Chapter 10 The Impossible Goodbye #2
“It was you who helped me, remember?” I whispered.
“We flew together.”
“That we did.”
“It was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
My eyes stung as I squeezed him tight. Ansel sighed. When he tensed, shifting just an inch, I let my arms drop. He stepped away and looked at me. Could he see my heart breaking?
The dragon was hissing and growling inside me, clawing his way out. If he could, he would grab Ansel and carry him away, hiding his mate in safety.
But I had to let Ansel go.
For now.
“Bye, Pascal.”
“Message me.” Fuck, I sounded hollow.
“I will.”
He gave a wobbly smile, and I forced myself to move. One foot in front of the other, open the car door, get in, seatbelt, pedal, start. Leave.
I didn’t look back.
I drifted through the meeting in a daze.
I barely remembered what I’d said, but as my three doctoral students were leaving the conference room, everything seemed somewhat normal.
Everyone had their heads full of plans for the break.
If the math professor acted strange today, the students probably didn’t notice.
Hugo found me on a bench behind the cafeteria. He took one look at me and his expression went blank with surprise.
“What happened?”
I rubbed my face with both hands. “Do I look that bad?”
“Like someone died.” Then he sucked in a breath. “Oh Lord, I’m so sorry. Did you lose someone…”
“Nobody died. Nothing like that.”
“Phew. Okay. What’s the matter, then? You look like shit run over.”
I chuckled helplessly. “I found my mate.”
Hugo’s expression went from concern to glee comically fast. “That’s wonderful, my friend! Congratulations! Where is he?” he looked around as if Ansel could be hiding in the bushes.
“He’s at home. He doesn’t know.”
“Oh. Tell him then.”
“It’s not easy.”
“Nobody said it was. But start from the beginning.”
“His name is Ansel. His family is filthy rich and puts loads of unreasonable expectations on him. I met him when I crashed behind his cabin in dragon form, and he saw me shift. He let me stay for a couple of nights while I healed. That was when I felt the bond grow. When I flew him to my car over the mountains, I knew for sure. But then I had to drive him home and leave.”
Hugo stared with his mouth open. “You crashed? And he saw you shift?”
I winced. “I went flying on Saturday. I didn’t double-check the weather, ended up in a storm, and had to land in the forest, barely avoiding a lightning bolt.
I remained in dragon form for the rest of the night and took a long nap, hoping my wing would feel better.
When Ansel found me, I deemed it best to shift back. ”
“How did he react?”
“That’s the thing. He was cool about it and didn’t let me intimidate him. He’s tough as nails.”
“That’s great.” Hugo grinned. “So now you have to take the conservative approach and date the guy, huh?”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“Why?”
“For one, his parents are forcing him into an engagement with someone else.”
Hugo jerked back, his eyebrows flying up. “Is he from the past?”
“No.” I laughed humorlessly. “But his alpha father might be.”
“If he’s really your mate, and judging by the state of you, I’d guess he is, then he feels the bond as well. He won’t marry someone else if he can avoid it.”
I blew out a deep breath. “There’s more.”
“I’m waiting.”
“He’s nineteen.”
My friend blinked and blinked again, his face blank. Then he burst out laughing.
“Hugo! This is not a joke.”
Chortling merrily, Hugo wiped his eyes. “Oh, but it is. The best joke fortune could have played on you. He’s even younger than Jason Jacobson.” Then he froze, his mouth still contorted in a laugh. “Wait a minute. He’s not a student here, is he?”
“No. He’s a sophomore at Wintringham.”
Hugo slapped my back. “You lucky bastard. Nineteen?”
“He’s very mature for his age.”
“Yeah, that’s what the daddies always say about their good little boys.”
I bristled. “That was uncalled for. He’s my mate!”
Hugo grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. But there’d be nothing wrong with that either, you know that, right? And you must admit, that after all the fuss you made about students hitting on you, it is rather funny.”
“I found my mate and had to leave him. I’m not in the mood to be laughed at.”
My friend got serious. “But what else is there, Pascal? You’ll be moping around a lot until he figures it out. Better have the right attitude from the start.”
“It’s only been three hours, and I already want to shift and burn this place to the ground.”
Hugo pursed his lips and looked around thoughtfully. The campus was already empty, everybody having left early to travel home for the holiday. A lawnmower groaned to life somewhere on the other side of the building, making a flock of pigeons shoot into the sky, trying to escape the monster.
“Do you at least have his number? An email address?”
“Yes. He asked to stay in touch.”
“See? That’s great news.”
“How the hell am I going to survive this? This is hell.”
“Look at it this way.” He leaned closer as if he was about to tell me a secret. “You’ve found your mate!”
Then he slapped my back and briskly stood up. “I know you feel like crap, dear Pascal. I get it. But you and I both know it’s only temporary. Maybe tonight, you’ll find him on your doorstep.”