Little Prince [✓]

XV

Nathan's POV

Fuck! Why did I let him leave?! Why didn't I grab him and- and do anything?!

I tried to keep a smile on as I made my way through the crowd. I thanked what felt like thousands of people as they congratulated me on mating, sometimes stopping to play tag with children who were insistent on just one more game. Thirty-minutes had passed, and I realized I was nowhere close to the villa. I found myself in a quiet fishery, memories of the creek and Mom flooding back to me the further in I went.

"Looking for anything in particular?" A familiar voice, one I hadn't heard in years, yelled from behind an overflowing cooler. "Oh..."

I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It had been years since I had last seen my mother, since she had left me on a sidewalk with a stranger and disappeared without a word. The thought of her had haunted me for so long, and now here she was, standing in front of me like a ghost coming back to life.

She was older, of course, and her hair was longer than I remembered. Her eyes were the same, though, dark and deep, with a sadness in them I couldn't quite put my finger on. I could feel myself shaking as I took a step forward, a lump forming in my throat.

"Mom?" I whispered, "Is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me," she said softly. She looked up at me, and for a moment I thought she was going to turn and run. But then she smiled - a small, sad smile - and reached out to touch my face. "I'm here."

I didn't know what to do. Part of me wanted to throw my arms around her and never let go, to demand answers to all the questions I had bottled up inside him for so long. Where had she been? How did she get here? Did she see me at the festival? Had she just watched me from afar? Another part of me was too scared to move, too scared that she would disappear again if I got too close. Another part of me, a part buried deep in my mind, questioned her kindness. Her smile was too big and her gaze too soft. Something felt...fake.

"You've grown so much, look at how tall and handsome you are!" Tears rolled down her cheeks as she pulled my frozen body into a tight embrace, "Oh Nathan how I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too...so much," I held onto her hands as she wiped my tears. "Where were you? Why didn't you come find me?"

"I...I couldn't face your father again," she sobbed. "I couldn't face that bastard!"

"My sponsor...he's my...father?" The word father felt so foreign. "That man...is the piece of shit that violated you?!"

"Nathan- Please, don't be angry on my behalf." She held my face "He's given you a life I never would've been able to-"

"Because he took your life away!" I forced my pheromones down as she trembled in front of me. "I'm sorry this is just- a lot to take in..."

"Would you like to sit for dinner? I have more than boiled fish and bread now..."

I joined her at a tiny table, pulling up a crate to sit on. Her cooking reminded me of what I knew as home, warm and loving. We spent hours catching up on everything we had missed. We laughed a lot, cried a lot, yelled a little, and threw around a shit ton of profanity. She gave me a huge tray of trout casserole to take home, warning me only to heat it up in the oven.

"Nathan, I'm sorry-"

"No, Mom, you did what you thought was best." I smiled, "I mean I've got an amazing...mate now..."

Shit! I completely forgot about Max!

"What's wrong?"

"I...I think I've ruined things with Max." I felt my face flush as she gave me a grin. "He wants to start a family- and I...I..."