“Good,” Tyson said, cutting off the link and shoving his brother out of our heads.
“How did you do that?” I asked him, feeling him shove Ace out of mine too.
“Alpha genes,” he answered, and I turned back to watching the TV show. Halfway through the night, I must have drifted off, waking to the sound of thunder. The house was completely dark, and Tyson had chucked a blanket over me. The wind outside was howling as it whistled through the trees, lightning striking the sky and lighting up the inside of the house. I flicked the TV back on, trying to drown out the noise, so I could go back to sleep. This was the worst storm I had seen in ages.
Avalon City hardly had storms, especially with so many elemental witches in the city who could control the weather. It was completely different here, and I didn’t have my meds to knock me out either, which was what I usually did when we did get the occasional storm. I’d left my meds in Jacob’s car in my suitcase and hadn’t seen the doctor since returning.
Getting up, I walked into the kitchen to get a drink. Goosebumps rose on my arms because of the storm as I fought the urge to shiver when thunder cracked loudly. Walking back to the living room, I stopped in the hall, looking up the dark hallway. Tyson’s bedroom door was open, and I argued with myself whether it would be weird if I slept in his room with him. He was an adult now and might be creeped out if I tried hopping in his bed like I used to do when I was a kid. He had no problems walking in on me in the shower, so instead, I decided to walk down the hallway. The thunder made me jump, and I darted off into his room, my heart pounding in my chest.
Walking over to the side of his bed, I tapped on his shoulder, thinking it best to ask than have him freak out and find me next to him. I shook his shoulder, and he rolled over sleepily, staring up at me. He then moved over before tossing the blanket back.
“Hurry up then, scaredy-cat,” he said, and I climbed in beside him. He moved over a little before tugging the blanket around me and draping his arm across my waist. I relaxed against him, his scent soothing as I snuggled against him. I could feel his breath against my neck as he fell back to sleep, his breathing evening out. My skin tingled where his skin was touching mine, making me wonder if he felt the weird sensation or if it was just me. It felt foreign, and I never got that tingling sensation from anyone else except Ace. I wasn’t sure if I liked the sensation, but eventually, I fell asleep, feeling safe with Tyson’s warm skin pressed against mine.
Chapter sixteen
Ace
Melana wasn’t having it. Nothing I said to her was making her see reason. I’d told her plenty of times this was just fooling around, yet the hurt look she continued to give me as I stood in her kitchen showed me how much I’d truly fucked up. She clearly didn’t see this as fooling around and thought we had something more than what I would ever give her, making me wish I had listened to Tyson.
Melana’s tear-stricken face made me feel like a piece of shit. “Is this because Lucy came back? I don’t get it, Ace. Everything was fine until she returned,” Melana cried. I looked away from her. Her wolf was shining through, and I could tell even she was hurt, but Melana was not my mate. Lucy was.
“Are you going to answer? If it is, let me speak to her. I know we haven’t always gotten along, but maybe things won’t feel awkward if I talk to her. I know she is meant to be staying with you for a while.”
“It’s not that, Melana. This was never going to work. I told you this so many times. You were never going to be my Luna,” I told her, and she started crying even more.Great, now I feel like a dick. Ah god, why won’t she stop crying? I don’t do tears. I just wanted to bail now.
“I can be friends with Lucy. I know she is family, Ace,” Melana said.How has she not figured it out yet?It had nothing to do with Lucy staying at our house. Melana just wasn’t my mate.
“Just stop, Melana. It has nothing to do with Lucy being your friend or not or you not getting along with her,” I told her.
“Then what? Because you were fine till she showed up!” Melana yelled at me.
“Is it because of Tyson not liking me?” she asked, stepping closer, but I stepped away from her. I could see the hurt in her eyes at my actions.
“Lucy is my mate, Melana,” I told her, getting it over with. She was going to find out sooner or later. It was better if it came from me than just waking up to find Lucy had suddenly become my Luna. Melana stopped in her tracks.
“What? Since when?” she said, outraged. It was clear she didn’t expect that answer.
“Since I turned seventeen. I have known for years, Melana. Why do you think I kept telling you this would never become anything more?”
“Wait! So I was just around to kill the fucking time while you waited for her to what? Grow up? You fucking prick!” She had a point, and there was no easy way to say it, but she was correct.
“Well, yeah,” I admitted, looking away from her.
“You knew all this fucking time?” she screamed so loudly I had to fight the urge to cover my ears, her voice making them ring.
“I should have told you earlier. I was planning to, but I didn’t think she would come back early from school,” I told her. Melana started laughing, shaking her head.
“Now I know why you would suddenly disappear every time she came back from school, and I couldn’t get a hold of you unless I showed up. You are a real piece of shit, Ace. I hope she fucking rejects you.”
“You have a mate out there, Melana. Don’t act so surprised I would pick mine over you.”
She snorted, shaking her head, laughing. “This is just fucking great, you son of a bitch. I fucking rejected mine for you, you fucking asshole!” she said before shoving me.
“You did what?” I asked, a little shocked by her words.
“I found mine last year, you prick. I rejected him for you! What a waste of fucking time that was!” she screamed at me.
I didn’t know what to say to that, there was no way in hell I would reject a fated mate for anyone. Yet Melana did it for me.