Chapter Fourteen

Zhang

No matter how hard I willed it not to happen, the next morning arrived and with it our departure from Franklin's wonderful inn. The best weekend of my entire life, and once it was over, I was going to have to learn to live without my mate. Neither of us had said much about anything beyond today. Well, we talked about work…but not about the most important thing in my life. The raised mark on my neck still stung a little, and I ran my fingers over it whenever I thought about a future or lack thereof with my mate.

Breakfast was a quiet meal, few comments beyond how good the waffles were and what a nice time we'd had here. Our host continued to be cheerful and press more food on us, mostly successfully, but when we stood up, he did allow us to help him clear the table and load the dishwasher.

"You don't have to leave for a while, correct?" he asked, setting a stack of plates next to where Shane was rinsing them in the sink.

"No, the rideshare is coming in about two hours." I placed coffee mugs on the top rack. "Why do you ask?"

"It's a beautiful morning, and I thought you might like to do one more shift before you leave."

Franklin always had the best ideas. But I waited for Shane to respond, feeling a little raw leaving without having a solid idea of what we were going to do in the future. I didn't even have a logical explanation for it.

"It is nice out there. What do you say, omega?" Perfect response. "Sound like fun?"

"Yes, please." I wasn't usually so formal, but it went with the vulnerability I was feeling. "I'd enjoy that."

He gave me a look as if wondering why I was so unenthusiastic, but he didn't comment. When all the dishes were loaded and everything wiped down, we headed out the back door toward the open area and woods. "Omega, everything all right?"

I mustered a smile. "I was awake all night being probed by a big, sexy alpha. Why wouldn't I be all right?"

"Oh hell. What was I thinking. Not only did I deny you rest, but you're probably really sore. Sometimes I don't know my own strength or remember I'm a little bigger than average."

A little? He and I had different definitions of the word. "Alpha, I'm fine and excited to let our animals out for a last run before we have to go back to reality." A reality where I would hate my job and not have my mate with me. Not even in the same state. "I'll race you."

He could run at least twice as fast as my top speed, and I hated being at top speed, but I just wanted to let off steam before I had to sit next to my alpha in that car and try to pretend I was fine. True, I hadn't gotten much sleep in two days, despite the fact we took a "nap" yesterday and spent a lot of hours in bed. Together.

I had plenty of sleep time ahead of me, though, on my way home and then once I got there. I'd be back to my usual work/sauna/hammock routine. Only a few hours from now, he'd be gone. Would he say anything? Indicate he wanted us to continue?

I could only hope.

We headed right past the tree line and into the forest, but this time, there was no chase game as we had indulged in before, pretend though it may have been. The lion padded along beside me as I walked my panda walk, and we soaked in the warmth of the day and the scents and sounds around us. I stuffed grief down as far as I could, and my panda, who had the gift of living in the moment, was just happy to be here at this exact second with our mate.

By the time we came back out of the woods, we were running short on time, so there was no last grapple upstairs, but I was feeling pretty sad anyway and when we settled in the back seat of the Uber, I reached for Shane's hand and held on for dear life. I wanted to be connected to him every possible moment, until I no longer could.

It had felt like a fairly long drive on the way to the inn, but the ride to the airport passed in a flash, and soon we were in the departure lane and Shane was climbing out. My heart ached when he went around the back and took his bag from the driver. He came back and leaned inside and pressed his lips to mine before straightening and disappearing into the crowd.

We had exchanged numbers. But would he call? Could I bring myself to risk making that move myself? Alphas were supposed to lead the way…

The train ride back, I shut myself in my bedroom and even had my meal brought there. When the attendant set up my bed, I climbed in and stared at the dark countryside flashing by until I fell asleep from exhaustion. I'd been so full of hope on the way here. Now… Now I had no idea what was going to happen, but I didn't feel good about it.