Page 81 of Waiting for Fate
I feel his scowl before I see it reflected in the car window, but I don’t react. This is the path he chose. I will not allow him to continue to hurt me with his indecision and half-assed rejections.
As soon as we step into the Soulbound office, I leave Shiloh behind. The label is working to create a charity tour on the East Coast to help raise money for the kidnapping victims of the Montgomery cult, so I have an extensive to-do list. What better way to avoid the clusterfuck of emotions churning inside of my mind?
Hours pass quickly while I am buried in paperwork, emails, and phone calls. I briefly remember Jane stopping by the ask me about lunch, but I don’t think I answered her. I’ll have to apologize on my way out tonight.
Standing, I cross to the printer in the corner to grab the forms from the venue I’d spoken to earlier. Pain ebbs and flows through my skull, blurring my vision with black and brown dots. My feet barely move two steps when it doubles, exploding from my temple with an intensity that has my body shutting down.
A panicked shout fills the office as the world tilts, but I’m unconscious before I can process who is speaking.
Something warm presses against my cheek, vibrating softly. The weight of a blanket wrapped around my shoulders threatens to lull me back to sleep. As the fog clears from my mind, I hear the purr rattling from the chest I’m lying on.
Who is purring for me? And why?
Thinking back, I remember being at work. I’d gotten off of a call with a venue in Orlando and was going to grab the paperwork they sent over. What happened next?
Shifting my head, I’m startled to see Shiloh staring down at me through his dark-framed glasses. Oh Fates,heis the one purring for me? I scramble to sit up and move away, but his arms band around my torso and press me tighter against him.
“Be still.”
“Like hell,” I grunt. An ache in my head has me pausing. Right. Earlier, I had a headache and when the pain from my Fated connection compounded with it, I passed out. Lovely.
“You fainted in the manager’s office, Sabine. You will lie still and give your body the time it needs to heal.”
“I can heal perfectly fine sitting somewhere that isn’t your lap.” My words are grumbled against his chest, but I stop trying to pull away. His purr is actually helping to dull the lingering pain.
We sit quietly for several long minutes, with him flipping through papers on the end table beside him. I swallow thickly, fighting back tears at yet another show of love that will turn to rejection as soon as he deems me well enough to stand on my own.
“What happened?”
I shrug. Is it worth admitting I skipped breakfast and lunch and was overworking myself? That the mystery fifth mate I’ve discovered is being tortured somewhere and I can feel all of their pain? Probably not.
“Sabine,” Shiloh growls. His fingers grip my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I will drag you to the hospital to be checked out if you aren’t going to be open with me.”
Grinding my teeth, I relent. He’s stubborn enough to follow through on his threat, and I’d rather not be stuck at the hospital for the rest of the evening. “I have another mate.”
His purr stutters to a stop as his body locks up. Watching him shut down at the mention of my other Fate matched mates leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. It’s unfair Fate has cursed us both with this connection when he will never allow us to complete it.
“Whoever they are,” I continue, fighting back the tears welling in my eyes. “They’re being hurt. I’ve felt it for days. The agony of the pain their experiencing. I tried to drown it out by focusing on work, but I ended up skipping meals. So when the pain hit again, my body wasn’t equipped to handle it.”
A frown slips onto his face, warring with the disappointment reflected in his eyes. His arms slowly slip from around me. I sit up tenderly, cautious of the dull throb in my skull.
“You should never neglect your own needs, Miss Powell,” he finally comments. “We are finished here for the day. Let’s get you something to eat.”
I stare at him, silently begging for… something. Some sign he cares a mystery member of our pack is hurting, maybe? He’s as cold as ever, standing and brushing the wrinkles from his dress shirt.
Why do I keep expecting him to change his mind? It’s been months of this back and forth, and he’s made his stance clear. I believe it’s time to accept that this thing between us will never be more than a memory.
After a quiet dinner at an Italian restaurant a few blocks from Shiloh’s apartment, we returned home and quickly disappeared into out respective bedrooms. I’m curled up in the closet with old seasons of First Glance Pack playing on my laptop, a show Omen and her mates had introduced me to during their tour.
It’s an interesting show. One that proves Fate matched mates aren’t the pinnacle of happiness romantics portray them to be.
Snuggling into my blankets, I have to dig for my phone when it rings. Orion’s face smiles up at me from the screen, sending butterflies to flight in my stomach. He’s been in Los Angeles for almost six weeks now. Hearing about the band he’s working with and all the terrible things they’ve gone through since losing their bonded mate is heartbreaking.
“Hey,” I greet as the call connects. He looks devilishly handsome in his cutoff t-shirt. The blue in his hair is fading, but the almost ombre effect it has created suits him.
“You look exhausted, angel.”
Offering him a shaky smile, I nod. “It’s been a long day.”
