42. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-One
Kian
Groaning, I let myself fall backwards into the grass when Sapphire takes off toward the jet.
I don’t know what happened, but something I said or did really upset her.
I run my hands over my face while I try to think what it could have been.
What did you do? What did you say?
In any other circumstance, a woman rushing away from me like that would make me assume she wasn’t into me, and she left because she didn’t know how to say it.
But this is completely different.
I know Sapphire is meant for me.
And it seemed like she was enjoying my flirty efforts, until, suddenly, she wasn’t.
I don’t understand. It was light and breezy. Easy to brush off or laugh at.
It wasn’t meant to make her uncomfortable in any kind of way.
Am I completely oblivious? Did that dumb line really upset her?
I sit back up slowly, realizing she’s already hidden from sight in the forest near where the jet is.
Letting her rush off alone wasn’t a good idea.
It took me by surprise when she got up, but now I’m just sitting here feeling sorry for myself instead of catching her up to apologize.
I want to know what I did, but she might not want to talk about it.
I can deal with that, as long as she knows whatever it was, I didn’t intend to hurt her.
It takes a few seconds to gather up her things inside the towel, closing it one handed and then gathering her empty beer bottle up next to mine in my other hand.
Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea to drink alcohol.
And we could have stayed on the beach near the others for the interview.
I hope she didn’t think I was being creepy bringing her out here alone and then being all flirty.
Groaning, I start trudging down the slope, not believing I could be so dumb.
“Damn it, Kian. You’re messing this up already.”
I need to start making smarter decisions.
Taking my time, I walk down the incline, heading toward the jet.
If she’s still upset, that’s probably where she’ll be.
Hiding out from the idiot who made her cry.
Sighing, I push back a low-hanging branch with my arm as I step back into the forest.
I pause after a couple more steps, not certain I should be trying to speak to her again now.
All I want is to make sure she’s okay.
If she doesn’t want to speak to me, I can go lie down in the water and wait for those baby sharks to eat me, or something.
I start walking again and within a couple of steps, I can see Xane coming toward me.
Another step toward the jet, and I can tell my lead Alpha is angry.
Great. Forget about the sharks. Xane’s gonna bite your head off.
He stops a foot away from me, and barks out, “What the fuck did you do to her?”
“Nothing. She got upset when I tried to flirt. I barely said anything. It wasn’t even sexy flirting.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “She was crying like she just got bad news. What exactly happened?”
“I don’t know,” I admit, shrugging. “We barely had a half bottle of beer each, so no one was even buzzed. She ate at least half her sandwich, so she wasn’t starving, either. I just made a stupid comment about liking her eyes.”
I wave the bottles at him, hoping to distract him from murdering me.
He snatches them and frowns at the empty.
“Someone finished this one.”
“No. It fell over and emptied onto the grass.”
He doesn’t look convinced. “No more drinking.”
He tips both bottle upside down and the contents pour out onto the grass and dirt at our feet.
“Okay,” I murmur. “No more drinking. Sure. You gonna be the one to tell Riley that new rule?”
Xane stares back at me, still angry enough to make me worry. “Nope. You are.”
“You’re joking. Tell me you’re joking.”
He has to be. Aside from the fact that he’s the literal definition of an alcoholic, which I only realized minutes ago, Riley does not take anything I say seriously. There’s no way he’ll stop drinking just because I tell him to.
Even if it’s a direct order from our lead Alpha.
Xane shakes his head and starts walking back the way he came, toward the jet.
“Wait!” I rush after him. “You were joking, right? You know Riley won’t listen to me …”
“I’m not joking.” His cold tone makes that point obvious.
“He’ll ignore me.”
“Then make him listen.”
“He’s a fucking alcoholic, Xane. He’ll go batshit if we take that cooler of beer away from him.”
That makes him stop. I do the same, waiting for him to turn back around.
His shoulders sink as he does, and I realize he took off his shirt.
Huh. I guess he’s really feeling the heat.
Usually, Riley’s the one stripping off.
“I never should have landed here,” he tells me, sighing and shaking his head. “What the fuck was I thinking?”
Oh Shit. It’s worse than I thought. He regrets listening to me.
I don’t even have the words to defend myself.
Not now. Not while Sapphire is so upset.
I did all this. I’m the reason we’re all here together.
I was so sure she was our true mate, and that this was the way to go.
What if I was wrong?
The weight of that question is crushing.
“I … Can I see her?” I ask.
“No. She’s in the cabin, resting. No one gets to disturb her.”
He might as well add on, “least of all, you”, because he’s giving those words with his expression.
Knowing Sapphire’s safe in the jet’s cabin helps, but it’s not enough.
“I need to apologize,” I add.
“For what?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
“For whatever I did to upset her.”
“You want to make yourself feel better, you mean. Leave her alone. She doesn’t need an apology. She needs rest.”
Damn. Now I feel guilty for wanting to tell her I’m sorry.
Maybe I should feel like that. It would make me feel better to apologize.
But maybe that’s not what she needs.
Because maybe she’s not our true mate.
“None of this is turning out like I thought it would.”
Xane shakes his head. “No shit. I told you fated mates were a fairytale.”
He did, but he doesn’t really believe that, and neither do I.
Fates mates are real. I feel that with every fibre of my being.
And I knew Sapphire was ours the moment I saw her face.
I let myself doubt that feeling when I upset her, but I know even the best relationships have their low moments.
It’s not good that I made her cry, but I’ll figure out how to make things right.
I’m not ready to walk away.
Not when we’ve barely started getting to know one and other.
No matter what, I know she’s supposed to be with Pack Orion.
I just need to learn a little patience, which I’ll admit doesn’t come naturally.
But I’m willing to work on it.
For her.
So, I guess, until she’s ready to speak to me, I’ll have to do whatever Xane tells me to do.
That should keep me busy enough that I don’t go completely crazy while I wait.
I blow out a breath and then hold out the bundled-up towel to my lead Alpha.
He frowns at it. “What’s this?”
“Her purse and shoes are inside. And her jacket. You should give them back to her.”
He takes it from me carefully, and I walk away from him, heading for the beach.
“Hey, wait!” he calls out.
I stop and turn. “What?”
My hopes light back up for a second, thinking he might have changed his mind about letting me speak to Sapphire. He sighs and chews on his lip before he finally speaks.
“Let Riley drink. For now. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if he passed out. We can’t get him on the jet unless he’s out of it.”
And my hopes are dashed right back down into dust.
Let the alcoholic drink. Sounds like a smart idea.
“We’ll deal with his problem later,” he adds. “It’s not a priority right now.”
I nod slowly. “Right. Sure. I’ll be on the beach if she asks for me.”
All I can do now is hope she’s willing to speak to me when she’s ready.
It kinda sucks, but at least I don’t need to go out there and take beer away from Riley.