Delta [Epsilon #2]

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I walked with no direction. I didn't know where I was going, nor could I care. I could barely even see past my blurry vision. I just continued to clutch my chest, where my heart throbbed painfully.

Why had that rejection hurt me so much? I wasn't attached to the Delta. My god, it was quite the opposite, but even so, my traitorous heart hurt. It was like an innate reaction, but to what? Being told no? Why did it hurt, and why could I still feel the bond between us if he'd supposedly broken it?

Blinking back my tears, I spied a small bench pushed against the court's wall. I sat down without a second thought, scrubbing my face with my hands. Why did it have to be him? I'd always known about the possibility of discovering my mate -- my real mate. It was a possibility I hadn't allowed myself to dream of, and knowing what I do now, for good reason. I am Kyra Aetos. I don't get happily-ever-afters, and I sure as hell never get happy endings. I wanted to curse out whichever god had thought it funny to mate me to the Delta of all people. We couldn't be any more incompatible.

My hands fell into my lap, and I found myself staring at an unfixed point in the grass. I didn't know much about mates, but from the sound of it, a True Mate was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence. At least, that's how Raina had made it sound. Sure, there were duds, but that wasn't the case here. I wished like hell it could have been a dud mating, though.

"Wow, Kyra... crying? Never thought I'd live to see the day!"

My head whipped forward. I'd been so consumed by thought, I hadn't even heard his approach. I glared into hazel eyes. "What do you want, Luc?"

He held up his hands with a grin. "Hey, no need to get snappy with me, Ky! Just checking in on my friend." He scowled, as though assessing me. "Also, what on earth would make you cry? As far as I can see, you're a wall of stone. Unless you have a soft centre."

"I do not have a soft centre," I growled, then sighed. I shuffled over on my seat. "Sorry. I shouldn't take it out on you. I should be cussing out the gods instead."

"Why?" Luc asked, coming to sit beside me. I couldn't get past the innocent intrigue in his voice, and I found myself wondering how old he was. Maybe he was young like me, but there was no way of knowing from looks alone.

I stayed silent for a moment, wondering how I should go about this. "Luc, what do you know about True Mates?"

He pondered for a moment. "Well, you know... it's when two people are mated back to each other-- wait." He turned to me, eyes widening. "Don't tell me you've found your True Mate?"

I kept my lips sealed. Luc, however, jumped up, seeming to vibrate with joy. "That's amazing, Ky! Congrats! I always knew there would be someone to soften that stone heart of yours--"

"It's not like that, Luc," I ground out, barely able to contain my anger. I wasn't angry at Luc. No, I was angry at fate, as well as the Delta. After a few moments of debate, I levelled my gaze with him. "Luc, I'm mated to the Delta. And he just rejected me."

Luc blinked, slowly, as though it were taking him a moment to process the words. When he did, his eyes were virtually bulging out of his head. "You were mated to who? And he what?"

"I know, it's bizarre. I mean how the hell did I get mated to him of all people? I can't believe--"

"I don't care about that, Kyra!" Luc whined, shocking me into silence. "I just can't believe he rejected you. What an A-class asshole! I mean, you don't reject your True Mate for Ignir's sake. That's reserved for duds and all that. I'm sorry, Ky, I really am, because that's just awful!"

"It's fine, really," I assured him, not quite feeling fine. For some reason, him focusing on the rejection itself rather than who I was mated to hurt worse. "But what does the rejection mean? Why is it such a big deal?"