Transition - Delta's Triad

[ 5 ]

[ Wyatt ]

“What’s wrong with you?” Emma questioned as she eyed me suspiciously. “You’ve been acting weird lately,”

“Shouldn’t you be in front serving customers?” I asked as I bluntly ignored her question and statement.

“Olivia has the morning rush covered and don’t change the subject mister. Are you grumpy because Rain is moving out?” Rain had been staying at my apartment for about a week before Adam had made a plan for one of the other apartments. I wasn’t sure how he had managed it, but I had a feeling Adam may have a crush on Rain. That bothered me more than I wanted to admit. Adam hadn’t been involved in the café since he had inherited it, as he would only show up maybe once or twice a week for an hour or so. Now he was coming in every day and mostly in the evenings during Rain’s shift.

“No,” I finally answered her question. I wasn’t grumpy that Rain was moving out. I was happy for her as I knew that even though we had been living together, we had been sleeping separately and we hardly got to see each other or spend any time together. I knew that she craved her own space and who was I to deny her that because I selfishly didn’t want her to leave? No, I was grumpy because I had just found out that Luca knew about us being mates. I was grumpy because he didn’t seem to be upset about it and I was grumpy because he had suddenly changed and run away from me.

“So…what is it, Wyatt?” Emma pushed and I groaned out as I sat back in the chair. “We are friends, aren’t we?”

“Yes, Emma, we are, but that doesn’t mean I feel comfortable talking to you about my personal problems,” that much was true. Emma didn’t know who I truly was – not that I thought she would have a problem with it.

“Wyatt?” I glanced over at the door to see Chasity – one of the day waitresses.

“Yes?”

“Kayley and Decker are here to see you,” she informed me before she hurriedly left. Emma c****d her brow at me as I stood up.

“Get back to work,” I told her as I passed her and left the office. I immediately spotted Kayley sitting outside while Decker was standing in the short queue. He nodded at me in greeting before turning his attention back to the front. “Hey,” I greeted Kayley as I sat down across from her.

“Wyatt…hi…” she said nervously, and I couldn’t blame her. After Luca’s vague comment about Kayley being wrong, I had called her and demanded to know what the hell was going on. Thus, I wasn’t surprised to see her here now.

“What does…Kayley was wrong…mean?” I asked, skipping any formalities. Kayley looked down at the table and sighed. “Talk to me,” I urged.

“Luca found out that you are his mate and…honestly, Wyatt, he didn’t have the same reaction you did. He was happy until he realized that you knew. That for as long as you’ve been in the pack, you’ve known. He believed that because you had known and never said anything to him…that it was because you didn’t want him. Then, he thought that maybe you had been waiting for him to transition and when he had and you still hadn’t made any effort, he figured that you really didn’t want him,” I was blown away by what she was telling me, and my heart hurt, not only for myself but for my mate. “In around about way, I told him that you do want him,”

“Kay!” I moaned out just as Decker joined us. He placed their order down before he sat down next to her.

“What? From what I understood, you had been shocked to learn your mate was male, you had been in denial, and then when you had accepted it, you then panicked and thought he would feel the same way as you had. Well, Wyatt…he hadn’t. Luca was happy and didn’t question you being his mate but now…”

“Have you seen him?” I asked, avoiding what she was clearly trying to make me understand. I did understand and that was what hurt the most.

“No,” Kayley said as she glanced over at Decker. I turned to him and waited.

“He didn’t come home,” Decker informed me, and I felt the panic creep up. If he hadn’t gone home, then where was he? “Seff and I went looking for him,” he continued, and I held my breath. “We found him at the cabin,” Seff’s cabin. That made me feel somewhat better, knowing where he was.

“Is he…is he ok?” I asked, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“Honestly, Seff and I were shocked to see him. After what Kay had told me, I was expecting to find him…in a mess,” Decker admitted.

“But he wasn’t?”

“No…well, clearly, he had been though. His eyes were all puffy and reddish. We knew he had been crying but by the time we had gotten to him…something had changed. Although the evidence of his pain still lingered on his face, he had made a decision. If I had to take a guess, he had made a decision about you,” Decker paused and then took a sip of his coffee. “He didn’t tell us much. He wanted to be alone, but Seff wouldn’t leave until he knew Luca would be all right. He told us that…”

“Decker, please,” I whispered when he didn’t continue.

“He told us that you didn’t want him and that he had been a fool to think differently,” his words – ultimately Luca’s words – cut me so deeply that pain latched onto my heart and squeezed.

“How…how do I fix this?” I asked.

“I don’t think you can,” Decker said truthfully. “You are just going to have to wait for him to take action…anything you do now will only fuel whatever his plan is,”

“Plan?”

“His decision, Wyatt. Whatever he has decided,” Decker explained, and I nodded.

“And do you have any idea as to when he is going to go ahead with his plan or decision?” I asked. I didn’t want to know. I was scared. For the first time since I had met Luca and found out he was my mate, I was truly scared.

“No, no idea,”

“Wyatt…he looked so…” Kayley stopped as she tried to find the right word and I once again held my breath as I tried to be patient. “Happy,” she finally said, and I frowned in confusion. “Luca has been afraid to approach you, Wyatt. For whatever reason, he did yesterday, and…yes, he looked determined and even nervous, but he looked happy too. What did you do to him?” she asked the question softly and I thought back to yesterday.

“I didn’t get a chance to do or say anything. He admitted that he had known for a while and then silence. He was looking at me…I suppose waiting for me to react and then he suddenly looked sad…heart broken and then he said that you were wrong,”

“You didn’t try to stop him? Or talk to him?” Decker asked and I shook my head.

“I tried but then he was running across the road, and I was frozen…I was in shock and then when I snapped out of it and went after him…I was too late and he was gone,” sadness wrapped around me, but I wouldn’t give into it. My sadness was not a priority. Luca was a priority. “Why didn’t you tell me that he knew?” I asked them both.

“It wasn’t our place to get involved,” Kayley whispered, and I was about to say something about that when she looked up at me and I stopped. “I had already said too much to him and it wasn’t right. Finding and being with your mate is something only the two of you can do. I had already interfered and, clearly, I have played a part in hurting Luca,”

“No, babe,” Decker was quick to stop her train of thought. “You didn’t hurt anyone,” he then turned to me. “I want to take his side so badly, but you are both to blame for this. You and Luca,” I nodded at that, even though I didn’t blame anyone but myself for this. “I suggest you give him the time needed for whatever it is that he wants to do,” he suggested as he stood up, silently urging Kayley to do the same. When she did, my heart dropped. Had my decision to steer clear of Luca hurt her too? “We’ll be in touch,” he said before he grabbed her hand and they walked away with their to-go coffee cups in hand. I sighed as I stood up, but then I froze. I immediately turned and although I could see Decker and Kayley getting into his ranger, I could also see Luca sitting in his car across the street in the parking lot. It wasn’t until the ranger was gone that Luca finally got out of his car and made his way toward me. I held my breath when he got near me.

“Can we talk?” he asked as he avoided looking directly at me. “Like…maybe go for a walk on the beach?”

“Give me five minutes to make arrangements,” I said before I headed back inside the café. Emma and Olivia both looked guilty, and I knew they had been eavesdropping. “I’m going to the beach…consider this my lunch hour,” Emma nodded and although it looked like she wanted to question me, she didn’t – for which I was rather grateful. I left the café and I saw that Luca was already across the road, heading to the beach and I hurriedly ran after him. We walked along in silence, and I couldn’t stop peeking over at him every once in a while, in hopes that he would make eye contact with me. Clearly, my mate was avoiding something and that made fear rush through me.

“Wyatt…” Luca whispered before he stopped, and I turned to him. This was it, whatever he was going to say to me was happening. “I, Luca Logan, reject you, Wyatt…Mac,” the pain hit me so unexpectedly that I was still in shock as the realization of what he had just done hit me.

“What?”

“You need to say it back,” he whispered, and I shook my head. “Just say it so we can be done with this,”

“No,” I managed to spit out. “I won’t,”

“Why not?” he asked, confused as he met my eyes.

“I don’t want to reject you, Luca,” I said honestly.

“You don’t want me, Wyatt. So, please…don’t make this any harder than it already is,”

“Why on earth would you think that? I know I haven’t made all the right choices, Luca. I know I’ve made mistakes…especially with you, but I do want you and I won’t reject you,” my voice was still shaky, but I was relieved that I was able to say all of that without stopping. Luca was looking at me with hope in his eyes but then…it was gone, and he shook his head.

“I, Luca Logan, reject-”

“NO!” I yelled as I reached out and pulled him right up against my chest. I wanted to take in this moment but the urgency to show Luca that he was wrong was at the forefront of my mind. I leaned in and crashed my lips against his as I held onto his arms. He gasped in surprise, and I used that to push my tongue inside of his wet heat. I was so consumed by the kiss and by him that it didn’t register that he was pushing at me until I released his arms and he stumbled back. I immediately felt dirty as I came back down from that high.

“You won't ever get to do that to me again,” he declared before he turned and ran away. This time I didn’t even bother going after him.