But it was far too late to change things, or to take back what had been said and done. A few hours later, Will was throwing his and Jessie’s bags in the trunk of the car. Jessie was already buckled in, and he seemed quite enthusiastic for the upcoming trip. He’d deflated a bit when he realized Mathias wasn’t coming along, but the excitement of something new had now taken over again.
Will was nowhere near as happy. As he shut the trunk, he turned toward Mathias. For a few moments, they just stood there, in front of the house they’d shared, staring at each other. It was Mathias who broke the heavy silence. He pulled Will into his arms and hugged him tightly. “I’m going to miss you, Will.”
The human allowed himself to be held, and squeezed Mathias in turn. “I’m going to miss you too.”
Under different circumstances, just Will’s heat and scent would have triggered a treacherous response in Mathias’s body, but this time around, it didn’t happen. The grief of the impending separation was too strong to allow any sexual arousal. Mathias’s wolf whined in distress, while his Sidhe half mourned their future, and the life they could have had.
When they finally broke the embrace, Will stepped back and took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. “Bye, Matt,” he whispered.
Mathias couldn’t say ‘farewell’ in return. It hurt too much and it seemed too final. Instead, he replied, “Take care of yourselves.”
Will nodded and slid into the driver’s seat of his car. In the back, Jessie turned and waved, shouting, “Love you.”
Those were the last words Mathias heard from Will and his son before the car pulled away and disappeared into the distance.