Almost Rejected

14 | Two sides of one pathetic coin

“What the f**k?” I questioned out loud, watching as Kyle flinched on Zane’s lap; He probably would’ve fell off if it hadn’t been for Zane's tight grip on his waist.

Kyle looked back at me, his dark and tired eyes hazy as he glanced at my shocked figure before looking back to Zane, “Shit.” He grumbled, as he took the sides of his face in his hands; Examining his bottom lip as Zane quickly licked a spec of blood off it.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to bite you.” He said, looking at Zane’s already healed lip. Zane smirked as he continued to look up at Kyle's tired expression that held a worried look.

They both looked back at me as I cleared my throat, Kyle sighed before climbing off of Zane, “You good?” He questioned as I stared between both of them, he looked back at Zane who just shrugged in reply to my shock.

“Are you guys.. mates?” I asked, whispering the last part as if I was telling a secret we didn’t want anyone to hear. Kyle let out a breath of a laugh, shaking his head as he turned to Zane who had been doing nothing but ogling at him from the edge of the bed he was still sitting on.

Kyle picked up a random shirt off the ground, slipping it over his head; I’m a hundred percent sure the shirt he put on was Zane since it was at least a size too big and definitely not his style.

Zane groaned, pouting as his eye candy was taken away; Kyle scoffed, covering Zane’s eyes and pushing his face back, “I’m going to help Eze with the snacks downstairs.” He announced, heading towards the door before being stopped by Zane who put his arm around his waist.

Zane pulled him down onto his lap, kissing the side of his chin before whispering something in his ear, “Mhm.” Kyle hummed, earning a chuckle from Zane as he finally released him, allowing him to leave.

Zane had a huge grin on his face as Kyle left the room, “So are y’all mates?” I repeated once he had left.

Zane's grin slightly fell but he quickly picked it back up, "Nah, we're not mates." he said nonchalantly, putting his arms in the air as he stretched. "We're not mates but we are dating, have been for the past six years." he finished saying with a proud smile.

“But.. aren’t y’all both passed-“

“The age of scenting your mate? yeah, we are." he said finishing my sentence with a small laugh, "We were dating before we turned eighteen and even though Kyle is a human we were still so sure that we'd be mates." he revealed, “Well me more than him, he said he didn’t want to get his hopes up.” A sad smile appeared on his face as he continued, not at all trying to hide his sadness at their situation.

He looked up at me, "When we found out we weren't mates we decided we'd still stay together; Because we love each other."

“But you went on that trip.” I said, remembering the trip he had said all male wolves over eighteen took to look for their mates.

He let out a breath of a laugh, “Yeah, because it was mandatory.” He sounded tired but kept his nice attitude regardless. “What would’ve happened if you found your mate?” I questioned.

He sighed, “Does it matter? I didn’t find them.” We made eye contact and I could feel myself becoming irritated at his nonchalant answers.

"Okay then what happens when you do find your mate?" I asked, he looked up at me from his position on the bed. "I guess we break up?" he said, more like a question than a statement.

"What about Kyle?" I questioned, how is any of this fair to Kyle? How could Zane even think about dating someone else when his mate is still out there somewhere waiting for him?

“He’s the one who came up with it.” He shrugged his shoulders as he leaned farther into the bed “But-“ I tried to argue but was cut off "Stefan..." he said, quietly trying to tell me he didn't want to continue the conversation.

I ignored his silent warning as I continued on, "Zane, nothing about this situation is fair to Kyle... You're a wolf, so once you find your mate it'll be way easier for you to move on. He's a human." I seethed.

"Don’t you think I know that already?" he questioned, looking away from me to the wall as I felt what little restraint he had left slipping away.

"Then why are you continuing to date him?" I harshly questioned, Zane looked at me with squinted eyes and a confused expression.

"Because I love him?" he answered with furrowed brows. I let out an unamused scoff, causing him to glance around the room before looking back at me “What?” He questioned.

I let out an irritated sigh, "You can’t possibly love him. You’re a wolf, the only person you could ever actually love is your mate.” I argued, resulting in him letting out a dry laugh.

“Thanks for the lecture, but I’ve heard it before.” He replied, shutting me down.

“Then why are you still dating him?!” I shouted, I watched him clench his jaw as he looked away from me, “If you keep this up Kyle will end up getting hurt and you'll be too busy with your new mate to even notice." I spat out.

There was a long silence as he remained quiet, refusing to speak which only pissed me off more, "Your acting just like Ade."

Zane finally looked back at me at what I said, furrowing his brows in disbelief. "Look Stefan, you’re new to the pack and on top of that you’re my Luna." he said, I opened my mouth to refute the last part but he silently shook his head causing me to close it again, “Our relationship, is none of your business." he said calmly.

"Everyone in this pack knows we're dating." He explained, sighing as his brows tilted even farther down than I thought was possible. "Everyone in this pack is so close to one another, they- we care so much about one another especially the alphas children.”

“This pack is heavily, and I mean heavily protective of him, especially because he’s human.” He sat up straighter as he made eye contact with me, “Do you really think anyone would let me continue to date him if I had ill intentions?" He questioned.

“Do you think Ade would allow me to do that to his younger brother?” I glanced away at his tone, he’s right, and I know he’s right. Neither Eze nor Ade let alone their parents would let him date Kyle if he was planning to hurt him.

But despite knowing that, I still can’t help but be mad. Out of everyone here I had become the closest with Kyle, he was the only one who gave me real authentic advice instead of lying or ignoring the situation.

Maybe I’m getting my protectiveness over Kyle from Ricky, he was always over-protective and always spoke his mind when it had something to do with one of his friends or someone he cares about being hurt. Kyle’s not being hurt but he’s going to get hurt because of this.

I glared at Zane, scoffing at his explanation, "Just like Ade." I grumbled under my breath, loud enough for him to hear.

"Still? Are you f*****g serious?" he asked in disbelief, starting to sound and look more and more agitated as I noticed his brown eyes becoming an orangish color.

Before either of us could say anything more Eze and Kyle walked in with a bunch of bowls full of candy and chips. "Ready to play some games?" Eze cheered, setting down the bowls she had. Her cheerful expression fell as she looked between us.

“What’s wrong with you guys?” Kyle questioned, taking a handful of trail mix into his mouth; Ugh, him and trail mix.

I watched as Kyle waved his hand in a shooing motion towards Zane, quietly telling him to move his hands from on his lap before plopping onto it. Zane wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him deeper onto his lap, he then put his face in between his neck and his shoulder blade, "You alright?" I heard Kyle whisper into his ear.

Zane quickly glanced at me before whispering something back but it was so low that even I couldn't pick up what he had said, which he probably did on purpose. Kyle glanced at me but quickly looked away, "Okay, what game should we play?" Eze asked, changing the topic.

We all quietly watched as Eze brought out a container full of all the games Kyle owned, "I’m feeling Mario kart, what about y’all?" she asked, setting the container down on the bed.

"How about you and Zane pick the game while me and Stefan go outside, I need to talk to him alone." Kyle said, standing from Zane’s lap and shoving the bowl into his arms. “Don’t eat anything.” He warned before turning around to me

Eze shrugged as she went back to looking through the container, bringing it closer to Zane as she went on. Kyle sent a small tight lipped smile towards Zane before grabbing my hand and leading us out the room.

Once we were out he turned to face me, "you’re mad." he said, he was calm and he spoke as if it was a fact; I nodded my head in reply and he sighed, slightly shuffling on his feet. "Based on the small bit that Zane told me you have a pretty old-fashioned way of thinking.” I sent him a pointed glare and he raised his hand in surrender.

“That wasn’t an insult, I know it must be a shock to learn that two people who know they aren't mates are dating but.. you don't have to get upset on my behalf. I'm happy with how things are." he said, and despite his usual tired voice still being there I could tell he was trying to reassure me that he was fine.

“But what happens when he finds his mate?” I asked, repeating the same question I had asked Zane just moments before. Kyle stared at me with a blank expression, his mouth slightly opened as he licked at his bottom lip, "We'd break up.” He said, shrugging like he didn’t care but I could tell he did.

“Alright, that’s enough of the sappy s**t. Let’s head in and play some games.” He gave a sideways grin as he nodded his head towards the door to his room. I gave a small nod as he went back into his room, leaving me alone in the hall.

As I stared at the closed door I realized something. I always thought me and Kyle were complete opposites, that the fact we got along so well didn’t make sense but now I get it.

Why he knew what to say, why he was so truthful towards me when giving advice despite the person we were talking about being his brother.

We're both chasing after something we can't have and longing for people we know will only hurt us in the end.

We’re in the same situation, two sides of a coin.

He’s pathetic and I am too.