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.
