Chapter 37
Rafe
“You’re such a freak.” I laughed, then laughed again when I saw Wyatt’s face. “She knew?”
“No,” Wyatt shook his head, looking a little horrified. “No, there’s no way she knew. She was slapping me because I was being an asshole, not because…”
His cheeks turned pink, and I kicked my feet, giggling from where I sat on the couch in his office.
This was amazing.
I was really glad I’d given Wyatt the idea to give Skye the second detention. He’d thought it would backfire, and it sort of did, but holy shit did it end up working out.
I rubbed my jaw thoughtfully. I so should’ve been a matchmaker.
“You are not some master matchmaker now,” Wyatt said dryly.
“You asshole,” I grumbled. Wyatt wasn’t a Telepath at all and he was always reading my mind somehow.
We knew each other too well.
“You think she’ll want to whip you?” I asked, kicking my feet up on the coffee table.
Wyatt choked on his coffee, then glared at me.
“I do not want to be whipped.”
“Sure, sure,” I waved my hand. “And I don’t want to be wrapped in a soft pink blanket.”
Wyatt gave me one of his looks like I was insane, and maybe I was. I hadn’t shared my scheme to be wrapped up in one of Skye’s blankets yet, and my planning had stalled up until recently.
In fact, I think we were getting very close to moving past our casual make out sessions, almost ready to move into more intense things.
On our own, too. Not with Aiden there.
Not that I minded Aiden being there, but…
I sighed inwardly. He needed more attention than I did, and Skye gave it to him.
There wasn’t a way for me to get more from her without appearing jealous, and I did not want that to happen, but Skye hadn’t touched my dick since that day in the islands.
I wasn’t counting her affinity gripping me when we were with Aiden.
I really, really wanted my hands on her again, but she was so skittish. Aiden told me he’d made it clear to her he didn’t care if she pursued something with me, but something was still holding her back.
Her own mind, probably.
Skye was a bit of an over-thinker. I’d never been in her mind, but I didn’t have to be. This fact was obvious.
My phone buzzed, and I glanced down, my heart skipping a beat when I read the alert.
“Skye’s in the Health clinic.”
Wyatt turned around sharply. “What?”
“I just got an alert.” I blinked at the words on my screen. What could she possibly be doing there? She didn’t need a Healer. Wyatt was here and she could get to Zephyr in seconds, so–
“Why am I not a part of these text conversations?” Wyatt muttered, staring down at his phone. “I thought Aiden had made that group chat for us.”
My brain grinded to a halt. “What are you talking about?”
“Why did Aiden only text you about Skye?” Wyatt asked. “I thought things were better.”
Oh.
I chewed my lip while I debated how pissed he was about to get.
“Rafe,” Wyatt said slowly. “Aiden didn’t text you, did he?”
I gave him a bland smile. “No.”
Wyatt pinched the bridge of his nose. “How do you know she’s at the Health clinic?”
I stared at him for a moment, my mind racing through different excuses I could give him, but Wyatt’s mind was quicker than mine. He flashed me a look of disappointment.
“Don’t tell me you did some shit with my student files so you get alerts on her,” he said.
“Okay. I won’t tell you.” I replied. “Anyway. Let’s go see our Link-mate.”
“Link-mate? Why would we go see Aiden? How do you even know where he is–” Wyatt’s words cut off with a yelp as I took his arm and pulled him through the shadows behind me.
We stepped out into Skye and Aiden’s new, spacious dorm room slash penthouse. Well, I stepped out. Wyatt stumbled behind me, then let out a ragged cough like he was trying not to vomit.
“What the fuck?”
I turned to find Aiden standing by the kitchen island, an open juice jug in his hand. I narrowed my eyes at the jug. Apple juice? Gross.
“Are you drinking straight out of the container? What’s wrong with you?” Wyatt asked, sounding disgusted.
Aiden wiped his chin with the back of his hand. “It’s my fucking house, bro. What are you doing here?”
“Where’s Skye?” I asked, ignoring the both of them.
Aiden, the brat, rolled his eyes, then scoffed, “I don’t know. I don’t keep the woman on a leash.” He put the jug back in the fridge, then rummaged around in one of the drawers.
Wyatt and I shared a look.
“I just got an alert that Skye is in the Health clinic,” I said.
Aiden spun around to face us, his snacks from the fridge forgotten. His skin paled. “What?!”
“Okay, so he didn’t know either.” Wyatt said, pulling out his phone. “I’ll call Willow.”
“No, asshole, I’ll call Willow.” Aiden said, pulling out his own phone. “She won’t answer you.”
“She’s my sister, of course she’ll–” Wyatt cut off as Willow’s voicemail message played through his phone speaker.
“Hey, Wills,” Aiden said, giving Wyatt a shit-eating grin. He turned his back to us, heading down the short hallway to the bedrooms. “Is Skye with you?”
Wyatt turned, giving me a pissy look, and I sighed deeply.
“Wyatt–”
“I hate him, Rafe. I fucking hate him.”
“You do not,” I argued.
“I do, too,” he insisted. “What is it about him that keeps her? Is it really because he’s all sweet with her? Is he just a good listener? Does she have a need to…fix people?” He fisted his hair, his eyes a little wild.
Huh. Who knew Willow would be the straw to break the camel’s back where Wyatt was concerned.
Then again…maybe it made perfect sense. Wyatt was an insecure bastard at the end of the day. It was probably destroying him that even his sister had finally dismissed him.
“If she enjoys fixing people, she’s doing a hell of a job.” I said lightly. “Considering Aiden’s been sober for, what? Three months?”
“Yeah, good for him.” Wyatt grumbled.
“It is a good thing, Wyatt. That’s your problem.” I said with a sigh.
“Tell me more,” Wyatt drawled. “Even you got in somehow, with all your stalking.”
I shook my head. “You keep trying to compete in a contest that doesn’t exist. We’re bound to Skye whether or not she wants us. Biologically, we’re all perfect for each other. Even you and me and Aiden.”
Wyatt dropped his gaze to the floor.
“Just because he got there first doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the rest of us,” I said softly. “Skye is trying to let you in, but if you continue shutting Aiden out, you’ll keep finding yourself pushed away instead.”
Wyatt didn’t reply, which was typical. He ran his hand over his stubble a few times, seemingly lost in thought.
“And clearly the stalking doesn’t bother her,” I added on dryly. “She even told me she likes knowing I watch her sometimes.”
Wyatt blinked at me, his eyes wide like they’d been when I first explained Skye and Aiden’s dynamic, which was hilarious considering he had his own weird kinks.
My friend was clueless.
“Skye’s fine,” Aiden called out as he came back into the kitchen. His warm eyes bounced between me and Wyatt, taking in our expressions and realizing he missed something.
Wyatt cleared his throat. “Why’s she at the Health clinic?”
Aiden pursed his lips. “I feel like…I shouldn’t tell you.” Wyatt shook his head, looking toward the door, and Aiden hurried to continue. “No, I mean…fucking hell. Not like that. Nevermind. Willow wants to hit on Dani so Skye is playing sick so they could get an appointment to see her.”
Wyatt stilled, blinking several times. “Dani. The secret Healer?”
Aiden bobbed his head with a nod. “Willow is super into her. Mia too, I guess. But they’re not sure if she’s into them back or if she was just being helpful, you know, since there was an attack and all that.”
Wyatt pinched the bridge of his nose as I breathed a laugh.
“We rushed over here because my sister is hitting on someone. Great.”
I laughed out loud, and Aiden chuckled along.
“Anyway,” Aiden said, opening the fridge and pulling out the jug of apple juice again. “Uh…can I get you something to drink? Or something?”
I looked to Wyatt. Of course I didn’t mind staying, but…
“Not that,” Wyatt said in disgust, eyeing the juice. Aiden grinned before drinking straight from the jug again.
“We could order some food?” I suggested. “When is Skye back?”
Aiden shrugged after putting the juice back, then shuffled past us in his sock feet. “I don’t know. It could be a while. I was gonna play that new car chase game.”
Wyatt perked up slightly, then scowled when I gave him a sly grin.
Wyatt loved car chase games.
He never got to own them as a kid, either, because his father was a son of a bitch. So was mine, but I was a momma’s boy. My mother bought me anything I wanted. She never even bothered to check what it was.
So that’s how Wyatt and I had been playing an adult game at nine years old.
“What should we order?” Aiden asked. My heart leapt, and I glanced at Wyatt, who wore a similar expression.
Aiden wasn’t kicking us out.
In fact, he knelt down in front of the large television screen and reached into a wicker basket tucked into a credenza.
He pulled out three game controllers before heading back to the couch.
“I know it’s not a takeout food, but I want pasta.
Zephyr makes this orzo shit that’s so good but I can’t get it right. ”
I scrunched up my nose. “Pasta?”
Maybe Wyatt was right. Aiden was a little weirdo.
I glanced at Wyatt, to give him a look of get a load of this guy, but Wyatt wasn’t paying attention. He’d moved closer to the couch, nervously flicking his hazel eyes back and forth between the game controllers and the television as Aiden booted up the game.
“How does that sound, Wy?” I asked.
Wyatt blinked, looking back to me. “What?”
I smirked at him, and he scratched at his temple with his middle finger before perching on the edge of the couch.
Aiden made room for him, scooting down to the edge, leaving a comically large gap along the rest of the sectional.
He held one controller, then pushed one toward Wyatt before he tossed a couple blankets to the middle of the couch.
Wyatt snatched up the controller, immediately gluing his eyes to the screen.
I sighed as I turned my back to them, pulling out my phone to find a place where I could order fucking pasta. Then, a lightbulb went off in my brain and I spun back around. I snapped a quick picture of the two of them, not exactly side by side, but sharing a couch while playing a video game.
I sent Skye the photo.
Me
I think they like each other
Darling
Wtf
Why are you in my dorm
Me
Come home quick, honey. I just ordered pasta for the kids
Darling
…Pasta???
I grinned down at my phone before looking back up at Wyatt and Aiden, already jeering at each other while they played.
For the first time ever, some warmth filled my chest.
We could do this.
Somehow.
I could see it now. A year from now, the group of us together.
Maybe in the Palace. Maybe in our own estate.
Maybe Wyatt would build it using his earth affinity, and Skye could help…
Aiden would use his affinities to keep us warm, to light things up once it grew dark.
And I could walk around supervising like I’d done something to help.
This could work.
It had to.