Heart : Animal Senses Series Book 1

Chapter 59

The image staring back at him in the mirror was a pitiful sight. His hair hadn't been combed in days, and it looked like it—unshaven and starting to resemble the wolf form he usually had to change to be.

Shaking his head, he moved away to wander back into the studio. Maybe inspiration would strike before he got there.

His parents were on his side, at least partially. Devin phoned once a day to see if Rayne was doing okay. He hadn't been brave enough to ask to speak to her. He assumed if she really wanted to talk to him, she would have by now. His mother's answers were short, and to the point. She was clearly very annoyed for finding his true mate and screwing it all up. He couldn't say she was wrong. and wasn't sure if he expected sympathy from her. That alone told him his head was a mess, to think his mother was suddenly going to be a soft-hearted woman.

Devin's father was much more sympathetic to his situation, talking to him longer and trying to assure him it would work out the way it was meant to be. The part that drove him insane; he didn't know what the fates planned.

Calum was still here, even though Devin tried to get rid of him time and time again. He blamed having to stay on him when he'd invited Tomas's men to send Tomas here himself. Both of them knew the chances of him coming after Devin without his animal sidekicks was less than a point of one percent, but he still stayed. For a few fleeting seconds, Devin wondered if his parents had him staying here to keep an eye on him. If it were anyone but Calum he would believe it. Calum didn't answer to anyone, he was his own cat. The only reason he stayed loyal to Devin was their strong connection forged during their childhood. When his mother had vanished, they had spent a lot of time together. His mother was never found. The Alliance suspected she'd been taken for breeding purposes and both knew this, but it was just something they didn't discuss—ever.

He stared at the blank canvas and had been for quite a while now. In the time since Rayne had gone Devin hadn't been able to paint, well at least anything that was worth painting. Calum had come in and seen the last 'work of art' and his comment was similar to 'you're a mess'. He couldn't even generate some temperamental artist angst over that, he was right. His painting had been dark violent colors and a culmination of ill matched brush strokes and blended lines that could be interpreted as a mix of abstract and preschool.

Tossing the clean dry brush onto the tray, he turned to go sit out on the deck. Of course, each time he did, he would go over the memory of shifting and scaring the hell out of Rayne. In hindsight, he was lucky she didn't throw more at him for doing that.

The landscape that usually brought him peace was not bringing him a damn thing today.

"Have you looked in a mirror recently?"

Was he that out of it that a cat could come up behind him without sensing it? The answer wasn't something Devin had to search for. He was out of it—completely scattered without her. "I glanced in one briefly."

"Did it crack?" Calum's voice was the usual calm monotone, but Devin still knew he was trying to lighten the mood.

"I didn't look in it long enough to notice."