Fallen (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 10 - Lunch

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*Kendrick's POV*

The sudden ringing barely broke my concentration and I reached to tap the speaker to silence the phone while continuing to keep my eyes on the paper in front of me.

"Alpha, Beta and Lyall are here to see you. Would you like me to let them in?" one of my assistants' voices rang through the room as I made a note of what I had just read.

"Yes. Thank you, Aiden." The call ended immediately afterwards and I continued reading as the door to my office pushed open.

"We're here to make you have lunch," Lyall's speaking caused my eyes to shift to the lower corner of the screen in front of me.

It was almost four, three hours after my lunch break had been scheduled. I tilted my head wondering why Aiden had not told me about it but spotting the carton of food at the edge of my desk reminded me that he had walked in saying something I had not quite heard because I was focused on work at the time, I had not even noticed he had come all the way to my desk. It was probably him telling me he bought some food for me to eat. My eyes shifted back to the paperwork as I reached for an index tab to stick it alongside the line I had just finished reading.

"Thanks," I mumbled attempting to grab the carton but Lyall pushed it further out of my reach.

"We're heading to a restaurant. Come on."

"I'm working." I pointed in case he had not noticed, he obviously had.

"As are we. We'll get back to it. Come, your mother told me to send her pictures of us eating." I frowned as Zev took a picture of the carton of food. Gosh, she was still as fixated on me as ever despite my having made sure to move all the way to the other side of the pack just so she could focus on herself a bit.

"Fine."

I knew if we did not send the pictures, she would literally drive out to the building to check up on us and bring us food. It made a bit of sense. Zev and I used to be so focused on training and work when we were growing up that we barely ever remembered to do basic things like eat or sleep. Okay, that sometimes still happened which was probably why she still felt the need to constantly check on me through my friends or assistants because I rarely looked at my phone when I was working.

"Let me put some of this away first," I said reaching for the files I had been looking through earlier.

"How's using your wish going?" I knew Zev would tell Lyall and Amelia about that.

I shrugged turning from the pair to head over to the shelves further away from my desk. "I'm thinking about it."

"What?" Their surprise was simultaneous and I repeated what I had just said. "What do you mean, 'thinking about it'? Kendrick, your mate was taken from you, you have the chance to get them back. Why wouldn't you be all over this? What is there to think about?" Lyall asked.

"Well, I'm used to things as they are now. I prefer having choices; being able to be with whoever I want, whenever I want, however many times I want without anyone saying anything about it." I glanced over to wink at Zev just to piss him off, it was basically automatic after years of our interactions. His instant disgust was amusing as I turned to slide a file into its place on the shelf. The bracelet that bound Talian to me was hidden below my sleeve at the moment as I could not be bothered to slow down when I was dressing in order to slide it over the shirt's cuff. "It's a big shift to just... be with one person suddenly. I doubt I'll be into that." The thought caused a slightly uncomfortable twist in my stomach.

"But... this is your mate we're talking about," he said.

Yeah, but apart from being occasionally jealous of the connection and relationship other people had with their mates, I did not think about having my own. I knew it was impossible for most of my life so there was no point in thinking too much about what could have been. There was no reason to wonder about something that could never happen, to think of a mate as important to me. Until now.

"They're just another person, really."

"No, they're not." I looked over at Lyall, my eyes shifting to Zev who had taken a seat on one of the sofas surrounding the coffee table. He had not said much, and I figured it was because he had not found his mate yet. Lyall have a breath, a familiar smile appearing on his face that made it incredibly obvious he was thinking about Belvine. "They're everyone and everything, Kendrick. The most important being you'll ever meet, the most important aspect of your life... the best thing about being what we are. It's what makes a werewolf."

"I'm sure being a werewolf is what makes a werewolf, Lyall." Zev's response made me chuckle as Lyall's eyes narrowed at our Beta.

"Shut up, you'll understand when you meet your mate." His smile returned once again as he stared dreamily towards the glass wall that showcased the city outside. "No one comes close. They're perfect in every way, the only person you ever want to spend every second of every day with, the person you feel empty without. You'll see." He looked back at me.

I turned back to the shelf to pretend to fix a book as I thought about all of that. It sounded intriguing, but also overwhelming and honestly quite terrifying. That kind of commitment and devotion to one person had never been expected of me, had never been something I expected myself to have towards someone. Being that attached to and adoring someone so much seemed like a lot as well. I liked the casual, no strings attached, no promises or heavy bonding thing I had going ever since I'd started seeing people. 

Still, I did not need to meet and then be without my mate to feel empty, I had always felt that ever since the witch took them from me. Whether I chose to ignore it or not, it was clear something was missing. I could live with that, though. It was familiar.

"You think saying that is going to make him want to meet his mate? Do you know this guy?" Zev spoke up before he scoffed. "If anything, you've just solidified his choice to keep fucking anything that dares go near him as long as it doesn't ask to be in a relationship afterwards."

"Zev!" I chuckled at Lyall's immediate, offended outrage.

"He's right. What's fun about not having a different person whenever I feel like a different approach to hooking up?" I asked.

"What?" Zev seemed confused while Lyall rolled his eyes and I chuckled at our Beta's inexperience. He was literally waiting until he met his mate. It was admirable in a sense. I would never, but it could be sweet. He was one of the people most devoted to their mates and he had not even met his yet. Not that I would tell him I thought any of that.

"For example, if I wanted to fuck someone vanilla, innocent and probably boring, I'd just hook up with you. But since I prefer more... skilled, carnal and exciting partners, Cuan is more appealing. And if I want –"

"Shut up, I don't want to know about why you fuck the people you do. Our reservation is in five minutes." I chuckled as Zev climbed off the couch to head to the door and I moved over to my desk to call Aiden.

"Yes, Alpha?"

"Don't let anyone upstairs." Only my and Zev's offices were on the top floor.

"Got it."

I hung up and grabbed my phone before following the pair towards the elevator.

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Thank you for reading :D