Page 46 of Someone Else's Wolf

Oh, hell. Fourth ring, and someone was opening the door.

It was Peter. For a moment, he stood there with the sun in his eyes, squinting, blinking at me. "Shane?" He sounded disbelieving, disoriented.

I stared back, just as shocked. I hadn't expected him to have changed so much. It had only been a short time since I'd last seen him, but he looked older. Hunched and gaunt-eyed. He hadn't combed his hair or changed his clothes in a while, and probably hadn't remembered to shower, either. The short stubble on his chin was hot, but it didn't look purposeful; it looked like he'd forgotten to shave.

"Shane?" He straightened up as he repeated my name and ran a hand self-consciously back through his hair. "Shane, uh, hi. What are you...?" He looked over his shoulder quickly, a haunted look, and then turned back to me with a strange, awkward smile that looked painful to have forced onto his face. "Um, do you want to...?" He gestured clumsily towards the backyard.

My heart plummeted. So, he wasn't even going to let me meet the bastard? I should be relieved, I supposed, getting to remain his dirty secret and not having to answer any suspicious, jealous questions. But, boy, did I feel like shit. I swallowed down the hurt and gave him a nod and an uneasy smile back. I didn't try to speak.

He'd never have made me go into the backyard to talk to him before. But we weren't in a relationship anymore, not even a fake, temporary, better-than-nothing relationship. I followed him, trying not to notice his long legs and strong shoulders and how much I'd missed him.

I'd let Sue talk me into coming back here, but why? A secret desire to punish myself for getting involved in the first place, perhaps? I kinda doubted I was really all that altruistic, hoping Sue didn't murder the bastard.

I didn't even know his name, but to me, he'd always be that bastard.

Peter turned to me and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why'd you come here, Shane?"

"To give you back your key," I lied.

"Oh." He nodded hard several times. "Sure. Okay."

He held his hand out, then dropped it to his side again as I fumbled with my key ring, trying to work the key off. Of course it was a sensible reason to drop by. Of course it was.

"Are you eating okay?" Peter asked tentatively as I fumbled and he watched me.

I kept my head down. "Sure. You?"

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Sure," he echoed.

The backyard was small, but he'd always kept it neat and pretty with a few decorative plants and a well-groomed lawn. Today, it looked neglected and forgotten.

"Sue told me. Your mate is back." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice.

"Yeah. For now."

What was that supposed to mean? Did he think the man he loved was going back to jail soon? Or maybe he meant to kick him out? I shouldn't get excited about that, since it probably wasn't what he meant, anyway.And it's none of my business.

"I should've told you about him from the beginning. I'm sorry. I didn't realize how—"

"We've been over this."

"Yeah." He cleared his throat and seemed to shrink into himself.

"Look." I shoved the key at him, harder than I meant to, and glared up into his haggard, handsome face. "I might think you're full of crap, and I might hate his stupid guts, but Sue hates him even more than I do, and she might take matters into her own hands, so if you want to keep him around, keep a fucking eye on her, okay?"

A mix of emotions flitted across his face: surprise, embarrassment, and something that looked oddly like relief. "What?"

"Don't play dumb, Peter. I think Sue would like to get rid of your boyfriend. Sorry, your 'mate.'" I turned to leave, stumbling a little in my haste.

"Wait." He caught my arm. "What do you mean, you hate him?"

I stopped. He was touching me. I wondered if he had any idea how good it felt, his strong, warm hand on my arm. Probably not. Probably, he'd think I was pathetic. I'd always been a sucker for him. Maybe I always would be. I held still, and he forgot to let go.

"Are you jealous?" he said, his voice low. It wasn't taunting, like I'd expected, but honestly curious.

"No," I said bitterly. "Why would I be jealous when the man I was in love with turned out to be—" I had to stop because my voice was starting to break. Damn it, I hadn't meant to be this pathetic.

"You loved me?" Peter said in a very small voice.