Storm took a moment to think about Linus as a younger omega. He picked up the new cup of ice cream, sticking his spoon into the rainbow swirls.
It tasted like a bunch of different things. The green parts were lime-flavored, the orange parts were orange-flavored. The blue parts tasted like blueberries, and the red was distinctly cherry.
Storm blinked. “I’ve never had anything like this.”
Linus beamed. “Do you like it?”
“It’s like a ton of different flavors in the same scoop. Like a Neapolitan but fruitier. Do you think one scoop is enough for my daily fruit intake?”
Linus laughed, soft and amused.
Storm froze. He had never heard Linus laugh before. Through the four months of living in his professor’s apartment, he had heard Linus make several different sounds. But Linus only seemed to get by, instead of truly enjoying his days.
Until now.
Linus didn’t even know how precious his laugh was.
Storm gulped, tearing his gaze away. Only to realize that Linus’ mom wasstillwatching them.
Mrs. Bentham smiled knowingly at him, and turned away.
Well, crap.
8
STORM GOES MISSING
Linus jolted awake,cold sweat drenching his skin.
Dert’s terrible afterimage burned behind his eyelids, narrowed eyes and cruel sneer replaying over and over in his head.
It had been years. He had tried to put as much distance as he could between himself and that alpha.
But in his sleep, his defenses fell. And Linus was helpless against those invasive memories.
Feeling sick, he struggled out from under the sheets and put on his glasses. Daylight had already spilled into his bedroom; he had half an hour until his alarm rang. There wasn’t any point in going back to sleep.
He opened the bedroom door and stepped out.
Only to freeze when he found someone at his dining table.
Storm glanced up from his laptop, a sandwich halfway to his mouth.
No one spoke for a long while.
Then Storm blinked, and gave Linus an easy smile. “Slept well?”
Linus shook his head. “I had a nightmare.”
Storm’s face fell. “I’m sorry. Here, I made a sandwich, if you’re hungry.”
He pushed over a plate with a ham and cheese sandwich, sliced into triangles. Then he stood and filled a mug with water, popping it into the microwave.
Linus trailed after him into the kitchen, staring at the swords tattooed across Storm’s strong shoulders, the twin dragons on his forearms. The dragons had their mouths open, full of fangs, their fierce eyes bright.
“I was just sticking around to make sure you get something to eat,” Storm said, a tiny smile curving his lips. “But I should get going. I hope the rest of your day goes well.”
When the microwave beeped, Storm took out the mug and dropped a teabag in it. He set the bottle of honey next to the mug.
