Transition - Delta's Triad

[ 7 ]

[ Luca ]

✉Wyatt: Please can we talk?

I stared at his message once again and sighed. I hadn’t responded to him, and he hadn’t reached out again. Wyatt had sent me that message three days ago and I still couldn’t bring myself to take action. A part of me wanted to, a big part, but I was, admittedly, scared. I had been so brave when I had first uttered the words needed to reject him, but now? Now, I wasn’t sure I would be able to say them again. Of course, Wyatt could want to fix things rather than end them, but I didn’t know what to do.

“Honey?” I glanced over my shoulder and smiled at my mom as she came into the kitchen. “Do you want something to eat?” she then asked as she started moving around the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

“Sure,” I said as I watched her. “Wyatt…he sent me a message asking if we could talk,” I admitted, and my mom paused as she took out the coffee tin from the top cupboard.

“When are you going to see him?” she asked carefully, and I sighed. “Honey…” she turned to face me, and I tried to smile, but this time I failed. “You should just talk to him…”

“I should but…I’m scared,” I said truthfully. “I’m scared that I’ve somehow ruined things…or at least the possibilities of things,”

“You did what you thought was right, Luca. Protecting yourself isn’t wrong…but I do think you owe it to yourself to hear him out,” her advice made me feel somewhat better and I simply nodded. She was right. I did owe it to myself.

✉Luca: When and where?

I sent the text off before I could think too much about it and set my phone down on the table.

“Do you need any help?” I asked her as I stood up.

“Sure, would you beat these eggs for me?” I quickly nodded and she stepped away from the bowl. A tray and eighteen eggs sat alongside the bowl, and I worked quickly and broke every egg into the bowl. My mom came over and added some salt, pepper, and some herbs with a dash of milk before she handed me the whisk.

“Do you think…do you think Wyatt will come back if things work out?” I asked her as I started to whisk the eggs. My mom was busy by the stovetop as she placed pieces of streaky bacon into a hot pan.

“I don’t know. We assume that he left to get away…” her voice trailed off, but I knew what she had been about to say.

“To get away from me,” I finished for her.

“Yes…we assume that, but we could be wrong. I think that once you two have sorted things out…no matter what it may be…I think then you’ll have the answer to that question,” I nodded and continued whisking the eggs until it was all mixed together. My mom came over and took the bowl from me.

“Do you think…I mean, do you think he is worried that I may not be good enough for him because I am still not Delta?”

“Oh, no honey. I don’t think Wyatt is worried about titles,” she said with a soft smile. “Besides, you have been working really hard with your father and I believe that soon you’ll have that title,”

“That’s true,” I said as I watched her pour some of the egg mixture into another pan.

“Could you grate some cheese please honey?” she asked, and I headed to the fridge to take out the large block of cheese. We worked in silence, and it didn’t take us long to set the table with cheesy omelets, bacon, and toast.

“Morning,” my dad said as he came into the kitchen. “Smells heavenly,” he added before he kissed my mom’s cheek and sat down at the head of the table.

“I helped,” I remarked, and then I blushed. My dad smiled over at me as my mom dished up for him.

“Very nice,” he said as my mom then moved to dish up for me and her. I sat down on his right, while my mom sat down on his left. “Will you be at the training center today?” he asked as he cut into his omelet.

“I don’t know,” I said softly. I had been avoiding work for the last few days and, although my dad understood, I knew that I had to get back to it. “Maybe…I’m waiting to hear back from…him,”

“Oh,” my dad uttered as he stared at me. “Well, son…when you are ready,”

“Thanks, dad,” I said as I itched to reach out for my phone, especially when I could see the little blinking light which indicated I had a message. Of course, it didn’t mean it was Wyatt, but I was hopeful. We spent the rest of breakfast discussing some of the warriors and every minute felt like a lifetime. Finally, when my parents excused themselves, I grabbed my phone.

✉Wyatt: How about dinner at my place at six tonight?

I almost felt like I couldn’t breathe as I read his message. Not only was he inviting me to his apartment, but he was inviting me over for dinner.

✉Luca: Sure. See you then.

I sent my response and smiled. This was it, tonight I would not only get to see his place but, hopefully, we could fix things between us. Either that or we would end up rejecting each other. However, that did mean that I should probably get back to work.

[[ ]]

I stepped up to the closed doors rather nervously. It was just before six and I wasn’t even sure if Wyatt was home yet from work. That was silly, of course, he would be home. Right? I shifted on my feet as I tried to gather the courage to push his apartment number. I ran my hands down my jean-clad thighs and took a deep breath.

“Are you going to go in or what?” a male voice asked from behind me, and I jumped forward and spun around. The older man was eyeing me suspiciously.

“Just…gathering the courage,” I mumbled out in explanation.

“Oh?”

“I have a date,” I then revealed. I mentally kicked myself for being a fool, but then the man’s features softened, and he smiled.

“Well, why don’t you gather that courage on the way to her door, huh?” I watched as he pulled his key from his pocket.

“Him,” I whispered, and he paused before he finally nudged me out of the way and unlocked the door.

“Ah…well, the same thing applies, doesn’t it?” he teased with a chuckle, and I shrugged as I followed him inside. I hesitated as I glanced around the entrance. “What are you waiting for? Go get him,” the man said as he headed for the elevator. I knew exactly which floor Wyatt was on and I considered joining the man, but then I thought that maybe taking the stairs would be a clever way for me to work on that so-called courage.

“I think I’ll take the stairs,” I said to him since he was waiting at the open elevator. He frowned but then shrugged and wished me luck before he disappeared inside. I took a much-needed deep breath and headed up the stairs. I didn’t think about anything as I made my way up to Wyatt’s floor. The number of steps I had to take would’ve been exhausting for any normal human being, but it was a good workout for me, and I had to wonder if Wyatt ever took the stairs. I was procrastinating as I hovered close to his apartment door. When the door suddenly opened, I fell back as Wyatt stepped out.

“Were you ever going to knock?” he asked, his voice was light with amusement, but I could see the concern in his eyes.

“Courage,” I muttered as I pushed myself forward.

“Oh,” I watched as he disappeared back inside his apartment and closed the door. I growled out before I forced myself to knock. Wyatt immediately opened the door and managed to look surprised – despite the smirk that clung to his lips.

“Hey,” I greeted him as best as I could, and he stepped aside as he waved me in. I stepped over the threshold and hurried inside to see the open-plan sitting room and kitchen. It was quite a large room, but it was the view that caught my attention.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he said from somewhere behind me and I hummed out in agreement. The view of the ocean was beautiful, and I tried to imagine what it would be like to have this kind of view on a daily basis.

“Do you like living here?” I asked him as I turned away from the large window.

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “Would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, water, beer?”

“I’ll have some water,” I said as I went over to the couch and sat down. I listened as Wyatt moved around the kitchen and it was then that I realized I didn’t smell anything cooking. He had invited me over for dinner, or had that just been an excuse to get me here? Wyatt finally came back and handed me a glass of what appeared to be orange juice.

“I forgot I had that,” he said as he sat down on the coffee table.

“Thanks,” I carefully took a sip of the juice before setting it down beside him. “Don’t knock that over,” I warned, and he nodded before he got up and sat down next to me.

“Listen…Luca…I’m sorry for what I did that day at the beach,” his whispered words had me sucking in a deep breath. “I was trying or, at least, I thought that I could show you that I do want you,”

“You do?”

“I do,” he confirmed, and I glanced over at him. “Luca…when I first came to the pack I was barely hanging on at that point. Our previous pack had been…hellish and I was afraid that this pack would be the same. When I met you, I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that my mate was male,” I wasn’t sure what to say to him, so I remained silent as I gave him the chance to get it all off his chest. Plus, I needed to know. “The thing is…our previous pack had been rather…messed up and that may sound like an excuse, but when you grow up in that kind of environment, it messes with your head,” he pointed to his head, and I couldn’t resist it.

“You aren’t messed up,” I said, and he smiled.

“No, not anymore, but I was. By the time I came to accept that you are male, I wasn’t sure what to do. At that point, you were still going to high school and the biggest worry you had was whether or not you would fail your next exam. I figured that it would probably be best for me to just…leave you be until you transitioned,”

“So, what happened?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“So much happened. The whole thing with Seff and Marric, with Seff and Robin, with Decker and Kayley…you almost seemed to fade into the background, and then I panicked,” he admitted as he looked over at me.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“With everything that was going on, no one in the pack had been mated to the same s*x and I thought that you would probably react the way I had…originally,”

“Ah,” I was starting to understand, but I knew I had to let him finish.

“I was worried that you’d just reject me, I thought that I would never be enough and why would you want someone like me? The more I hung around, the worse my thoughts got, and when I heard that this apartment had become available…”

“You jumped at the chance to escape?” I offered when he hadn’t continued, and he nodded. I knew that there was a lot more to talk about, the question was…did he still want me?