His Wolf

Chapter 9: Boundaries and Doors

"You lied to me, again!" Arthit shouted.

Kongpob growled loud at the accusation but Arthit didn't bother looking at him. He knew what he would see and he wasn't about to let Kongpob's wolf manipulate him into forgiving him for something they had spoken about only hours ago.

You know I need to be here. I need to be able to see you.

"I do not want to see you."

Arthit?

The pain in that one word nearly brought him to his knees. When Kongpob reached for him, he side-stepped and he walked the rest of the distance to his room. Everything in him was telling him to go back and listen to what Kongpob had to say. He let himself into his apartment while Kongpob hovered—part beseeching and part vigilant.

Watching and waiting and wanting.

Instead of letting him in, he slammed the door shut behind him. He couldn't let Kongpob in no matter how much he knocked or how long he begged him to listen. Arthit felt good about his choice on a purely intellectual level. He had to exercise the right to make decisions for himself. To establish boundaries before he was swallowed up by everything Kongpob was.

He didn't expect it to hurt. To feel abject misery and pain coming through their bond in waves that threatened to crush him under their weight. He wanted it to stop but he couldn't see Kongpob and not feel like he was being pressured into letting him have his way.

It wasn't right that his mate felt the need to lie. That was the point. If he felt the need to keep things from his mate, what kind of chance did they have for a lasting future? A future Arthit no longer felt sure of.

He twisted and turned in bed. His dreams were a confusing mess of anger and fear and the ever-present arousal. His body needed Kongpob on a fundamental level. Wilfully keeping them apart felt like putting a dull blade to his skin and sawing away for endless hours.

He woke up poorly rested and irritable. Not a surprise when he found a paper bag hanging on his door with breakfast and a note. Not a surprise that he was both thankful and frustrated by the man he loved.

If he couldn't be a functional human being, he could at least be a well-fed one, he said to himself, as he ate what Kongpob had left for him.

They needed to talk. They needed to clear the air between them or it would grate at them until it left nothing behind. Arthit wasn't sure where or how to begin. The concern was pushed aside in favour of paying attention to what he had power over; getting to work on time and doing his job to the best of his ability.

He found pink milk on his desk when he finally made it. He would have kissed P'Earth if he didn't think Todd would kill him, five seconds after she eviscerated him. Taking a long swallow, he felt his body loosen up. Arthit took his first full breath since the night before. His senses were alive and he wanted nothing more than to bask in the feeling while it lasted.

"Thanks for this," he said when P'Earth walked into the office drinking her own glass of pink milk.

"I didn't buy it. I thought you bought it for me."

They both looked at their half-empty takeaway cups. P'Earth shrugged and continued drinking but Arthit was still caught up in his thoughts. He already knew who had done it but Todd confirmed it.

"It was the new intern. He said it was a thank you."

"Which intern?" P'Earth asked with a sly look in Arthit's direction.

"N'Kong."

"I'll be sure to thank him later."

Arthit didn't know what P'Earth was playing at this time but he wanted to eviscerate her himself. Instead, he opened his computer and hoped he could maintain enough focus to get anything done and block out everything and everyone else. It wasn't easy when he kept checking his phone. Worse when there was nothing to see except notifications from the office chat about the interns' progress.