5. Nicholas

I was bereft after Damon left, a knot in the pit of my belly making me nauseous.

We'd met minutes earlier and had a confusing conversation. Telephone tennis, Dad called it, when people responded to messages but never spoke to one another.

The door to the consultancy room was solid wood, no glass panel, so I couldn't judge what was happening by everyone's body language. And I couldn't lip read.

You know how to do that?My dragon was intrigued at me having a skill he wasn't aware of.

Not really, but I could try.

My beast urged me to follow Damon, but I explained human rules regarding family only and privacy. I was his family, and privacy meant nothing to a beast that lived inside a man. Nothing was ever really private. He hated when I hiccuped, saying it made him seasick.

He is our mate. That my beast wasn't confused about.

I think so. Never having met a mate, I wasn't sure if my insides doing somersaults, lights flashing in my head, and my body trembling was how I was supposed to experience meeting my mate.

I'd scoffed at the concept of fated mates, but my dragon was in no doubt and neither was my cock. My face burned at the thought of being turned on by Damon when his focus was on his injured son. What the fuck was I thinking?

But that was the point; I wasn't thinking. I was reacting to an instinct that was as old as time.

But you never believed.

Not quite. I thought it wasn't for me, but I was wrong.

Sauntering to the door, I placed my ear against it. The low mumbling of voices was too indistinct for me to make out what they were saying. My beast told me to turn up my shifter hearing until I explained there was nothing wrong with me, with us.

Sure, our hearing was supercharged compared to humans, but there was a limit and I'd reached it.

I paced the floor, flicked through a magazine, and studied smudges on the windows. As long as I had my phone, I could work anywhere, but I couldn't concentrate. I shoved it in my pocket, only to take it out again and watch clips from my favorite comedy show, thinking that would help to pass the time. It'd always worked in the past when I needed to clear my head or had watched a devastating event on the news.

Not this time. I gave up and couldn't raise a smile at the jokes I'd laughed at so often.

The door opened, and Damon appeared. He didn't stride out and give me a high-five. Nor did he jump into my arms. His expression wasn't as downcast as before, but how did I measure his somber expression? Was there a scale from one to ten?

He took a seat, not where he'd been before, but on the other side of the room. Not next to me. Maybe the hospital had sent out a message with my pic saying I was lurking and couldn't be trusted. But I guessed it wasn't that and he was working through his emotions as he wrung his hands and shifted his butt on the chair.

He glanced at me, but his expression didn't change. I could have been anyone. I hesitated because the man needed a friend, no matter what the doctor had said.

I walked over and squatted in front of him. "I'll leave if you prefer, but I'll stay if I can be of help, even if it's to grab coffee, food, and a change of clothes."

He rubbed both eyes with the heel of his hand. "Go over the story again of why you're here."

After relating the events, his cheeks glowed with a rosy pink blush. "I'm so sorry."

I help up a hand. "There is no need to apologize. I'm happy to be here if you need me." I paused, wondering if I should inquire about his son. It was weird not to. The kid might be fighting for his life, but I'd learned about him through the mixed-up phone call.

"How is your son?" Not using his name made it more impersonal and maybe a whole lot less creepy.

"George is okay." He gulped and his eyes filled with tears. He grabbed my hand, and warmth from his grip pulsed into me. "Not fine exactly, but he will be."

"I'm so glad to hear that."

He tilted his head. "What's your name? Maybe you told me but I forgot."

Had I told him?

Yes, my dragon was certain.

"Nicholas."

"Thank you for being here, Nicholas. Most people would have ignored my message." He explained he was in such a hurry to get to his son, he parked the car in a no parking zone and left the phone in it. "I borrowed someone's phone in the waiting room but must have dialed the number wrong."

He did. My beast didn't always catch the nuances of human conversation.

While he was telling me this, I was still trying to figure out who Sandy was. As Damon was an omega, I guessed Sandy might be his alpha husband or partner. Jealousy clawed at my insides, and I looked ahead to a grim future if my fated mate was bound to another man.

As if sensing the thoughts running through my head, Damon added, "Sandy is my brother."

Brother! That's wonderful. My dragon rejoiced.

"If you trust me, I can move your car and get your phone." Even if he didn't ask, I'd grab water and a sandwich from the hospital cafeteria. "But I understand if you don't."

He looked at me, and I noted his eyes ringed with shadows. "After what I've been through, I don't give a damn about my car." He shook his head. "Not quite true, as it'd be hard getting to work." He dangled the keys at me, gave me the vehicle's general location, and told me the license plate. "Thank you."

I assured him I wouldn't be long, but I hoped his car hadn't been towed. But when I found the vehicle, it wasn't parked illegally. Its butt was sticking out and the parking attendant was standing beside it, speaking into his walkie-talkie.

"Is this yours?"

"No, a friend's. His kid was rushed here. Emergency."

The guy's stern expression vanished, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. "Sad. We see too much of that here."

I reversed out and parked within the lines before retrieving the phone that was on the console before taking a peek into the back seat. There's a booster seat, and while I didn't have kids, my cousin did, and that seat went everywhere with him when they visited me.

Not an adult or teen. The kid was likely in elementary school in the lower years. I tucked the phone in my pocket, and after scouring the car for anything Damon might need, like a driver's license, I headed off to get the food.

As I trundled around the cafeteria, collecting drinks, food, and snacks, I thought about Damon calling his brother. Other than George, was Sandy his next of kin?

When the cashier told me what I owed, I fumbled with my phone, having to bring up the QR code twice. She sighed, and her gaze flicked to the customer behind me as if to say, "Sorry, this is probably the first time he's used a code."

I move away with two bags of food and drink, sweat once again lining my palms. What if the alpha dad was out of the country? A FIFO, fly-in, fly-out, worker? Or he might've been on a business trip.

He could be dead, my beast offered.

Stop!While I wanted Damon for my mate and I'd grieve if he had one already or didn't want me, I wasn't going to wish death on this possible mate.

It's just a word. My dragon didn't understand how the D word affected people.

When I exited the elevator, the nurse confronted me. I held up the food and the phone and said Damon had asked me to get them. And I added, "George is out of surgery and doing well."

She glared at me, and I could feel her eyes on me as I headed toward the waiting room. I entered with a flourish, proud of everything I'd bought, but the place was empty, the only reminder of Damon was a hint of his scent as it lingered in the air.

Find him. My dragon wasn't going to take his scales because he'd destroy this floor, but he was telling me to shout Damon's name and open every door.

He might have gone to the bathroom. I hoped that was where he'd gone. What if George was transferred to another hospital? I'd only been gone twenty minutes. Nothing major could have happened, I convinced myself.

But I sank onto the chair Damon had occupied and inhaled his unique aroma.

Had I found my fated mate, only to lose him?