Find My Heart - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Percy
I'd walked home. It would have been quicker to turn into my wolf and run through the fields, but I quite enjoyed walking around the neighbourhood at night.
It was a fairly safe area so there wasn't anything to be frightened of. Especially when you could turn into a wolf.
I was just walking up the driveway of the Hall when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text from Nathan.
Nathan: Go to Cole. He needs someone right now.
I sighed as I did a 180 turn on the driveway and started walking back in the direction I had come.
Percy: On my way.
I knew it had been wishful thinking on my part to think that Nathan wouldn't know I was there. The man had a nose like a bloodhound.
I broke out into a run. I wasn't going to change into my wolf here on the streets, but I could probably make it back to Cole in less that 10 minutes if I ran.
I guessed that Nathan might have told him something, but exactly what I wasn't sure. Was Cole freaking out because Nathan had told him he was a werewolf, or was he upset because Nathan was his mate? Or worse, had Nathan actually rejected him to his face?
I made my way through the woods, keeping an eye out for Cole. I couldn't see him where I'd left him. Maybe he had gone home.
I concentrated hard and tried to catch his scent. It wasn't that easy for me, seen as he wasn't my mate.
I eventually caught the smell of something human and followed it out of the woods.
I saw him then, sitting on the grass just a few meters away. He was hunched over, but seemed ok.
"Cole," I said, walking over to him.
His head snapped round to look at me, and I cringed at the sight of his swollen eyes. My cuts and scrapes had already pretty much healed. The perks of being a werewolf.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Percy? Oh thank god!" he said, "I thought I was going to be here all night!"
I cocked my head to one side, and sat down next to him. "Why?"
"Because this is my good eye," he said, pointing to the swollen eye.
"And what's wrong with your other eye?" I asked.
"No one knows, but I can barely see out of it. In daylight I can make out shapes, but in the dark it's pretty much useless."
"Oh my god, so Nathan left you here knowing you couldn't see?"
I knew he was heartless at times, but I didn't think he was that bad.
"No," Cole said, shaking his head, "I didn't tell Nathan."
"Why not?" I asked in disbelief.
"Because sitting here all night was preferable to having to sit in awkward silence in his car as he drove me home. Plus he would have had to help me to his car, which wouldn't have been fair on him."
"Wouldn't have been fair.......what are you talking about?" I asked, not quite sure how Nathan wasn't coming off as the bad guy here.
"Well he and I are.......wait, has he not told you?"
I took a chance that he already knew.
"That you two are mates, yes he told me. He told me after the first time I saw you, after he tried to break my neck for kissing you." I chuckled a little at the memory.
Cole smiled, but it was weak. "Well, I wish someone had told me."
"He's an idiot, don't let it get to you."
Cole snorted. "He's not an idiot. I don't blame him. We're not exactly matched are we?"
I thought about that for a bit. It was true, at first I didn't think they were suited at all, but now....
"I think you're perfect for him actually."
"What?!" he said, giving off a hollow laugh.
"Yes, Nathan needs someone like you in his life. You would balance him out perfectly."
"You mean he needs someone the exact opposite? So he needs someone weak and small and pathetic?"
My eyes widened on hearing him say that.
"Is that really how you see yourself?"
Cole just shrugged. For the first time, I saw just how much this whole thing had actually upset Cole. Sure he wasn't angry, like I was expecting, but he was hurting. He was hurting so badly his confidence had crashed through the floor.
"What I meant was that he needs someone to balance the negative things about him," I tried to explain.
"Negative? There is no negative. Nathan't perfect."
I let out a puff of derision at his words, and I saw Cole look at me as if I was mad.
"Do you know what the other wolves call him? They call him Robo-wolf."
I saw Cole frown.
"They call him that because he doesn't like to show any emotion. He's the wolf without a heart. It's all about getting things done in the most precise and efficient way, even if that means stomping over everyone's feelings to get there. The pack, well they respect him for his ability, but no one really likes him. He can be a horrible person."
Cole looked shocked and then hurt, and then sad again.
"I guess he was sort of abrupt and rude at times, but I thought that was just me."
"No, you are the only one who has brought some feelings out of him. Do you know how much I am loving this new Nathan? He's finally showing some emotion! He's finally screwing things up. He's finally being normal!"
"Oh god!" Cole said throwing his head in his hands, "he must really hate me."
"What are you talking about," I said, dragging his hands away from his face. "He loves you Cole!"
"What?!"
"He loves you! He loves everything about you. He's just too stubborn to realise that it's ok to put himself first for once. And love is scary, and it makes you feel out of control, and Nathan just doesn't know how to handle that. He tells himself that you are not right for him. But that's not the problem at all. The problem is him. Nobody would ever be right for him, because no matter who it is, he will always feel scared and out of control."
"But I'm not right for him," Cole said, still in shock from my outburst.
"You're perfect for him!" I said back. "You're kind and sweet, and patient. I tell you anyone who ends up with Nathan is going to need patience! And you don't judge him for being how he is, like most people do. And you're smart and good looking.."
"Yeah right.." Cole said under his breath.
"Hey!" I said, placing my hand under his chin and tilting his head to face me. "You are very good looking! I picked you out immediately at that party as being the guy who I wanted to kiss that night. And I would have kissed you tonight too, if it wasn't for the fact that you were Nathan's mate, and I didn't want to risk my life by kissing you."
It might have been dark but I could still see a slight blush as he pulled his face away from my hand and turned away.
"He'll come round," I said, more to myself than to Cole.
Cole shook his head.
"He doesn't want me near him. I'm going to pull out of the project."
"Don't you dare!" I said. "My brother set up that project especially for you! He wants Nathan to acknowledge you as his mate, and plus Annabell really wants to see you again."
I could see that mentioning Annabell had made him think.
"Fine, fine, I'll still come. I suppose Nathan will know when I'll be there, and if he wants to avoid me, then that's up to him."
I smiled to myself, pleased that he would still come to the Hall. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I was going to make damn sure that Nathan accepted Cole as his mate.
Because if he didn't, someone else was bound to notice this beautiful boy soon.
"Come on," I said, standing up and touching his arm, to let him know my hand was there, "let's get you home."