Page 54 of Shifting Fate
Dallon
I threw myself down on the couch. “I’m bored. Entertain me, peasant.”
Gage rolled his eyes and continued shooting zombies. Their moans and cries blared from the speakers, followed by thepop-pop-popof a machine gun. Heads exploded left and right, red droplets splattering the screen.
“Last I checked, I ain’t your entertainment committee.”
I huffed and tucked my cold feet beneath Gage’s warm butt. “Mmm, toasty.” I wiggled my toes, earning a snort-laugh from my friend. He was used to my bullshit. There was a reason we’d gotten along swimmingly in bed, after all. He was the first guy to welcome me to Amber Run when I’d moved in, and trust me when I say he definitely gave me awarmwelcome.
“Ez, Dallon is molesting me,” Gage said without ever taking his eyes off the TV.
Ezra was stretched out on the other side of him, his fluffy blond head in his mate’s lap. One leg was tossed over the arm of the couch while the other foot gently rocked his son’s baby carrier. Paxton snoozed on.
Ezra craned his neck back to look up at me. “Don’t molest my boyfriend, please and thank you.”
“Technically, he was my boyfriend first—” I started, but Gage cut me off.
“Yeah. For like, a week. And, if you think about it, we weren’t happy being tied down.”
“Yeah?” I countered. “You seem pretty tied down now. What changed?”
Gage paused the game and the room went silent. He turned to look at me, his obsidian eyes drilling straight through me. “Everything,” he uttered. “Everything changed and you damn well know it. God, why are you so fucking grumpy today?”
“Because,” I snipped back, even though he didn’t deserve my ire. Nobody did and yet, here it was, on display.
“Because isn’t an answer, Dallon.”
I heaved a dramatic sigh. “Because. I’m bored, I’m lonely and I don’t like being cooped up inside like a dog.” My wolf grumbled his agreement. Since the attack in Northpoint, Rhine and Tegan had been working together to try and keep everyone safe until they could organize an official tri-pack meeting.
Unfortunately for me, that meant we were supposed to stay inside. So, basically lockdown. “You know how I get when I can’t stretch my legs.”
“Whiny,” Gage agreed. “Maybe you need to get laid—not that I’m offering. I guess I got the whole playboy-thing out of my system just in time, huh?” Smiling down at his mate, he threaded his beefy fingers through Ezra’s hair. Ezra beamed and nuzzled his face against Gage’s leg with a happy sound.
Gage cocked his head. “Speaking of. Where’s your guy? Shouldn’t you be humping his leg right about now?”
I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could in an attempt not to pout. “Busy.”
“Too busy for you?” There was a growl of warning to his voice, like Gage was about to go kick some ass.
“Nah,” I assured him. “He’s busy with pack stuff. I don’t want to bother him. Last thing I want is to come off like some clingy little bitch who can’t go a couple of days without a kiss.” When Ezra grinned, I harrumphed for good measure. “Because I’m not.”
“Okay.”
“I’m not!” I insisted, which made them both laugh. “Shut up, assholes. You’re supposed to be my friends, so be supportive and shit.”
Gage pinned me with a weird look. “Going out on a limb here, but you could always call Tybalt? I’m sure he’d make a booty call.”
Everything inside of me stilled.What?
I gaped at him, shocked that he’d even suggest that—and double-shocked that the idea horrified me. Arias was mymate.I couldn’t do that to him, not when his trust was something I’d fought so hard to win. Not to mention the idea of anyone else touching me made my stomach curl.
“See?” he murmured, as if proving a point. “Things change. People change.”
I sat there in silence as realization soaked in, warding off the chill from before.Thiswas why Gage had shut me down, time and time again, after he’d met Ezra. I’d been hurt and offended by the brush-off, and definitely jealous, but I think I understood now.
Arias was my mate. The other half of my soul. He fit me because we were meant to be, our fates entwined since the day we were born. I might’ve been frustrated and lonely, not to mention horny, but I couldn’t break his heart. Not when I was so damn enamored by it.
Shit. This was real.
