He shrugged while trying to keep himself from laughing.

“You don’t know if you like pizza?” I asked him, and his smile faded a little.

“I…” he began, but his posture turned timid, like hearing his own voice had scared him, and he fell silent again.

Another trauma…? Was that why he didn’t speak?

Oh, like I didn’t know the answer…

To stop myself from getting angry, I gave him a soothing smile and carefully placed my arm around his back.

“It’s all right, baby boy,” I muttered, caressing him. “I’ll order a few smaller ones so you can try different flavors, okay?”

He nodded, cheering up a little. I stopped to stare at him, his delicate features and baby blue eyes. His eyes met mine, and he let me enjoy his gaze longer than normal, but then he looked shyly away, a tiny smile appearing on his lips.

“Sorry… For staring, I mean… I uh… You’re just so…”

He carefully looked back at me while I tried to find the courage to say what I really wanted. He raised his eyebrows at me, expecting me to finish my sentence. It was such a bold move from him I had to smile.

“Beautiful,” I finally said.

He didn’t really react to my words. He watched me, then slowly left my arms to stand in front of me. I stayed still, smiling, as his curious eyes studied me. He carefully lifted his hand and touched my cheek, tracing down on my beard.

Obviously, my alpha’s first instinct was to bow my head and flex every single muscle we had on our body. Rene read the message right and didn’t get intimidated by it while he continued playing with my facial hair.

“You like my beard?” I asked playfully.

He smiled a little and gave me a little nod.

“Good, because I look like a little baby pig without it,” I said, grinning. “Double chin and all.”

He snorted lightly at my words, then got a little shy. He slowly moved his hand up and carefully brushed his finger over my eyebrow. It tickled like crazy, but I stayed still for him. I didn’t want to spook him or ruin his curiosity.

And he was curious. He took his time studying my face like he tried to memorize every little detail. I was suddenly awfully aware of all the gray hair I had… At least I wasn’t going bald… He then lowered both his hands and gaze to my chest, his movements slow and gentle. My alpha couldn’t flex any harder, and it tried. It tried so hard to impress this little one… I couldn’t remember if it had ever wanted to impress someone this badly.

But this one was special.

“So… What is the verdict?” I asked, and he frowned at me. “Am I decent enough for an old guy?”

He squinted his eyes at me, turning his head away a little like I was suspicious, but he had a tiny, playful smile on his lips. I raised my eyebrows at him, inching a little closer while I waited. Finally, he let out a short chuckle, nodding.

I breathed out, acting relieved while I slowly brought my hands on his back, and since he didn’t seem to mind, I pulled him into a hug. With one hand still resting on my chest, he put the other arm around me. He brought his nose to my neck and took in a careful breath, willing to bond with me, so I did the same to him, again trying to find his scent. Was it a little bit stronger now? Maybe. I couldn’t tell apart the fine smells, but it was growing.

It didn’t take long before Rene yawned. I guess Francis was right. My pheromones calmed him too much. Though he needed a lot of sleep, so it wasn’t a bad thing. He tickled my skin with his nose and breath a little while longer, but then he laid his head on my shoulder, his eyes falling closed. I pressed him gently against my chest while he made himself comfortable against my neck.

“You were supposed to eat, little one,” I murmured, brushing my hand through his hair.

He hummed in agreement but did nothing to stay awake. I smiled at him.

“You can take a little nap in the living room while we wait,” I said, but again, he stayed still, slowly falling asleep. “Do you mind if I carry you?”

He drowsily shook his head.

“Okay. Here we go…” I muttered and leaned down to put my arm around his feet.

When I carefully picked him up, he put his arms around my shoulders, but didn’t open his eyes. There was so much trust in him now… And I’d nearly destroyed it because of Hale… I was glad everyone else had stopped me from making the worst mistake of my entire life.

Because letting someone or something take him away from me would be a huge mistake, I already knew that.

I gently carried him into my living room. His body felt so small in my arms, reminding me of how incredibly thin he was. The boy was supposed to be my size, but now he barely weighed the same as my leg. I tried to be extra careful while holding him because all I could feel was bones, and I doubted my fingers digging in between them felt good.

But he didn’t seem to mind. When I tried to lay him down on the couch, he held onto my shoulders, refusing to let go. I sat down next to him, supporting myself against the armrest while he clung onto me with surprising force.

“You need food, baby boy,” I muttered with a chuckle. “And I need to order the said food.”

He let out the tiniest little growl of disapproval, making me laugh.

“Boy, I’m wrapped tightly enough around your finger as it is,” I said, pulling him to sit up so I could take a seat next to him.

He didn’t give me much time to get settled before he lay back down, using my lap as his pillow.

“Is this better?” I asked, and he nodded. “All right. Now the food…”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but Rene kept shifting as he tried to make himself comfortable, and his little wiggles stole my attention. I smiled as I watched him. When he finally settled down, I pulled a blanket from the backrest and wrapped him in it.

“Is this good?” I asked, and he nodded. “Good.”

As I ordered the food, I stared at Rene, slowly caressing his shoulder. He seemed tired, but he wasn’t falling asleep. He stared into nothingness in front of him, his expression… I couldn’t really tell what he was feeling, but something was bothering him. I put the phone away after placing my order, carefully touching his cheek with a few fingers.

“Hey…? What’s the matter?” I asked quietly.

He shrugged and shook his head, but his expression kept dropping. I couldn’t even guess what could’ve caused this sudden change in his mood, but I didn’t want to push him to tell me.

“You’re all right, baby boy,” I said soothingly, not really knowing what else to do. “Everything is fine now. I’ll protect you. I’ll do whatever you need. I’ll give you whatever you want.”

He smiled a little, but it was a sad one. He didn’t even look at me.

“It’s all right…” I murmured, slowly moving my fingers on his skin, hoping it was the right thing to do. “Everything is all right…”

“I’m… okay,” he murmured quietly, surprising me.

“Yeah?”

He nodded a little, rubbing his face against my leg. I waited for a moment, but he didn’t continue.

“You’re still sad,” I said. “Maybe I can help?”

“I don’t…” he said, curling up under the covers.

He was getting uncomfortable…

“It’s all right. You don’t have to talk,” I said, rubbing his shoulder.

He moved a little to free his left hand from the blanket and stared at the healing wound.

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

“A little…”

“Okay. When we get up, I’ll clean it and wrap it up. It’ll feel better. It’s too dry now,” I said.

He nodded, but it was clear he still wasn’t done yet. I gave him all the time he needed, waiting patiently for him to decide if he wanted to talk to me.

“I don’t… remember,” he finally said, his voice a hoarse whisper.

“Remember what?” I asked, happy to finally hear him speak, but worried that he was pushing himself too hard.

“How I got this,” he said. “How I got here. I…”

I was so relieved to hear that… He didn’t need to remember any of it.

“That’s because your alpha was protecting you,” I told him. “You were… You were with very bad people, who…”

“I know,” I whispered. “I remember him.”

I nodded slowly, the rage returning. “But I found you and brought you here. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you ever again.”

“How long was I with him?” he asked.

“I don’t know, baby boy. Too long…”

“Years, I think. I don’t have memories, but I…” he shivered and closed his eyes in pain. “I still know what happened to me, but I can’t remember.”

“Your alpha has the memories,” I explained quietly. “You may have been aware of what was going on, but your alpha kept you in the dark to protect you. And… it’s for the best.”

“Yeah,” he breathed out, sniffing.

I leaned closer to him, shielding him with my body. Maybe it eased his pain, since he sniffed once, then turned on his back, looking me in the eye.

“The first memory I have… It was my alpha… it told me it’s over,” he said, slowly getting used to talking. “I didn’t understand, but… But I think it was you. When you stopped him. That man… I think that’s what my alpha tried to tell me because after that… the pain stopped.”

I breathed out, forcing myself to stay calm. His pain was too much for my heart, and the alpha in me demanded blood. Blood we could never get.

“He can never hurt you again,” I said, touching his cheek again. “I made sure of that.”

“When I woke up… I… I was here. With you,” he whispered, bringing his hand up to touch my face. “So you… brought me here?”

“That’s right, baby boy. And I’ll protect you. Nothing will hurt you ever again,” I promised.

His expression turned soft, and the corner of his lips curled up. He played with my beard, gently twirling the longest hairs around his finger while he watched me in silence. He was getting comfortable again.

“You know…” he muttered, tilting his head. “I don’t know your name.”

“What?” I said, freezing to stare at him for a brief second. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I’m Michael,” I said once I recovered.

“Michael…” he repeated and smiled wider. “Everyone calls you the Boss, but I wasn’t sure…”

“No, yeah, no, that’s just uh… A nickname.”

“Because you’re a mafia leader,” he said.

“Yeah…” I admitted slowly.

“I don’t care,” he said so softly I wanted to hug him. “You saved me. You’re good to me. You’re patient with me. You’re… so many good things…”

“But I hurt you today. I didn’t want to, but I kind of panicked. I want to give you all the best things in this world, but I don’t know if I can give you the help you need,” I told him. “But they could. The captain–”

He shook his head, his expression turning sad. “Please. I want to stay here. With you. Don’t make me leave,” he pleaded, his voice so weak it broke my heart.

“I won’t, I promise. You are mine to protect now,” I told him, brushing his cheek with my thumb. “You will stay here with me.”

His sadness faded, and the smile returned.

“Did… Did that sound a little too possessive…?” I asked with an apologetic grin. “It did, didn’t it? I meant that… You can stay with me if that is what you want.”

“It is what I want,” he said, his voice stronger now.

And my heart… He had a really nice voice. Soft and deep and rich. I knew I’d love waking up to it every single morning for the rest of my life…

“Then I’ll never let you leave,” I murmured.

 His smile grew, narrowing his eyes. They were sparkling again…

“A little possessive?” he asked.

“Yes…” I said slowly, watching his face while I caressed his skin. “I’m the bad guy, so I’m allowed.”

“So bad…” he said, chuckling lightly.

“You don’t know the half of it,” I said with a smile.

He said nothing while he continued playing with my beard. Bonding was best enjoyed in silence, so that moment didn’t really need words. The alpha spirits in us needed this peace and quiet to learn more about each other through their subtle messages. I understood why my alpha was so eager to claim this boy, but I couldn’t fully understand why Rene’s was showing willingness to be claimed by it. By me, this old mafioso… He was so young, with a full life ahead of him. He’d easily find someone better if he only waited for longer.

But I wasn’t going to judge his judgment.

For he was mine now.