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Someday, they’d have to face the truth between them, but apparently, today was not that day.
Chapter Eighteen
“Did you find her?” Rafe’s voice was gruff through the phone and Theo was amazed he’d gotten any reception at all.
He’d left Phoebe curled up in her bunk this morning, then walked through the snow to the check-in cabin to see if there was anything to eat. Luckily, the storm had stopped, and he’d already heard plows on the main road. It shouldn’t be a problem to drive home today. Assuming they didn’t get lost again.
He’d grabbed a couple of pastries to bring back to Fee. But now he was stalling. He still couldn’t face her after what had gone down last night.
Hearing his brother’s voice, though, made him instantly regret calling him.
“Uh … no. Not yet.”
Rafe huffed. “Then why the fuck are you calling me?”
Theo rolled his eyes, but he could hear Ruby’s voice in the background warning Rafe to be nice.
“What is it?” Rafe asked, trying again to please Ruby.
“I … uh… I was kinda wondering how you knew Ruby was your … uh … Mate.”
A pause and then a low chuckle vibrated through the phone. Was his brother laughing at him? The bastard.
“Why do you ask?”
“You know what, never mind. Forget it.”
“No, no … wait. Sorry.”
Sorry? Wow. That was new.
There was silence on the line while Rafe collected his thoughts. “It was like … I don’t know … inevitable, I guess. Undeniable, no matter how hard I tried. Ruby was like gravity. I couldn’t fight it.”
Inevitable. Isn’t that what it felt like? Like Phoebe’s gravitational pull just kept yanking him back; like he couldn’t give her up, no matter what.
He ran a hand through his curls, not sure what to say next.
“Is this about Fee?” Rafe’s voice was uncharacteristically gentle. For some reason that made Theo feel even more panicked.
“I was just wondering, I guess. It’s strange. That’s all.”
Rafe huffed. “Theo, you saw me. You saw how I tried to run from it. You can’t run.”
“Well, I’ve been doing a pretty damn good job of it for the past ten years.” He winced. That was a fucking confession he hadn’t been planning to make.
Rafe’s low laugh rumbled through the phone. “And how’s that working out for you?”
“It’s different for us. It’s just…” It’s just that I broke her heart, and she doesn’t trust me and I don’t trust myself and I don’t know what the hell we’re doing. “Complicated.”
“It’s really not. She’s yours. You’re hers. Simple.”
Theo’s heart stuttered. She’s yours. He wanted those words to be true more than anything.
“Yeah, well.” He blew out a long sigh. “We need to … I mean to make it real … we’d have to … fuck?” It was at least half of what he was worried about. If things had gone further with Fee last night, would they have entered some sort of permanent bond? Why didn’t he know more about this?
Just one more way his pack had left him ill-equipped for life.
Along with reading and writing classes, Dina should have been teaching them How to Find and Claim Your Mate 101.
