Mason hadn't spoken since they arrived back at Terrance's apartment. He'd been pacing the whole house, not keen on sitting in Terrance's bed and soaking in his fear. Instead, he was doing dishes, cleaning up the cluttered apartment, and doing whatever he could to stay busy.

"How did he even get up here in one day?" Mason grumbled to himself. "I got his call and he showed up a few hours later."

Terrance sat on the couch, staying out of Mason's way. His mate bond and wolf was pushing him to help calm his mate down, but there wasn't much he could do. If there was one thing he knew, it was that Mason wasn't one to fold under an Alpha, especially when agitated, so he couldn't force him to relax and lay down.

"Why me?!" Mason growled, cleaning off the windows and making the glass squeak against his cloth. "I'm not overly attractive and I don't even care about the stupid business! He can take it for all I care!"

Terrance frowned, wanting to cry as Mason continued to rant to himself. He hated that his poor mate's life had been hurt by his stupid family; what kind of people push their child to mate with someone twenty years his senior for their stupid company? Plus, they weren't even mates!

Grabbing a broom, Mason began to sweep the floor, still mumbling to himself. He didn't pay much mind to Terrance, too busy scowling and complaining quietly. Eventually he sat down, only to pick up all of the bills on the coffee table and shuffling through and separating them.

"Can I use your phone?" Mason asked, speaking to Terrance for the first time in the last couple of hours.

Terrance nodded, fighting the urge to ask why he needed it.

Mason thanked him and dialed a number. "Dad? I just wanted to say that I hate you and I don't care about any company. Just give it to Ezra and tell him to leave me alone," he said before hanging up and looking at Terrance's dropped jaw. "What?"

"You just told your dad-"

"No, I didn't tell him anything personally. The call went to his voicemail. I'll block his number now," Mason said, blocking the number before handing Terrance his phone back. "When's your next rut?"

Terrance tilted his head in confusion before grabbing his calendar. "About ten days or so. Next week I go into pre-rut so that's a few days and then the actual rut," he said. "Why?"

"Can we mate during it?" Mason asked, leaning back in the chair he was in. "I'm ready."

Shaking his head, Terrance stood up and backed away. "No. No!" he said, raising his voice. "I'm... I can't do that! You're not ready! We're just getting to know each other and I'm not going to mate with you just because you're upset and want some other guy to leave you alone!"

Mason stood up as well, glaring at Terrance. He hadn't been told no by Terrance yet and the sudden rejection stung him.

"Screw you! This has nothing to do with Ezra or anyone else! I want to be with you!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the back of the chair. "Why is that so hard to believe?!"

Terrance felt tears stinging his eyes. He knew that Mason cared, but he knew the sudden desire to speed up the mating process had more to do with the fear of Ezra and wanting to have a mark so other people would leave him alone.

"It's not! Just... you need to sleep and realize what you're saying!" Terrance said desperately, pleading with Mason. "You're still kind of tipsy and you're upset!"

Mason snarled, his canines poking out from his gums. "I'm falling for you, Terrance! Other wolves move fast-"

"I can't move that fast! I don't want you to regret this and I don't want to feel like I made a mistake!"

"But-"

"I can't," Terrance said, his voice breaking as he began to cry. "I know you care and even if you're falling for me... you're not making this choice out of love. It's out of fear."

Mason felt his own tears falling down his cheeks before he realized he was crying. "I'm going to stay with Henry tonight," he said, sniffing and wiping his nose. "I... I'm sorry if I tried to push you into this... I'll see you tomorrow."

"Is it safe for you to be out with Ezra running around?" Terrance asked, still concerned despite his sadness and frustration.

"Yes," Mason said, grabbing his sweatshirt but leaving his bag behind, giving Terrance hope that he'd come back. "He said two weeks, and even though Ezra is a piece of shit, he keeps his word. I've got two weeks before he tries to touch me."

•••

Henry answered his door when there was a knock, and he found a crying Mason on the other side. He sat patiently as Mason sobbed and told him what happened, before hugging the Omega and trying to soothe him.

"It's all my fault!" Mason cried, crawling into Henry's lap and crying into his shoulder. "I m-made a stupid decision because I was st-stressed and now he's upset! He was crying, Henry! I made him cry!"

Henry rubbed Mason's back and hummed to try to calm him down. "It's okay, shhh, you're alright," he cooed. "He was probably just confused and felt overwhelmed."

"He thinks I don't love him!"

"Did you tell him you love him?"

Mason sat silently for a second, before sniffing and wiping his eyes. "...No," he whispered, wiping the stray tears. "But I think I do."

Henry smiled at his friend. "I'm sure he loves you, too. I think he freaked out because of Ezra and thinking that you were committing to a rash decision that he wasn't ready for," he said, standing up and carrying Mason to his room. "For now, you need to get some sleep."

"Noooooo," Mason whined, trying to get up, only to whimper when Henry pushed him back down. "I need to go tell him I love him!"

"That poor guy has had so many ups and downs tonight, Mace," Henry said, sitting beside Mason and gently pressing the back of his neck to calm him down. "Let him sleep and tell him tomorrow. We're going back to the cafe tomorrow, too. It's cleaned up and I assume you're going to want to set up everything in your room on your own."

Mason grumbled under his breath before sighing and nodding. "Fine," he mumbled, cuddling into Henry. "This is platonic cuddling. I only want to love-cuddle with Terrance.""

Henry chuckled. "I got it," he said, pulling the covers over himself and Mason. "Also, I changed the password on my phone, so don't try to get on it and call Terrance."

Swearing under his breath, Mason turned and glared at his friend. "Wow, you know me so well," he mumbled, angry that his plan to let Henry fall asleep and then call Terrance to profess his love for the Alpha wouldn't work out.

"Sleep, Mace."

Mason sighed and cuddled into Henry. "Goodnight, Henry," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "Thanks for helping me out with the cafe. I wouldn't have been able to handle cleaning it without losing and destroying it."

Henry hummed once again. "Of course, bud. Just so you know, we haven't found out who did it yet. That Paul guy was out of town for a work thing and has an alibi," he said, making Mason scoff.

"I'll bet Ezra has something to do with it," he mumbled. "Remind me to ask him in two weeks when he shows up to drag me back to New York."

"We won't let him take you."

"Thank you, Henry," Mason mumbled, before shuffling closer to his friend. "You can practice for your future mate by cuddling me."

Henry responded by gripping the back of Mason's neck and sending him into a tired state so he could drift to sleep.