Now it was my turn to gape at him. Before I could ask any questions, though, he jumped up and ran for the door of the coffee shop.
Oh, hell no. He didn’t get to drop that bomb and leave. My wolf whined for us to follow, but Elton was smaller than me, and I had to maneuver around the chairs and people on my way to the door. When I got to the sidewalk, he’d almost made it back to the fertility clinic. He turned up the driveway leading to the parking garage behind the building. I didn't want to spook him by running, but I needed to catch up to him before he got into his car. If he drove away, I wouldn't be able to use my nose to find out where he'd gone.
He took the stairs, and I heard the door on the second floor open and close. I ran up the steps three at a time, and when I emerged, he was struggling to unlock a small, ancient sedan. He dropped his keys on the ground, then he sank into a crouch, leaned against the car door, and put his hands over his face.
I approached cautiously but didn't try to hide the sound of my footsteps. I went down on one knee a couple of feet away. “Will you please tell me what's wrong?”
He shook his head but didn't respond otherwise.
I frowned. He'd cried at the clinic too. “Why were you donating sperm, Elton?” In most cases, people had happy reasons. “Is it related to whatever’s wrong?”
He dropped his hands from his face and nodded as he wiped his eyes. He sighed. “I might as well tell you. It's not some huge secret.” He picked his keys up and stood.
I got to my feet as well. “Whatever it is, it won't change my mind. You're still the one I want for my mate.”
“You're only saying that because you think you don't have a choice.” His voice was thick with tears. I could smell his despair.
I wanted to hug him badly, but I knew even a small touch would be enough to create a mate connection. As fiercely as we’d resonated when we’d almost touched at the bookstore, any connection we created would be permanent. I wouldn't do that without Elton’s consent.
“Just tell me.”
He crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the car, looking exhausted. “Three years back I had testicular cancer. They removed my testicle so it wouldn't spread. A couple of weeks ago I found a lump in my other ball. I was at the fertility clinic to bank some sperm in case I want to have kids someday. I'm having my second testicle removed on Monday.”
I took a half step forward before I remembered I couldn't touch him. My wolf whined. “That must be really scary, Elton. I'm sorry you're having to go through it. But you know a mate bond increases self-healing abilities in magic carriers, right?”
His eyes flew up in alarm, and he raised his hands as if to ward me off. “Whoa. I’m not mating you—or anyone—on the off chance it’ll cure my cancer.”
Shit. “I didn’t mean... well, I guess I did. I’m sorry. I want to help.”
He crossed his arms again. “No help needed. But you see why I'm not fit to be anyone's mate.”
I scoffed. “Because what? You won't have any balls? Elton, I have pack members who’ve lost limbs, and one of my betas only has one eye. Are you saying those people don't deserve to have a mate because they aren't ‘whole’, as you put it?”
“No!” His expression was horrified.
“Do you think because your sex organs are involved, it’ll impact our mating more than what my pack members experience?”
He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. Then he met my gaze again. “No. I know any sort of trauma can have an effect on people's sex lives and relationships. I'm not trying to belittle anyone else's problems.”
I softened. I needed to cut him a break. He obviously hadn't given me a second thought after our interaction at the bookstore the other day, and with good reason. I'd had time to think about pursuing him, and he'd only known of my interest for mere minutes.
I gentled my tone. “I get why you're worried, but this isn’t a deal-breaker for me. I want to be mated to you, but you have other important things in your life to focus on right now. What if we went on some dates?” I held up my hands. “No touching, just spending time together and getting to know each other. No pressure.” My wolf yipped in agreement, and an odd little smile briefly appeared on Elton’s face before he frowned again.
“Are you sure? There have to be other people out there you’re compatible with.” I could almost hear the unspoken words,who won’t be missing any body parts.
I lifted an eyebrow. “You think I’m going to resonate with someone else as strongly as I resonated with you? It’ll never happen.” Not to mention, no one else would be as sexy as Elton. No one else wouldbeElton. “One date. Give me one date, and at the end you can decide whether you want another one.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Okay. Fine.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” This time the smile stayed.
I beamed at him, happiness and relief fizzing in my chest. My wolf pranced in excitement. “Great! Um, what are you doing for dinner tonight?”
One side of his mouth quirked up even higher. “Not wasting any time, I see.”
I gave him my most rakish grin. “Why wait? I already know I want you, so any time spent apart is a waste.” I switched my expression to the sad puppy dog eyes that had occasionally worked on my mother. “Plus, my wolf will be whiny and complaining until we see you again, and I'd do a lot to avoid that.”
