The Exiled Alpha's Human Male Mate.[BL]

An elevator?

Inside the house?

Bryce stared at the doors in disbelief. He had never imagined that a private residence could be large enough to require an elevator.

He followed Dave inside.

Dave reached for the control panel and selected the highest floor, though there was no number displayed beside the button he pressed.

The doors closed, cutting them off from the mansion below, and the elevator began its silent ascent.

Neither of them spoke.

Dave stood beside him with his attention fixed somewhere far beyond the walls around them, his expression unusually distant.

Bryce couldn’t stop wondering what was occupying his thoughts, but he resisted the urge to ask. Instead, he held his breath for a moment and focused on the sound of Dave’s breathing and heartbeat.

He could hear both with astonishing clarity.

Far more clearly than any ordinary human being should have been able to.

The steady rhythm of Dave’s heart seemed to draw Bryce’s attention deeper, until the sound became something more than a physical sensation.

It led him toward Dave’s mind, and before he fully understood what he was doing, Bryce found himself listening to thoughts that weren’t his own.

~...there’s too much. Where am I even supposed to begin? If I tell him everything, he’ll want to leave, and I can’t let him do that. If he tries to leave, I’ll have no choice but to keep him here by force, and that will only make everything worse...~

Bryce stared at Dave without blinking.

His mind went completely blank.

Dave’s thoughts had reached him so clearly that there was no room left for doubt. He hadn’t imagined them.

"What?" Dave asked quietly when he noticed Bryce’s intense stare.

Bryce immediately looked away without answering.

So even now, Dave was still planning to hide something from him.

The realization unsettled him more than the secrets he had already uncovered. If Dave was willing to risk making everything worse simply to keep the truth from him, what exactly was he hiding?

The question followed Bryce all the way to the top floor.

A soft chime announced their arrival.

Dave stepped out first, and Bryce followed after a brief hesitation. They walked through a short, elegantly furnished hallway before Dave opened another door.

Bryce stopped again.

Beyond it was another expansive living area, furnished almost exactly like a private apartment. Three luxurious sofas surrounded a low glass table, while a massive television occupied one wall with a pair of powerful speakers positioned nearby.

Several hallways branched away from the room, leading toward other parts of the floor, and a dining area sat only a short distance away.

It was smaller than the enormous dining room downstairs, but still large enough to accommodate an entire family comfortably.

Dave turned toward him.

"Welcome home."

Bryce didn’t move.

Dave walked back to the doorway, reached for Bryce’s hand, and gently pulled him into the room. Bryce allowed himself to be led inside, but the moment they were several steps in, he withdrew his hand and crossed toward the nearest couch, lowering himself onto it with obvious reluctance.

"When you said ’our new home’, I thought we’d be living here alone, just the two of us like we always have," he said.

Dave remained standing.

"My dad wants all his children living here for reasons that make sense. That’s why I brought us here. But you don’t have to worry about privacy. This floor is practically self contained. You’ll barely notice anyone else is living in the house."

"It’s not about privacy."

Bryce’s voice rose slightly as he looked up at him.

"It’s about you bringing me into your family as though I’m already a part of it. You didn’t even ask whether I..."

"I knew you’d say no."

The blunt interruption silenced him for a moment.

Bryce stared at Dave.

"Does that mean what I want and don’t want simply doesn’t matter to you?"

"Bryce, can we stop fighting and just try to start over?" Dave asked, his voice losing its earlier defensiveness as he moved closer and sat beside him. "I know I ruined things between us, but I’m telling you that I won’t make the same mistakes again. I want us to rebuild what we had before all of this happened."

He paused, his expression tightening.

"Everything that’s happened between us these past few hours has been tearing me apart. I don’t know how much longer I can remain sane."

Bryce said nothing.

His mind felt strangely empty, despite the countless words racing beneath the surface.

Dave watched him for several seconds before speaking again.

"Maybe you should get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow after you’ve rested."

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Bryce had no intention of closing his eyes while so many unanswered questions remained buried between them.

There was too much he needed to know, so much that he didn’t even know which question deserved to come first.

More importantly, he wasn’t going to sit quietly while Dave decided which parts of the truth he was willing to reveal.

If Dave explained everything on his own, he could choose his words carefully, leave out whatever suited him, and bury anything he didn’t want Bryce to discover.

He would have to ask the questions and Dave answer.

He turned toward Dave.

"What did your mother and sister mean when they said I look just like ’him’?"

Dave’s expression changed instantly.

"Who were they talking about when they said ’him’?"

Dave’s mouth parted, but no words came. He closed it again, his hesitation lasting long enough for Bryce to notice.

"It’s nothing," he said at last. "I mean... it’s no one. They just say whatever comes into their heads, and half the things they say don’t even make sense."

Bryce’s expression hardened, but he didn’t interrupt.

Dave continued, "If you want me to explain why I lied about my status, what my family does, and everything else you’ve discovered today, I will."

Bryce let him finish before responding. His voice was quiet, but the restraint behind it made every word carry weight.

"What exactly did you mean when you said you want us to start over?"

Dave remained silent, leaving Bryce to continue.

"I thought you meant that you were going to tell me everything. That we’d rebuild our relationship, but this time there wouldn’t be any lies or secrets between us. I would actually know the person I’m choosing to be with. I’d know where you came from, what you’ve been through, what your family is involved in, what you want for your future, and what I should expect from you."

He paused, keeping his eyes fixed on Dave.

"I don’t expect you to tell me everything in one breath, but when I ask you something, I need the truth. Not half an answer. Not something carefully worded to make me stop asking questions. If you want me to believe that we’re starting over, then I need to know I’m building something with the real you, not another version of you that you’ve created for me.

And if you refuse to answer me honestly, you’ll destroy whatever trust you have left."

Dave still remained silent.

"You might have the power to force me to stay here. You might have enough influence to make leaving impossible. But if you do that while continuing to lie to me, you’ll only have my body here. I’ll be nothing more than a ghost living beside you."

The words settled heavily between them.

"So, are you going to answer my questions or not?"

"Okay."

Dave’s answer finally came.

Bryce held his gaze.

"Not just answer them. Answer them honestly."

"Okay."

Dave’s voice remained subdued.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Bryce finally leaned in slightly.

"Go on, then."

"First..." Dave began, his voice quieter than before. "I need you to know that I really love you, Bryce. I love you because you’re you, not because of someone else, or because of something that happened in the past or..."

His voice faltered.

He stopped before finishing the sentence.

"You know that I love you, don’t you?" he asked, looking at Bryce again.

Instead of reassuring him, the question made Bryce’s uneasiness deepen.

Why was Dave so determined to make sure he understood that? Was there something behind the love they had shared all these years?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!