Silver Oak Pack Series

Heart pounding in his ears, he gripped the door handle and turned it as silently as he could with his shaking hand. He only pushed the door open far enough to stick his head past it. The inside of the room was a lot darker than the loft had been. The curtains pulled closed over the windows, blocking out all of the moonlight. His eagle eyes adjusted quickly though, and he spotted Cash’s enormous body sprawled on the bed, one arm flung out to the side. He let out a long breath, trying to settle his pulse. He wasn’t alone. Even if Cash didn’t want him here, he hadn’t just left him to fend for himself. Whoever had done those terrible things to him wouldn’t be able to take him back. “What are you doing, Ore?” Cash’s deep voice, thick with sleep, called out to him before he could pull the door all the way shut. He bit his lip and pushed it back open. “I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered out, not sure how to explain. “Are you okay?” Cash asked, sitting up in bed. Ore’s eagle trilled in his chest at the site of all of that bare skin as the covers dropped to Cash’s waist. There were tattoos covering a lot of his white, lightly tanned skin. Both biceps, a shoulder, and his forearms were decorated with black ink. Now that they weren’t hidden, he could see the faintest glow coming from a handful. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask what they were for, but he held it back. They weren’t actually friends. No matter how much his eagle liked the way Cash smelled or looked or took care of him. It didn’t change the fact that as soon as Alpha Amato said the word, Cash would be taking him to the edge of the territory and sending him on his way. Like a stray dog nobody wanted. “You need something?” Cash asked, scratching at the stubble on his face. He started to say no. He didn’t need anything, but there was something he wanted. Desperately. “I can’t sleep,” he whispered, rubbing his toes on the floor as he averted his eyes. Cash didn’t say anything for a long moment. The silence twisted up Ore’s insides, and he waited to be told to go back to his own bed. “What do you need?” Cash said again. There wasn’t a trace of anger or frustration in his voice. He was rock steady as he continued to wait for Ore’s response, seemingly unfazed at being woken up in the middle of the night. He was waiting for Ore to tell him exactly what was going on so he could fix it. At least… that’s what Ore hoped. “Can I stay with you, please?” He chanced a glance up and found Cash studying him carefully, a small frown between his brows. Ore held his breath. “I suppose,” he said slowly and pushed to his feet. He wasn’t wearing anything; not a stitch of clothing covered his body, and even though Ore knew it was completely natural, that shifters didn’t get embarrassed by their bodies, heat flooded his cheeks, and he turned his face away. But not before he’d seen the very large size of… all of Cash. “I’ll grab the cot.” “Oh no,” Ore said quickly. “You don’t have to do that. I can just…” He glanced around the room, holding back a grimace. “I can just sleep on the floor.” Cash sighed and rubbed at his face again. “You don’t need to sleep on the floor.” “Well, I don’t want to make you sleep on a cot.” “It’s not that big of a deal,” Cash insisted. “This is silly,” Ore said, taking a half step back. “I’ll just go back upstairs.” “Stop.” Cash’s voice rumbled across the dark space, cascading down Ore’s spine. “Get in the damn bed.” Ore nibbled on his lip for half of a second and then darted across the room and burrowed beneath the still-warm covers. Pops’s scent was strongest in the room, but when he pushed his face into the pillow Cash had been using, he found that lavender-and-leather scent. He sucked it in deep, filling his lungs as much as he could before he could stop himself. Cash cleared his throat next to the bed. “Scoot over.” Ore’s pulse tripped as he made room on the king-sized bed. He was swimming in it by himself. Settling on the other side, he ran his eyes over the tall, broad form of Cash and shivered in excitement.