“How did you know?”
“He’s gone, isn’t he?” Wynn asks like he already knows the answer.
I glance at Bane, and we both wear the same dumbfounded expression.
“Guess it’s not a huge surprise,” he continues. “You’re both acting weird, you aren’t sure how to tell me something, and I know Elias never trusted Dante. A few days ago, he told me he was going to prove that I was being a fool. Looks like he was right, huh?”
Bane and I don’t need to say anything after all. We just nod.
Wynn’s shoulders slump as he stares at the ground. “Sure, Dante was kinda over the top, but he made me laugh. I thought…”
Bane, ever the master of tact, chimes in, “Well, there are plenty of fish in the sea, right? You’re better off without him.”
I shoot Bane a glare and elbow him. How can he be so clueless? Bane elbows me back. I sigh and try to scoot away from him.
“Wynn, I’m really sorry. I know it’s tough. I mean, I don’t know you, but it must be tough.” The words tumble out, and I wince at my own awkwardness. “This, uh, this really sucks. You deserve so much better.”
“You don’t even know me.”
True. I crane my head toward the wolf whodoesknow him. Bane shifts uncomfortably beside me and shrugs helplessly.
“Thanks for telling me the truth about Dante,” Wynn murmurs. “Uh, can we call it a night? I need some time alone.”
His slumped shoulders and crushed expression remind me of a sad puppy. I want to help him feel better, but I don’t know him well enough to even know where to begin. And his cousin, well, he has the same emotional range as the cold crystals decorating the porch.
I look at Bane for guidance, who shrugs and starts getting up. “Alright, I’ll drive you home in a minute. Will you give us a moment?”
With a quick goodbye, I head off the porch and start down the driveway. Then I stop, too curious about whether Bane can pull this off on his own.
Bane clears his throat, shuffling his feet. “Look, man. You’ll be fine,” he says stiffly.
“Yeah,” Wynn agrees with a forced chuckle. “It was just a quick fling, I guess. Nothing serious. I’ll snap out of it.”
Bane sees right through the act. “Don’t put on a brave face for my sake.”
“You were just telling me I was fine,” Wynn retorts dryly.
“No, I said youwill befine. In time. I’m not surprised you care right now. Of course you do. But eventually, you know...” Bane struggles, searching for the right words. He glances back over his shoulder like he’s checking to see if I’m listening. I pretend to inspect a pentagram-shaped wind chime in a nearby tree. “Dante... he was too full of himself to appreciate anyone else. It’s his loss, man. He doesn’t see how awesome you are.”
“You have to say that,” Wynn laughs and gives his cousin a light shove. “You’re my best friend.”
“No, being your best friend is how I know you’re awesome.” He sounds sincere. Maybe he isn’t so bad at this after all. Is itjust my presence that made him self-conscious about opening up? “Spending five minutes with that bloodsucking douche is how I knew he wasn’t good enough for you. Come on, he’d suck the life out of you.”
“Uh, pretty sure that’s species-ist.”
“No, not because he’s a vampire. You care about people, and he only cares about himself. That’s not a good dynamic. He’d take and take from you until there was nothing left.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“It hurts now, but it wasn’t love, you know? Love isn’t a one-way street.” Bane throws an arm over his cousin’s shoulders as they walk to the edge of the porch and start wrapping up their conversation. “So not today or tomorrow, but eventually, you’ll be okay. You’ll dust yourself off and try again. And you’ll find someone who’s crazy about you and not even an Alpha werewolf will be able to scare them away.”
“Elias still might try,” Wynn muses.
“But it won’t work. That’s how you’ll know it’s real.”
Wynn considers this. “I hear you, but I really don’t want Elias taking an interest in my love life ever again.”
“Yeah, that’s smart.”
