Page 16 of Torn Mate
Huxley
I lookedat my phone for the millionth time today. I wished it was broken so I could say that’s why I hadn’t gotten one text from her… Ada hadn’t messaged me. Not even once. I wasn’t sure what that meant. Did I do something wrong? So, I asked my dads which was a bad idea from the start. But I just couldn’t sit in my room anymore, watching it.
“You have to be patient. Maybe she wasn’t ready to speak to you,” Dad G explained. I didn’t like the sound of that. Maybe I did do something wrong. Ignoring her at lunch wasn’t the best idea, but I freaked out. I didn’t know what I would do if she sat next to me. So, I told the guys not to look at her… at all. That was bad, she probably was upset with me.
“No, she might be waiting. You know that whole ‘don’t message or call too fast’ rule. Maybe she’s waiting until tomorrow,” Dad explained as he scratched his head, his blond locks getting all mangled. Mom would have fun brushing them out tomorrow.
He gave me a look, one that said, “I know what I’m talking about.” My dads, they only ever dated Mom. They really were no help, I should have known they wouldn’t have a clue. I didn’t even get a word in as they started to talk to each other.
“No… is that a rule?” Dad G turned to Dad on the couch, his fist going to his chin as he rested his head there, looking like the old man he was.
“Yeah, I heard that on one of those love shows.” Dad waved to the TV like he knew what he was talking about.
“Do you mean a dating show? You watch dating shows? When?”
And that was my cue to leave. Mom was in bed. I was glad she wasn’t here to ask. She was still upset about the whole leaving Ada at the Lovell’s thing, that she had now knitted a second scarf. I walked away from the two old men talking about dating shows on TV not being real and you can’t get real advice from there, and went back to my room. I was about to tell them I couldn’t get real dating advice from them either, but I didn’t want to keep talking about this with them.
I texted Mason… again. Maybe what Dad said was right. She was waiting.
Me:Hey, she still didn’t text. You think she is waiting? That’s what Dad said.
Mason:I don’t know. If I liked a girl I wouldn’t wait. But maybe girls are different? Want me to ask River?
I didn’t want River to know she hadn’t texted me yet. He would probably laugh about taking so long to give her my number. I was just typing back, “No” when I got a text from River. He was obviously with Mason.
River:She prefers Kiba cock. You snooze you lose.
And that was a clear example of why I didn’t want him to know. I sent an angry message to Mason telling him to not share this shit with his dick of a packmate.
Maybe Eli would’ve been a better person to ask. He was mated to Kiara… He must have done this at some stage, and not a hundred years ago. I was going to be a groomsman at his wedding. He had asked me to do it when they first claimed her. He wouldn’t laugh at me or be a dick like River.
But before I could call him there was a knock at the front door. I thought River was coming over to say that shit to my face, but when Dad answered, the voice that spoke back wasn’t River. I knew that voice.Saint Wood.
There was a Kiba wolf at my door, asking for me.
My Dads called out for me to come, but I hesitated. What did he want from me? I heard them speaking to Saint about how it was nice to see him comfortable coming over into Rawlins. That wasn’t normal. I had never been in Kiba, so why the hell was he knocking on my door this late at night, let alone in Rawlins territory.
When I saw him standing out under the yellow porch light, he didn’t seem real. He was nude, one hand on his hip, the other clenched into a fist at his side like he was at war with himself about being here. The glow from light made his whole body seem to illuminate in an unusual way like he was some bronzed god statue just placed at my doorstep. He was attractive. He had the perfect face for modeling. I could see why the girls at school were so interested in him, and it was not for his personality.
When his eyes finally met mine a hint of his wolf, just under the surface, showed through, reminding me that he was really here and it was not my imagination. I wasn’t interested in talking to him, far from it. I knew the asshole he was.
He must have run here in wolf form but was comfortable enough to be here naked in front of me. Was he challenging me? My wolf was not happy to have him so close to my home. This was my safe place, my territory. I felt my wolf rising within me, wanting to rip his throat out for even stepping foot on my land.
He held his hand up, the one clenched in a fist stayed at his side. His wolf was close to the edge, I could feel it, taste it on the air. He would fight me if I shifted right now. Dad G growled at me, warning me to back down. He was the alpha in our household and my wolf obeyed his command.
“I come here for a truce, Huxley. I know you don’t like me. I’m not gonna lie, I don’t like you either.” I growled lowly at him and he crouched a little lower at my warning. “That’s not what I’m here about. I wanted to tell you, I will step aside when it comes to Ada.”
I stood straighter. Why would he come to my house to tell me this? Was it a trap? Was he going to lure me in and then attack me? This didn’t make sense, but then I didn’t know what did anymore. I didn’t understand how to deal with the fact she was interested in three different wolves from two different packs. This was all new territory for me.
“I messed up. My wolf got the better of me.I hurt her. I deleted your number from her phone.” I took a step forward, my hands curled into fists, both my dads now holding me back, warning me. He hurt Ada. My wolf was so close to the surface I could feel the fur on the back of my neck. How could he hurt her… again?
“I was an asshole, I’m always an asshole. She is better off with you. But, don’t make her chose between you or Noah. He’s a good kid. He would make the best packmate if you let him. He’s in love with her, like I know you’re in love with her too.”
There was a tense standoff between us. I couldn’t form words as my wolf demanded he pay for hurting our mate. But then he did something that calmed my wolf down; he exposed his neck to me. He was submitting to my wolf. I didn’t know how to feel about this. Saint Wood and his family were the second most powerful family in Kiba. So, for him to back down like that, that was… well, it was huge.
I took Saint’s word for it. He wanted what was best for Ada, I could tell that. But I knew from the way he reacted he liked her more than he let on. Like I did, never showing my feelings to her. He said he would step aside. That would make things easier if I wasn’t competing against him. But Noah… I would have to work on that. I wasn’t sure how that could even work.
I didn’t have a packmate so it left Ada open to date other shifters, ones she might wish to be part of her pack. If she wanted that, that was. She didn’t have to. But I wouldn’t want to make her chose between Noah and me. I wouldn’t want to hurt her like that. I would never do that to her, I would only want her to be happy.
