The Tiger's Omega - MxM

| THE TIGER'S OMEGA | 26 |

| KALEB

Time was moving at a crawl. After two days of traveling it seemed like we were never going to make it to the safe house. I admit I was getting impatient. I just needed to know that the rest of the pack were alive and well.

Josh and I were forced to travel in the middle of the group as Darren led the party and Zev kept pace from behind. There were at least ten wolves on either side of us at all times.

Josh had managed to get Darren to stop hovering by convincing the young Alpha that he was hungry. Darren being the doting mate he was, immediately spearheaded the hunt for tonight's dinner. Leaving Zev and five enforcer wolves behind to keep an eye on us.

Before he left, Darren made extra sure that his mate was comfortable almost ordering one of the enforcers to become a wolf seat for him. Josh growled, saying he wasn't going to break if he sat on the floor and that if Darren didn't calm his shit, blue balls would a constant companion for him.

Currently, Josh was leaning against the tree trunk next to mine, eyes closed in peace and relaxation. Yet his shoulders were tense as if he was expecting a fight to occur out of nowhere. It made me wonder just what he had to endure during his time in that shack. Would it be too insensitive to ask? Only one way to find out.

"W-what happened while you were with Jared?" I asked, ripping it off like a bandaid and breaking the silence. Josh sighed heavily, resting his troubled blue eyes on my form.

"Darren wants to ask me that too, I can tell, " his eyes lowered, almost in guilt. "but I can't tell him. Not yet." My heart clenched at the pain stricken look that crossed his face.

"You don't have to tell me either," I said softly "I'm sorry for asking." Josh gave me a watery smile, so unlike the smirking or comforting ones I was used to seeing.

"No, it's fine... I just-" he heaved a sigh. "I feel like I can talk about it with you. I feel like if I told Darren he'd reslize just how... used I am. He'd reject me." His voice broke towards the end. "That's what scares me the most. I know that I don't deserve him but... I love him, damn it, I love him and I could lose him. If he found out he won't want me anymore, Kaleb, I know it."

My eyes filled with tears, but I wouldn't allow them to fall, instead I resolved to help my new best friend as best I could. I'd do anything to see him smile.

"Josh, that's not true and deep down you know it. Deep down, you know he loves you too, no matter what." A single tear trailed down his face, the vulerability in his eyes wasn't gone but there seemed to be a newfound resolve gleeming in them.

Taking a steadying breath, Josh closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. "He never penetrated me there, he preferred my mouth for that. He would beat me, just for fun or when he was frustrated..." His expression took on a faraway look, as he was reliving the abuse, "then, he'd masterbate over my body while I bled out. It didn't matter if I was conscious or not. He seemed to enjoy watching his semen cover my bruises, especially the ones on my face. Sometimes he told people to watch, he loved having an audience."

"Did they touch you too?" came Darren's deathly calm voice. We hadn't heard his approach and the sound of his voice caused us both to jump. Behind him was my mate who'd been checking the surrounding area for signs of rogues. The enforcer wolves seemed sense the tenseness in the air and made sure to stay on the other side of the small clearing because of it.

Josh swallowed as his his mouth open and closed, but no words came out. "H-How much did you hear."

"Enough." Darren's tone remained impassive, the only sign of the anger he was supressing were his fists that clenched and unclenched at his sides. His nails had enlonged, creating gashes on his palms. Josh almost seemed to cave in on himself, his shoulders slumped and he refused to meet his mate's eyes. "Did they touch you." He asked once again, his voice still deceptably calm.