Page 18 of Back to You (Legendary Shifters #14)

“I want you to take all of that money,” Vincent said.

“I don’t know how we’ll make it work, but I don’t want one cent of it.

You and your pack have been rescuing and taking in the people hurt by my father.

You should use that money to sustain that and help them start a new life.

My father has ruined enough people already.

He’s taken them from their homes and their families, and they’ll have to find new jobs. In the meantime, this money can help.”

“How much are we talking about?” Cam asked.

Vincent glanced sideways. He’d mentioned this to Ronan, but he hadn’t told him how much he’d inherited.

Thinking about it made his skin crawl. Earned any other way, he would have gladly taken the money and spoiled the people in his life, but not this money.

He couldn’t do it, especially after knowing what his father had done to Ronan.

He turned his attention back to the alpha. “Just under five million.”

Ronan made a strangled sound. Vincent didn’t dare turn to look at him. He kept all his focus on Cam, who didn’t look surprised.

“And you want to give all of it to the pack?”

“I do. I trust you to do the right thing and help the people who were hurt by my father with that money.”

“You don’t want to keep any of it?”

“Not like this. Besides, I’d like to officially request to become one of your pack members. If I’m a member, I can make a donation, right?”

Cam chuckled. “I see you thought of everything.”

“Not really. I just want to be close to Ronan. It’s going to take us a long time to get our relationship back to where it was before my father ruined it, but I already know that Ronan doesn’t want to leave Rosewood.

You and your pack have given him a home.

He feels safe here, and I can’t take that from him, but I know he’d leave if I didn’t move. ”

Cam looked at Ronan. Vincent did the same, even though he was afraid to see the expression on Ronan’s face.

Ronan had never been interested in Vincent for his father’s money, but there was no denying that having five million could mean a lot for both of them.

If Ronan wanted to stay here, it could fix the house he was living in the way he wanted to.

If he decided he’d be fine with leaving, it could buy them a place somewhere else.

Maybe Vincent should have talked to Ronan about it before offering all of it to Cam, but he believed that Ronan would be on board with it. He wanted to show him what he was willing to sacrifice to be with him.

Not that Vincent thought of it as a big sacrifice. He couldn’t care less about the money. He only cared about Ronan and making him happy.

“This is what you want, too?” Cam asked Ronan. “For Vincent to move here?”

“Of course I want Vincent to move here,” Ronan said as he reached out to take Vincent’s hand. “I trust you to find the best way to use the money.”

“You don’t want anything to do with it, either?”

“Vincent’s right. It should go to the people who were hurt by Fulton.”

“You’re one of those people.”

Ronan grimaced. “I know. I don’t need any of it, though. You gave me a home, and that’s enough for me. Maybe you can use the money to help the people who don’t want to stay with the pack. They need more help than the ones who do stay here.”

“If this is really what you want, Vincent, I want you to be part of the team that will decide where to allocate the money,” Cam said.

“And before you argue with me, yes, I mean it. I know that not everyone will be happy with that decision, but I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.

It’ll take people time to accept that you’re not like your father, but they’ll see the truth eventually, especially if you move in with the pack. When are you planning on doing that?”

“Well, you haven’t told me if I could become a pack member yet,” Vincent pointed out. His heart was racing.

He’d survive even if Cam said no. It would be more complicated, but it wouldn’t stop Vincent and Ronan from being together. If Vincent’s father hadn’t managed to keep them apart even after telling Ronan that Vincent was dead, Vincent didn’t think anything could.

“I wouldn’t keep the two of you apart,” Cam said with a smile. “Welcome to the Rosewood pack.”

Vincent beamed. For a long time, he’d felt he couldn’t be happy anymore.

He’d lost everything. His mate was gone, and he’d thought it had been because Ronan didn’t want to be with him.

Now, he knew the truth. He and Ronan had fixed what Fulton had broken, and that was all Vincent wanted.

As long as he didn’t have to leave Ronan, he’d be happy.

“Thank you so much,” he told the alpha. “I promise I’ll do my best to be a good pack member. You might have to give me pointers because I never dreamed Ronan and I could have a pack, but I’m willing to do anything.”

Cam laughed. “There’s nothing for you to do. I don’t take people into my pack because I want something from them. I do it because they need a home and a family, and I think you and Ronan both need that.”

“The only person I really have in my life is my best friend, so I agree.”

“Well, maybe he’d be interested in having a pack, too.”

Vincent blinked. He hadn’t thought of that, but he could see it. “I’ll mention it to Peter. He’s not doing very well right now, though, so I’m not making any promises.”

Cam frowned. “Is there anything I can help with?”

“It’s just a bad breakup. He’ll be fine, but he’s going to need some time to heal.”

“I see. I’m happy to be out of the dating pool.”

“You’re not the only one.” Eventually, Peter would have to start dating again, but that wasn’t what he needed to focus on right now. It wasn’t what he wanted to focus on right now, either.

“Well, let us know if you need any help moving,” Cam said as he got to his feet. “You have an entire pack at your disposal, and I know that most of us will be happy to pitch in.”

Vincent looked at Ronan. They hadn’t actually talked about him moving in yet, but they needed to. “We’ll let you know.”

* * * *

THAT WASN’T WHAT RONAN had expected from their meeting. To be fair, he hadn’t known what to expect from the meeting at all. He’d known Vincent had wanted to talk to Cam about becoming a pack member, but he hadn’t realized it would come with five million dollars.

That was a whole lot of money that Vincent was giving up.

It hadn’t been necessary for him to become a pack member, but Ronan thought it would help smooth things out.

Most people would be welcoming because Vincent was Ronan’s mate, but a few of them wouldn’t be happy to have Vincent around.

It wasn’t even that they might think he’d been involved with what his father was doing.

He was a reminder of what had happened to them.

He was a reminder of what had happened to Ronan, too.

Sometimes, that made it hard to look at him, but Ronan had promised himself that he wouldn’t allow Fulton to continue ruining his life, and he’d meant it.

Vincent was his future. Ronan would work as hard as he could to forget the past and focus on the future.

“That went well,” Vincent said when they left the house.

“You didn’t expect things to go badly, did you?”

“I don’t know. It would’ve been easier for Cam to say no, wouldn’t it? It would’ve kept his pack peaceful.”

“It’ll stay peaceful. You don’t have to worry about people bothering you.”

“I don’t. I know Cam has everything under control.”

They started walking. Ronan didn’t have anywhere in mind, but he couldn’t help thinking about the conversation they’d had. “You didn’t tell me about the money.”

Vincent grimaced. “I’m sorry. Did you want to keep it?”

“I want nothing to do with it. I’m just surprised you didn’t mention how much it was.” Ronan had known about the money, but he’d had no idea that Vincent wanted to give it to the pack.

“I didn’t want to give you hope in case things went badly. I wasn’t against using it to get Cam to say yes to me becoming a pack member.”

“You were going to use it as leverage.”

“If I didn’t have a choice, but I’m glad I didn’t have to. It would’ve made me feel horrible.”

“It’s a good thing you’re doing. Most people would have kept the money, no matter how they’d gotten it.”

“I feel I owe it to those people. My father ruined their lives. You and I were lucky because we found each other again, and that’s everything I wanted, but some of these people lost their entire lives.

They should’ve gotten more from my father, but since he’s dead, his money will have to be enough. ”

“And you’ll get to see where it’s spent. I bet that your father is rolling in his grave right now.”

Vincent grimaced. “He’s buried in pack territory, isn’t he?”

“He is. I don’t know where exactly, but I can ask if you want. “

“I don’t think it matters. It is poetic, though.

He wanted to destroy these people, and now, he’s going to be buried here forever.

” Vincent stopped walking and turned to Ronan.

“So, I’m a pack member now. It doesn’t mean I have to move in with you right away, but it feels like something we should celebrate.

Do you want to go to town? We can get coffee or maybe dinner. ”

“Why wouldn’t I want you to move in with me?”

Vincent shrugged and looked away. “We were separated for a long time, and we’ve just started finding our way back to each other.

I don’t want to push you or make you uncomfortable in any way.

I don’t care how long I have to wait for you to be ready.

You should take all the time you need. I can stay in my apartment for a while longer, and we can work things out.

” He grimaced. “Actually, I probably should stay at my apartment. Peter’s staying with me right now, and he’s not doing well. ”