I took a step and stopped, anchoring my feet against the
intense need I had to be near him. Brows furrowed, mind fraught with warring
emotion as the thoughts ping-ponged in my head. That was my male standing out
there. No, not my male. Not now. My male was on patrol, the souring of Wrath’s
mood leading to longer and longer shifts hunting lessers and as second in
command, Tohr was duty bound to lead by example, fronting the charge against
the Lessening Society in the back alleys off Trade St. Though Tohr wasn’t
really mine, either, was he? There’d been no bond, no mating…and no sign of
either in sight. I pinched the bridge of
my nose, unknowingly inching closer to the diamond-eyed warrior, his presence
like a beacon to my body, beckoning me home.
As I skirted through the throngs of females still jockeying
for position in his favor, I caught the low bass of his voice, uttering words
that splintered me to my very foundation. He was… leaving? Oh, god. My knees
went weak even as my adrenaline kicked in to pilot me into the swelling masses, shoving bodies
aside in a frantic bid to reach him even as my conscience railed at the
impropriety. He’s not yours, Jodi…
…belong to another brother… he can’t go… you’ll let him go… FUCK YOU, NO I
WON’T! With a final push I broke free of the huddled bodies and stood face
to face with the dark angel that plagued my every conscious thought.
His eyes found mine and I was speechless for a moment, the
weeks of separation leaving me dazed the moment I took in his face, my lips
moving but unable to make a sound as I fumbled to put the words together in my
head, panic finally kicking me into gear to blurt out a near-hysterical “You’re
leaving?” no. No. NO! “You.. you can’t leave. Stay…” …for me went unspoken as eager ears scattered through the crowd
watching Tohr’s female fall apart over a male that wanted nothing to do with
her. “Vishous, I…” What? Love you? Need
you? Have died a little every day since I last saw you? Oh yeah, Jodi. That
will go over like a whore in church.
“I don’t want you to go.”
“It’s for the best, pet."
Maybe it was my own anguish reflecting in the icy pale of
his eyes but for a split second I thought I saw…sadness? No, Vishous would not
be sad for me. He would not see the pain I felt knowing that this time there
would be no coming back. Still, for a few minutes more, I could pretend he was
mine and those precious few minutes would have to last me a life time.
I took a deep breath, pulling in as much of his scent as I
could and stepped as close to him as his huge form would allow, the zipper of
his leather jacket brushing over my stomach and I curled my fingers around its
lapels, looking up with pleading eyes.
“Best for who?”
There was no answer at first, just a drawn breath and the
creak of a leather glove flexing near my waist, as if he’d intended to reach
for me and thought better of it.
“Best for everyone.”
I nodded slowly, squeezing my eyes shut to staunch the
building flood of tears.
“Then this is good bye.” My voice was small, the hope
running out of my body as if someone had pulled the stopper on a drain.
“It is.”
I forced a smile as he awkwardly reached out and folded me
into his arms, my face pressed into the worn leather jacket and taking shaky
breaths, sighing quietly as he smoothed a hand down my back and pressed a
whiskered kiss to my temple before pulling away with a last look. I shook my
head, too weak to see his face again, turning back into the crowd and heading
into the mansion, snatching the first bottle I found along the way and plodding
up the stairs to my bedroom. Ours… our
bedroom… I corrected, slamming through the door only to hear the thudding
of shitkickers behind me.
“Tahlly? Are you alr…” Tohr stopped, cautiously eyeing the
bottle in my hand. “What’s this?”
I climbed onto the bed and curled beneath the blankets, back
turned to the male in the doorway. “It’s nothing, Tohr. I just.. I just lost a
friend, that’s all.”
“All this over a friend, Jodi?” He sat down on the bed, his
weight sinking the mattress. “Are you sure that’s all he was?”
I took a long pull off of the bottle in my hand and counted
to ten once and then again. Time to sell
the lie, Jodi. And make it count because you have to use it to convince
yourself. This was a clean break. You have to let Vishous go.
“Yes, Tohr. Just a friend…”
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