Decision
Overthefollowingcoupleof days, Ward found renewed inspiration and painted with more zeal than he had in years. He even went to town, acquainting himself with Willow Cove and some of its inhabitants. More than once, it occurred to him that he could easily get used to this, to the peacefulness and the soothing warmth he’d found in this haven.
As for him and Mathias, their relationship truly flourished. They didn’t do much beyond blow jobs and hand jobs, but that was fine with Ward. Somehow, it worked for them. It helped them build up an intimacy Ward had never thought he’d share with anyone, especially not after Peter.
Still, it was becoming harder and harder to break their kisses. Watching Mathias leave was a lesson in torture, and soon, Ward found himself wondering if he was overthinking things again.
Ironically, it was Peter who made Ward’s decision for him. Ward had been ignoring most attempts to contact him—including Peter’s—but one afternoon, while distracted by his painting, he randomly accepted a call without looking at the display screen.
“Ward?” Peter breathed at the other end of the connection. “Oh, thank God.”
“Hi, Peter,” Ward greeted his ex. Oddly, he found the pain he’d felt at talking to the man was entirely missing. Oh, he was still angry, and probably a part of him would never forget the betrayal, but the agony that had chased him out of his home had faded.
He placed the phone on speaker since he hadn’t gotten the chance to clean his hands. “What’s up? Everything okay?”
A long pause followed, and Ward realized his nonchalance had surprised his ex. “Everything’s fine,” Peter replied at last, “at least with us. What about you? You’ve been away for so long. We’re worried.”
“It’s only been a couple of weeks.” Ward laughed. “Relax. I’m just catching up on my painting and fixing some things that were obviously wrong in my life. I’m perfectly okay. You should probably be more worried about your wife than your ex-boyfriend.”
The biting remark put them in old territory and seemed to reassure Peter. “I know I hurt you, Ward, but that’s no reason to push your family away. How long will you hold onto this grudge? You know as well as I do that we were never meant for one another.”
“I never thought I’d agree with anything you said, but yeah, you’re right. Which is really what I’m trying to say here.” Ward sighed heavily. “I don’t know what you want from me, Peter. Just leave it be and focus on Teresa. It’s as easy as that. You’re married now, and she should be your priority. Like I said, I’m fine.”
“I can’t just leave it be,” Peter bristled. “I... You’re... I still...” He cleared his throat and started again. “Listen, I’ve been thinking. This isn’t an easy situation for either of us, and I had an idea I needed to talk to you about.”
“I’m all ears,” Ward drawled, leaving aside his painting and wiping his hands of the substance. He picked up the phone, already dreading whatever Peter had come up with. “Shoot.”
“I’d have preferred it if we could talk about it in person,” Peter offered hesitantly.
“Well, if you want that, it’s your call,” Ward replied disinterestedly, “but it’s not going to happen anytime soon.”
“Very well then. Here’s the thing. I know you’ve missed me, and to be honest, I’ve missed you too. But I found the perfect solution for that. Come home, and you and I can pick up from where we left off.”
Ward had deemed himself prepared for anything his ex-boyfriend might come up with, but he’d been terribly wrong. “Peter... Have you oh-so-conveniently forgotten you’re married now? To my sister?”
“I’ve already spoken to Teresa and she agrees,” Peter replied. “She’s not all that adventurous in bed and she doesn’t want to risk the baby, so she prefers it like this.”
Ward didn’t know if he felt shocked, disgusted or appalled. He truly hadn’t thought Peter’s relationship with Teresa was so toxic. He’d been too focused on his own pain to realize the consequences of Peter’s choices on everyone else.
But this had been his sister’s decision, and she knew all about Ward’s history with the man. There was nothing Ward could do about it. “You’ve made your choice, Peter,” he said tiredly. “There’s no going back, not for you and not for me. I’m not your sex toy. If you’re not happy in your marriage, you’re going to have to find another solution.”
Peter spluttered. “But Ward, baby...”
“Peter, enough! I’m seeing someone else and he makes me happy. What you and I had is long gone.” Peter didn’t answer, and Ward continued, “Congratulations on being a father soon. I know you wanted that. And at least try to make this marriage work, if not for Teresa’s sake, for that of the child. No baby should have to live with parents who don’t love each other. Goodbye.”
He ended the call, his heart swirling with a mix of confused emotions. He supposed he should be more focused on the fact that his ex was apparently having a baby with his sister, but out of that conversation, one thing stood out the most. Mathias made Ward happy.
And maybe Peter had made him happy at one time too, but it had never been like this, so easy, so effortless. Ward stared at all the paintings in his bedroom and laughed. The truth had been right there for him to see all along, in his own artwork. He was in love with Mathias.
Love didn’t solve anything, he knew that, but it went a long way to fixing what was broken. He wanted this, more than he had ever wanted his relationship with Peter to work out.
His great-uncle had told him humans didn’t exactly process the mate thing like supernatural creatures did, and Ward agreed. But in some ways, it did register, in the fluttering of his stomach whenever Mathias was near, in his yearning to be at Mathias’s side, and most of all, in his paintings. It was high time he left his doubts behind and embraced it.
He probably should have waited for Mathias to come to him this evening, but he knew his lover didn’t actually need to stay with the Lone Wolf Pack all day. He just did it to settle them in a routine Ward could trust while they worked to push past it. So Ward only hesitated for a moment before he reached for his phone again and dialed Mathias’s number.
It rang once, and then Mathias picked up. “Hey, Ward,” Mathias greeted him. “Is everything okay?”
He sounded anxious, and Ward couldn’t really blame him since he didn’t usually call his lover during the day. “Everything’s fine,” he replied. “I just... I wanted to talk to you for a bit. Can you come over? It’s nothing urgent if they need you there.”