Before his eyes, Rafe’s shoulders slumped, and his entire bristly personality melted. He cupped Philippe’s cheek with one hand and murmured, “Mon ange.”
“Oh God, why couldn’t you leave me behind with Ethan and River?” Fox moaned.
“Because we needed you to get us safely into the hotel,” Wyatt said.
“And we’ve learned the hard way that the world isn’t safe if we leave you unsupervised with Ethan and River,” Winter added.
“Come on! Nobody was hurt, and the contractor said he could have the kitchen rebuilt in less than a week. What’s the big deal?” Fox cried, throwing his arms up in the air.
“Ozzie is still molting over that mess,” Bel grumbled.
“That bird needs to learn to be careful about where he sticks his big beak!”
Ronan rubbed his eyes as a dull throbbing started behind them. He had no idea what they were talking about, but where he’d felt mild jealousy over Aiden’s family, he was now hit with a wave of sympathy.
“Now I see why Marcus needs to be present for all Varik meetings,” Wyatt muttered. The werewolf took a deep breath and moved away from Bel to stand near the center of the room, his large body looming over Ronan and the bed. It wasn’t a threat so much as an attempt to get everyone to focus on him. “How do you know Aiden?”
“Childhood friends,” Ronan replied easily. He relaxed against the headboard, letting the smile that had been playing on his lips fully form when he thought of the Aiden he’d known so long ago. Ronan’s eyes darted around the room. “We grew up together…a very, very long time ago. As adults, he served as a type of bodyguard for me.” Well, it was so much more than that, but he didn’t want to give too much away until he had a chance to talk to Aiden again. Plus, it was clear they had some kind of wager in place about Aiden’s age, and his old friend was not giving up his secrets. Ronan was not going to ruin their fun.
“And?” Winter prompted.
Ronan spread his hands before him. “We were attacked one night.” His smile fell away as memories of the night flashed through his head. The pain hadn’t dulled nearly as much as he would have expected, but then, Aiden had been his everything. The sun and moon. The heart in his chest, keeping him alive and fighting when the world tried to wear him down. He’d been trying to talk Aiden into running away with him. He’d had no desire to be king, but it was more than that. He hadn’t wanted a life that would take him farther and farther away from Aiden. His beautiful Aiden with the golden eyes had captured his heart slowly with every smile, every act of thoughtfulness, and every worried look when Ronan took a risk he shouldn’t. When he finally admitted his feelings for Aiden, he’d already been in love with him for two years.
Two stupid years of waiting and fearing that Aiden would push him away with disgust and hatred. He should have known better. Aiden would have never treated him like that. If he’d only acted sooner, maybe they could have escaped. Maybe they could have had a life together. Maybe things could have been so different.
Fuck, I should have kissed him that night.
Ronan didn’t have a lot of regrets in life. He’d been good about staying true to himself, living his life on his terms as much as he could. But Aiden had always been the one exception to that rule. Their world couldn’t accept two men falling in love and building a life together. He’d let their prejudice pull him from what mattered most.
Talking to Aiden that night had been his attempt to rectify that mistake. A desperate attempt to grab at something that had always terrified him. He never got the chance to kiss him.
“We were separated, attacked by a group of vampires. I was turned. The rest of the people traveling with us were killed. I never saw what happened to Aiden, but I’d always assumed that he’d been killed with them.” Ronan closed his eyes against the old swell of pain and helplessness. The feeling that he’d failed his most beloved friend.
Shoving a hand through his messy hair, Ronan tamped down those old emotions. He might not have been able to save Aiden or the rest of the men traveling with him, but Aiden had been turned