Ancient Wings : Book 1 - Aegis

31 - Reaching Out

Cidney was standing in a room, a giant room, with blank white walls and fluorescent lights above.

Everywhere he looked, there were filing cabinets. Some were open, the contents spilling out, some were closed. Papers and files were stacked high on top of some of them. The floor was littered with papers.

It was a mess.

"You've worked with a telepath before," he said, not knowing where Khaius was.

There was a creak behind him. He turned.

Khaius was getting out of an old wooden desk chair. His inner mental projection was shocking. His hair was disheveled. His face had at least a two-day growth of stubble. His grey slacks were wrinkled, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He leaned against the old wooden roll top desk and ran his hand through his hair.

"Yes, once. She taught me how to make it easier to communicate with a telepath if I ever needed to," he admitted.

He was still stunned by the way he looked.

Khaius's gold eyes wandered around the room.

Cidney walked over to stand in front of him.

"This is my mind since I met you. Everything was fine, orderly, I had control. Everything had a place and a purpose. Then you came and everything is..." Khaius turned his head to meet his eyes.

The man was lost behind those eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you yesterday," he said softly. "I'm sorry about all my criticism. I'm sorry about the way I've been with you since we met." His eyes dropped to his legs. "Is there any lasting damage?"

"No damage," he assured him. "I'm just sore."

Khaius looked away to the room of files again. "I thought keeping you away would help me keep control. Keep my emotions under control. But it hasn't. It's just made it worse."

His heart ached. In here, he could feel the strain Khaius had put himself under.

"There's control, Khaius, and then there is TOO MUCH control," he said softly. "You can't control every emotion. You can control how you react to it, but-"

"You don't understand, I HAVE to have that control," Khaius said softly.

"You can't control whether or not you have an emotion or a feeling. If you're stabbed with a blade, it's going to hurt. There's nothing you can do about that, it's a fact. All you can do is deal with it," he told him.

Khaius's shoulders sagged a little as he exhaled. "Why not?" his voice was barely a whisper.

He moved closer, reached up and cupped the man's neck.

"Because you have a heart, Khai," he whispered back.

"But I have to have that control, otherwise... my family..." Khaius stopped and swallowed hard. "I'm the most powerful alpha male of our specie."

"Could you end the world?" he asked.

Khaius blinked at him. His eyes clearing.

"No."

"Then why not let yourself feel?" he said softly.

Khaius's hands moved to Cidney's waist as he pulled him closer, until he had to tilt his head back to see his face.