The Contrary Mate

It had been more than a week since I had seen Aura last. I dropped her off on the side of the highway and she had flown off into the night like a whirlwind. I hadn't even had time to appreciate the display of her magic because those beautiful translucent wings that formed on her back were taking her away from me.

I had heard nothing of her since. She could be living her regular life in her village without a care, or something terrible could have happened to her after I had dropped her off and I'd have no way of knowing. She hadn't called me. Maybe she had lost my number. Maybe she had intentionally lost my number.

"Jack."

I had gone through what had happened the night of the summer solstice moon celebration over and over. I had thought things were going well, but had I pushed too hard? Maybe I had scared her, and she wanted nothing more to do with me. My wolf whimpered at the thought.

"Jack?"

How was I going to live if she was lost to me? I wanted to drive straight over to her village and work on winning her over, but she clearly didn't want anyone to know about me.

"Jack. Hello. Meteor to Jack. Anyone home?"

Lenora's voice finally broke into my mind and I looked at her with a start from my seat at my desk, papers scattered all around me. "Sorry, what?"

"What's wrong with you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips that belied her concern.

I really didn't want to get into it. I knew I was off, but there was nothing that talking about it could do to change anything. I needed a plan of action. "It's nothing."

She scoffed loudly as she looked down at me from across the desk. She tossed down a pad of paper. I picked it up and found a phone number written on it in her precise handwriting. "What's this?"

"The business number for Darrow Brewing. Or would you prefer her father's cell? I found that too."

"Darrow Brewing?"

Her lips were a thin line of irritation. "Where your mate works? I've discovered that the fae aren't really fans of having easy modern access to communication, but a few of them at least have rudimentary forms."

I nodded. I wasn't even surprised that Lenora knew everything. I could at least find out how she was, if she was okay.

"If you don't call her, I will, Jack. And you do not want to know what I would say," she threatened. Lenora turned and walked out of the office with another huff. Apparently her patience with my inattentiveness was at its end.

I looked at the number, took a deep breath and called. The phone rang, and rang, and no one picked up.

I tried to put the unanswered call from my mind and focus on work, with some success. I had to get my act together for the sake of my company, for my fiduciary responsibility to the shareholders. This wasn't just about me, and I knew that.

An hour later, I tried again. No answer.

The next two tries yielded the same results.

My wolf was losing his mind, imagining all the terrible reasons no one might be answering the phone.

It was near the end of the work day when my attempt to contact her finally yielded results.

"Darrow Brewing, how can I help you?" The voice sounded both young and disinterested. It was probably the younger cousin she had mentioned.

"Hello, I'd like to speak to Aura Darrow, please."

"Sorry, she's not in right now." Not in wasn't what I had been hoping for, but it also sounded like she was alive and well, which was about the sweetest bit of information I could have hoped for. "Can I take a message?"

"Yes, could you please ask her to call Jack Wri—?" I stopped myself, recalling how she'd said the other fae thought of me. It was surprising to find out I'd been painted as a villain by a whole group of people I'd barely been aware existed. I gave her my number, just in case Aura had unintentionally lost it.

"Okay, Jack Wry, I'll pass the message on when I see her."

"Thanks."

"No prob. Thanks for considering Darrow Brewing for all your consumption needs," she droned.

The phone clicked. Logically, I had known that she most likely was fine, but the confirmation of that calmed my wolf like nothing else. Now I just had to hope that she would return my call.

I clung to my cell for the rest of the night like a drowning man with a life preserver.

She still hadn't called by the next morning, and I couldn't help drawing negative conclusions. She had decided that she didn't want me, or anything to do with me. My wolf retreated into the back of my mind and despaired.

I'd been so much better off not knowing who she was, if this was how it was going to be. I couldn't sleep, I could barely eat, and the memories of that small amount of time I'd had with her stood only to make me regret what I lacked even more. Why was I mated to the one woman who didn't want me?

Forcing myself to think about my situation logically, I reached the conclusion that I had only two choices. I could let her go, or I could fight for her. Letting her go wasn't really possible without a proper rejection, because my wolf would pine for her and I'd never be able to move on without that closure. I didn't want to take that route, at least not without a fight.

I hadn't spent enough time around Aura to really know her, but it was enough to know that she wasn't a cruel person. If she understood the pain my wolf was suffering, she wouldn't leave me hanging indefinitely. I could wait, and I could be patient, but I also needed to know.

Setting foot onto fae land would likely upset her, but at a certain point it might be my only choice. I could invent some excuse to be there that would not rebound onto her probably, but first I needed to come up with a strategy to make her consider me as a real option because I wasn't going there with rejection as a foregone conclusion. Being with her had been too good to just give her up so easily.

And then my phone vibrated. My heart slammed against my ribcage when I saw the number. I forced my voice to sound calm and collected as I tapped the screen and spoke.