Helenium

10. Wyatt

My mate. The man with the light blond hair and pine green eyes, with just enough muscle to make him one hell of a temptation, is my mate. 'Fuck. He's practically sex on legs. Especially with that bit of stubble along his chin.'

"You okay there Wyatt?"

I turn to see Amber looking at me in concern. "Yeah, I'm fine." I turn back and focus on wiping down the table.

"Okay, it's just that you've been wiping down the same table for the last ten minutes."

I stop mid wipe as her words sink in. 'Shit.' I turn to her, the corner of my lip lifting in an attempt of a smile. "Sorry."

She smiles in return. "It's okay, you just seem to be a bit distracted." She leans forward so she's resting her arms on the counter. "Is there anything we can help you with?"

"No." I shake my head. "I'm just trying to get my head wrapped around something." As I walk across the store I see a frown forming on her face. 'Shit. I didn't mean to upset her. Wes's going to be pissed if he finds out.' Just as I'm about to apologize, the door to the cafe opens. 'I'll wait till later.'

"Welcome." Amber's voice sounds cheerful and has that uplifting tone like always.

As I start wiping down the table, I suddenly feel like I'm being tugged backwards. I turn around to see what's causing it, only for my gaze to see a mop of white hair. 'Holy crap. He's here.'

"What can I get the two of you?"

'Wait, two?' I drop the rag on the table before taking a step closer. 'Is he here with someone?' I stop when I see an older woman with dark hair, that's starting to turn gray.

"A PSL for me please Amber." The older woman smiles, before turning towards my mate.

My gaze instinctively returns to him. 'Fuck. He looks just as good as he did this morning.' I do my best to adjust my clothes without anyone noticing, as I start feeling a little nervous. 'I have to speak to him before he leaves.'

"Large unicorn hot chocolate, made with cream, please." My mate's voice sounds a little slurred almost like he's been drinking. His gaze moves towards the door, almost like he's contemplating leaving.

'What's going on?' I watch him as he uses one of the nearby chairs to help steady him, almost like he was about to fall down. 'Is he drunk?'

"Sure thing." Amber's voice sounds just as cheerful as always.

The older woman pays for their drinks, despite my pate's reluctance to let her pay. "Go find us a seat, I'll bring them over." She pats his arm and then he slowly wobbles to a nearby table.

Amber places the two cups on the counter in front of the older woman. "Is everything okay with him?" She motions towards my mate, who's sitting down at the table I just finished cleaning. His elbows resting on the table, while his hands are supporting his head. "He seems kind of out of it."

"It's the drugs." The older woman answers.

'Drugs?' I stare at my mate in shock and disbelief, that he would be a drug addict.

"He was injured this morning."

"Is he okay?" The worry was clear in Amber's voice.

No matter how hard I try, I couldn't turn my gaze away from my mate who seemed off in another world. 'He's injured? Where?'

"I had to take him to the hospital and Doctor Stevens had to sedate him." From the sound of the older woman's voice, I can hear the sadness of even having to explain it.

When my mate finally raised his head, I was able to see the white gauze wrapped around his hand. 'What the hell happened after he left?' I watch as he starts to run his finger over the gauze and from the look in his eyes, he didn't seem to know what he was doing, nor did he seem to like having to wear it.

Without even realizing it, I reach out and grab my mate's hand and pull it away from the gauze. "Stop." My mate stares up at me. It takes me a second to realize that I'm holding my mate's hand, my cheeks heating from the contact. "Y-You'll irritate your injury." When he doesn't say anything, I can feel my courage and nerve slipping. "S-So you shouldn't play with the bandage."

"Why does it matter to you?" My mate's voice sounds deeper than it did earlier, I can't help but think that it's due to the drugs. He moves to stand up, using the table to help him keep his balance.

"You're my mate, so of course it matters to me." I can't help but stare at him, waiting for some kind of recognition hopefully.

"No, I'm not." My mate shakes his head, before walking over to the counter, grabbing his drink and walking out of the cafe.

'No.' I stand there heartbroken. 'There's no way I'm wrong I can feel it.'

"Wyatt?" Amber's voice sounds so soft that I barely hear it. "Wyatt, are you okay?"

I nod my head. I can't seem to move my body or gaze away from the door. Apart of me wants to chase after him, but at the same time, I'm afraid he'll think I'm crazy. "What should I do?"

"Let him be." I can hear the older woman move behind me. "He's had a bit of a stressful morning." I look at her, seeing the curious look on her face. "I have to ask, but are you sure he's your mate?"

"Yes, I felt it when I saw him this morning." My eyes return to the door almost like I'm expecting him to walk back in. "Does he really not feel it?"

The older woman hums. "I don't know. I'll try asking him tomorrow." She waves as she walks out of the cafe.

I feel a hand on my arm. I turn to see Amber standing beside me. "It'll be okay. If you're anything like Wes and me, then everything will work out." She smiles at me. "You'll see."

"I hope so." I turn back towards the door one final time. 'I'm so confused right now. How can a shifter not feel the connection to his mate? Maybe I should ask Nole.'

"Alright, I'm here." Julian's voice comes from behind us. I turn towards him only to see his gaze turning back and forth between Amber and me, it was pretty obvious that he was confused about something. "What? What did I miss?"

"I'll tell you about it later." Amber walks towards him. "For now let's get back to work, the lunch rush should be starting soon."

I slowly and reluctantly turn away from the door, knowing that she's right and if it's anything like it was earlier we're going to be busy. 'At least, the women coming in seem to have calmed down compared to yesterday.'

I walk back to the table and continue wiping them all down.'Please come back mate.' It takes me a second to realize that I still don't know his name. 'Fuck.'