Chapter 22
Why can’t it be like the movies?
Devyn
I knew better. Humans freaked out at things they didn’t understand. Sure, shifters did too, but this wasn’t about us, it was about Heston. I totally fucked up by revealing myself the way I had. I should’ve gone slowly, let him in little by little. Something not what I did.
I ruined fucking everything and now Heston had canceled our meeting in the park saying he was exhausted and going home to sleep.
My wolf was pounding at me, begging to get free.
He didn’t feel the same as I did. It was also so confusing and lonely.
That was the weird part of this. I wasn’t any more alone than I’d been a week, a month, or even a year ago.
Try telling that to my emotions. I couldn’t remember a time I felt this alone. It sucked.
I pulled the car off the road and through the worn grassy path to my wolf’s favorite place to shift.
It wasn’t a road and was barely big enough to fit my car.
I’d yet to run into anyone out here, though.
This was my private escape—that is until some land developer came and turned it into apartments galore or maybe overpriced crappily constructed houses.
Either way, it was mine until it wasn’t.
As a small child, I’d dreamed of one day owning the woods. Not a particular woods but “The Woods” which I somehow believed existed, just like in story books. I thought if I did, all the shifters could come and have parties in their animal forms. This was before I sprouted my fur and knew better.
I still enjoyed my youthful vision of playing birthday party games with bears, as fairy tale-esque as it sounded. Maybe that’s why I brought up those stories during my botched reveal.
Why couldn’t it have been like in the vampire movies, but real and with wolves: The dashing young man shares who he really is and their true love exclaims that they suspected so all along and even if they didn’t, their love could conquer anything.
They’d follow it up with the sexiest kiss imaginable and a montage of the moments that led them there. Sure, my sharing of my wolf with Heston could never have included a montage, but the rest of it? That would’ve been perfect.
I parked the car, climbed out, and took off my clothes.
Let’s hunt. You’ll feel… better wasn’t the word. Stable? It didn’t matter which because my wolf didn’t give me time to complete the sentence, instead ripping through my skin and scenting the air.
Rabbit, deer, squirrel, and skunk were the closest of smells. Although the skunk might not be as close as my beast thought. Their scent tended to linger… for days.
Don’t you dare go for the skunk, I warned him. I didn’t want him taking down a deer either, but at least that wouldn’t result in me being stinky and needing to buy tomatoes in bulk to mask the skunk smell.
He scented the air again and this time caught a whiff of a fox—his favorite.
He took off, following the fox’s trail, downing and eating him with ease.
Probably too much ease if I knew my wolf.
He’d want to go for round two, this time ideally with an animal who gave him a tiny smidgeon of a challenge.
He ate the carcass fairly clean and stood up, scenting the air once more.
This time he went for the deer because of course he did.
It was that kind of day. He bolted in the direction of the unsuspecting animal and started to circle it, first with a real wide circumference, but getting smaller and smaller each time until the deer finally decided to have some self preservation and bolted.
My wolf was hot on its heels and seconds from attacking when he scented humans.
He froze in his tracks, listening intently.
Hunters weren’t kind to wolves and if this was one, we’d be better off shifting and being a naked guy wandering around than a four legged creature.
But if it was drunk kids looking to get some privacy, then we’d just run back to the car.
The scent didn’t get any closer and we didn’t hear anyone walking, or talking for that matter. My wolf took that as an indication of safety and headed back to the car, walking slowly and keeping cover. It was for the best. The two of us couldn’t hide forever. What if Heston was looking for us?
Ha! Like that would happen. If anything he was packing up and moving across the country, saying fuck you to the arranged marriage and hiding from me.
Mate.
Ours.
I know that. But he doesn’t understand and we can’t force him to.
He knows us.
What did that even mean? My wolf needed to settle upon an emotion. He would be miffed then comforting then cryptic as fuck. If he could just pick one already, things could be so much easier.
We didn’t scent any humans again the entire way back and I half suspected my beast would take this as a sign to go hunting again.
He surprised me by giving up his fur before we even reached the car.
He was done. Maybe he was like me and just wanted to curl up under a blanket and hold a pity party only instead of a blanket, he planned to hide away inside of me.
I put my clothes on, unsure what to do next. Going to Heston was out of the question. At the very least he needed some space. I could go home, but then what? Come up with a new plan, I supposed.
Whatever the case might be, I refused to give up. Heston was my mate. We belonged together. He’d see that… eventually. He had to, right? Fate didn’t make mistakes and all that jazz.
Ugg. This sucked.
I slid into the front seat of the car and grabbed my phone to see how late it had gotten. The second I did, it buzzed and I nearly dropped it. When I turned it over it was Roy. Of course it fucking was. He was the last person I wanted to talk to on a good day. Today was not a good day.
A tap later and it was sent straight to voicemail. I didn’t have time for his bullshit. I needed to fix the clusterfuck of a disaster I created for my mating. Roy could sit tight or run away and move to another country. The second would be better.
My phone buzzed again. “Guess you didn’t like how I sent you to voicemail, asshat!” I yelled.
Answer you’re phone. Now.
**your** I replied. Was I being a dick? Absolutely.
I dropped the phone on the seat. The phone rang again. This time I answered it, fearing it was an actual emergency. I wasn’t a fan of my father, but if something happened to him, I wanted to know. What would I do with that information? I had no clue, but it was better than finding out online.
“What?”
“Aren’t you grumpy,” he snickered. “Have you changed the registration yet?”
Shit, I’d forgotten he was bugging me to put the car in my name. I was surprised when he mentioned it the first time and kept on at me after Dean found out who owned the car. I thought he would have preferred to hold his ownership over me, saying he could snatch it back at any time.
I should’ve turned my phone off. I didn’t need this garbage. Not today. Not stupid ever.
“You called me for that? I don’t have time for this or you.” Was I yelling at him like a little kid having a temper tantrum? Yes. Yes, I was. Could I be assed to care? Not so much.
Roy mumbled something under his breath about me being an asshole—fair, and something about Sebastian and work and then back to me being an asshole. Most days, I’d have taken the bait and asked him to say it again. But today I needed him off the phone and out of my headspace.
I drove forward enough to start my three point turn. I could, in theory, back out of here, but this would be so much easier, especially in my current mood.
“I gotta go. I’ll let you know when the car is taken care of.” Maybe. Seeing him so worked up over it, I might not.
“Do it soon. Your wedding is all arranged—it’s next week.” Which meant that it was not going to be the event of the year. Heston deserved better—he also deserved not to be scared of me. If that was even fear I’d sensed flowing off of him.
“Real glamorous affair.” It was all I could do not to demand better for Heston. But Roy couldn’t know that he was my mate. “I bet everyone is waiting for their invitation.”
“It doesn’t matter who is and who is not coming as a guest. You have one job— show up and do your part. That’s it. And if you mess up… on second thought, please mess up. I’d love a front row seat to that.”
Roy had a tell, one that always let me know when he was pretending not to care about how something turned out—he always flat out said he’d rather it failed.
School play—I hope everyone forgets their lines.
Driver’s test— hope I fail so Father will get me a driver.
The examples from his childhood went on and on.
He was far too invested in my being married.
I got the car in the right direction, but parked it, needing my full attention on navigating the narrow path.
“And don’t forget about the car.” He hung up, but the phone instantly buzzed.
I glanced at it suspecting it was Roy being an ass again. It wasn’t. It was Heston and he said we needed to talk.
Maybe all was not lost.