Chapter 747 Chapter 747
Oaklyn looked around the restaurant there were so many people dressed in fancy clothes there was no way she could be like them. How someone could behave that way was beyond her. Zain looked uncomfortable, very handsome but uncomfortable. She smiled at him. “You need to relax, Hun. We’re supposed to be having fun. This is something we’re supposed to be used to doing.”
“I know. I’m trying.” He turned the glass by the stem in a circle.
“What’s eatin’ at you?” She kept her pleasant smile pasted on her face.
His mouth quirked for a second. “You mean besides the obvious?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, all of that aside.”
He started to fidget with his napkin and cutlery. “Just conversations playing on a loop in my head.”
“Oh. Are they good ones or the type you wished you could scrub from your brain?” She smiled at the server as they walked toward them.
Zain managed to nod and offer a brief thank you to them after the meal was set on the table. What could be bothering him this much? Despite how many times she told herself not to get too involved with him, she still did. She was invested in the success of what they were doing. Part of that was him getting his answers. After what he’d been through, he deserved it, and she wanted that for him. Her animal stirred and she wanted it to be from the smell of the food in front of her, but knew it was because of concern for their mate. She’d spent the last week pretending he wasn’t. Faking her way through the truth of it. She knew where he lived was in a city. Once Zain had his answers and the king was back, he’d go back there. Oaklyn wasn’t really big on cities. Sure, they were fun to visit from time to time as she was passing through, but every day didn’t seem like something for her. It was one more thing on her list to remind herself why it was a bad idea. No cities. She watched him take a small bite. “Feel like sharing some of these conversations?” She picked up the butter and then paused. “It might help.”
He looked at her for a moment and then back at his plate. He was shoving the food around. It looked like he was organizing it on the plate. “I don’t think you’ll like them.”
“The conversations?” She quirked a brow at him. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Setting his fork down, he picked up his glass of water and took a sip. “They’re about us.” He set the glass down. “About mates.” He whispered the last word and then looked around.
Oaklyn leaned back. “I see.” He’d been talking to others about them being mates? She recalled a few odd looks when they’d been at the factory. That might explain them, or it was because of who she was. “A drifter with no clan not good enough for you?”
He startled. “No. Nothing like that.”
“Oh.” She stabbed something on the plate without looking to see what it was. “Well then, it can’t be bad, right?” Why did it matter to him so much?
He picked up his fork again but just held it and leaned his forearms on the table. His dark eyes connected with hers, and the expression in them was so intense it made her heart stutter. “I told Webb that our lives weren’t without complication, and with my history, anyone close to me is in danger.”
She nodded. She understood his point.
“He said we all are in danger. Everyone from our world is—or something close to that. He thinks waiting for the right time is a mistake.”
“Does he have a mate?” Setting down her fork, she clasped her hands in her lap and watched him, trying to figure out his opinion of his friend’s words.
“No, but he can’t wait to find one.” His lips twitched like he wanted to smile. “He says just as long as they’re into each other, nothing else matters.”
She cleared her throat and nodded slowly. “It sounds like his life is without complication.” She had been living through various forms of hell since she left, just so she had a say in her own life. Others wouldn’t understand that. “You say conversations. Plural. Who else did you talk to?”
Zain glanced across the room. She turned and looked to see Bear sitting at the bar, looking around the room. Had Bear been looking at her differently? She couldn’t be sure. Turning back, she picked up her fork. “And what are his thoughts?”
“Mostly the same as Webb. That there is no perfect timing, and he also can’t wait for the day he finds his.”
She picked up her cutlery and focused on the food in front of her. “I wish them all the luck in the world. I hope they find the happiness they seek.” She lifted just her eyes to look at him. “And that it is everything they hoped for.”
“Me too.”
“Was that all he said?” She stabbed a piece of the meat and then looked at him.
“He reminded me of a few recent mating details.” He did smile this time. “He made a very good point.”
“Do share.” She put the food in her mouth so she wouldn’t blurt anything out. Others didn’t understand.