Chapter 7 #2
So good! is what I’d say if I weren’t devouring another huge bite of sandwich. The peanut butter, or is it the jelly, gets stuck to the roof of my mouth as I chew, but I don’t mind at all.
“What the…” Soren mutters.
“You made this yourself?” I lick a glob of the salty stuff off my thumb.
“Yes…” Soren is giving me a wide-eyed, amused look. “Wow. You love your PB and J, huh?”
“This,” I declare, “is the food of the gods themselves!”
Soren bursts out laughing beside me, cackling so hard he doubles over. “Oh man. I should have made more! You’re killing me here.”
What? No! I don’t want to kill him. “What’s wrong?” I grip his shoulder. “Are you suffocating? Can you breathe?”
Soren wipes his eyes and waves me off. “I’m fine. I’m fine!”
The sight of his smile leaves me speechless. I did that. I made him happy. I’d eat more of these sandwiches until I burst if it would make him laugh again.
“I’m glad you liked the sandwich.”
“I love it.”
Snorting, Soren offers me some napkins. “You’re the messiest eater I’ve ever seen.”
I scrub at my face. “Better?”
“Give it here.” Shaking his head like I’m the most foolish man in the world, Soren takes the napkin from me and rubs the corner of my mouth.
A thrill ripples through my stomach as he leans in.
The cloth keeps his fingertips from my skin, but I still shiver at his touch.
Soren glances up, and I lose myself in the earthen-brown of his eyes.
When was the last time we were so close?
We were such different people then.
Wetting his lips, Soren looks away. “There. All better.” He pats my thigh, cheeks flushed.
Having his hand so close to my cock makes heat stir in the pit of my stomach.
I long then to touch him, to reach out and turn his face to mine and let him taste the sweetness of the strawberries that still lingers on my tongue.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Thank you for the food.”
He grins. “It was so worth it.”
We share a chuckle before Soren looks away and watches the traffic go by.
“I understand if you don’t want a lover,” I say, watching him closely. Soren’s jaw tenses. “But how about a friend?”
He sighs with such uncertainty in his eyes that I have to fight back the urge to reach out and comfort him. “Lyall… are you sure?”
“If all you ever feel for me is friendship, then that’s fine.”
It isn’t a lie, not really, because we’ve been here before.
When my feelings for Soren had started to shift from friendship to love, I’d thought for sure I was the only one who felt that way. I’d feared that if I confessed what was in my heart, he’d run from me.
So I’d stayed silent and fought the way my wolf howled for him to be mine alone. If I had to choose between having some of Soren or none at all, then the decision was easy. I would always choose him, again and again. His friendship was the greatest gift of all.
To have his whole heart in one timeline and only parts of it in another will always hurt.
But I will be grateful for what I have and, most of all, I will have patience.
We’re fated for each other, and Soren’s heart will find its way back to me.
It’s just a matter of time, but I will always wait for him.
“I would be honored to be your friend, Soren.”
He looks at me with what I can only describe as awe. Smiling, he shakes his head. “Well, then… I’d be honored to be your friend, too.”
I can’t fight the grin that springs across my face. Before I can say a word, Soren’s phone rings. He frowns at the screen and answers. “Hey, Fergus. Everything okay?”
I focus, homing in on the distant sound of Fergus’s voice.
“Something’s wrong…” The witch sounds weak and feeble. If this is a ploy to keep me away from Soren—
Soren’s heart skips a beat. “What is it?”
“I don’t feel well. The whole room is spinning, I—” There’s a crashing sound that makes me wince.
“Fergus?” Panic tightens Soren’s voice. “Hello? Answer me, Gramps! Oh shit. I’m calling an ambulance.” Soren taps hard on the screen and paces away from the bench.
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” a faint female voice asks.
“My granddad just called and said he was feeling sick and—and then it sounded like he fell over. I think he passed out. He’s not responding!
” Soren fumbles out some more information about Fergus and gives them his address before hanging up.
He whirls around, eyes wide and face pale.
“I’ve got to go, Lyall. Sorry!” He races past me and back into the bar.
Shit. If he’s going home, then that means I’ll need to shift into Buddy again. He’ll only be more upset if he thinks Buddy has run off on him. I run to Soren’s apartment, which is nearby. Fortunately, a group of friends is leaving the building, and they hold the door for me on my way in.
I climb the stairs two at a time until I’m outside the door. It’s locked, but all it takes is a hard twist of the knob, and I’m in. Fergus lies in the middle of the living room. The scent of magic that permeated the air around him is gone, but his heart rate is strong.
Thank the gods, he’s not dead then. I know what’s wrong.
He expended too much magic trying to keep Soren hidden from me all these years, and it’s taken a toll on his body.
The same happened to our village healer after the attack on our village.
She was well after rest and prayers to Freya. Fergus should be the same.
Distant footsteps make me tense. Someone is coming fast. I shift to my wolf form just as Soren bursts into the apartment. He doesn’t stop to question why the door is open. “No, please, no!” The devastation in his voice tears my heart to shreds.
“Granddad. Please, don’t do this. Not yet. I need you!” Soren clasps the older man’s hand. Sobs shake his shoulders, tears bright in his eyes. “Come on, everyone else left me alone. Don’t you leave me, too!”
Oh gods. He doesn’t remember that my family abandoned him. I know this, but it still feels like an accusation. Tears had still been wet on his cheeks as he’d sat in the boat and faced the horizon. He’d cried alone in that boat as he rowed toward the portal that had taken him away from me.
I won’t let him suffer alone again.
“Soren. I’m here. It’s okay.”
He looks up, and his mouth falls open. “W-what? Lyall? When did you get here? How? And where’s Buddy?”
Shit. I’d shifted without even realizing in my haste to comfort him.
I don’t know how I’m going to talk my way out of this.
If the TTA finds out I’ve exposed Soren to the paranormal world against their orders, then we’ll be over before we’ve even had a chance to start.