赤裸裸的滑稽故事

They drove the last three miles in silence. But Peter kept thinking of his past.

Peter was sure that he would die that night, and after staring into Leon's dead eyes, he welcomed it.

But he didn't.

Because it was the same night that Luna Corrine led her Valkyries on a raid to end Torgen's Rebellion. She had found him injured but alive in the cage. She brought him back to Winter with her.

After he woke up, Peter told her who he was, his parents, and what he had witnessed during his time with the rogues. That was when she explained Torgen, the politics of packs and alphas. She gave him a choice to stay with her and her family or be in the hospital while he recovered.

Having spent most of his life only in his parents’ company, he chose the hospital. The days he spent recuperating piqued his interest in medicine and healing others.

Peter remained in Winter as Corrine's guest. Though he mainly kept to himself and avoided others, he felt at ease in Winter. He could not officially request to join until his eighteenth birthday. Still, Luna Corrine arranged for him to learn medicine based on his interest.

Two years later, only a few months before his eighteenth birthday, he agreed to travel to the other packs.

His travels had called forth the memories of his parents, of the rogues. He was feeling vulnerable and happy to be returning to Winter when he first caught the scent of peppermint and honey in the air.

Myka was sudden and intense. Peter was absorbed in the connection between them and the security he felt as they held each other through the days and nights they spent together.

He wasn't the first person Peter had ever been attracted to, but it was the first time he could pursue such an interest. Intimacy, attachment. Peter clung to Myka like a lifesaver in the dark waters of a sinking ship.

For two years, Peter had felt alone, talking to few people aside from Corrine.

He wanted to be a part of Winter, to have a home, and to help others. But he always missed the companionship of his family. With Myka, he didn't feel alone and didn't want to give that up.

By the time the full moon was set to rise on their relationship, Peter had already given up his dream of becoming a doctor in Winter, given up his loyalty and debt to Corrine. All that mattered now was his mate. The only person he needed in his life. They would spend the rest of their lives traveling the world together.

At least, that was what Peter had believed. But Myka didn't feel the same way.

Peter's heart was shattered when Myka did not want to complete the bond. Feeling like a fool and with the guilt of abandoning his promises to Corrine and himself, he rejected Myka and left without waiting for a response.

Peter returned to Winter, quietly retreated further into himself while continuing to study, and became a doctor, a damn good one.

For a long time after Myka, Peter didn't socialize or even speak beyond the words of an exam or treatment. At least not until he met Bell. They recognized something in each other. A kinship.

Through her, he found a voice again. A smile, a laugh. Eventually, he shattered the shell he had built around himself long before Myka appeared.

As he became more comfortable in his own skin, as his own person, he allowed himself to grow to enjoy life.

Though Myka never accepted the rejection, they were also never fully bonded. Peter did not live the life of a grieving mate. He was with anyone that wanted him, so long as it was purely physical.

Peter sighed.

The past five years had not been easy, but he had found his own rhythm and way of getting by without thinking of that blue-haired beast. Yet, he had so easily been shaken by him.

“You need each other,” Alice said suddenly.

“What?” Peter asked.

The car stopped, and Peter felt his heart pick up.

“You don't want to admit it, you've both been hurt in your lives, and you have hurt each other,” she said. “But you need him just as much as he needs you.”

Peter lifted his gaze out the windshield of the car. A small campsite sat before them, a small tent and a fire already going as the sun began to set.

He felt a pang of nostalgia in his chest. Myka always had a simple setup. It was light to carry and easy to clean up.

They hadn't talked about their pasts when they were together, and Peter had never told him how much Myka reminded him of his parents.

He wondered now if that was part of the comfort and security he had felt with Myka. The nostalgia, the familiar setting, and the lifestyle. Back then, it seemed so easy to get into step with each other.

Peter swallowed as the flap on the tent opened, and Myka slowly stepped out, pulling a shirt down over his well-formed stomach. A flare of warmth rolled through Peter at the sight.

“Oh, come on,” he whispered with a scoff, “You could have put it on before you came out.”

Alice giggled.

“Come on,” she said. “Even if you really want to reject him, don't you want to clear the air first?”

Peter took a deep breath and nodded.

He removed his seatbelt and opened the door to get out of the car. He looked toward Myka, their eyes met for just a moment, but they both looked away.

Peter got out of the car. He turned to shut the door when he heard a shout.

“Wait! Don't!” Myka called, running toward the car.

Peter furrowed his brows, but then the sound of the car door locking hit his ears. He looked back into the car; Alice gave him a wink and a smile before she waved, and the car backed away from him.

“Alice… Alice! Where are you going?!” he shouted.

“Yea… that's what I was trying to warn you about….” Myka sighed. “She's ditching you.”

“What!?” Peter shouted, turning back to the car that was now speeding away. “Damn it.”