Noah smiled shyly and said, “I’m a Halfling.”
“What?” Nix’s eyes widened.
“Half Fae, half human. Blue realized it and finally told me, so he and Kalen have been helping me hone my new skills.”
Several of the guests exclaimed, and word began to spread.
“I’m just a low-level Halfling,” Noah said, shrugging. “But it’s something, anyway.”
“What do you mean? You’re amazing!”
“Thank you.” He was so happy at his mate’s declaration. This was going so much better than he’d hoped. Throwing his arms around Nix, he kissed him. Hard and deep, in front of everyone at the party.
Nix responded at first—then seemed to remember where he was, and started backpedaling. “Whoa. Hang on—”
“I love you, Nix,” he said, heart full. “Will you make us official now? Will you claim me? I mean, not right now, but—”
“How could you do this to me?” Nix whispered, face white. “In front of everybody, knowing how I feel?”
The bottom dropped out of Noah’s stomach, and he slowly unwound his arms from around his mate’s neck. “But I thought . . . I thought you’d be proud of me. That you’d finally see there’s no reason to wait. I love you.”
Nix was staring at him, not responding. Tears welled in Noah’s eyes as he realized he’d made a terrible mistake, pushing the issue too soon. In front of their friends.
“I didn’t mean to—”
“Jesus, Noah. Didn’t I ask you to give me time?” he spat angrily. “What, you think life is one big rainbow pride parade? I have to deal with a whole new way of life, and you can’t give me ten seconds to adjust?”
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. He couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
Nix shook his head and went on. “I’m not ready! Why do you think I’ve been participating in Melina’s drug trials?”
“What?” His whole world. Crumbling right at his feet. “What are you talking about?”
“The reason my wolf hasn’t been forced to claim you. I’ve been taking a drug that suppresses the mating urge. That’s why I haven’t gotten sick.”
Yes, he’d wondered. And now he had the answer. He looked, found Melina’s grim gaze, and she nodded. Then she shot an angry look at Nix.
“I told you to tell him.”
Betrayed. By two people he trusted. Most of all, by his mate. Oh my God.
“I’m sorry I pushed you,” Noah managed. “I won’t bother you anymore. I’m so sorry. I’ll just . . .”
“What does that mean? Noah!”
Turning on his heel, he ran. He had no clue where he was going, but he had to get away. Had to escape the crushing agony in his chest. Distantly, he heard people calling his name. But he didn’t stop. He ran all the way to his room, grabbed his wallet and the keys to his shitty little car, and was out again in less than fifteen seconds.
In one minute, he was tearing down the driveway toward the road leading away from the compound. He’d head into town, and from there? Who knew. Maybe he’d come back later, after things cooled off. Maybe not.
Right now, driving forever sounded really good.
Driving and never returning to the place where his mate had rejected him, maybe for the very last time.
6
“Noah! Noah, stop!”
But his sweet mate was already peeling down the driveway, and roared out of sight.
“Oh, God. I fucked up so bad.” Burying his hands in his hair, he looked around wildly. “I’ve got to go after him.”
“Yeah, you fucked up, you stupid asshole,” Aric snarled. “Why’d you have to be such a douche canoe?”
“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Nix moaned, guts churning in misery. “But he knows how hard the public scene is for me. I’m learning, but lifelong shit that’s drilled into your skull doesn’t go away overnight!”
“Point. But man, you can’t go around lashing out at the one person who’s supposed to be your guiding light. Who’s supposed to mean more to you than anyone in the world. And you slammed him in front of everybody we fuckin’ know.”
“I know! Shit, what am I going to do?”
“Give him time to cool off, then call him on his cell. If he doesn’t answer, follow him into town. I’ll bet he ends up at the Grizzly drinking a beer or three.”
“I sure hope so.”
“Come on, let’s help clean up. Then you can call.”
A sense of dread told Nix he should call now. After Aric walked off, he tried several times, but each call went straight to Noah’s voice mail. Nix left messages, then finally gave up for a while and went to help the others.
Who wouldn’t speak to him.
He didn’t blame them one bit.
When they finished cleaning up the mess, Nix tried his mate’s cell phone again. To his relief, Noah answered. He could tell right way his angel had been crying.
“Look, you can stop calling, okay? I’m on my way into town, and I’m fine.”
“On your way? You should’ve been there a half hour ago. What happened?”