Tristan
When Tristan first got back from Canada, life in the pack felt pretty dull.
He felt bad for thinking it, but without Violet, everything seemed drab and boring.
The longer they were apart, the more it became clear to him that Violet was his mate. She was his mate and he had left her in another country. Sure, he had his reasons but that did not help his wolf. His wolf was pretty damned unhappy with his decision.
Then the letter arrived. It was on paper, and that meant international mail, so it could have taken days or even weeks to arrive. Violet had his email address, but that meant he would have gotten it immediately. She had clearly sent a paper letter on purpose, to delay him receiving it.
He read it over and over in disbelief.
His heart thundered in his chest, harder than it ever had. Harder than it had when their home had caught fire. Harder than it had when his Alpha had died. He had no precedent for this. His parents were mated to each other. They’d been smitten from day one. He’d always assumed that was the kind of love story he’d have too.
Because he was a wolf shifter and so was she, he and Violet were meant to be together. But she didn’t think so. He’d never heard of one partner deciding that the relationship was over. He was the first.
There were no words for what he felt. It was beyond description. He had no context because he didn’t know it was possible for this to happen.
Violet was his mate. She was his. And he was hers.
And she didn’t want him.
Of course, he’d never spoken to her using the term mate, because he knew all too well how she felt about mates and packs. The idea of belonging to someone to her was abhorrent. For him, it was sweet and special, and it was something to be cherished and protected at all costs.
But she had left.
Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe she’d only pretended to go, and she was still there at the campground, putting out campfires and putting air in deflated bicycle tires. He would call. He grabbed his phone and found the website quickly. He dialed the main line for the campground.
“May I speak to Violet?” he asked. His heart was slamming into his chest.
“I’m sorry, she no longer works here,” the voice said.
He held the piece of paper to his face. It still smelled like her. He inhaled and fought the tears that pricked his eyes. He wasn’t going to fall apart. He was going to find her. Even if she didn’t want to be with him, he needed to see her. He had to try again, to get her to understand what they could have together.
But if she told him it was over, and that she would never consider him as a mate, or even a partner, then he’d accept that.
He wasn’t going to be a pushy, overbearing male like the ones she’d been desperate to escape from. But he had to make sure she was okay. He had to see for himself.
Then he’d let her go.
“I need to fly back to Nova Scotia,” Tristan told Roman. “I won’t stay gone for three weeks this time.”
Roman chuckled. “You were gone for four weeks, not three.” Then, he seemed to notice the look on Tristan’s face and the desperate tone in his voice.
“What happened?” Roman asked.
He pulled the letter from his pocket where it had lived non-stop. If it had been something personal, he wouldn’t have shared it with Roman. But it was a starkly impersonal brush off, so he didn’t feel like it was a problem.
Roman’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn.” He handed the letter back. “That was cold.” He patted Tristan on the back. “I’m sorry. If you need to fly back there for closure, then, of course, we’ll handle things here. But don’t get your hopes up.” Roman shrugged. “Maybe mates aren’t worth it.”
Tristan nodded. He had to turn away before he saw pity in his brother’s eyes.
* * *
Tristan arrivedat the campground where he’d first met Violet.
Yes, her boss had said she wasn't there. But Tristan was holding out hope that she had just asked her boss to say that and that she was in fact, close by. He didn't bother with talking to the employees. If they thought he was a scary ex-boyfriend that she needed protection from, they would never give her away. And he appreciated that.
Instead, he bypassed the office and just skirted the edges of the campground. He walked every inch of it. He walked the length of it once in his wolf form, and then again in his human form. But she'd been gone for days. Her scent had mostly faded. She really wasn’t there. Not now.
He followed her fading scent to the parking lot. He went back to the airport. She could've gone anywhere in the world. She could have gone back to her pack. He wasn't prepared to give up on her, but she had made it pretty clear that that's what she wanted.
Inside the airport he thought he could still smell faint traces of her. But he wasn’t sure. He went back home. Dejected.
“No luck?" Roman asked.
"No luck.” Tristan answered.