Chapter 12 Continued

“And even if he was flirting with me, you have no right to touch me like that! Thad, we aren’t Soul Mates. We aren’t even friends! All you do is yell at me, and ignore me, and treat me like my feelings don’t even exist!” Aria’s voice felt raw from the force of his voice, and at this point everyone in the room was staring at the rapidly unfolding scene. “So, if you’re serious about not wanting to be my Soul Mate, be my guest! Go tell the Elders to put me with Uriah instead, at least he treats me like a human being!” 

Thad was - for the first time in his entire, narcissistic life - stunned into silence. 

This had never happened to him before. Ever. The self-centered man always had something to say, something to add or some way to spin the situation in order to protect his own narrative. In fact, growing up, he often had ‘motormouth’ and ‘argumentative’ written in bold letters at the top of his monthly Instructional Reports.

But this time, his brain came up excruciatingly blank. 

His fingers twitched toward Aria, reminding him of earlier in the kitchen as he sensed that metallic-y smell flare up again.

He hated it, that fucking scent. 

It enraged him, made his muscles twitch, made him want to take Aria into his arms and scrub him down from head to toe to cover him in his own, spicier scent, so that he would never, ever have to smell like that horrible sadness again.

‘Wait, what the fuck? How does this little freak of nature always make me feel so… weird?’ Thad finally thought as he shook his head a little, relaxing his face in the places that it had involuntarily screwed up tight, even though his blood was boiling a little hotter from his own, two-faced thoughts.

“Fine.” Thad finally replied, “Be a slut if you want to.”

Aria’s face absolutely crumbled, a gasp could be heard from the crowd, and Thad immediately regretted the words the second they left his lips. 

It was then that a high-pitched whine - a keen, really - of distress filled the air around them. Aria himself didn’t know where it came from, barely even recognizing that he’d done it among all of the other things that his brain was dealing with. The alcohol in his system was making the small man feel his emotions about one-hundred times more, meaning that this sadness felt all-encompassing, like it was going to drag him straight to the center of the earth with its depressing weight. 

Thaddeus suddenly wanted to cry. To scream. To go to him. To find a way, any way, to make it so that sound would never, ever leave his lips again.

He needed to go to him. To his Mate, who was calling out for him. Calling for help with that high-pitched sound, one that vibrated down to his bone marrow and even deeper still, to a place that Thaddeus didn’t even know existed. He’d never felt anything like it. 

Something stronger than the will of his brain automatically decided that he would do anything - even wrestle directly with the hands of god - if he could just find a way to help. 

But he couldn’t. 

Because somehow, the very curvature of his DNA knew exactly what that high-pitched sound meant. It couldn’t have been more clear to him.

Aria felt that his life was somehow in danger, and he had no one to blame but himself. 

Uriah was aflame, but instead of lashing back out at Thad, simply wrapped an arm around Aria, who had begun to sag as he quietly cried. The small man was completely worn out, emotionally exhausted after such a huge vacillation of emotion in such a short time. 

The enforcer didn’t acknowledge Thaddeus at all as he whispered something into Aria’s ear, to which the smaller man nodded. And, without a word, the larger man walked Aria over to the bedroom door, tapped the control panel, and the pair disappeared inside. 

Thad’s chest burned. The sight of Uriah taking care of Aria felt so… so wrong that it physically hurt.

“Great job, asshole.” Andrea sneered, giving Thad a judgmental one-over before turning and following behind her friend.

If he were in his usual state of mind, Thaddeus would have called her a name right back. But he wasn’t in his usual state of mind. 

In fact, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be in his ‘usual’ state of mind ever again after what he’d just experienced.

Thaddeus would have likely stood, rooted to the spot for a few days from the intensity of it all if Mitty didn’t finally pipe up.

“Dude… what the fuck?”

GAY PANIC PHASE, ACTIVATE!!! 😫

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