Reuben was ignoring me.

It had been three days since we went out to eat and I hadn't heard anything from him since. I knew that it was only me he was ignoring because he still responded to Callie's texts while mine were left unread. Cronan told me not to think too much about it. More than likely he was cheering up Arlo and would eventually reply, but I found that hard to believe. If that were the case, wouldn't he have at least looked at the messages or told me he was busy?

Then there was the fact that he wasn't in his apartment. I'd gone down there to try and talk to him, but he wasn't there and that only added to my suspicions. If I was being honest, it frustrated me. It seemed that with every step I tried to take forward, Reuben moved three steps backward and I wasn't sure why.

"I think I'm going to be able to come home soon," I told Nixon as I lounged in my bed. "The wolf has made a lot of progress recently. I think it might shift soon."

It had made a lot of progress. Before, when I came around it would run or wouldn't let me get close. Now I was able to approach it and it seemed to get used to my presence. I was looking forward to the day it did finally shift so that I could see what its human form looked like.

"Good, because I'm tired of only being able to talk with you through a phone," he complained. "Do you remember back at the Silver Night when we'd just sit around outside talking about useless shit?"

"Yeah," I smiled fondly. "I miss those days."

I missed the days when we didn't have to worry about mates and could just sit around.

"Nix, let me ask you something," I said. "What made you decide to switch packs for Tatum?"

"That's a heavy question to be asking out of nowhere."

"Come on, answer it please?"

Nixon sighed. "I guess...I was tired of pushing my own emotions to the sidelines and feeling like shit because of it. I wasn't happy where I was, but he made me happy. Why would I stay somewhere that only brought me down, you know?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean."

"What made you ask that? Has someone caught your eye?" I could hear the playful curiosity in his voice.

I smiled. "Something like that."

"I hope it works out for you, E, but in all seriousness, don't continue to water a dead plant. You can try to make something work, but if you're the only one working then is it worth it?"

My mind traveled back to Reuben and I frowned. I wanted us to work—I did. I knew deep down there had to be a reason why we were mates, but I was tired of going in circles.

"You're right, Nix. I—"

"Cronan, open the fucking door!"

A loud voice boomed through the hall.

"What the fuck was that?" Nixon asked and I frowned.

"Something's going on at my neighbor's place. I'll call you back, Nix."

I hung up the phone before he could respond and exited the room. I walked toward my front door and pulled it open revealing a familiar man, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and his foot thumping against the ground impatiently. Cronan's words replayed through my mind and I remembered that he said that this man was his brother.

He knocked on the door again and scowled when he received no response. It was only then that he seemed to realize that I was standing there.

"Can I help you?" The man's eyebrows raised.

I didn't respond immediately. There was something about him that kept me from doing so. The more I stared at him, the more familiar he seemed. I knew we had met in the elevator, but it was more than that.

"Have we met before?" I blurted out. "I don't mean here in Oakwood, but elsewhere?"

He stared at me as if I was a nut job. "No, we haven't."

I didn't get the chance to say anything else before the door was pulled open revealing an annoyed Cronan.

"Is it so fucking hard to call before you show up?" He scowled and turned to me.

"Shut up," the other man sighed and entered Cronan's apartment, closing the door without a second glance.

I stared at it for a long moment before shaking my head and going back into my place. After laying around all day, I was in the mood for food, so I took a quick shower and got dressed before leaving.

I didn't want to go too far from home so I stopped at a small pizza place. While I was waiting, I thought back to what Nixon said about watering a dead plant. I knew he was right, I did, but it was easier said than done. When did you decide enough was enough?

Then there was the question of what happened after that. Second-chance mates were rare and while I knew that I could be like Nixon and find love elsewhere, it was hard in a community where so many cherished mates.

I was worried that I'd only end up going through more pain.

I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn't realize someone had taken a seat at my table until a scent wrapped itself around me and invaded my nose. It wasn't an unknown scent though. My body immediately tensed and my eyes drifted toward the direction the smell was coming from. I hoped that I was wrong, but as I stared into those familiar eyes, I knew I wasn't.

Fen was here.

"Eli," Fen greeted calmly while my mind was running at a million miles per hour.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I questioned, my voice low to not draw unnecessary attention.

"I'm here to talk to you."

I opened my mouth but paused when the pizza was placed on the table. I waited until the waitress had left before turning back to Fen.

"You came here to talk to me? After everything, you came here to talk?"

He nodded as if he couldn't understand my bewilderment. "Yes."

I shook my head. "I can't do this right now. You can eat the pizza."

I started to stand up to leave and Fen frowned. I was a few feet away from the table when he called out to me.

"Elias."

Hearing him say my full name made me pause. In the years that I'd known Fen, he'd only ever called me Elias when he was serious. Everything told me that I should leave, but I walked back to the table and took a seat with crossed arms.

"First you hurt me, then you left the pack, and now you think you can just show up as if nothing's happened? What the hell, Fen?"

He diverted his gaze. "I'm sorry for how everything went down, Eli. I am. It wasn't my intention to hurt you."

His tone was laced with sincerity, but it wasn't enough. "What did you think would happen? Did you honestly think I'd jump into your arms and thank you, Fen? You were like a brother to me and you...you fucked me over." He winced at that, but I wasn't done. "You destroyed my mate bond before I even had the chance to properly experience it, you tried to kill Nixon, and now you think it'll all be okay since you apologized?"

"I didn't say that," he denied. "I hurt you, I'll admit that and while my goal wasn't to try and kill Nixon, I'll admit that I played a role in the attack. I don't expect you to forgive me, Eli. Honestly, I don't blame you if you hate me and never want to see me again after this, but that's not why I'm here."

"Then tell me why you are," I demanded.

Without missing a beat, Fen said, "Stop pursuing Reuben."

I laughed. Not because it was funny, but because he had the audacity to tell me to do such a thing.

"Do you hear yourself? You came here just to tell me that? I should stop and then what? Be with you?"

I didn't hate Fen, but I couldn't deny that there was a lot of anger still there and his demand seemed to draw it out of me.

He frowned. "That's not what I said. I get that you don't want to be with me, but come on, Elias. Is he really worth all the trouble?"

"Stop calling me that," my eyes squeezed shut. "And stop meddling in my life when you don't know what's going on."

I was tired of it. I was tired of it all.

"I'm sorry if my words are frustrating you, but I'm not saying this because I want to hurt you, Eli. In fact, it wasn't even my idea to come here in the first place."

I opened my eyes and stared at him. "What do you mean?"

He stared into my eyes. "Reuben brought me here."

I stared at him, looking for a sign that he was lying to me, but he held my gaze, didn't shift around, and his leg wasn't bouncing. He wasn't lying; he was telling the truth.

Reuben brought him here.