Page 70 of Bound in Blood

Chapter

Twenty-Three

FALL 2025

MARCO

The door slammed behind Mateo like a crack of lightning in a thunderstorm. Loud and jarring andfinal.

Marco didn’t move at first. Nobody did. Even Vik, who hadn’t said a word since they had walked into the bar, stopped pretending to clean glasses to watch Mateo leave.

Marco watched the door for a beat too long, the wet tracks of rain still drying on his coat. He felt soaked through anyway.

And Logan, who had never seen Mateo like this, stared with him, blinking away new tears that were threatening to fall. His hands curled loosely around the table in front of him like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch something or keep hanging on.

“I didn’t mean to…” Logan sniffled. “I mean, I didn’t know he would?—”

“It’s okay,caro,”Marco promised. “Mateo just… never worked through a lot of this. It’s not been easy for him.”

“Maybe I should go apologize,” Logan offered, looking up at Marco with red-rimmed eyes.

“Don’t,” Alexei said. “Don’t let someone disrespect you and then apologize for reacting. Even if it is your mate.”

“But he’shurting,Alexei,” Logan whimpered. “I don’t know the details of how he turned, but it soundedviolent.And now he’s out there all alone, and?—”

“And he will come back inside when he’s ready to talk,” Alexei finished. “Marco and I have known Mateo for a very long time,??????.If you apologize now, you’ll make things worse.”

Marco nodded, but he knew exactly how Logan was feeling, because he felt it too. Every part of him screamed to get up, to chase Mateo down and drag him back inside. Where it was warm and safe. Where their mate was waiting with soft eyes and a heart ten times bigger than it should be.

But Marco stayed seated.

Because Alexei was right.

Mateo didn’t want to be found right now. He wanted to wallow in his own self pity until he was sufficiently sorry for what he’d done. Marco had seen that look before he left.

Mateo regretted hurting Logan the second he’d slammed the door. Now, he needed time to come up with his apology.

So Marco reached out, taking Logan’s hand in his gently, reverently.

Logan’s fingers were cold and trembling. His lip was still quivering like he was trying not to cry again. Marco gave his hand a soft squeeze.

“He’ll come back,” Marco promised. “Just give him a little time.”

Logan nodded, but didn’t speak. His eyes stayed locked on the door like maybe if he looked hard enough, Mateo would come bursting back through it with a crooked grin and a new plan for how to burn the whole world down.

Silence stretched between the three of them again, heavy and unfamiliar.

Vik cleared his throat from behind the bar, obviously trying to offer something close to normalcy. “Hey, kid. While you’rewaiting, why don’t you come back here and show me again how Jenkins likes his drink? He came in a couple of nights ago and threw a fit because I don’t make it the same as you.”

Logan sniffled, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his black hoodie as he stood. “You don’t make it strong enough,” he murmured, heading toward the bar.

Marco looked up at Vik and nodded appreciatively. Vik just waved him off in return.

“While you’re back there…” Alexei said over his shoulder.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Grey Goose.”

“This is why you’re my favorite bartender,??????.”