Branches of Life

The rest of the night continued on this way, to the point I lost count of how much I drank, while Harmony's trips to the bar took longer and longer each time. That wasn't all I lost track of. Somehow, I seemed to have misplaced Ari. Misplaced her? That wasn't right, she wasn't my hairbrush or some inanimate object I could lose. The absurdity of that thought had me giggling.

My stomach ached from how hard I laughed and I just knew I looked insane. Just like I knew, even in my drunken state, that it was never a good sign when Ari vanished.

Thinking I was holding my alcohol pretty well, I attempted to stand and nearly fell over. Actually, I did fall, but someone was there to catch me. I looked up, expecting it to be Ari, having reappeared from wherever she'd wandered off to. Only it wasn't Ari, but Koa. I wordlessly started up at him, not knowing what to say as helped me back onto my feet.

"Where is your sister or Harmony?" He asked looking around for them.

Expecting to find Harmony still flirting with the bartender, I glanced back at the bar, but she and the elemental bartender were gone. In his place was a female blood mage. It looked like she was finally getting some after a two-month-long dry spell. Attagirl. "Harmony is fucking a bartender, and Ari's disappeared. She'll turn up at some point."

Koa cocked his head to the side as he watched me. "How much have you had to drink?"

"What are you, my mom?" I giggled at my witty joke.

His scorching stare trailed from the top of my head, down to my feet. A stare I swore I could feel trailing down my body, leaving tingling goosebumps in its wake. "Alright, you're done."

"You're done," I repeated his words in a deep voice. Koa sighed and rolled his eyes before knocking my legs out from under me, and catching me before I hit the ground. "You're a dick."

His chest rumbled against the side of my face as he chuckled.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were with your aunt," I mumbled, trailing my fingers over the soft material of his shirt. The delicious smell of his scent enveloped me, and I couldn't help but bury my face in his neck.

Koa's body tensed ever so slightly, his hand fisting the material of my skirt before relaxing as of nothing happened. Did it happen? I couldn't think of anything I said or did that would've caused that reaction.

"When I went back to your house, I found Ander leaving and he told me where you were."

It took more than a little effort to keep my focus on his words, both with the alcohol coursing through my body, as well as the sensations awakened in me from being in his arms. He carried me with such ease, not jostling me once as he followed the walkways. "I'm surprised he didn't tell you to piss off, or follow you and hover over us the whole time."

"Don't be too impressed, he did threaten me." Koa chuckled as if Ander was no threat to him.

"He threatens any guy that looks our way for too long." Now that I was paying attention, I heard a slight slur in my words, broadcasting how drunk I was. "But don't go underestimating him"—I poked him in the chest—"Ander's a certified badass and can make good on his threats. I've seen it."

"If he's so overprotective of you girls, I'm shocked he let you go out and get wasted." There was a slight mocking bite to his tone. One that hadn't been there before, and I had no clue where it came from. I was way too drunk to be having this conversation. Searching around my fuzzy thoughts, to find the words to explain Ander to him, was next to impossible.

"You're twisting my words around." My mouth opened and closed as I still struggled with my words. Dropping my face to his chest, I groaned. "Ander isn't some overbearing asshole. He doesn't let us do anything, because he's not our father. He's not in charge of us. I mean yes, he did scare off guys for the first few months we lived together, but we eventually got past that and now he only threatens them. My point is, when we need him he's there. That's what best friends do."

He didn't respond, and that was just fine with me. If he was going to be an asshole, then I didn't want to talk to him. We walked—well he walked—home in tension-filled silence, only broken by those we passed on the walkways and the bars we passed.

Maybe it was the path he took or the tense atmosphere, but for some reason, the walk back home felt way longer than usual. When we arrived at my front door, he set me down on my feet, holding an arm behind my back so I wouldn't fall.

"I'm fine," I grumbled, shoving at his arm, annoyed by his sudden moodiness. When he didn't move away, I sighed as I opened the front door, and immediately tripped walking across the threshold. Who put that rug there? Koa's hands were on my waist, stopping me from face-planting. Now that I was back in the house, I was beginning to have a hard time remembering why I was so mad at him.

"You need to be more careful in the future. If you're going to get this intoxicated, you need someone around to keep you safe. Not Artemis obviously, she's probably the one that got you this drunk in the first place."

Never mind, I remembered the reason. "I sent Ander a message before I started drinking."

"He's not here now, is he?" Koa gestured around the dark and empty house. Like a dick.

Can he stop being an asshole for two seconds? I never really got headaches, but I swore I could now feel one coming on and rubbed at my temples hoping to alleviate it. "He's probably our unwinding from the past couple of days."

I was surprised I didn't hear his teeth grinding with how hard his jaw was clenched. "How nice."

"He was on his way to us when you showed up. It's not like he just bailed on us, and you had to come to my rescue." My voice rose as I spoke, and I nearly tripped over my own feet as I backed away from Koa. With how slow my brain was working, I needed distance from him more than ever. "What happened? Why are you acting like this?"

The look he gave me was nothing short of furious. Waves of anger radiated from him. From his rigid body to his hands gripping either side of the door frame. "You were all alone when I found you. Hell, you could barely stand up. Anything could've happened to you."

"Nothing was going to happen. And if it did, I can take care of myself." Exhaling sharply, I shoved errant strands of hair from my face. "None of that matters anyways. I'm not drunk and alone, I have you here to protect me." Why did I add that last part?

My answer didn't alleviate the tension coiling in his body. He exhaled a rough sigh, releasing the door frame and entering the living room. For once his piercing stare wasn't on me, but elsewhere in the room as he ran fingers through his hair, leaving it tousled. Ugh, what I wouldn't give to run my fingers through his hair again. If only he stopped being an ass so I could have the chance to do so.

"I won't.” His whisper was so quiet, I almost missed it.

"You won't what?" My drunken brain was having a difficult time processing his words, and figuring out what they meant.

"I won't be here to protect you the next time." He still wouldn't look at me. His throat bobbed with a rough swallow.

"I don't understand," I whispered almost to myself, shaking my head.

He finally turned to face me, his face looking like it had been chiseled from stone. "I'm leaving."

"Why? When will you be back? Why?"

Eyes that always held heat and warmth, were now glacial as they watched me. He'd always been hard to read, but it was nothing compared to the cold way he regarded me. Like I meant nothing to him. "I have many responsibilities that can't be ignored, and they will always be my priority. Not you. This will be the last time you see me for quite a while. That's why I'm here now. To say goodbye.”

A ringing filled my ears as I opened my mouth, but no words found their way out. I'd love to blame my struggle at comprehending his words on the alcohol, but I knew it wasn't to blame. It was my denial, trying to find a new meaning of his words. Hoping—praying—he wasn't actually saying these things. That he wasn't looking at me the way he was.

An unbearable tightening sensation began in both my chest and stomach, making it near impossible to breathe. My hand shot out to the chair next to me, barely keeping my body upright. All the while, Koa remained impassive, watching me break down as if he didn't care. And somehow that made the clenching in my chest worse, making me want to hunch over and wrap my arms around my chest.

Just when I thought he would leave without another word—leave me alone to fall to prices—he pulled me into a bruising hug. My body fit against his so perfectly, like we were meant for each other. The thought shattered me further, and my hands clenched his t-shirt as I buried my face against his chest, inhaling his scent. The comfort I had grown so accustomed to in his presence, had vanished and was replaced by the growing and crippling panic mixed with despair. I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face and soaking his shirt.

"Goodbye Jade," he whispered against my hair, his voice rough. One moment he was holding me as if it was the most precious being in his world, and the next he was gone.

The building weight in my chest and stomach finally crushed me, forcing me down to my knees. All the emotions I was too scared and confused to understand before, came bursting out. Grief being the most dominant of them right now.

It took me several seconds to realize the sounds of choking sobs were coming from me. My insides felt like they were being torn apart as a fissure formed in my chest. Wrapping my arms around my middle did nothing to soothe the pain.

Through my tears, I saw a blurry black shape coming toward me. After hastily wiping my eyes with the back of my hands, I was relieved to find Rowan sitting in front of me. 'I'm here my little wolf, and I always will be.' Sobbing even harder than before, I threw my arms around her and buried my face in her neck. She continued whispering soothing platitudes as I continued breaking down.

Breathing in Rowan's familiar scent, along with her soothing words and tone, allowed me to calm down a fraction. It wasn't much, but it was enough for me to think semi-clearly. Enough for me to realize I was freezing. My body wouldn't stop shaking, my teeth chattering. The temperature in the house hadn't changed. I was the one that changed. Because of him. Before Koa, I never realized how cold I was. Then I met him and I experienced his warmth, and now that it was no longer here, I didn't know how I ever survived the cold.

One thing had become blatantly clear as I broke down on the floor in the middle of my living room. A thought that had been nagging at the back of my mind for the past couple of days, but stubbornly I kept pushing it aside.

Koa wasn't my bonded mate. I wouldn't feel like my heart and soul were breaking, just because he left me. The unwelcome thoughts I had been pushing down came flooding to the surface, demanding attention. Two simple words. Fated mate.

He was my fated mate and he left me.