Page 64 of Claiming Xan
We ordered, then chatted while waiting for our food. When it was delivered, Xan was practically drooling before the plates ever hit the table. “Enjoy!”
“Oh, we will,” I assured the woman with a smile as Xan began to dig into his meal, everyone else forgotten. He took a big bite and groaned happily.
“So yummy.”
“Not peckish anymore?” I teased. Xan kicked me underneath the table. It smarted. “Ouch. Damn.”
He stuck his tongue out at me.
The tenderloin was good though, I had to admit. I was thoroughly enjoying it—until I sawhimfrom across the room.My mirror image, staring at me in shock, wearing teal corduroys and a white polo with his blond hair brushed off to one side.
Sky.
Inside of me, my wolf went still with a low, low growl. I froze, my food still gripped in my hands. Shit. Sky said he was working at a restaurant in town. Was it this one? I couldn’t honestly remember.
Unfortunately for me? I was about to find out.
Sky began walking towards our booth and the food I’d been savoring turned to sawdust and sank like a lead weight in my stomach. Fuck…
“What areyoudoing here?” he all but demanded, staring holes into my soul with his two-toned eyes. I couldn’t tell if he was happy to see me, or pissed I was here.
My wolf bristled with a low growl.
Sky’s gaze cut to Xan—or rather, to Xan’s stomach, swollen with child. I watched the shock and the pain shutter across my twin’s face before he shook his head, backing away from the table.
“No,” he uttered hoarsely.
“Sky!” Almost instantly, I could feel that old anger rising like a tide to batter my soul. A growl burst free, unbidden. Sky didn’t listen to me; instead, he spun on his heel and fled behind the swinging half-doors.
I was on my feet, my wolf gnashing his teeth, ready to take chase, when Xan stepped in front of me.
“River. Leave him.” His voice was soft but strong. My nostrils flared, another growl rippling up my throat. Our eyes locked and for a moment, I feared my beast might take Xan’s assertion as a challenge…but the gentle hand on my arm seemed to settle the rage in my soul, if only just a little.
Damn it. I hadn’t realized how much I’d calmed down, being away from Sky for so long. How well I’d adjusted. Fuck!
With a growl, I pulled away from Xan and yanked my wallet out of my back pocket. Dropping a crisp fifty-dollar bill on the table, I slipped past my mate and made a beeline for the exit. Suddenly, the place seemed impossibly small. It was caving in on me. I couldn’tbreathe.
I escaped into the cold air, the bells on the door jingling my farewell. I heard Xan call out after me, but I didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. I felt like my control was slipping and I couldn’t hurt my mate.
Still, Xan didn’t let me get far. I’d only made it as far as his Impala when he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my torso, hugging me tightly from behind. Holding me. Anchoring me.
I shuddered and pinched my eyes shut. “Why do you put up with me?” I whispered, bitterness seeping through like ink staining the page.
“Because I love you.” The words surprised me, though I suppose they shouldn’t have.
“You love me?” I asked, my voice rough.
“I do,” he murmured, his face pressed into my shirt. “I have for awhile, I just… I wasn’t sure you were ready to hear it. You’re probably still not ready to hear it, but YOLO, right? C’mon, River. Let’s get in the car and go home, okay?”
I took a deep breath. Everything would be okay. It had to be. “Okay,” I agreed.
We cuddledin bed until Xan had to go to work. I tried to distract myself with video games, tried to redirect my anger into shooting people on the screen and hearing them scream and run for cover.
I was just beginning to calm down when my phone began blowing up, buzzing wildly across the coffee table. Text after text after text, all of them Sky, all of them accusing.
I read them all, and with each one, my anger mounted.You replaced me!one text read.And you got him PREGNANT? What about me? What about US?
Heat blistered beneath my skin. My hands shook as I quickly tapped out a reply:I’m trying to move on with my life, Sky! Move past all that shit that happened to us, and you should too!
