My Mate's Touch

Chapter 30 - Luca

Last night's dinner was really amazing, but the air in the room turned sour when Elias came back from the restroom. His shoulders were slumped and he looked like he was going to break down if anyone asked him if he was ok.

I was sick of this. He'd been in a slump for about a week now. I tried to respect his space and give him time, but things only seemed to be getting worse.

Not long after Elias returned, Xander came back and sat down in his seat with a similar mood. They were both uncomfortably quiet and tension filled the once pleasant room. Aspen, Felix and I sensed it immediately and Felix decided to end the dinner before things could head south.

"It is getting a bit late, and I don't have an off day tomorrow," He groaned, popping his knuckles. "Thank you guys for coming. We'll have to do this again sometime."

"Of course, alpha Felix. Thank you so much for inviting us," Aspen said, getting up and pushing in her chair.

Elias and I did the same, waving goodbye and following Aspen to the large doors of the dining hall. I turned my head around as we walked away, and Felix's warm smile brightened when he saw me looking at him. My cheeks reddened and I turned my head away reflexively. Why did he make me feel so strange all the time?

Earlier this morning, Aspen dragged Elias and I to the training grounds again. Honestly, I didn't mind getting some exercise in today because of the giant steak I'd had last night. Aspen and I had made our way to my door and she'd already opened it, but we turned our heads around to see Elias still sitting on the couch, a blank expression on his face.

I immediately went to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" I tried to ask as gently as I could, but I think it came out more forcefully than I intended.

I noticed he had dark circles under his eyes when he looked up at me. "Sorry, I didn't get much rest last night. I'm kind of in a daze."

"Oh. Are you sure you want to get out then?" Aspen questioned in mild concern.

He nodded and stood up slowly. We left my apartment and walked to the training grounds in silence. Elias' drastic mood shift had made a significant change in our time together. When we would hang out now, there would be awkward gaps in our conversations or just Aspen and I talking all together. Hopefully I could get something out of him when we got to the training grounds, even if just a little.

Aspen put her hair up in a ponytail and went out to the field while Elias and I sat on the benches. I got up and grabbed two cold bottles of water, handing Elias one and then I began to speak.

"Elias, you have to talk to me," I nearly begged. "This is going too far. I have no idea what's going on and I can't help if I don't know what you're going through. Please just talk to me."

He turned his head to look at me and his eyes appeared to have a layer of tears over them. "Luca," He spoke, his voice wavering and his lips trembling slightly. "I wish I could. I wish I could tell you so badly. I'm in between a rock and a hard place right now. I can't tell you, but no matter what decision I make, someone's going to get hurt."

My eyes widened at his cryptic statement and my expression grew extremely concerned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

A single tear slid down his cheek. "I'm sorry. I can't say."

I internally grimaced but I knew I couldn't push the conversation further. Elias was in deep, whatever was going on. I had to fix this, or find out how.

As I leaned over to pick my water bottle up from the ground, I noticed Felix making his way straight over towards us. He wore a small smile, one of courtesy, and his blue green eyes seemed to glimmer in the sunlight.

"Hi, you two," He greeted.

I looked up at him in surprise. "I thought you had to work today?"

He rubbed the nape of his neck sheepishly. "I should be working today, but I just couldn't bring myself to," He admitted.

I chuckled quietly and then our conversation fell into an awkward pause.

"I just wanted to say thank you. For coming to dinner last night, I mean. I know that you both probably still don't feel completely comfortable here, so I hope you at least enjoyed last night."

I could feel myself starting to blush again. Why did this always happen? It was probably because I associated him with my first heat now... Still, I didn't realize that he cared so much about Elias and I feeling welcomed in his pack.

"It was great. Thank you for inviting us," I responded, averting my gaze to look at Elias.

Felix's smile fell as he was instantly able to tell that Elias still wasn't his usual happy self. He left soon after, and both of us looked at each other as he walked off. For some reason, I felt sad watching him go even though I knew he'd still be around the training grounds. I couldn't help but want to talk to him again.

I snapped out of my unwanted thoughts and took a drink of my water. More than anything right now, I had to find out what was wrong with Elias. His unhappiness had gone too far.

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Luca is at his limit and has to know why Elias is so down lately. How will he react once he finds out? If you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a vote and comment what you thought! - D ♡