Finding Forgiveness: Poconos Pack, Book 1 by Dana Marie Bell Page A

got Ben’s signature, and left, leaving the tantalizing scent of waffles and coffee behind. Dave was already settling in to eat at the banquette when Ben slid in next to him. “So. I promised I’d explain this morning.”
    Dave added some fresh fruit to the top of his waffles and cut into them. “And grovel,” Dave added around a bite of waffle. Damn, the food here was good.
    Ben grinned. “And grovel. But explanations first.”
    “That day in the woods when I found you with Steve and you told me not to tell anyone. It wasn’t because you were running off to have sex with him, was it?”
    Ben looked shocked. “Hell, no. My dad told the Pack leaders I’d run away from home, which wasn’t true. I was trying to avoid him because he’d been drinking.” Ben added butter and syrup to his waffles, but Dave could tell his attention was really somewhere in the past. “Steve knew what was going on with my old man. He was the only one who believed me.”
    “I would have.”
    Ben sighed. “I know that now. But you were too young to deal with it, and I wasn’t quite old enough to trust you yet.”
    “Yup. That only took…hmm. Do you trust me yet?”
    Ben winced. “Yes, I trust you. I wore the damn shirt, didn’t I?”
    Dave waved his fork at Ben. “That’s completely different, and you know it.”
    Ben stood up and hiked up the tail of his shirt. He turned around and showed Dave his back. “You see the scar on my lower back?”
    Dave leaned in. This was the first time Ben had allowed him this close to his naked skin. Sure enough, there was a faint scar. He ran his finger down it, enjoying the way Ben shivered under his light touch. “Your father?”
    “That’s not the only scar.” Ben tugged the shirt back into place and sat back down to his breakfast. “He’d drink, he’d do horrible things, he’d get sober and he’d apologize. Lather, rinse, repeat. I was this close to leaving the Pack and going lone when Rick challenged his grandfather and won control of the Pack.” Ben grinned. “I never thought I’d see the old man relieved to lose his Alpha status.”
    “He’d been Alpha a long time, waiting for a suitable replacement. His son and daughter-in-law dying so soon after Rick was born was hard on him.” Dave shook his head. “Sometimes I think that’s why he isolated us so much.”
    “Maybe.” Ben shook his head. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter now. Dad managed to get them to believe him no matter what I said or did. It was like they didn’t want to know.” He sighed. “Dad… Let’s just say I can’t abide being around drunks.”
    Dave picked up his coffee mug and leaned back in his seat. “I don’t drink as often as you think I do.”
    “I’m beginning to realize that.” Ben stared at him, his expression so sincere Dave had to stop himself from leaning across the table and consoling him. “I should have talked to you rather than assuming things. I really am sorry.”
    “Sorry enough to wear that T-shirt at the next Pack meeting?”
    Dave was shocked when Ben nodded. “It smells like us.” Ben’s eyes had brightened, the golden brown of his wolf’s eyes bleeding away the dark, nearly black of his iris.
    Dave was proud of the fact that his hands weren’t shaking when he set his coffee mug back down. He could feel his own eyes shifting in response to his mate’s desire. The scent of Ben’s need was stronger, overpowering their combined scent. “It does, doesn’t it?” He leaned forward and placed both hands, palms up, on the table. “What hurt the most was the fact that you never spoke to me like I meant anything to you.”
    Ben laid his hands in Dave’s. “I couldn’t let myself. I couldn’t get trapped in a relationship with an alcoholic. I couldn’t give my life over to someone whose soul didn’t belong to them. I knew if I let you close to me we’d wind up mated. I pushed you away to save myself and wound up hurting you in ways I’d never dreamed of.”
    Dave