Like Burning Rain (boyxboy)

Chapter Fourteen

Talon sat in his car looking at a huge, three story mansion. He had probably been sitting there with his mouth hanging open for quite a while. Ii was part shock that kept him in the car. It wasn't every day you found out your mate was rich. The other, and much larger, thing that kept him there was fear.

He had been afraid many, many times since meeting Jericho, but those times didn't compare at all to what he was feeling now. It felt like giant, man-eating butterflies were trying to destroy his abdominal region from the inside out. He had begun to sweat, and he felt almost like he was going to pass out.

He was going to be having dinner with Jericho's mother and Ash tonight. His mom Talon could understand, as she had a job that made it hard for her to find time, but he considered it cruel of Jericho to invite Ash. Especially since he was almost certain the boy hated him because of what he had done to Talon. Even though they were back together he seriously doubted Ash would have forgotten what a bastard Talon had been.

It was also his birthday, which just added a whole other drama to his day. Tonight he would have to go in front of his entire pack and declare he couldn't become alpha. It was going to break his heart, but Jericho and what they were doing together were worth it. They were going to make the world a better place, and that required sacrifice on both their parts.

He looked over and noticed eyes watching him from behind the curtains of a front window. He met Ash's eyes for a brief moment, but the hostility there was enough to confirm what he had already known. Ash hated his guts for hurting his best friend, and honestly, Talon couldn't blame the guy. He actually kind of hated himself sometimes for it.

He looked away form the accusing glare and sighed. He probably looked like a coward sitting ot here afraid to go in. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep, calming breaths and then got out of the car. He paused for a moment and realized him and Jericho had been taking a lot of calming breaths lately. This past month had been a whirlwind, and sometimes Talon had to wonder if it was actually real, or just some crazy dream.

He went around to the other side and grabbed a bouquet from the back seat. He figured it might get him some point from Jericho's mom. Just as he was about to knock the door flung open, almost causing him to pee his pants and scream like a girl.

"My mother is a crazy person." Jericho said by way of greeting. Talon grinned and dipped down to give him a quick kiss on his lips.

"In case you haven't noticed my love, you are quite the crazy person yourself." Talon said as he pulled back.

"Okay, but with her it is like she took some kind of weirdo steroid. Like instead of building muscle, it just built craziness." He looked over his shoulder as if afraid his mother would hear.

"That's all right, I love crazy" Talon whispered in Jericho's ear with a smile. Jericho's eyes lit up and he smiled as well, grabbing Talon in a quick hug. He then dragged him inside and shut the door behind them and started leading him through his house.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Birthday," Jericho said over his shoulder while still dragging Talon through the house. Talon grinned at Jericho, but inside his stomach did another little flip flop. He needed no reminders of his birthday, and honestly didn't consider it as happy an occasion as he had always thought. Then again, that was back when he had thought he would become alpha on his birthday.

Talon was jerked out of his pity party by a loud screech. He jerked back, causing Jericho to stumble back into him. He wrapped his arms protectively around his mate, anticipating a gun wielding murderer to burst into the room at any second. When nothing happened for several seconds he slightly relaxed his hold on Jericho.