"Dad's gone," my cousin's voice was barely above a whisper. "You must come home for the Evaluations," she uttered and the phone line went dead.
*****
After Keri's Uncle - the Alpha of the Silver Bullets pack - loses his battle with cancer, the young...
I watched them leave hand in hand, smiling at each other, stopping at my gate to wave at me, and all I could think was that I wouldn't have what they did.
Never, ever, ever - the words refused to move out of my mind, chilling me far more than the winter weather.
I walked inside my empty house with heavy steps and numbly began to tidy up the table. I moved mechanically, putting dishes into the sink, leftovers into the trashcan and the tablecloth into the laundry basket.
If we'd had our dinner at Rhys and Riley's place, they'd be doing this together. Rhys would take out the trash, Riley would put the tablecloth into the laundry basket and they'd chat while soaping and rinsing the dishes.
I didn't have it in me to do the dishes tonight so I grabbed another beer and parked my ass on the couch in my living room, not bothering to turn on the lights as I walked in.
I opened the can, took a generous gulp from the beverage and snorted.
Maybe if I turned into an alcoholic, Callum and I would finally have something in common. We could sit next to each other at some dingy bar, him with his whiskey and me with my beer.
Why did he have to be the way he was?
I didn't mind the age gap, huge as it was, but why the drinking, why the chain smoking, why the hatred for my kind?
Granted, hatred might be going too far, but a strong dislike was there.
Why?
Why him?
Who paired us up and why him?
My phone gave one short buzz - a message notification - and I took it out of my pocket.
Will you help me pick an engagement ring for Riley?
A ring.
I laughed.
Of course Rhys wasn't going to buy something sexy; he wanted something that would show commitment.
Yes, I typed with a smile and hit Send.
My old best friend and my new one were going to get married. I knew they were talking about a mating ceremony and I couldn't wait for them to pick a date so I, as the Alpha, could lead the rites, but I had no idea Rhys was ready to propose marriage.
Looking back on how nervous he'd been tonight, perhaps he wasn't; perhaps he just wanted to grab the ring to practice his speech with it and offer it to Riley when Rhys thought it was the perfect moment to do so.
My phone buzzed again.
Tomorrow afternoon? Riley is working second shift
Tomorrow afternoon it is then, I agreed.
Meet me at my place at 3?
Sure
I didn't get any more texts after that so I returned to staring at the wall, my fingers tapping the beer can.
"An engagement ring..." I muttered, finishing my drink with a few large gulps.
Yet one more thing I'll never, ever, ever have.
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