Dealing with Talis on little to no sleep probably wasn’t the best idea, but he’d know I was in here. Possibly knew I was awake too.
And he’s made the first move in coming here.
It must have cost him to come see me, especially considering where I’d been last night. Even though this conversation was the last thing I wanted to have, I grabbed a hoodie from the foot of my bed and went downstairs to answer the door.
Despite all the awkwardness between us, Talis never failed to make my breath catch when I saw him. He stood in a patch of early morning sunlight. Blond hair still lightened from the summer sun, long enough now it had started to curl at the ends. Eyes so green, they reminded me ofver’athtrees.
“Talis.”
“Axel.”
I’d not stopped to look in a mirror on my way down, and maybe I should’ve done because Talis’s eyes widened as his gaze swept over me. I glanced down, cursing under my breath when I realised I’d gone to bed in the tight red boxer briefs I’d worn to the club.
Dathal had bought them, because shopping was something he did now, and he thought he was funny.
They had little black wolves on them.
Chlah ferath.
To his credit, Talis didn’t comment. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his grey sweatpants, pulling the soft material taut. Between those and the snug white T-shirt stretching across his broad chest, his glorious body was on full display.
But it wasn’t for me, and it wasn’t the reason he was here.
I dragged my gaze up to meet his. “Would you like to come in?”
He nodded and I stepped aside to let him pass, not missing the way his nose wrinkled as he walked by me.
“Something wrong?” Closing the door, I leant back on it, arms folded.
Talis sighed, hurt flashing in those pretty green eyes before he screwed them shut. “You smell like the inside of Midnight.” He pinched his nose, reminding me of Rys. “So many scents, it messes with my wolf.”
Yeah, I was pretty sure that wasn’t the whole truth, but I let him have it. I hadn’t showered when I got in last night, so Goddess knew what he could smell on me.Whohe could smell. “Would you like to talk outside in the garden?”
“Please.” He eyed my lower half again. “As long as it’s not too cold.”
Fucking shifters. Just because they ran hotter than the rest of us didn’t mean we were fragile. Still, I grabbed a pair of pyjama bottoms from the pile of clean clothes in the kitchen and scooped up a blanket on my way through the living room to the French doors. Five years in the human realm had softened my fae blood. Dathal would laugh if he saw me.
“So,” I said, gesturing for Talis to take a seat. “What can I do for you?” I sat facing him, feet tucked under me with the thick blanket keeping me warm.
He raised an eyebrow. “You know why I’m here.”
I did, but for some reason I wanted to make this as awkward as possible. “Do I?”
I thoroughly deserved his eye-roll.
“Rys thinks this is going to affect the pack soon if we don’t sort our shit out.” He waved a finger between us as if I didn’t know what he meant.
Had it really got that bad? “And what do you think?”
Talis bit his lip, forehead scrunching enough to form a small crease. As much as I hated having no control over my magic this side of the realm, I would have loved to know what was in Talis’s head right then.
“Fuck, I don’t know, maybe he’s right.” He slumped back against the chair and buried his face in his hands.
I started to reach for him, then snatched my hands back.Before, I would’ve slung an arm around his shoulders, pulled him in for a hug. We’d been close enough that it would’ve seemed natural.
Pack.
It still felt like that on some level, but I highly doubted my touch would be welcomed now.
