Page 17 of The Prince's Mate

"Why is it so hard to get through your thick skulls? You two are so damn similar," he groused, and I smiled at him sheepishly. I wished I could believe Walker actually wanted me, but everything he'd ever done told me otherwise, and I didn't think I could allow myself to hope for something else.

Walker

Caelan has a great ass.

I shook my head, trying to dislodge the thought that refused to leave. Why, why had I walked in on him? Why had I found my eyes glued to those perfect, pale globes?

I was gay, and I'd known that for a long time now. Caelan was a good-looking guy. He was this perfect mix of handsome and pretty, skirting the line between them so that he never fell one way or the other. He was stunning, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him, but then again, any unmated person who is attracted to the male kind would be too. Caelan just demanded attention, and he'd had mine for a long damn time.

Who knew when my childhood adoration of him had turned into a crush, but it was one of the reasons I'd kept him at a distance all these years. To have a crush on a man who was determined to leave you behind every step of the way wasfoolish, and I hadn't wanted Caelan to realize how I felt for him, which was why I'd pushed him away more and more, acted like a jerk every time I saw him so he could never guess.

I was determined to act like nothing had changed, to act like the whole seeing-his-ass debacle had never happened. Once I was done, I quickly got dressed, brushed my hair, and then headed out, finding Caelan and Ro deep in a conversation that stopped the moment I walked through the door.

Rolling my eyes at them, I headed over to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar. I hated those things, but I hadn't eaten anything yet, so it would have to do.

"The first demon is a few miles north of here. Since some of them live with human roommates, I thought it would be safer to get a cab there," Caelan said, and I shrugged, biting off a huge piece of the bar to keep from speaking.

Caelan sighed and led the way out, while Ro slithered up my leg and into my pocket, decreasing his size so he could fit easily. Why he hadn't done the same yesterday for the grocery store trip was anyone's guess.

"It'll be here in a minute," Caelan said as we stepped inside the elevator, and I nodded. He sighed, rubbed a palm over his face, and then turned to me. "Is something wrong?" he asked, just as the elevator doors opened, and I headed out without answering him, leaving him to chase after me.

Once we were out on the street, it was clear he wasn't letting it go. "Come on, Walker. What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

You look too good, I grumbled in my head, but of course I couldn't say that. "No, Caelan. Everything's fine."

"Sure, and my mom's over in Afterworld waiting for me," he huffed, and I squinted at him, unsure what he meant. Shaking my head, I turned my focus back to the street, watching the people going about their business.

"Walker—" Caelan started again, but I cut him off.

"It's nothing, Caelan. Drop it, okay?" I snapped, and he turned away, nodding jerkily. I felt like an asshole immediately, and I opened my mouth to apologize, but Caelan spoke before I could.

"You know what? We'll go later. I'm going to go take a walk, and maybe you can use that time to decide how you truly feel about me, because you say you don't hate me, but it doesn't feel like that to me, and I don't know how much longer I can take being treated like your personal punching bag. I thought I was done with that life," he said, then walked away from me. Somehow, I always ended up watching him leave, but for the first time, I knew exactly why it was my fault.

A cab rolled to a stop in front of me, and the driver beeped the horn at me. Shaking my head at him, I turned around and headed back into the building, feeling like the worst kind of shit. I'd felt off kilter over the whole ass thing, and like always, I'd taken it out on Caelan. He didn't deserve that. He'd done nothing to earn my ire. My feelings for him weren't his problem, and I needed to do better.

I resolved to apologize the moment he got back, to promise him that I'd never ever mistreat him like that again. I knew he would forgive me. He always did. I knew without a doubt that Caelan cared about me.

While I waited for him, I turned on the TV, found a Disney movie on one of the channels and spread out on the couch to watch it. Dad had gotten me hooked on them a long time ago, and I still enjoyed watching them. Ro slid out of my pocket, slithering onto my chest and returning to his normal size.

"So…that was a shitstorm," he said pointedly, and I sighed.

"Yeah, I'm going to apologize when he comes back," I promised, both to Ro and myself, and he sighed like I was a pain in his ass.

"Make sure you do that. He's not as strong as he looks," he said, and I swallowed hard, glancing away.

I don't know how much longer I can take being treated like your personal punching bag. I thought I was done with that life, he'd said, and I felt a weird burning sensation in my chest at the thought that someone had hurt him like that. Even if it was in his past, someone had hurt Caelan, and I hated that. I hated it even more that I'd reminded him of that person today.

I was determined to apologize, to grovel if necessary.

The day turned into night, and still, there was no sign of Caelan. Had he left again?

Ro'Shassz

This hadn't been part of the plan, but I didn't think everything would be smooth-sailing either. Caelan running off wasn't good, but I knew he would come back. He wouldn't leave Walker alone in the human realm, no matter how angry he was with him, or how hurt. We just needed to wait him out, and if he still didn't show, I'd go and hunt him down myself. I wasn't going to let either of them ruin my hard work, especially not when I was doing it for them. They deserved to be happy, and I wouldn't let them stand in the way of their own happiness.

Step Eight: Get them to be honest with each other for one goddamned conversation.

Nine

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