Page 17 of Wanderer

Rather than track down my runaway mate and scare him even more, I took the day to go over the reading Fynn had gathered for me at the college. Really, his help had been incredibly useful, saving me hours of skimming through books that had nothing relevant in them. Since I was an employee, the administration let me take the books home. I took a personal day so that I could compile the evidence for my mate. Riley wasn’t going to just trust my word that he was safe from my magic, not after his reaction to being in the same room as me. I had to give him certainty with facts.

So instead of teaching or doing anything useful, I holed up in my house and read. While I was reading, I made notes to see if I could track down sources. When I took breaks to eat and shower, I thought about fated‑mate matches in Greyhaven. Were there any that could demonstrate what I was talking about?

Lists, endless lists. By the time the sun fell on the day, paper, takeout containers from my lunch, and coffee mugs surrounded me. I might have showered, but I hadn’t slept or shaved. I felt stretched thin. My emotions had been leading me, bolstering me until I was fraying at the edges. This wasn’t going to be a simple fix. I couldn’t just show up in front of him and demand he listen to my proof.

I also had to consider the idea that Riley had two curses on him. Though I hadn’t been close enough to check him like I was supposed to, I trusted Hestia’s judgement on this. If she said there were two, then there were two. Simple as that. My intuition told me Riley’s extreme reaction wasn’t natural and likely the outcome of one of his curses. Why, though? Why would someone do that to him?

It was around eight when the doorbell rang. I was expecting pizza, but found my best friend at the door with the box instead of Rayna or one of her siblings. “Hey Gareth, can I come in?” Tatsuya held up my pizza. “I brought dinner.”

“Um, I ordered that,” I snarked.

“Well, I paid for it,” he shot back. “Saved Zayne a journey.”

One of Rayna’s brothers, Zayne, had a job in the messenger and delivery service. All the nephilim who lived in Greyhaven had chosen jobs that allowed them the freedom to have their wings on show all the time. Even better if the job let them fly. Our postal service was lightning fast thanks to them.

“Right. Thanks, Suya.” I moved out of the way to let him inside and wandered into the kitchen. The window was so dark it acted as a mirror, showing Tatsuya following behind me, his trademark frown on his face. “Want a beer? Wine?” I called as I opened the fridge.

Inside was pretty bare. I needed to restock pretty much everything. This research and meeting Riley had knocked me out of the routine that I craved and needed to fend off the loneliness, leaving me feeling all wrong.

My powers sparked under my skin, reacting to the imbalance within me. Of course my best friend noticed. “Beer,” he muttered, answering my question. His frown deepened. “What’s got you all sparky?”

“Riley.” His frown turned into a scowl. Ah, not a fan. Trying to lighten the mood, I explained with a roll of my eyes. “The fates are having a laugh at my expense here. ‘Sure, you can have a fated mate, Gareth. A super cute one too. We can’t make it easy for you, though. He’s terrified of warlocks, by the way.’ Perfect, thank you, fate.” I sighed, feeling hopeless.

“Huh?” Like I’d hoped, his expression morphed into bewilderment.

“What? That’s all you have to say?” My temper rose at his nonchalance. Normally I was pretty even-tempered, but lack of sleep, the bond with Riley, and this entire situation had my mood swinging like a pendulum. Gods, I was a mess. I raked a hand through my hair and took a deep, calming breath. “He could leave tomorrow and go somewhere I can’t follow.” I heard the break in my voice. The desperation and panic I hadn’t dared to voice before. “I could lose my chance to prove I won’t hurt him!”

Tatsuya shrugged, completely nonchalant. I clenched my fists, then reached for his beer. It wasn’t his fault that fate had fucked me with no lube. Besides, it was just who he was. He always came off a little brusque, when inside he felt things deeply. I knew he’d never been a fan of fated mates, claiming it took away your autonomy. He was the wrong person to talk to about this. “You’ll figure it out. Besides, I think the fates threw you a bone.” He popped the cap off the bottle I handed him.

“How’d you figure?” I asked as I found napkins and plates for our dinner. Not wanting to risk alcohol and my tentative control of my magic, I poured a glass of water instead.

Tatsuya took a long swig of his beer before he answered. “His car is busted. Walt needs at least a week to fix it. So he’s pretty much stuck here in the meantime. Sources say he went looking for a car, but couldn’t find anything big enough to pull his trailer.”

“Shit.” While I appreciated the fates for doing me a favor, I hated how trapped and alone Riley had to be feeling. Stuck in a town with no one on his side. I left the kitchen with Tatsuya following closely behind. Exhaustion was catching up with me.

“Yeah, the situation’s fucked. The thing is…”

“What?” I flopped onto the sofa, thoughts of food gone from my head. All I wanted was for Riley to give me a chance. I could help him. I knew I could.

Tatsuya looked at me with a sympathetic expression over his sharply angled face. “Hestia promised Riley that no warlock would approach him.”

His statement landed like a rock in my gut. All my work was for nothing if I couldn’t at least speak to him! “But he’s my fated mate! How am I supposed to convince him to give us a try if I can’t even speak to him?” Fuck, fuck, fuck. I would not cry. The frustration nearly welled over. I took a couple of calming breaths.

“How are you going to convince him? He ran at the mere mention of the fact you’re a warlock, Gar.” Tatsuya chewed on his slice of pizza while I answered.

“With this.” I showed Tatsuya all my work. It was hard to miss with it being strewn all over the place. Finally, I just put my head in my hands.

Tatsuya gave me a sympathetic look and patted my knee in a semi-comforting gesture. As much as I loved my friend, he was not the one I went to for cheering up. He was too realistic. His hugs were great, though. Rare too. He just didn’t do the touchy-feely stuff. “There’s a chance he’ll realize he needs you and will come to you instead. He’s cursed, remember?”

“What if he doesn’t?” I muttered, eyes burning as I glared at the floor. Fate was really fucking me over. “What if he just leaves without giving me a chance?”

Tatsuya kneeled in front of me and held me by the shoulders until I met his eyes. “Fate will find a way to bring you together. Trust it.” He pulled me close, wrapping me up in a tight hug. “I’m here for you, okay? We’ll work something out.” I must have looked pretty bad if he was breaking out a hug for me.

“Sure,” I said, my voice hollow. I broke free of his arms and picked up my food. “Better eat before it’s too cold.” I picked up my stone-cold pizza and frowned. With a thought, I heated it so that the cheese was bubbling once more.

“Do mine! I always set it on fire when I try.” Tatsuya flung his plate under my face, making my smile break free.

I heated his food and watched him scarf it down. “You’ve been working too hard,” I chided.