Page 12 of Same Difference
“I’m good,” she clipped out, and passed him by, heading for his truck.
He caught up to her and slowed his stride to walk with her. “Can we talk?” he asked.
“Not right now.”
“Please, Delta—”
Delta turned and hugged him up tight. Nate froze under her touch, his hands clenched at his side.
“I liked what we were for a little while, and I appreciate all that you did. You built me a garden, and I loved it. You let me have peace. You let me move into your space and made room for my belongings and bought me all those nice things for the kitchen.”
The tension in his body didn’t relax at all, and that was that. He couldn’t relax with her, and there was something so wrong about that.
He wasn’t hers.
She released him and stepped back, clenching her hands behind her back so she could hide how much she wanted to hug him again. It was their first. First and last.
She inhaled deeply and couldn’t meet his eyes. Instead, she stared at their shoe prints in the snow.
“It wasn’t so bad being paired to you at times, and I will miss parts of it,” she said, preparing her goodbye in her mind. “I hope that someday we can be friends. Pack mates are supposed to be friends.” She gestured to the others, who were gathering around Liam’s firepit, casting glances over here at her and Nate, and talking low amongst themselves. “The Rogue Pack hasn’t figured that out yet, but hopefully it will. Hopefully we can figure that out someday too.” She forced a smile, but her stupid lip was trembling and there were tears in her eyes again. “Sorry,” she whispered shakily as she wiped her eyes. “I’m trying to do this good.”
“You’re doing great,” he said softly, and when she looked up at him, there was a softness to his eyes.
“We’re both going to do great. I hope for the best things for you, Nate.”
“What will you do?”
She shook her head. “It’s not for you to worry about anymore.”
He ran his hand down his short beard and paced off, then turned back and nodded, his eyes on the snow. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to be. You just never felt it. Not your fault. I’m… fuck.”
“You hardly ever cuss,” he pointed out.
“Yeah.” She offered him another tear-stained, forced smile. “It’s been a day. I feel like…shoot.”
“What?” he asked.
“I feel like I’m not enough and I hate it.”
“It’s not that. You’re pretty.”
She hung her head. “I wasn’t talking about being pretty, Nate.” She inhaled deep, searching for strength. “I’m staying here. I’m pretty tired, so I just need to grab my bag, and I’ll be out of your hair.” Forever.
“Fuck,” he murmured, his hands on his hips as he started out into the woods.
“We tried,” she said kindly.
“Did we?” he asked, his voice thick.
Delta pursed her lips into a thin line. “Itried.” Even she could hear the truth in her voice.
His eyes sparked with some emotion she couldn’t read, and she couldn’t do this anymore. She was building up to big tears again, and she wanted to end this strong. “Goodbye, Nate.”
“I’ll see you again. We’re in the same Pack. Or whatever this is.”
“That’s not what I meant?” She’d meant goodbye as her mate. She would have the paperwork filled out to dissolve their pairing by tomorrow.
