didn’t come back to Burden until after my father died, and when I did, no one ever asked any questions. I just came back, opened the clinic, and carried on like nothing ever happened.”

He shook his head and scrubbed his hands over his eyes. “Sorry. I’m supposed to be comforting you. Come on. Let me hold you.” He tried to slide from my arms, but I tightened my hold and relaxed into the headboard behind me. “Holding you is comforting.”

Fuck, here I was thinking my mate was a coward. My mate was anything but a coward. Matt was one of the bravest men I knew.

“I wish things were different. I want to be with you in front of everyone, Cannon. You’re my mate. I just can’t. Can’t this be enough?”

A lump formed in my throat and I was embarrassed to find that I was close to tears. Can’t this be enough? Such a simple question. Yet, it was heavy enough to bring me to my knees if I’d been standing. Could it be enough? Could hiding our relationship behind closed doors under the cloak of night be enough for me?

With a short burst of an exhale, I pressed my lips to his head and looked up at the ceiling. It would have to be enough. What else could I do? Be without my mate? That fate seemed far worse, especially considering I’d already marked him.

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