Leg twitching again I sat two tables away from him. My eyes kept going over the boy, scanning him, waiting for any discomfort.
"U gonna eat that?" Brax threw a fork in my steak and slide it onto his plate. I wasn't hungry anyway. Wait had Leo eaten anything? I glanced towards him again. God I was such a mess for him.
Luke flew in from the window and shifted before taking a seat infront of me. He stuck his head in my perfect line towards Leo and I growled at him. "Whoa... easy there kitty cat"
"Toilet scrubbing got his panties in a bunch" Brax barked out.
I moaned and slam dunked my head on the table covering my ears and any annoying friends.
Five hours I had been apart from him, and already a sloppy mess. I had done my duity, scrubbed the shared toilets on first, second and third floor, squeaky clean. At least I thought I would be sitting next to him at dinner, but nooooo, my father, brought Leo to the table furthest away from me, silently punishing me.
I was not going to crawl my way towards them, I was strong, after all i was a prince, moaning my discomfort into the table.
And just like that i caved. As a slippery banana peal I slid down my seate and on to the floor like a puddle. So sophisticated I know. Shiftet to my Lynx and here I was, doing exactly what I wasn't going to do, crawling and squeezing through legs and feet to get to him. My man.
I reached their table only to find an empty seat were Leo once sat. "Where is he?"
My father eyed me warily. "He went to his room" I turned on my heal but my father grabed my arm and held me back. "Think about him". He released me and turned towards his table again.
Think about him? My head had been filled with him all day long, not a minute passed where I didn't not think about him....
I jogged up to our room and called out for him "Leo"
No answer.
My animal close to surface I sniffed. His scent hung in the air, he was here. I walked towards the bedroom, and reached a closed door. I rattled the handle, damn it, why could this only lock from the inside. An ear against the door I lisen for any sound, shufling feet on floor, steady breating, but nothing. He was to far away, I needed to get closer, I felt like I had to get closer. Like an unberable itch getting stronger.
Walking a few steps from the door I bolted towards it, shoulder in first and shatherd the lock from its hold, the door blew open with a loud bang.
Ignoring the pain in my shoulder I scaned quickly the room, empty, eyes locked onto the next closed door. Another obsticle. Running towards it I slamed my hands flat onto the doors surface, head tilted to the side, listening. Small faint heartbeats loomed on the other side. My breath caught and I stilled.
With my head still glued to the door I slumped down to the floor. Leo's sweater hung over the bed side and I yanked it to me, stuffed my nose in the exotic scent and huged it tightly. My fathers words hung over me like a wicked spiderweb, -think about him- I sighed an slowly closed my eyes.
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Shifting uncomfortable, my head slowly waking up to the familiar sound of a horn signaling breakfast is ready. I rubbed my eyes against my palms, the litle sleep I have gotten through the night was far from enough. Lifting myself up from the floor next to the door I hear a low moan from the other side. Low mumble followed "What the fuck was that?"
Tilting my head to the side, bones crackling complaints against my sleeping arragement. "Breakfast" I drew down the hood and frowned at the tightness of the sweater before realising I had put on Leo's sweater some time during the night. Quicky tugging it of and tossing it back to the bed were I found it. "So... do you want to walk down together?"
"Um... Yeah" shuffling sounded, a slight click of the lock and the door open, revealing a tired looking Leo. His eyes lifted to me and he stoped abruptly "uhm" swallowing, adams apple bobbing in his throat "clothes, maybe some clothes first"
I followed his gaze down my body. I barely had clothes on. Chest bare, revealing a Lynx tattooed over my shoulder its paw gliding down my chest, my pants were unzipped and showed a gray boxer underneath and a big bulke was spiking its interest in the boy infront of me.
Slowly turning to the closet grabing a red sweater tosing it on casually and zipping up the pants, trying not to think to much about his lingering gaze. "Better?" I turned to him and gave him a mocking grin.
His face motionless. Great. What now? Do I hold out a hand for him? Thinking of walking hand in hand with him made me feel giddy all of a sudden. But it was short lived as Leo marched out of the room towards the meat hall. I was jogging to keep up with him. His hands were tucked together in his sweater pocket, stupid pockets.
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The next days was horrible.
Breakfast sucked, he barely said a word to me. I tried multible times to strike up an conversation, but the boy barely grunted a response and kept filling his mouth with porridge, it was a small confort having him next to me, but it did nothing for the ache in my chest.
We had several out post, guarding our land, and my mission, for a month, would be middle ground. The ground was more a swamp pach, situated from the white hill in the east and the pine trees in the north located in the midle of our terraine. Outepost were scatterd further out, so the chance of some rogue slipping by were thin.
I thought at least patroling the middle ground, as boring as it was, would spike his interest to talk to me. But no. Watching him fly over the pine trees in the north, paws deep in mud i stept up my pace and ran up the steep hill trying to keep up with him. His golden wings soaring through the air, keeping his distance from me.
After lunch toilet scrubbing duty were on and Leo politely declined going with every time, can't say im surprised.
I usually left Leo with the guys, not wanting him to be alone. They were just hanging out playing video games and talking. They told me he was doing alright with them, a bit distante, but playing and talking with them, slowly putting his guard down. But to me the guard was on high alert coated with barbed wire. To my disappointment Leo rarely even looked at me, not to mention talked to me.
Today after toilet scrubbing I slomped down in the couch next to Leo and let out an heavy sigh.
Luke handed me a bottle of beer. "Jesus, Rex! You look like crap"
Great just like I feel on the inside. I filled my cheeks with beer and let it slowly slide down my throat, I ached for something stronger.
"Toilet scrubbing ain't that bad" Brax said, sitting in the chair next to me with the gaming control in his hand, waiting for Luke to choose his car. "I take that anyday over middle patrol".
"No way, mud before shit!" Luke chimed in.
"But there's nothing out there in the mud" Brax clicked frantic on the game control trying to get Luke to hurry up. "its been like what.... 3 years since that rogue slipped past the first place border and middle patrol caught the sneaky fox" He turned to his brother, trying to snach his gaming control. "Just pick the yellow camaro as you always do!"
Luke swiped Brax hands away and continued clicking through the choices. "still mud before shit dude!" with a last klikk he chose the yellow camaro and pushed the green go button.
"What happend to the fox?" Leo asked picking lightly on the edges of the beer bottle sticker.
It had been a couple of days since I have heard him speak a whole sentence, I was abruptly taken a back, but I pulled myself quickly together again. "He received his punishment" I stated.
"Why did you punish him?"Leo glanced towards me
"He broke through our parameter" I answered him back.
Leo shifted slightly towards me "maybe he was just out for a stroll and accidentally went through your weak border."
"My borders are not weak" I growled "He went sneaking inn knowing exactly what he was doing."
"Your kings borders" he stated.
"What?"
"Its not yours, you are not the king, it was the kings borders that was weak" he replied, voice cold.
"My borders are not weak, I mean my kings border, or whatever, they are not weak! The fox sneaked through and received his punishment for it"
He snickered down at his bottle, "typical" and took a sip from his beer.
I tok another sip from my beer "It was just a rogue."
His stiled, "just a rogue" did you ever stop and think just for a minute that they are shifters too?"
My heart racing I barked out "rogues abandon their pack to go live in the wild, they made their choice, I don't owe them anything"
"Well then let me enlighten you, most of the shifters are cast out from their pack, it was never a choice to become a rogue. That somewhere out there, far from your little world, there is a boy being tossed out of his pack because his father didn't want a rabbit for a son, or a wife being forced to live as a rogue after her husband rejected her for not concieving him a child?"
He sat his beer down at the table before continuing "Or maby somewhere there is a young prince going rogue after beeing rejected by his father after being mated with a man."
I looked at him with dumbfounded shook, wide eyes, mouth open, no words coming out.
"Im starting to regret my decision." A golden flare shot around him and he shiftet mid air. Strong hawk wings taking him from me, flying through the window and he was gone.
Somewhere along the line the guys had stopped playing, the yellow camaro flashing a bad crash on the tv, their faces still glued to the screen, sitting still, waiting. I swallowed hard staring out the window after him. My animal close to the surface.
"Fuck" I growled and threw the bottle towards the wall, glass shatterd everywhere. Shifting I leaped through the door, wanting to run, needing the run, my animal gladly taking over.
It was a few hours to morning when I returned to the bedroom, scared shitless that he wouldn't be there I draged my body through the doorframe, stoping mid step as I notice the bathroom door wide open. My heart did a double take, and sweet snoring noise came from the bed. Leo was sleeping with his back to me one leg hanging out of the bed, and my red sweater huging him tightly.
I sighed in relief. My eyes flickered to his bag, neatly packed by the door. Heart thumping fast, I slowly walked up to him, loonging to be near him I slid down on the floor next to the bed. Pushing my knee up so our legs were breefly touching, being close to him sent shivers through my body. The thought of loosing him made my eyes water. My breath got cought and i swallowed down the heavy buble in my throat.
"Im sorry" I whispered to my oh so still mate.