Chapter Eleven
Blaze
I’d never been more thankful for a night off. My feet and body needed a break. The break came with the absence of seeing Darsh but, as the night waned, I decided to take a chance. He knew who and more importantly what I was now and didn’t care that I was half tiger.
I hadn’t asked him about his days off. If he was working, he wouldn’t answer or would text me back. At least, that’s what I hoped.
That morning we’d talked like people who had known each other forever. Yes, I was absolutely attracted to him, in a feral way, but more than that, we were building a friendship. If he was my mate, there was some element of friendship there. There had to be.
It took an hour of pacing and half a pint of generic ice cream before I made the decision and called him.
“One second, omega.” I heard the bass of the club behind him and then the sound of him walking and finally a door close. Oh, damn. He called me omega. I swore, every damned thing he did turned me on. “I was going to call you later, since I didn’t know if you were sleeping. I’m on my way out.”
“I’m sorry. You can call me later.”
“No way. I’m getting into my car. It’s a short drive. Stay with me, please.”
Always. I would stay with him always.
True to his word, in only a few minutes, he was home. He talked to me on the way about how there was someone who called in sick, one of the monitors for the electricity play station, and he had to fill in. No rest for an owner, he said.
He put me on hold to shower and then said he settled in bed.
I’d always dreamed of these kinds of phone calls. Ones that never ended. Waned way into the wee hours of the morning. Sharing secrets. Saying things that were hard to voice face to face.
“What are you doing now, Blaze? I’ve been doing all the talking.”
“I just got into bed. I took a nap earlier but I’m going to try to sleep at night if I can on my days off.”
He chuckled. “Do you need to go?”
“No,” I answered, maybe too quickly. I had no pride when it came to Darsh. No cool either. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Tell me about yourself. Are you from the city? Did I miss you all this time? I hate to think I walked past and never noticed you.”
I blew out a breath. I hadn’t talked to anyone about this. “I lived in a pack most of my life. Up until about three months ago, actually.”
“Why did you leave? I’m glad you did but why?” I heard him shift in bed. What did he wear for sleeping? Pajamas? Only those sexy, low-slung pajama pants? Boxers? Nothing at all?
“My omega father, the tiger part of my equation, died while giving birth to me. I was left in a blanket shortly after at my father’s wolf pack gates. My very mated alpha wolf father.”
“Oh, omega. How awful. I can’t imagine he was pleased to see you. His secret was blown to pieces.”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see it. Less than pleased was the most decent way to express the fact that my father hated my guts, not because of who I was but because of the mistake he’d made–and the fact that my existence was him getting caught in that mistake.
“They were okay to me when I was little. His omega wasn’t mean to me but he showed me no affection like his other children. No one could blame him.”
Darsh moved and I heard footsteps. “Sorry. It was a bit warm in here. I opened a window.”
“Don’t you love sleeping with an open window?” I asked, glancing over at my own window letting the cool breeze flow inside.
“I do. It makes for a good night’s sleep as well. Tell me more, Blaze. What made you leave your pack and go out on your own?”
This was the painful part but somehow it might be less painful to release it all to my mate. My mate? I was pretty sure Darsh was my fated mate but held tight to my reservations. Life could be cruel. My life was firsthand proof.
“Until my tiger began to show some signs of danger, I was allowed to live under the same roof with my father and his omega, but my room was separate from the others. Far from their children. Even as a kid, I understood that I was removed, different, set apart from the rest of the community. Other kids went to school and then were set free to shift and play and swim in the lake. I had to get my home chores done, then homework, then I had pack duties. Once I began to shift on a regular basis, the other kids were scared of me. The parents too. I have a big tiger. My omega father must’ve been a sight. ”
“You don’t know anything about him?”
“Not really. His name was Sebastian. No pictures. I never saw the note that was pinned to my blanket.”
“Blaze, I’m so sorry that happened to you. No kid deserves to be treated that way.”
I sighed. No one had ever told me that. I’d blamed myself for a long time before realizing none of it was my fault.
“Wow,” I said, laughing while wiping away the tears. “I didn’t expect to unload on you like that. I’m sorry.”
“No need, omega. You can talk to me about anything. Anytime.”
“Tell me about you, Darsh. How did you come to be an owner at Cuffed?”
He made a humming sound. Even though we were miles apart, the sound washed over my body making tingles break out along my skin. I sunk down deeper under the covers.
“What is that, Blaze? Are you getting tired?”
“No. Pulling the covers over me. Please. Tell me something. Your voice is so soothing. You should voice audiobooks or something. It would drive the omegas wild.”
“And what about you? Is it driving you wild?” That lethal voice of his dipped to an even lower octave. Need flooded my body.
“Yes,” I breathed into the phone.
“I’m not sorry.”
“You shouldn’t be. Keep talking, alpha. Please.”
That night, we learned about each other.
How Darsh inherited the money and invested in the place, the only place, where he could most be himself.
A streak of jealousy shot through me thinking about the omegas he must’ve pleased and those who had pleased him in those rooms. I still hadn’t asked him what his niche was in the club but I didn't want to hear it, I wanted to see it. Experience it with him.
He lived alone. Had never been mated. Didn’t date a lot.
I yawned but covered my mouth to keep it from him.
“You’re tired. I should let you get to sleep.”
“Are you sleepy?” I asked.
“I am, but I don’t want to hang up.”
“Then don’t,” I said but it sounded more like a plea. “Fall asleep with me, alpha.”