“Pfff…right, my ability to learn quickly, which, if yesterday was any indication, it’s not something I can count on anymore.”
“Are you giving up already?” asked Alex.
“Honestly? I’m not sure and that’s a feeling I'm not used to. If you ask my brothers, they’ll say I’m easygoing…and they’re right…to a point. Hunter told me I was asleep when I was born. He said I looked like I didn’t have a care in the world.”
“But that’s not true, is it?” Alex asked.
Pausing for a moment, Sawyer replied, “What do you mean?”
Alex’s fear kicked in again. Challenging an alpha wasn’t a good thing, something he learned early on. Calling on his fox’s hearing, he listened for any indication Sawyer was getting ready to attack him for his insolence. When all he heard was his mate’s even breathing, he let out the breath he was holding. But now he was once again unsure how to go on. Shifting from foot to foot, he weighed the options: whether to answer honestly or be polite and make up a harmless lie that would placate Sawyer.
The lack of response from Alex was unsettling, making Sawyer lean his forehead against the door. He was surprised at his mate’s question, wondering how he already knew so much about him; only Mac knew his easygoing attitude was hiding his insecurity. All through his youth, he was always the forgotten one. With nothing making him unique, he was stuck in the middle between Mac and Robin, both of whom outshone him. Oh, he knew his parents loved him, but they didn’t fuss over him like they did when Robin wrote another song, or Mac aced all of his tests. Once again he found himself lacking, but this time, the pain pierced his heart when he realized Alex’s decision to reject him was because his mate had figured out who he really was.
Tears formed in his eyes as Sawyer ran his hands over the door. There would be no mate for him…no one who believed in him…no one who would find something worthy in him and, more importantly, no happily-ever-after Quin believed in so strongly. The Fates fucked up and now he was left to pick up the pieces and move on. Snorting softly at that idea, Sawyer knew it would take a long time to get over this rejection, if ever, because he wasn’t going to get another chance. No,thatmuchhe knew…there was only one fated mate.
Brushing aside his tears, Sawyer stood up, trying to get himself under control. Glancing up through the tree leaves surrounding the campsite, he let out a sob, cursing the soul-destroying pain in his chest. Losing a mate he never expected to have shouldn’t hurt so much, but it did and he wondered how he’d survive it. Alone, far from the family he needed right now, but that, too, he’d fucked up on. The irony wasn’t lost on him. He knew his sorrow would cause his twin to feel concern.Mac! I need Mac!But his brother was busy with his own life, while Sawyer had been cast adrift, left behind…someone who had nothing to offer his mate. And the worse part was he had no one to blame but himself. Shaking his head, Sawyer stepped away from the trailer, stopping briefly only when his wolf howled for his mate. Then he slowly walked away from the campsite, heading for his motorhome.
Lifting his hand to cover his mouth when he heard Sawyer’s cry, Alex knew his silence had caused his mate’s pain. Sorrow coursed through him, and tears began to fall at the hurt he had inflicted. It wasn’t who he was—and yet, it was—all because he’d allowed his fear to get the better of him. The snap of a twig alerted Alex that his mate was now further away from the trailer. Turning around, he moved the curtain slightly, peeking outside to find where Sawyer was, only to see the back of his mate heading toward the woods. Grabbing his chest as the deep pain of his mate leaving nearly cleaved his heart in two, he fell to his knees, making his fox keenfor the loss. He couldn’t let it happen. Why, he didn’t know, but somehow, he knew letting Sawyer go would be the worst decision of his life. He rose, then taking a deep breath, he opened the door. Stepping outside, he called out, “Alex…my name is Alex Fouché.”
Chapter 4
Overcome with misery, Sawyer didn’t hear his mate call out to him. All he wanted to do was to get back to his motorhome, climb into bed and try to figure out how to accept his mate’s rejection.
“Sawyer…please stop,” Alex begged when his mate failed to turn around. Taking a few more steps, he paused, waiting and hoping Sawyer would respond. “Please…I’m sorry…please Sawyer…my mate,” he cried out.
Finally, Alex’s broken voice pierced Sawyer’s mind, causing him to stumble before grabbing at a branch. Righting himself, he turned slowly around, not sure if his mind was playing tricks on him. But then he saw his mate, standing there, fear and worry clearly reflected on his face, his body trembling ever so slightly. Sucking in a breath, Sawyer fought his urge to rush over and wrap his arms around him, afraid of frightening Alex even more. So he stood still, struggling with his wolf who wanted to find and kill the person who was responsible for Alex’s fear. Suddenly realizing his silence was beginning to upset his mate, Sawyer said, “Alex…I love that name…is it short for anything?”
Giving Sawyer a gentle smile, Alex replied, “Alexandre…but no one ever called me that…at least as far as I can remember.”
“You’re French?”
Shrugging, Alex said, “I guess…though as far as I know, I’ve never been to France.”
“No? That makes sense since you don’t have a French accent. Where did you grow up? In the states?” Sawyer asked.
“In New York. I lived there my whole life and when my father died, I decided to travel.”
“No shit! I grew up in upper New York State,” Sawyer said, grinning. Then, noticing his mate seemed more relaxed and less fearful, he asked, “Hey, have you eaten today? I’m not a great cook…well to be totally honest, my cooking isn’t even good…but my brother stocked my freezer with home cooked meals. And I can guarantee you those will be very good.”
“Uhmm…”
Alex’s hesitation hurt until he suddenly understood it. “You don’t have to come inside my motorhome…we can eat outside. All I have to do is put the food in the microwave…it won’t take that long at all…not at all. I promise I won’t do anything…” Sawyer’s voice trailed off. Fearing he was fucking it up again made him slightly sick to his stomach. Why was he so nervous around Alex? It was messing up his mind since he never felt that way with any other guy he wanted. But then none of them meant anything to him.Oh fuck!
“Uhm, Sawyer? Eating outside sounds good to me…are you all right?” Walking slowly over to Sawyer, Alex reached out to touch him, placing his hand on his mate’s forearm. “Sawyer?”
Inhaling sharply, Sawyer closed his eyes against the firestorm Alex’s touch ignited in his body. The sensation was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before, and it took everything to remain still when all he wanted to do was to claim his mate. Seconds passed, or maybe it wasminutes…he didn’t know, but he finally was able to tamp down his lust. Opening his eyes slowly, he gazed at Alex, memorizing the face that hopefully would belong to him forever. When he finally found his voice, Sawyer murmured, “I’m fine…let’s go eat.” Then placing his hand over the one on his arm, he interwove his fingers with Alex’s before leading him to his campsite.
~/~/~/~/~
Knocking lightly, Zane spied Jackson sitting at his desk, typing on the computer keyboard. When his brother looked up, he asked, “Hey, got a few minutes to spare?”
Pushing back, Jackson said, “Sure. Is everything okay with David?”
Taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of Jackson’s desk, Zane said, “Yeah, he’s good. Right now, he and Adam are going over the legal mumbo-jumbo pertaining to his first meeting with one of his visitors.”
Chuckling, Jackson said, “I take it that ‘mumbo-jumbo’ bores you to death.”
His face reddening, Zane muttered something under his breath.
