Page 16
TALIUS
Will he forgive me?
This was the question that plagued me as I pulled on my sweats and t-shirt. The mirror in the bathroom showed a tired and scruffy-looking man, who appeared older than his 21 years. I combed my fingers through my unruly hair, splashed water on my face to get rid of the dark stain of dried blood and contemplated two days’ growth of bristles. I needed to shave, but I needed to talk to Irian even more urgently.
Still, I dallied in the bathroom, because I was… worried. My absence over Christmas was a huge betrayal. What would he have thought? How badly had I hurt him?
I was overthinking and I knew it. I was just… reluctant, I guess, to see how much damage might have been done. To find out whether it was irretrievable. Others might not understand the depth of this, but there was an unspoken contract between us. And I broke it. All I could hope was that the explanation I offered him now, was sufficient.
Re-entering the bedroom, I was relieved to see Irian already in his clothes and seated cross-legged on the bed. When he saw me, he uncurled himself and glided to his feet, padding across the plush carpet until he was standing in front of me.
His youthful face was as fresh and open as it ever was, his cheeks plumper and his face a little longer than when I last saw it. His golden lashes framed soft brown eyes that gazed up at me worriedly, a small crease between his brows. A couple of perfect white teeth gnawed at his bottom lip.
His hair was also longer and stragglier than it had been last year.
“Alpha?” he whispered, a catch in his voice.
And with that one word, I knew he’d forgiven me. The rush of relief was almost overwhelming.
Gently I rested my index finger under his chin. He let me take some of the weight, his eyelids brushing together briefly. The soft warmth of his exhale across my thumb was like a sigh. Without words, we felt very connected, frighteningly, tantalizingly close.
“Irian.” I broke the moment, stepping back. His head swung up. The frown was back.
“I’m sorry,” I began, and the frown turned into a look of alarm, his eyes going wide and startled. Before he could think more of whatever it was that had him so anxious, I said, “I need to tell you what happened.”
“Okay.” He backed away, onto the mattress, his arms wound protectively around himself. There was no need for that, so I rushed to finish.
“I was at my final Alpha camp, but I expected to be here when you arrived. Alpha told me the camp was only for two weeks, so I’d be home for Christmas. Otherwise, I never would have agreed.”
The big brown eyes watched me intently.
“When I was there, I found out the camp was never intended to finish before Christmas, it was always going to be four weeks.”
Irian cocked his head, his features forming into a pensive expression. His eyes narrowed, his eyebrows turned down, and the furrow on his forehead deepened.
“Wh-what?”
“Yeah. I was never going to be home by Christmas. Alpha would have known. And he was most persuasive about me going. Well, actually, he insisted I go.”
“F-u-c-k.” Irian’s soft growl was oddly cute, despite the seriousness of the conversation. He’d reached the same conclusion I had.
“Has Marius been bothering you?”
“No. He’s been hanging around, but your friends made sure he couldn’t get near me.”
Of course they did. I huffed in appreciation. I must remember to thank the boys for taking care of him.
“Good. I’m so sorry I wasn’t here. I didn’t stop thinking about you.”
“So… we’re good then?” Irian asked, still seeming that little bit unsure.
“Yes, of course .” I approached the edge of the bed where he was still sitting, though he’d stopped hugging himself so tightly. I grabbed him and pulled him up into a hug. He buried his face in my shirt and gulped.
“I thought… I thought… you know, that… you’d gone… that maybe you’d left to start your own pack…”
“Sssh,” I soothed. “Why would you think that? You have to trust me… I’m not gonna start my own pack until you can come with me…”
The fingers that had been clutching my shirt gradually unwound themselves. His body shuddered against mine as he took a couple of steadying breaths. He sighed and stepped away.
“That was the shittiest Christmas ever,” he said emphatically, and I had to laugh.
“It was, wasn’t it? Mine totally sucked too. I kept thinking about you and wondering what you were thinking about me not being here, and whether I’d get back in time to see you.”
Irian shrugged. “We were supposed to leave today…” he cocked his head, “…yesterday. Actually, I don’t know how come I’m still here. I don’t know why no-one’s come to get me.”
I let out a long, low whistle, “I barely made it… I wasn’t supposed to get back until Saturday.”
“What do you mean?” Irian’s big questioning eyes peered up at me.
“Well, when I realized the camp was gonna last ‘til the end of the holidays, I went and spoke to the admin officer about it. I explained the situation, but he just confirmed the camp had always been scheduled as a four-week camp, and that I couldn’t leave or my majority would be canceled for at least a year. But then a few days before the end, he suddenly told me I’d completed the compulsory requirements and I could leave if I could get myself home. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to do that, but he said he’d fix the paperwork for me. There was no transport, so I shifted and ran all the way here. Ran into a little trouble on the way, but… I made it.”
Irian stared at me, eyes wide.
“If you’d stayed the full time, you would never have made it,” he murmured, almost to himself. Then he scowled, “I wondered why we were heading home earlier than usual. That must have been so we wouldn’t run into each other.”
“Your family really don’t want us to hang out with each other. I’m almost certain they hope you’ll come around to accepting Marius when he - or they - suggest a union.
Irian gagged. “Like that’s gonna happen.”
I shrugged. “They’re gonna try. Why else would your parents keep bringing you back here every year and then try to make opportunities for you to be with Marius? And why all the stupid plans to keep us separated? Remember, last year I got sent out with my mates on a stupid fucking waste of time errand that didn’t need to be done, and the only alpha that stayed home and was conveniently here when you arrived, was Marius. And now the bullshit this year!”
“I wouldn’t accept Marius if he was the last alpha on the planet,” Irian snapped. “And no-one tells me who I get to mate.”
My lips twisted into a fond half-smile. Irian sure was a feisty omega. Whoever formed a union with him was in for a wild time.
Of course, I was almost certain that someone would be me, but there were procedures to follow. The timing wasn’t right yet.
Knock! Knock!
The harsh rap of knuckles against the door startled me out of my musings.
“Come in,” I called out. “Door’s open.”
The door cracked open and my dad came inside. He nodded at Irian, “ ‘Morning Irian.” Then he addressed me, “Good to see you home, son, and looking a lot better than when you came in last night. I’m sure you’ve got a story to tell, but for now…” and here he looked across at Irian again “your folks are downstairs wanting you to go home with them. We held ‘em off overnight so you two could have some time together, but I don’t think we can keep them away much longer.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I told him. I looked at Irian. “There’s nothing much we can do about this year. Ready to go?”
Irian nodded. He turned his soft brown eyes towards my dad. “Thank you for holding them off, Alpha.”
“You’re very welcome, Irian. I’m not sure what went on this year, but it’s fairly clear some people have their own agendas around here. Just be careful, boys.” And with that, he was gone, pulling the door closed behind him.
We got to our feet.
“Ready?”
Irian shrugged. “As I’ll ever be. There’ll probably be a fuss in the car going home, but whatever.”
I hesitated. “One more year.”
He nodded, and as he went out to meet his parents, I’m not sure if he understood what I was trying to say, or if he just thought I meant another year until we get to hang out…
In a few months, he would reach shifter claiming age.