AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Come to my house tonight.” It was underhanded and sneaky, but if it meant he got to spend more time with August, he couldn’t feel too bad about it. “We’ll order pizza, watch those stupid horror movies you love, and you can grill me to your heart’s content.”
The man regarded him with narrowed eyes and a creased brow. The tendons in his neck strained, and his teeth scraped together as he clenched his jaw. Still, Micah remained silent…unmoving…waiting.
“Okay,” August answered, though he sounded like he’d rather chew glass. “What time?”
“How about seven?”
August nodded. “I’ll be there.”
“Well, hell, Ant, don’t sound so damn excited about it. I might actually think you like me or something.”
The stubbornness and combativeness hadn’t changed, and August was just as damn infuriating as ever. And still, Micah had never wanted anyone like he wanted August Tucker.
“Oh, don’t get it twisted.” Linking his fingers together on the table, August pinned Micah with a stare that froze him where he sat. “This is about the pack. Nothing else.” His voice dripped venom, and his upper lip curled into a vicious sneer as he continued. “It’s not like I’d understand the rest of it, anyway, right?”
This was such a bad idea.
August had thought he could handle it. He’d convinced himself that while he hadn’t gotten over Micah, he could be an adult about the situation. They’d have lunch, share a few laughs, and then he’d go home, no worse for wear. Looking at his mate now, though…fuck, he could barely breathe.
All of the old hurt, insecurities, and fears came rushing to the surface, making his words harsher and his demeanor colder than he’d intended. If he was smart, he’d get up, go home, and give it another twelve years.
“Micah, I don’t want this.” He stared down at the stacks of money Micah had tossed on the bed—their bed. “I don’t want to leave.”
“We don’t always get what we want.” With jerky, irritated movements, Micah began yanking August’s clothes out of the closet, slinging them haphazardly toward the open suitcase onthe floor. “I want you gone tonight. Pack what you can, and I’ll send the rest to you when you get settled.”
“Stop.” He spoke with more calm than he felt as he approached his mate. Resting his hand on Micah’s forearm, he squeezed, begging silently for the man to look at him. “Tell me what happened. Why do I have to leave?”
When Micah looked at him, though, there was no recognition, no familiar light of love in those blue irises. His cold, hollow gaze pierced August, causing him to shiver right down to his soul. “You have to leave because I don’t want you here anymore.”
“You don’t mean that.” Gently, August reached up, intending to brush Micah’s dark curls back from his brow. His mate caught him by the wrist, though, his grip firm and painful. August didn’t flinch. “I’m not going anywhere until you talk to me.”
“I’m not discussing this with you.” Micah didn’t raise his voice, but his words cut through August, nonetheless. “I want you gone before the sun sets, or so help me—”
“What?” August challenged. “You’ll do what?”
For the first time since he’d entered the house, Micah’s carefully constructed mask of indifference cracked, giving August a brief glimpse of the man he loved. The moment of vulnerability passed quickly, though, and the veil slammed shut over his eyes once more.
“Get out, August. I don’t care where you go, but I swear if I have to look at your face for another minute, I’m going to fucking lose it. There’s enough money there to get you started, and if you ne—”
“I don’t want your money.”
The seriousness of the situation finally registered, hitting August in the chest like a white-hot branding iron. Standing in the middle of the bedroom they’d shared for the past three years, he folded his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes.
“Tell me why.”
“Because you’re such a fucking child!” Micah exploded. “I’m going to be Alpha. Do you understand that? Do you even care? The pack needs a strong leader, and the leader needs a strong mate.” His disapproving stare raked August from head to hips. “I care about you, of course, but you had to know it was never going to work. It was fun while it lasted, but this isn’t a fairy tale, August. There are no happy endings.”
“Ant? Ant?” Micah’s long, tanned fingers brushed over the back of August’s hand where it rested on the table. “Are you ready to order?”
Shaking himself out of the memory, August looked up to find the pretty server watching him expectantly. He tried to smile, but gave it up quickly. “Uh, just a Caesar salad with grilled chicken, hold the croutons.”
Micah must have ordered while he’d been lost in the past, because once their server—Amanda, according to her name tag—took down his order, she grinned widely and disappeared toward the kitchen.
“Hey, what happened just now? Where’d you go?”
August shook his head. “I was just daydreaming. Sorry,” he added.
His emotions were erratic, fluctuating wildly and never settling on any one feeling for longer than a few seconds. Part of him hated Micah Hayden, wanted him to suffer, to hurt like August had hurt. Another part of him just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and pretend the man didn’t exist.
