Cronan is angry. Angry that after years of waiting, he's mated to the one wolf he never wanted.
Fen is stuck. Stuck in a state of purgatory that he doesn't know how to escape from.
After learning of his mate's crimes, Cronan never expected to see h...
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"I like it," Reed hummed in approval as he walked through the empty house. "It's much bigger than that shoebox apartment you called a house." I rolled my eyes at my brother and looked around. It was bigger, but I wasn't sure I shared the same sentiments as Reed. Noticing my lack of response, Reed paused and turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
"It just...it feels empty," I told him and I didn't mean because there were no items in it. Maybe empty wasn't the right word, lonely? It felt lonely.
"That's just because you haven't actually moved in yet. Give it some time and I'm sure it'll grow on you."
"It's not that," I shook my head and took a seat against the wall. "Back at the apartments, everyone was still close by. It was kind of like having an official pack, you know? Here, there's only me."
"Do you want to move back into the apartments?" Reed questioned.
I'd be lying if I said the idea hadn't crossed my mind, but I shook my head. "No, it wouldn't feel the same."
A large part of why I stayed there in the first place was because of Arlo and then Eli. Now that Eli was leaving and Arlo and I hadn't talked much, it didn't feel right to stay there.
"It'll grow on me," I repeated his words. If I continued to do so then maybe it'd become the truth.
"You could always come back home," Reed said quietly. "Mom, Dad, and I miss you, you know."
"Reed."
"Cronan."
"I can't," I told him. "You know that."
"It's been years, Cronan."
"Reed, drop it."
"Don't you want more than this, Cro?" Reed questioned, ignoring my request. "A pack? To be with your fam—"
"What I want is for you to stop talking," I snapped more aggressively than intended.
I knew his words came from good intentions, but I didn't want to hear them. I knew that he was worried about me. For a lack of better words, I was stuck in a state of limbo since I found out about Fen. That was a large part of why Reed and I looked into houses in the area. He thought a change in scenery would help me, but since I wasn't willing to leave Oakwood, this was the middle ground.
It was fucking embarrassing to admit that he'd had such an effect on me. Fen and I hadn't been together for long and half the time it was back and forth bantering, but still, it hurt me more than I cared to admit when I found out about what he'd done to Eli.
"Have you seen him?" Reed asked me, noticing where my mind had traveled to.
"No, but I know he's still here."
I could feel him when I went to certain places and his scent still lingered. I knew he wasn't staying at Reuben's place anymore, but I wasn't sure where he could be. According to Eli, Fen wasn't the type to go out of his way to make friends. He preferred to keep his group small which only left me with more questions about where he could be.
