Chapter 22

6/28/2040 (Continued)

Patrick moved towards the restroom but was stopped.

"I'd advise you to leave," Thomas said, blocking his path.

"I'd like to apologize to him," Patrick explained.

"Son, it's best that you go home," Ken said as he stepped up beside Patrick. Patrick huffed and walked towards the door. "You can't keep him away from me forever," he said as he turned to face them.

"That's his decision, not yours," Thomas explained. Patrick huffed once more before stomping out of the room.

Thomas shut the front door, turned around, and went to the restroom.

"Adrian, open the door," he said as he knocked. The lock clicked, and the door slowly opened.

"Is he gone?" Luca inquired softly from behind Adrian.

"Yes," Thomas agreed, with a nod.

Adrian inquired, "How did it go?" "There were a few tense moments," he admitted. "But he did leave," Patrick pointed out. They exited the restroom and entered the living room.

"We have an extra bedroom for you to stay in," Adrian explained.

"I don't want to be a bother," he explained.

"You are not a burden," Thomas said. "We take care of each other here."

Everyone went into the kitchen because they were all awake.

"Since we've been woken up, why don't we eat some breakfast?" As Thomas suggested,

"What do you want to eat?" Adrian asked, turning to face Luca, who had taken a seat at the table.

"I'm not hungry," said Luca.

"Try eating something," Ken suggested. "You can't take medications on an empty stomach," he said.

"All right," Luca said, "I'll take a slice of toast and a small glass of juice." Adrian inserted four slices of wheat bread into the toaster. Thomas poured juice into a glass and handed it to Luca.

"Where is your medication?" Ken inquired.

"In my bag," Luca explained. Ken approached Luca's bag and unzipped it.

Despite his lack of appetite, Luca ate what was prepared in order to take his medications. Luca ate in silence, wishing it was all a bad dream. Then a wave of nausea hit him, forcing Luca to cover his mouth and dash for the restroom. Luca leaned against the toilet and upchucked his breakfast into it. He sagged on the cold floor, clutching his head in his hands. Luca closed his eyes as the room began to spin, making him dizzy.

"It's just stress," he rationalized. Then there was a soft knock.

"Are you okay?" Thomas inquired.

"I'm fine," he said. "It's just stress," he admitted.

"OK, we were just concerned about you," Thomas explained.

7/4/2040

The routine was the same, with Luca waking up, rushing to the restroom, vomiting, and feeling exhausted. Luca mostly slept because he was too exhausted to do anything else. Luca was in the bathroom throwing up again later that day.

"This has to be more than just being stressed out," Luca reasoned. Luca slowly stood up and approached the mirror. Then he noticed that the mating mark on his neck had vanished. After cleaning up, Luca discovered Thomas sitting on the couch with Adrian in his arms, watching TV.

"Can I talk to you two about something?" he asked.

"Sure, anything," Thomas replied with a nod. Luca sat in the chair, his hands folded across his lap.

"My mating mark is gone," he explained. Thomas and Adrian exchanged glances before looking at Luca.

"There are reasons for a mating mark to vanish," Thomas explained. "One is when a mate dies," he explained.

"And the other is when a mate does something really bad," Adrian explained.

"So, when he raped me, it broke our bond?" Luca enquired. Adrian and Thomas exchanged nods.

Luca spent the rest of the day dozing off until he heard fireworks outside. He stepped outside after opening the front door. Sparkly lights in red, blue, and white illuminated the night sky.

"Oh, hello," Adrian said. "I thought you were sleeping," he explained.

"I was until I heard fireworks outside my window," Luca explained.

"Do you still feel ill?" Adrian inquired.

"I was earlier," he admitted, "but the nap helped."

"We can have the doctor look you over," Adrian explained.

"I'll be fine," Luca said, shaking his head.

Luca was walking towards the main house when his arm was grabbed. He turned around to find himself in the presence of the person he least expected. His ex-mate

"Luca, please listen to me as I explain," Patrick said.

"I have nothing to say to you," Luca said angrily, pulling his arm away. Patrick grabbed Luca's arm again.

"I'd like to apologize," Patrick stated. Luca huffed and turned to face him.

"Sorry?" "For what?" Luca asked, his voice rising. "For being disrespectful to me and my friend?" "For getting drunk and forcing yourself on me?" Luca became enraged. Luca's tears streamed down his cheeks. "You betrayed your word," "You broke our bond," Luca said as he walked into the main house and into his room.

Patrick turned to leave when he noticed two angry eyes on him. Thomas and Adrian both gave him a "You're so dead" look. "Hon, you check on Luca while I deal with our Alpha," Thomas said, and Adrian nodded and went inside. Thomas approached Patrick. "Didn't you get told to avoid him?" Thomas smirked.

"I just wanted to get this fixed," Patrick explained.

"He's sick, man," Thomas said. "Can't you just leave him alone?" Patrick looked at Thomas, surprised.

"What's the matter with him?" Patrick inquired.

"It's none of your business," Thomas stated. "I'll say it just once," "Leave him alone."

Adrian was in Luca's room, attempting to calm him down, when Thomas entered.

"How is he doing?" Thomas inquired.

"Thomas, I believe our doctor should see Luca," "I'm concerned," Adrian admitted.

"I'll call and see if she's available today," Thomas said, taking out his phone and dialing a number.

"Are you busy, Mom?" he inquired.

"We have an emergency, and we need you to check on our friend," Thomas explained. "OK, thanks," he said before hanging up the phone.

"What did she say?" Adrian inquired.

"She wants to see him as soon as we arrive," Thomas explained.