Chapter 14

I don’t know what else to say. Maybe I feel like I can trust him because he knows what it’s like for me.

“Azaire told me you couldn’t mindlink because you weren’t a part of their pack,” I say, not really sure where I wanted to go with that. I bite my lip and stop, as I look at a painting on one of the walls. It’s got a lot of yellow, and a few other colors faded in the corners, but the star of the show is a black heart, dead in the center of the canvas. I love it.

“I’m not,” Alexander sighs, and scrunches his nose up again. “I don’t know where my pack is. Aiden has been trying to help me find it since we met, but there’s no luck. It’s like they’ve disappeared from the face of the earth.”

“I’m sorry,” I mutter, and look into his black-as-night eyes. I smile a little, and press my head into his shoulder, for a hug. “My pack is gone, too. Juan knew of them when he saw my birthmark, but he says they’re gone.”

“Sorry,” he says, and hugs me closer. “When did you get separated from them?”

“When I was around a year old, I think? Maybe one and a half. I was adopted at two,” I say, and walk out of his embrace to touch an incense burner that looks like a Buddha with blue clothing, red cheeks and a black ponytail. I smile a little. I just love their home.

“I was three, I think,” Alexander tells me, stepping closer, and smiles at me.

“That’s awful. I wish I could do something,” I say, and I realize I actually mean it, too.

I haven’t cared for another person like this in a long while, and I just met this man today. Yet, there’s something there. He lost his pack, too, and maybe, just maybe, we could be from the same pack. I’m not sure why I think that, but I do trust him for some reason. I shouldn’t ask him anymore about it, though. He looks shaken up by just thinking about it, and he smiles softly my way.

“I fold!” Azaire’s voice chimes through the house suddenly.

I smirk towards Alexander, and he raises his eyebrows at me, before I grab his arm and pull him towards the stairs. On my way down I can totally see how Alexander tripped earlier, and I hold onto him real hard, to make sure neither of us do now. He mutters a slight “thank you” before we’re back in the kitchen, to see Azaire standing up, leaning agains the counter top with his hands holding him up, while Aiden is standing on the other side of the room, growling lightly.

Alexander rolls his eyes and lets go of me, before he walks over to Aiden, and hugs him. They talk in hushed voices to each other, but I don’t want to listen in, so I look over at Azaire instead. He motions with his head for me to come closer, and I reluctantly do.

I’m still confused as to why I feel like I can trust Alexander more than my own soulmate. I should be jumping up and down from joy after finding someone who’s meant to be with me forever, but I’m not. I’m cautious, and I feel like I should definitely do some thinking later tonight.

Azaire reaches out to hold my hand once I’m close enough, and he pulls me close, kissing my forehead and inhaling my scent.

“Azaire,” I whisper, and put my free hand up to his chest to push him away.

“I hate that you don’t trust me,” he whispers back, and sighs, “but I also admire it.”

I arch an eyebrow at him.

“I do. It shows that you think before you do something, and I rarely do that,” he says and puts his other hand up to caress my cheek. His emerald eyes are searching my face, before he sighs. “I just wish you didn’t think too much about us. Look at them.”

He nods towards the other side of the room, where Alexander has his arms around Aiden, comforting him. Aiden looks like he’s smiling now, and I’m not sure what reaction Azaire is expecting me to have. Of course it looks amazing, having someone to count on you whenever you need it, knowing they’ll love you unconditionally, because your souls are bonded together for eternity. I look back at Azaire, and scrunch my nose up, unable to hide my unpleasant habit as I stare at him.

“It looks like they love each other,” I say.

“Yeah, they do. I always thought I’d be like that with my mate, too, whenever I found her, but here you are,” he says, sighing a little.

I swallow, and take a step back. I don’t really feel like talking about this anymore, so I take another step towards the table where we were playing cards, and smile at him.

“Are you sure you’re folding?” I ask.

“I am. You have to have something good. Three Aces?” he asks back, taking another step closer to me.

I appreciate the respect he shows me by not talking about it any further, but I know he’ll want to talk about it sooner or later. I guess we should, too. If there’s a way for me to leave without hurting him, I might just take that opportunity. I’ll leave, and then — no. I can’t leave. Not if Alexander is from the same pack as me, not if he has been looking for his pack for years without any sign of them. I feel a connection to him, an obligation to stay.

I shake my head a little, and send Azaire a smug smile, as I flip my cards over to reveal I had nothing. A high card, the same Ace everyone else had in the community cards, and I watch as his face turns into one of surprise, and then horror, before he lunges at me. He pushes me up against a wall in just a split second, and pins me between the hard wood and himself. His intense stare is making me want to cower, but I don’t. I just stare back at him.

“You had nothing?” he asks darkly.

“Nothing at all,” I tell him, smiling over my victory.

His angered expression turns into an amused one, and he looks down at my lips, as he licks his own. My heart starts pounding, and I clear my throat before slipping out from his hold, and away from him. Aiden and Alexander are standing together a little away, watching us, and they’re both smiling widely at us. I pull some of my red hair behind my ear, as I take another few steps away from Azaire.

He was totally going to kiss me, and I don’t want that. Not yet, at least..