“Kal, you made it sound like you agree with Nacho that I lack the ability to be sneaky,” Aristos drawled.
Kalthekor grinned as he made a noncommittal sound. “Dare I ask how this conversation started?”
“Well, it wasn’t because I’m planning on convincing the Council to start a war,” Inachus stated firmly.
“Dad scared me,” Pyxlevir informed Kalthekor. He grinned cheekily. “He claims he didn’t mean to, but I don’t trust him.”
“Nice thing for a kid to say to his dad,” Aristos complained.
“I’ll allow you two to figure out this mystery without my intervention,” Kalthekor said. “Did you enjoy your party, Pyxlevir? Is everything okay with Gramlithyn? He barely offered me a greeting, and I did not see him again for the rest of the party.”
“Did you two have an argument?” Aristos asked. “You seem distracted.”
Pyxlevir was far too close to his family for them not to notice if something was bothering him, and he wasn’t fond of lies. But how could he explain the predicament Fate had put him in? Could he tell anyone without Gramlithyn’s agreement? What were the rules now that they were a couple?
Were they a couple?
In an instant, everything in Pyxlevir’s life had changed, and he had no clue how to think or feel.
“Yeah, we had a disagreement before the party started,” Pyxlevir responded sincerely.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Kalthekor replied. “No one would’ve been upset if you two had taken whatever time was needed to patch things up.”
“Go to your room and call him,” Aristos insisted. “We’ll work on getting this place cleaned up and help you drag your presents to your space later. Go on, scoot.”
Pyxlevir rushed to his parents and gave them both hugs. Crossing the living room, he embraced Inachus too, then raced to the privacy of his suite. Although Pyxlevir wasn’t ready to pick up the phone to discuss anything with Gramlithyn yet, he desperately needed to be alone. For hours, he’d set aside the shocking revelation of discovering his best friend was his mate to smile through a birthday party.
But now he needed to figure out how to process Fate’s bombshell.
For years, Pyxlevir had fantasized about having his other half. He wanted the kind of love his parents had. The same level of devotion that the other couples in his large extended family shared. While in a perfect world, being matched with his best friend would be welcome, life wasn’t that easy.
And honestly, Pyxlevir wasn’t sure how to handle the tingle of lust that swam through him as he pictured Gramlithyn’s smile. It was odd to suddenly find himself with sexuality and wondering what Gramlithyn’s body looked like beneath his elvish-style tunic and pants. Not a bad weirdness, just far different from how Pyxlevir had felt the previous day.
How was Gramlithyn processing his emotions? Pyxlevir locked himself in his bedroom and slipped off his shoes. Pushing aside a couple of throw pillows, Pyxlevir climbed onto his bed and sprawled across his coverlet. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Not every matebond was a perfect match. WasGramlithyn angry that Fate had ignored him and matched him up at eighteen? At least the weirdness in their friendship made sense now.
Gramlithyn was probably afraid of the immediate future thanks to the rules of their culture, but it was unnecessary fear. The elven tradition of having a matebond ceremony within three days was wonderful, but Pyxlevir wasn’t concerned about honoring it. He wasn’t tying his eternity to anyone until he was sure it was something that would make him and his mate happy.
Pyxlevir thought back to their interaction hours ago and swallowed thickly. There hadn’t been joy on Gramlithyn’s face as Pyxlevir discovered their bond. When had Fate revealed the truth to Gramlithyn? How long had he pretended everything was fine? Had Gramlithyn wanted to come to the party at all?
Blowing out a breath, Pyxlevir closed his eyes. Everything was a mess. But there had to be a way to fix things. To find a way to deal with the new reality facing him and Gramlithyn, because the last damn thing Pyxlevir would tolerate was losing his best friend.
Chapter 4
For the past several months, a swirl of emotions had rioted through Gramlithyn. As he stood in front of his dresser and yanked open a drawer to pack for his graduation trip with Colburn, he focused on the anger brewing from the depths of his heart and soul. Nothing in his life was going according to plan.
He’d begged Fate not to pair him with anyone. Yet now he was haunted by the memory of the horror in Pyxlevir’s beautiful blue eyes as he learned the truth about their matebond. Every single happy moment Gramlithyn had shared with Pyxlevir was tainted. It wasn’t even Pyxlevir’s fault.
Like Gramlithyn, Pyxlevir had obviously envisioned something far different for his existence. Or at least had hoped for someone else. Gramlithyn was definitely not the person Pyxlevir wanted. A fresh wave of fury and hurt coursed through Gramlithyn. His eyes squeezed shut as his zebra wailed in his head.
The worst part was that there was nothing Gramlithyn could do. Nor could he tell anyone. For reasons Gramlithyn tried to ignore, Pyxlevir hadn’t announced their matebond despite having everyone they knew gathered in the Centaurus mansion. It’d taken Gramlithyn only seconds to figure out why Pyxlevir had held his tongue.
Gramlithyn’s best friend was so unhappy and embarrassed by Fate’s choice, he couldn’t bring himself to utter the words aloud. Which, as it turned out, was fine with Gramlithyn. Otherwise, he would’ve spent hours trying to escape from the pity in everyone’s eyes.
As the bedroom door swung open to reveal his mother in a pair of her favored overalls, Gramlithyn thanked whatever benevolent force existed on the planet that she didn’t know about his matebond. Semira would’ve already planned the ceremony to tie Gramlithyn to Pyxlevir forever and expected them both to live happily ever after.
“How’s your packing going?” his mother asked as she bustled into the room and snagged tunics from the drawer Gramlithyn had been mindlessly staring into for countless minutes.
“Fine. Mom, I can do it. You don’t have to help.”
