Hey Jealousy

Oliver

Adair growled in protest as we left Lya’s room.

'We need to be with her,' he insisted.

'Adair,' I sighed, 'you know that will just set her off.'

'Her wolf won’t mind.' His tone made it clear he was not willing to negotiate, and it was a feat to maintain control.

'But the one running the show will,' I said. My comment made him whimper. He knew I was right. I felt him recede back to the corners of my mind and curl up in a ball.

Trevor glanced over at me. “I’m guessing that’s not really the first encounter you expected,” he said.

I shrugged. “If you asked me even a week ago, no.” I paused, actually thinking about what transpired. I was hurt by the fact that I was losing out on that one magical, irreplaceable moment when both mates realize at the same time. And it hurt that I would have to hide it from her for who knows how long. I knew those things before walking through the door, though. My grandmother was right - I am more or less trying to court a human. “But given what I know now, it’s what I expected.”

“I know this will make Adair puff up and be all overprotective,” Trevor chuckled, “but she really does have a heart of gold. She has walls, you’ll think you know her one minute, and then she’ll throw a curveball the next. I was convinced she hated me for the longest time and she only came into the brewery for the beer. Then she made me a cheesecake for my birthday.”

I laughed at that. “So I know I’m on her good side when she makes me a cheesecake?”

“Oh, god, you do not want her cheesecake. It’s the worst thing I have ever tasted.” He shuddered at the thought.

Adair bristled up with jealousy. Dude, you’re going to have to get used to the fact that she had a life before she met us, I said. Protective alpha wolves were seriously a force to be reckoned with.

Dr. Whitledge was standing at the reception desk when we walked through the lobby. “Hello, Alpha, Trevor,” he greeted.

I nodded at him and smiled as I walked over to the desk. “So what are the chances we can get her out of here before Thursday or Friday?” I asked. My mate did not want to be here, and I would do what I could to grant that wish.

Dr. Whitledge gave me a hard look. “Asking her to be here for three days was already sending her home earlier than I would like,” he said.

“Oh, come on,” I encouraged. “She’ll be staying at the packhouse, you are there all the time when someone gets hurt on the training grounds. You could still easily check up on her throughout the day.”

He sighed. “I really do not want to. She’s human practically, and realistically I’d want her here for a week.” He paused, taking in my expression. “But we will see how she’s doing tomorrow morning, and she may be able to go home tomorrow night. Absolutely no promises, though.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you so much, Doc. I know she will appreciate it.”

We left, making the short drive back to the packhouse. Trevor hopped out of the car and headed in. He stayed at the packhouse whenever he was back in our territory. That hadn’t happened very frequently over the past four years. In fact, I had hardly heard from him in all the time he had been away, constantly jumping from place to place. In the past couple years, though, he had settled down and was working as a manager at a brewery in a college town. He had initially left under the pretenses of finding his mate, but I was beginning to think that hadn’t been the case.

“Before you go, can I have a word in my office quickly?” I asked.

Without even looking back at me, he changed his trajectory and headed to my office. He waltzed in, sitting at the chair in front of my desk. I flopped down on the couch. We didn’t do formal meetings.

“So how have things been going?” I asked.

Trevor laughed. “Well, the only thing of interest I’ve brought back to the pack was a screwed up she-wolf, so not well.” Adair growled at his assessment, but I pushed him back.

“Are you ready to come home yet?”

“I dunno, man,” he sighed. “I’m starting to think I don’t know if I’m running away and hiding or out to hunt down.”

I waved away the thought. “Didn’t your dad always used to say life has a way of finding you, without ever going out and searching?”

“I guess I should probably just start living my life instead of just chasing it.” He looked down at his hands. Giving up would be a big deal for him, but he was twenty-six, and had been away from the pack for a long time. If he didn’t come back soon, I would need to start pushing him to go rogue.

“You know, I haven’t filled my Beta position yet,” I reminded him. My father’s Beta was sitting as mine, but it was common knowledge that each new alpha chose their own hierarchy. I was holding that spot for Trevor as long as I could.

He sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. “Can I have a couple days to think about it?” he asked.

I nodded. “How long are you planning on staying this time?”

“Just until Lya gets settled in the packhouse, then I need to head back. I can’t just disappear from work for forever,” Trevor said. He scrunched his nose. Wolves rarely did okay with the monotony of human social structure. Here at the pack, if he had disappeared from his job on pack business for a week or so, no one would have thought twice. Out where he was, that wasn’t the case. “I told them there was an emergency back home.”

“So just let me know before you head out,” I suggested. A few more days wouldn’t be detrimental, seeing as it had already been eight years. I understood why he wanted to wait when he was just eighteen. Even before he left at twenty I empathized with wanting a chance to get out in the world before tying himself down to the pack. Now… not so much.

He stood up to leave. “I’m gonna go get some sleep, then. Sleeping in a hospital chair is not restful.” I nodded, and Trevor left.

I flopped back on the couch, absolutely exhausted.

'I swear to god, Adair, if you keep me awake all night again, I will start wearing a silver bracelet.'

Adair rumbled. 'Not funny.' He was right.

'So what do we do?' I asked.

'We could go sit with her,' he suggested.

'We can’t be overbearing,' I reminded him. 'She isn’t a wolf.'

'You could call your brother.'

I sighed, looking over at the clock to calculate the time change. After a nap. I closed my eyes. Please don’t keep me awake this time.

Adair was anxious. He was pacing, whining, and begging to return to the hospital.

'If I go there, will you let me sleep?' I asked.

'Maybe.'

The only way I was ever going to sleep was if I shut up my wolf. It seemed like the only way that was going to happen was attempting to sleep in a hospital chair, which Trevor had already testified was ill advised. I rolled off the couch and stumbled toward the door, grumbling all the way to the pack hospital. I kept my head down as I walked through the halls. I just wanted sleep, not any of the interaction always expected of me when I was out of the packhouse. I flung open the door. Lya’s face was peaceful, giving no indication of my loud entrance.

'Happy now?' I asked Adair. His only response was a contented hum.

I swear, we were asleep before we hit the chair.