5. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Milo
“Morning!” Dad greeted after shifting back to his human form. He tended to visit in his wolf form, making the trip here faster for him. I didn’t care much for the nudity though, not like my packmates who were used to it. Another thing that differentiated me from the others.
“Morning,” I said back, holding up my cup of coffee. “Want one?”
“Yes, please,” he replied, following me inside.
My morning routine was already ruined, so I might as well offer him some, now that he showed an interest in me with the surprise visit and all.
But I wouldn’t get my hopes up. Whenever he visited it was to talk about Jeremy.
And even though a small part of me—okay a big part—wanted him to visit because he’d missed me, I somehow already knew this visit wasn’t about me.
“Here you go,” I announced, handing him his cup and joined him on one of the makeshift chairs I had inside. I would be content to continue with my coffee outside, but Dad would get too cold out there, I feared, so these chairs would have to do.
“Thank you.” He blew on it, inhaling the scent before letting out a deep sigh. “I actually came with good news.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He smiled. “Jeremy has found his fated.” The look of pride that took over Dad’s face…. It broke my heart.
My cup fell from my hands and shattered on the ground, startling Dad out of his chair, making him hiss when his own coffee spilled over his hand.
“Ow!” he cursed, licking his skin. The red skin soon turned normal, the burn already forgotten.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, grabbing some towels and a dustpan for the ruined bits.
“No worries,” Dad replied, looking at me with concerned eyes.
He was likely wondering why I wasn’t cheering with happiness for Jeremy.
But this was just so Jeremy! Or my luck.
I found my fated and somehow managed to fuck it up.
Of course Jeremy had to find his, too, and get all of the honor of telling Dad.
Even if I somehow managed to get Darius to want me, my news would be old news by then.
I could never catch a fucking break around here!
“He visited me this morning,” Dad continued, calmly sipping his coffee. “He’s taking Cass, that’s his name, to meet the pack today.”
“Cool,” I somehow managed to reply.
“And,” he gave me a pointed look. “You should stop by Jeremy’s house before they leave.”
“Why?” I asked, almost whining. I really didn’t want to meet this Cass person alone.
“Because he’s your brother-in-law,” Dad stated firmly, a disappointed glare was added to really hit it home that, once again, I was found lacking.
“Okay,” I conceded.
He sighed. “What happened between the two of you? I know you’ve never been truly close as brothers should be, but it seems to have gotten worse.”
I could only shrug. He was the reason for a lot of our fights and rivalry, not that I would ever tell him that.
He just sighed again, sat the cup down and walked towards my sliding doors. “Visit him, Milo.” It was spoken as an order from the former Alpha and not from my father.
Deciding to get it over with, I cleaned up and got myself ready, then shifted in my backyard and ran the short walk towards Jeremy’s home.
I barely had time to enjoy the scenery before I reached the trees leading into Jeremy’s backyard.
The urge and need to get this over with powered through me, making me dash towards Jeremy and who had to be Cass where they stood on the porch.
When Cass spotted me running towards them, he screamed.
“Fuck!” I heard Cass yell before he hurried inside and closed the doors.
Like that could keep me out.
Did he think I was a real wolf? Had Jeremy not told him about shifters yet?
I shifted back and gave Jeremy a confused look. I wasn’t about to apologize to him for scaring his mate. If he’d only prepared him enough, I wouldn’t have.
“Was that Cass?” I asked to be certain, walking up the small steps to stand next to Jeremy.
“It was,” he sighed. “He’d been taking this whole wolf thing so well. Better go check on him.”
I followed silently behind him as he went inside, spotting Cass sitting behind the couch.
Leaving Jeremy to deal with his fated’s panic, I went into Jeremy’s bedroom and found some pants to wear, not wanting Cass to see me naked. Again, I was the odd shifter who wasn’t comfortable walking around naked, not that I’d ever admit that.
Walking out I heard Jeremy speak in a calm tone to Cass. “The wolf that approached is my brother, Milo. He wants to meet you.”
“Oh,” Cass said.
“Would you be okay with that? He won’t be in his wolf form anymore,” Jeremy said, and I felt like it was spoken more to me than to Cass.
“Yeah, that sounds good,” Cass agreed.
“Milo?” Jeremy called, so I approached them slowly.
Jeremy helped Cass up from the floor and I hurried to offer him my hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you,” I grinned, hoping to seem genuine. Cass had done nothing to deserve my bitterness. It wasn’t his fault that my brother and I weren’t on good terms.
“You too,” Cass replied, looking nervous.
“You’re the first wolf shifter he’s seen shifted besides myself,” Jeremy explained, likely feeling sorry for how Cass reacted, or embarrassed by it.
“Ah,” I said, nodding. “Sorry for running so fast, then. I heard you were coming today and wanted to meet you before the others got the chance.”
“Dad told you?” Jeremy asked, eyeing me funny.
“He told me you were bringing him to meet the pack, like he told everyone else this morning,” I informed him.
“Oh, I should probably tell everyone that we aren’t just friends, but dating now,” Jeremy said, looking lovingly at Cass.
“I’ll spread the word,” I conceded, knowing it was his way of not so subtly ordering me to do it. “And congrats to you both,” I added as an afterthought. “I’ve wanted to see you happy for a long time, brother.” It was a lie and we both knew it.
Cass cleared his throat and gave me a kind smile. “I met your partner yesterday, Darius. He seems nice.”
My blood froze. How did they know? Had Darius spoken about me? Were they talking about me behind my back? Laughing at me? Did Darius tell Jeremy about how he rejected me. I felt sick, my stomach churning.
“Darius told me about you and him. I had to let Cass know, too,” Jeremy explained casually.
Swallowing, I nodded. “I see.”
But what did he tell you?! And how much?!
“I’ll bring Cass over in a few,” Jeremy said, changing the subject.
I simply nodded goodbye and stripped out of the pants near the backdoor, shifting as soon as I was outside, desperate to get as far away from Jeremy and Cass as possible.
I had a lot of packmates I needed to talk to and a fated to avoid.
Then, I could break down in private, shedding the tears that threatened to fall.
After a good run around the pack, I got dressed and decided my breakdown would have to wait until tonight. Look at me being all mature, scheduling my breakdowns and everything. If only Darius could see me now.
I was at the packhouse before Jeremy and Cass, so I sat down next to Dad, hoping he wouldn’t gush about how perfect Cass was, but of course that’s exactly what he did.
“He called me a jerk,” Dad cackled. “Me? A jerk?!”
“Sounds fun,” I said, wanting to escape the building as soon as possible. Mainly because Darius was here. Ignoring my very existence. Not once had he looked my way. He likely hated me. And why wouldn’t he?
Jeremy then came through the doors gaining all the attention as he announced loudly, “Everyone! This is my boyfriend, Cass.”
Cass waved awkwardly next to Jeremy and I felt a little sorry for him. It couldn’t be easy for him, being human and all. And the fact he was fated to the alpha had to be terrifying, too.
Dad left me sitting alone as he approached them, smiling widely. “Welcome, Cass.”
“Shit,” Cass seemed to mutter, causing several snickers from my packmates.
“Shifter hearing, baby. He definitely heard that,” Jeremy grinned.
Dad winked at Cass, making him blush. “A better introduction might be in order then, I’m Paul, Jeremy’s dad and former Alpha of the Groove Vale Pack.”
Cass shook Dad’s hand, smiling awkwardly. “Nice to meet you, Paul. And I’m sorry I called you a jerk. Multiple times,” he hurried to add.
Many around me laughed at that.
They talked amongst themselves after, so I hurried over to help the cooks, wanting to keep busy as much as possible. I would just need to stay for an hour or two and then I could escape the knowledge of being close to my fated, but not being wanted by him.
I’d suffered for long enough, I decided, so I went to search for Jeremy to let him know I was leaving. It was the polite thing to do, even if I really looked forward to my impending breakdown.
I found him near the tables filled with food, plating some watermelon.
“How’s it going?” I asked, nodding to where Cass was laughing with our packmates. “Maybe I didn’t even need to ask. They seem to love him already.”
“As they should,” he replied seriously. “He is, after all, their Alpha’s mate.”
Right. How could I ever forget.
“Yes. He is indeed,” I replied, feeling done with this conversation. I was just about to tell him I was leaving when he decided to bring further pain my way.
“How are things with Darius?” he asked, his tone gentle and not at all matching whatever he intended with the words. He knew, so why the fuck ask?
“That’s none of your business!” I snapped.
He held his hands up “Wow. Didn’t realize it was that bad.”
Fuming, I decided to get back at him. “Just focus on your own mate.” I leaned in and added the next part in a whisper, “And then I’ll focus on mine.” I finished my words with a wink, hoping to hurt him like he’d hurt me.
“I will,” he replied, then turned his back on me, leaving me feeling raw and exposed.
I left the packhouse and decided to walk home in my human form. I needed time to think. To feel all the emotions. Being here wasn’t good for me. And truly, would anyone even miss me?
I eyed my phone and sighed deeply. No response from Nathalia.
It had been two weeks since I’d last heard from her.
Not that we spoke often now, but at least once a week was normal.
After calling her phone ten times, I reluctantly texted her the whole Darius mess and hoped she could help me out. It seemed I truly was on my own.
Like always.