While I thought he’d stop to talk to the girls, he simply tousled Juanita’s hair as he walked past her. He cleared his throat when he stopped in front of Teddy.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked, running a hand over the back of his head to his neck. It came out careful and timid, like the youngling I’d met back in their human realm.
“Of course, yes,” she said.
Elias kissed her cheek, nodding at Javier, before ushering the younglings away. I turned to Luana, who sat patiently at my feet, and knelt beside her. While I wanted to give them privacy, I stayed close, just in case.
“I, uh, Delaney broke up with me last night.” His voice was thick with hurt. “After the movie, when I walked her home.”
“Oh, Javi, I’m so sorry,” Teddy said.
Although I wasn’t looking at them, I heard Javier when he shuffled his feet.
“A couple of weeks ago, she met her soul-bound mate,” he said.
“Two weeks ago?” Teddy asked, her tone a little high-pitched.
Through the sibling bond we shared, I felt her irritation as it rose.
“Did you know about him before last night?” she asked.
“No.” That single word came out resigned and defeated. “She wasn’t sure what she was going to do. She said she still loves me, but...”
It was thatbutthat hurt. No doubt Delaney loved him just as I’ve felt the affection Finley held for me.
“He’s a shifter still living in the human realm,” he said, his tone hitching and breaking. “She, uh...”
“Can I give you a hug?” Teddy asked.
I didn’t hear Javier’s reply, but I heard her feet move and sensed it through our bond when she embraced him. There was a mixture of relief and pain. Guilt curled my stomach, knowing I shouldn’t be intruding or eavesdropping on this moment.
“It hurts,” he whispered.
“I know it does, sweetheart,” she said just as low.
“I love her. I love her and—” He sniffled. “Why do I keep losing people I love?”
“Life isn’t fair,” she said, which honestly was such an understatement. “It can be cruel and filled with more heartbreak than we think we can bear. Your heart has been broken countless times, yet you keep getting back up and finding the good life has to offer.”
“I’m tired, though, Teddy. Everything hurts.”
“The alternative is to lock yourself away and cage your heart so you can’t get hurt again,” I said, giving them a sheepish smile.
Teddy glared at me, her lips thinned in frustration over my intrusion.
“I was eavesdropping, and I’m not sorry about it.” On a sigh, I dropped my smile. “I know heartbreak. I have a lifetime of it, and I’ll tell you this, Javi. I’d rather my heart break an infinite number of times than shield love and leave my heart empty.” Giving Luana a final pat, I rose. “You’re hurt and tired. I understand that. Having someone you love walk away from you is a pain akin to death. Learning to breathe and function without them is an ongoing pain I don’t wish upon anyone. Sometimes I think the heart wasn’t built to be broken. If you were to cut my skin, I’d bleed but eventually heal. A wound to the heart?” I placed my fisted hand against my chest, where my heart echoed with the years of pain it’d endured thus far. “It can last a lifetime. This isn’t the end of your story, though. Feel the pain, acknowledge it, and then rise again and again until rising isn’t as exhausting because the broken can still live and enjoy life. Delaney’s part in your story may be over, but you still have so many chapters left unwritten. You’re going to find the forever kind of love.” I gave him a faint smile, one that carried more truth than comfort. “The pain may never vanish completely, but it’ll make the joy sharper when it comes. And itwillcome.”
He leaned into Teddy’s side, as if he were seeking her strength, in the same way he once did before their relationship fell apart. He wouldn’t see this heartbreak as a good thing. Neither would Teddy. But maybe it’d be what would bring them back together.
“Or maybe I ramble too much.” My grin came easily while the hope for them surged.
“A little ramble-y,” Teddy teased. “But still good advice.”
I tugged the length of Teddy’s red hair before I finally turned to give them space. Luana stayed close to my side, stopping when I stopped.
My instincts prickled at the base of my neck and crawled down to my spine. I snapped my head around and, in an instant, the rest of the world faded away until there was only Finley walking toward us.
Her smile was small and hesitant, her silver eyes sweeping over the group before stopping just outside the circle we’d formed. I nearly closed the space between us without thinking, but forced my feet to stay put. I couldn’t start this mission tripping over myself to reach her.
