Mother giggled. This whole exchange made her giddy. She sounded happy, and I hated to break her heart.
"This is going to be so fun, Jian, just wait! His parents are wonderful. You're going to love him."
I felt bad for this mystery omega. I'm sure he was a wonderful man. Just not for me. It was no fault of his that he wasn't—
"And you know the best part, of course," Mother was saying. She paused, waiting for my reply.
"What's that?" I asked. I had a feeling I already knew the answer.
"He's a qilin, too." She burst out laughing. "Well, obviously, right? Why would I set you up on a date with anyone who wasn't?"
She said this like it was hilarious. I'm sure any other qilin shifter who lived in town would've laughed along with her in total agreement. But my stomach twisted into knots and a wave of shame settled over me.
That was the reason I couldn't tell her the truth. Because the omega I craved so desperately, the one I hadn't seen in years... he wasn't a qilin shifter.
He was a human.
And if I told my sweet mother I wanted to take a human as a mate, it would break her heart. I couldn't bear to do it.
"Okay, okay, I've taken up enough of your time. You get back to reading your books. Maybe you can talk about it with your date next week," she said with a laugh.
"Yes, perhaps. Goodnight, Mother."
After hanging up, I sat there and stared at the fire. It flickered and danced in the hearth like a living creature, apathetic to my troubles.
I needed fresh air. I placed my book on the table and slid the back door open, stepping out into the forest that surrounded my mountain home.
I inhaled, filling my lungs. The air here was pure and clean. Surrounding me was utter silence interrupted only by distant evening birdsong and the rustling of animals in the forest. Lush nature enveloped me, and the gorgeous green mountain slopes stood like sentinels all around.
Thiswas why my parents had taken me away a decade ago. To live in the beautiful mountains with other qilin shifters who shared our values, away from the stink and pollution of human societies.
It was a beautiful place. I'd be foolish to want to leave it.
And yet...
I turned my gaze over to the human city glittering down at the base of the mountain hills. It sparkled like stars reflected on water. How many humans lived there, going about their lives?
Washestill down there, too?
I shivered even though I wasn't cold.
No, I was being ridiculous. Why was I thinking about him so much? Usually I was good at folding up thoughts of him and hiding them deep in the recesses of my mind. But not tonight. It was like I couldn'tstopthinking about him. Perhaps it was because Mother set me up on a date with someone else.
Or was there something else going on?
As I stared at the city below, I frowned. Why did it feel like my skin was crawling? I rubbed my hand over my arm but the sensation didn't dissipate. I took a step closer to the edge of the rocky outcrop my home stood upon. Closer to the city.
I wasn't supposed to go back there. Not since my parents took me away ten years ago. I'd made a promise never to show my face among humans again.
So why was I gripped by the urge to run down this slope?
From this height, I couldn't see or hear anything that was happening in the city, yet my heart beat faster and a feeling of dread crawled up my spine.
I clutched my chest. What was going on?
I glanced back at my home. If I left now and returned by morning, would my parents even know I was gone? It wasn't like they lived with me. They had no way of knowing, not unless I told them the truth.
The idea of breaking my promise to my parents and lying to them churned my guts, but for some reason, the idea of standing here andnotgoing down to the city was worse.
