Lucas's uncle's mate once told him, "Love should be felt, not forced. Given but never taken advantage of. Received, not longed for. You will understand it the moment you meet your mate, Firecracker."
Normally, Lucas would have giggled and called the old man a sap. Yet the feeling of knowing that there was someone out there to love him, without him having to force it, gave him all the jitters.
So when the old man died, a part of Lucas died alongside him and alongside his partner—Lucas's uncle. They all grieved. An abomination, they'd called him, meeting his neutral death at the hands of those who believed his love for Lucas's uncle was cursed.
And when he died, he'd forgotten to remind Lucas that fate was cruel, in all shapes but one.
So there Lucas was, standing in front of his best friend, quietly cursing the wind.
Beside her stood a man, his hair filled with hues of gold and brown, his eyes glistening beneath the streetlight, his smile a careful blend of friendliness and danger.
"Luke," Becca said, "I want you to meet Sebastian, my boyfriend."
Fuck.
Fate was never fair, neither in Lucas's life nor in this man's future. Sebastian extended his arm, flashing a glint of a smile as Lucas silently sweated bullets over where he stood.
After moments of trailing silence and a worried exchange between Sebastian and Becca, Lucas finally accepted his hand. "Luke," he choked out.
Sebastian let out a sigh of relief before turning his attention back to Becca, looking at her with so much love and passion it was as if they were speaking through his eyes alone. Becca smiled back at him.
Oh god, Lucas thought. I wish I were her. But that would be impossible. And cruel fate had made it beyond impossible.
"Hey, sorry," Lucas said suddenly. "Something came up. I need to go home."
Becca looked back, confused. "Oh, are you okay? Is your dad okay?"
Lucas could only nod. A lump was already forming in his throat. He could no longer trust whatever answer he might give. "I should… yeah. See you next time."
And he ran. Down the streets, toward the forest, and into the void of loneliness he called his room.
He couldn't believe it. He had found his mate. His imprint. Becca's boyfriend.
Shit.
—
"Fuck. That felt good. That was the best we had, Luke." Sebastian kissed Lucas deeply and longingly. As if it were their last hookup. Well, it would be since Sebastian was bound to marry Becca in a few months.
Lucas could only give him a smile, the sweetest he could form, giving back the kiss as his eyes focused more on the ceiling than on Sebastian's.
"What are you thinking of, sweet pea?"
Lucas focused back on Sebastian before forcing him away from him and closed his eyes. "The location of my acid-washed jeans."
Sebastian laughed; "chuckle," Lucas called it as he hummed contentedly beside Sebastian. "In a few months, I will be marrying Becca. My offer still stands, Luke. You can come with us. Becca doesn't mind."
Lucas squeezed back whatever tear was forming in his eyes as he chuckled and took a deep breath. "As if an alpha could leave his pack. You know I can't."
Sebastian frowned. He had been asking Lucas to come to his and Becca's honeymoon, as he knew how much it hurt them both when they were away from each other.
The imprint never allowed long-distance relationships.
"Really? That's still your excuse? Luke, you know the imprint will not allow you to get away from me."
Lucas opened his eyes, looking momentarily to the ceiling before turning his gaze towards Sebastian. He smiled and forced himself to get up.
"Tanesab has a cure for that." Sebastian's frown deepened as he moved closer to Lucas and lifted his chin up. He looked through his imprint's eyes to see any signs of a lie and found none.
"Tanesab? I don't think I have heard of that place before. Was it near here?"
Lucas shook his head. "Of course, you wouldn't. Only wolves know where Tanesab is. Plus, they most likely love to keep to themselves, so the place is literally in the deepest part of the mountain trek."
"Huh. Okay, so where is it?"
Lucas looked at Sebastian and kissed him on the lips, an attempt to remove Tanesab from Sebastian's mind.
Sebastian groaned and deepened the kiss. They did another round of that before Sebastian frowned and pushed Lucas away. "Unfair. You are distracting me from the subject matter."
Lucas could only laugh before giving Sebastian a smug look. "It was worth a try."
They both giggled until the last hour of their time. Sebastian took some extra clothes from his bag and went to the shower.
"Oh, before I forgot. Sunday will be Rachel's birthday. You didn't forget, right?"
Lucas, who was fixing his bag, stopped. Sebastian saw it. "Oh no, you did. I am hurt. How dare you?"
Lucas looked at him apologetically, smiling sheepishly as he stood up and scratched the back of his neck.
"Sorry, love. I never intended to forget about it. I even bought a gift for her; it was back in the cabin with Shane and Lyla."
Sebastian faked a frown before rolling back his eyes. "Good. I have saved you a seat beside Becca and me. I expect that you will be on your best behavior."
Lucas smiled and nodded. He went back to fixing his bag and then stopped. He looked over in the direction of the bathroom and sighed. He shut his mind off, as the vampire could read his mind even from a mile away.
"Three months," he muttered. Three more months and Sebastian would be wedded to Becca, and he, Lucas, would vanish like sea foam from that one mermaid tale.
He sighed, resigning himself to the idea of hope and optimism. His only way out was Tanesab. He already told Lyla and Shane about it; both normally disagreed and called him crazy, but what could they do?
The pain from the imprint would be inevitable. He had accepted his faith the moment he imprinted on the vampire, but Sebastian didn't.
"Bullshit. Jerk. Curse you." Lucas heaved another deep sigh before slowly fixing up the bed and putting his things in the back of his car. Sebastian had just gotten off from the shower when he saw the empty bed and Lucas's bag gone.
He rushed, wearing his clothes; grabbed everything; and ran out of the motel room and towards the parking lot, only to see Lucas leaning his back against Sebastian's sedan, a bag on the floor.
"Lucas! What the fuck? I thought you left me! You almost gave me a heart attack!"
Lucas frowned then laughed, "You don't have a pumping heart, idiot. Plus, why would I leave you behind? It would rather seem suspicious if I did, no?"
Sebastian frowned before heaving a deep sigh. "Never do that again, please." Lucas nodded, showing a sweet smile that he knew Sebastian would never question.
"Promise."
Sebastian nodded, satisfied with the answer, before putting his bag in the backseat. "Be ready by eight at our usual spot. I will pick you up so we can go together."
Sebastian said those words while sliding from the back seat with effortless grace.
His hair caught the sunrise like spilled ink. Without looking back at Lucas' direction, Sebastian asked the same question that he had heard for years.
He had been giving him the same answers, such as "No, I brought my car with me," or "No, Max will give me a lift," or "We still can't be seen together, Seb."
But not this time.