a job with humans since my job is very much real.”
Chuckling, Robson rolled his eyes at his half-hard dick. Apparently, he found Marcus’s confusion over anything not related to pack life arousing. “Yes, that’s what I meant.”
“No. My first job was to assist Councilman Gregson, and then when I joined the Kincaid Pack, I was brought on as a beta because of my experience with the Council.” Marcus cleared his throat softly. “Do you—is this what you wanted to talk about?”
He sighed and adjusted in bed, pulling his blankets up and covering his lower half. “No, sorry. I got distracted.”
“Are you in bed?”
For a second, Robson was confused about how Marcus could have possibly known that. It wasn’t said in a sultry, what are you wearing kind of way; it sounded like Marcus was surprised more than anything.
“Yeah, I just got home from work.” He slowly dragged his leg across his mattress, then pulled it back to where it had been. “It’s still weird to me that you can hear that so easily.”
There was a pause, but Robson waited to see if Marcus would take the opening.
Finally, Marcus haltingly said, “I feel like I should apologize, but I can’t change who I am.”
The pain in Marcus’s voice shot Robson up in bed, making him wish they were face-to-face. “No, cariño, no. That’s not what I meant. You… You’re amazing and wonderful and…”
“And?” Marcus’s voice was so soft it felt more like a caress than a question.
Sinking back onto his bed, he sighed again, suddenly so tired he wondered why he thought it was a good idea to have this conversation before he got some sleep. “And you deserve better than some washed-up grunt who doesn’t know anything about your world.”
He heard Marcus suck in a shaky breath. “Why would you say that?”
Slapping his empty hand onto the bed next to him, he had to remember to keep his voice down as frustration shot through him since he could hear his sisters moving around, getting ready for school. “Because it’s the truth. I can’t give you everything you need or deserve.” He swallowed back the emotions building up in his chest and into his throat and croaked out, “I can’t be what you need. I’m just… me.”
“Robson.” Marcus sounded upset, and that was the last thing he wanted, but it was like a dam had broken and all the thoughts he’d been ignoring sprang forward, finding all the tiny cracks and pushing until he couldn’t help but spew it everywhere.
“You can’t tell me that when you imagined finding your mate they were human. That they’d be a guy pushing forty with a part-time job that can’t actually support his family.” He heard Marcus try to interrupt him, but he couldn’t stop now that the black sludge of his worst fears was spilling out of him. “I bet you fantasized about mating with someone who could exchange bites with you and take your knot without hesitation and maybe even give you theirs in return. You thought you’d have someone who could listen to you from another room to make sure you were okay and be able to tell how you were feeling without you having to say a goddamn word.” He was panting, his words coming fast and hard. “Honestly tell me you wouldn’t prefer a mate like that. If you can do that, then you can come over here right now and we can seal the deal on this mate thing.”
Nothing but Marcus’s own heavy breathing came over the line, and Robson blinked up at his dark ceiling, spilling the tears filling his eyes down the sides of his face.
“That’s what I thought,” he whispered, voice ragged and harsh like he was angry. But he wasn’t. He understood why Marcus would feel that way. Heart breaking, he murmured, “Goodbye, cariño.”
Chapter Seventeen
What had he just let happen?
Marcus stared at the black screen of his phone as his wolf howled in pain and fear. He’d been expecting to have a conversation about their… anatomical differences.
Instead… Well, he was pretty sure his mate had just broken up with him before they’d even gone on a date. And that was unacceptable.
Growling, he ripped off his clothing and sprinted out of his house, shifting as soon as the door was closed behind him. He ran as fast as he could, only slowing when he finally caught sight of the farmhouse in the distance and releasing a howl to let his mate know he was coming. The