[Rock]When I arrived home, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I went over the kitchen and dining room again, making sure they were clean. Without Carmen there to send me off to bed, I had no reason to sleep, or even pretend. I went to my garage and pulled out a piece of wood. I hadn’t carved anything since I found Carmen, and now, I felt the urge to create something. My mother once said I was a true artist because I didn’t decide what to carve, the wood spoke to me and I created what was inside it. For the life of me, though, the only thing I had on my mind was Carmen. I found a nice, large piece and started working on it. Carmen, the curve of her face, her sweet little smile, her little nose, and the shallow dimple she had in her right cheek, filled my vision. As I carved, I thought about what my little mate could be doing. Was she sleeping? Did she struggle with sleep because I wasn’t there? Did she miss me as much as I missed her? It felt like no time had passed as I cut away the excess wood that hid my mate’s face. My alarm went off and I knew it was time to get ready for work. I dusted off the curls of wood and dust off of me then went to my room to change for work. On the way to work, I stopped for some breakfast burritos. I missed the breakfasts I would have with Carmen at home. Shaking my head, I growled at myself. It was less than twenty-four hours and I was already acting like a lovesick kid. When I got to the office, I sat in the kitchen and forced myself to eat. It felt as if my stomach was trying to reject the food, though. It just didn’t taste as good as it did before. When it was time to head out to the site for work, I handed Tripp over the on-site lead title. I told him it was just for the week. I wasn’t focused enough to be in charge. He took it on gladly and set me to work as soon as we arrived at the site. Not having to focus on anything else helped. I was able to concentrate entirely on the work in front of me. I moved from job to job as I completed each task. At some point, Tripp made me stop for lunch, but I didn’t eat. I sat in my truck and stared into space. After the break, I got back to it. People around me talked and interacted with each other, but I never registered anyone talking to me. All I did was work on what was in front of me, and then move on. Tripp got my attention again sometime later and told me it was time to go home for the day. I knew I worked all day, but, for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what I did. I got in the truck with him and we headed back to the office. “Boss, you doing okay?” he asked. “I’m fine, Tripp. Did I mess anything up today?” “No. You worked like a demon was on your tail. Normally, you slow down a little for the guys, but today, you were in your own world. We’re ahead for today because of that, but you can’t keep workin’ like that. It’s not healthy,” Tripp said. “I’ll worry about what is and isn’t healthy, Tripp. Leave me alone.” “I know the lady boss being gone is hard on you, but you can’t push yourself too hard just because she’s gone. She won’t be happy with you when she comes back.” I growled at him. “That’s my business, not yours.” Tripp sighed. “Fine, Boss, I’ll mind my business, for now.” The rest of the drive was done in silence. I didn’t like his intrusion into my personal life. I never permitted that in the past and there was no reason for him to believe I would start now. When we arrived, I went in and did my paperwork, then went to leave. Forrest stopped me, putting his hand on my chest. I pushed his hand off and snarled at him. “Don’t touch me.” “Whoa, there, Rock. What the hell’s wrong with you?” Forrest asked. “Leave him alone, Forrest. He’s acting like a dominant wolf when they’re away from their mate. She probably scented him more, so he doesn’t want anything muddling the scent,” Gemma said. I looked over at her and then made my way out to my truck. I wanted to go home. Home smelled like Carmen. It reminded me of her in all of the good ways. Work reminded me of what I was missing. She wasn’t there to kiss me goodbye or greet me with a smile when I was done working. After I got home, I went straight to the garage and settled in to finish my carving of Carmen’s face. I remembered how she told me she didn’t really know what she looked like. She’d seen pictures in her wolf form, but it wasn’t really the same. Lighting changes things and she was used to a more definite way of seeing people and things. Carmen told me trying to feel her own face was difficult because her brain focused on the sensations on her face as much as or more than the sensations in her fingers. I finished it sometime around midnight and started sanding it down to be smooth. She’d love this. When she came home, I’d show her what she looked like. Carmen could see why everyone was so shocked to see a beautiful person like her next to a troll like me. When I was finished, I set it on my workbench and looked over the other pieces. One piece was curved in a way that reminded me of Carmen’s little hand when she cupped my cheek while we kissed. I pulled the piece of wood out and started cutting away the parts of it that weren’t Carmen. Peace washed over me while I was carving. I could feel Carmen with me while I carved her hand into the wood. My alarm made me growl. I was almost done with the hand. It didn’t need as careful and precise carving as Carmen’s face had. I set another alarm and went back to work, but it wasn’t long before that one went off. After putting the piece on the bench next to Carmen’s face, I dusted off my clothes and headed out to work again. This time, I didn’t stop for food. I didn’t need it. I had to work. There were more questions when I arrived at the office, but they all realized I wasn’t going to answer them. Before I went to my truck to drive to the site, I grabbed a cup of coffee, hoping to quell the gnawing feeling in my stomach. I didn’t even register the heat of the coffee as I downed the whole cup in one drink. I rinsed the cup, and then went out to my truck. Tripp was already waiting for me. We got to the site in one piece and I was given a list of things to do. I got to work. It was even easier to zone out and do my work. Like the day before, I sat in the truck and stared into space at lunch. By the end of the day, I finished the work Tripp assigned me. I was glad to be done with it. I wanted to get back to my garage. Never in my life had I created like I was every night. “Rock, are you okay? Tripp said you didn’t eat lunch today or yesterday. You’re wearing the same things you wore yesterday. Carmen asked how you’re doing when I was there last night,” Gemma said when I went into the office. “I’m not hungry. Tell Carmen I love her and I’ll see her once her heat is over,” I replied, then left. She didn’t chase after me or anything. We couldn’t even talk over the phone because they said she would try to convince me to come for her. Apparently, werewolves in heat were very convincing and they were clever. It was like when a troll had their coming-of-age. Carmen was already smart I didn’t doubt she could get me to come to the pack lands with her hormones influencing her. I could do this for her. I could wait for her. Two days down, two more to go. When I got to the garage again, I was eager to finish the hand. I saw a chunk of wood that would be perfect for carving Blanche. I knew Carmen would like that. I worked into the night again. This was going well, I didn’t need to sleep and I could get my work done while the sun was out and make presents for Carmen at night. It was perfect. The only problem was that my damned phone alarm kept stopping me from working. I turned my phone off when it went off and got back to work. I was almost finished with the more intricate way Blanche’s fur fell on her tail. I still had to get the rest of the fur finished. She had a row of semi-curls on the top of her tail I wanted to make sure I got just right. As I finished the fur on her neck and moved up to work on her face, there was a pounding knock on my garage door. With a growl, I put my things away and went to see who it was. At the front door was Elbio. I scowled at him and he scowled back. He pushed his way into the house. “Don’t even try to threaten or posture at me, Rock. You know I can kick your ass. I’m gonna go cook you some food. You go take a shower or something. If you can’t shower, then wipe off some of that sawdust and sweat before you put something clean on,” he told me. “Get out of my house, Elbio. I don’t need your help.” “That’s a fuсking lie. Your mate is gonna come home and find out you let yourself wallow without her. How do you think that’s gonna go over? Do you think she’s going to feel happy about this? Go clean up and get your ѕhit together,” Elbio ordered. I clenched my fist and took a swing at him. He slapped my punch away. “If you don’t go, I’m gonna touch you a whole lot more than swatting away your weak ass punches. Gemma told Forrest and me we shouldn’t try to touch you if we can avoid it. He’s coming after work, but I’m here now. If you don’t do as I say, I’m going to sit on you while Forrest force-feeds you.” The tone of his voice told me he would really do it. He wasn’t going to back down. It wasn’t worth fighting. I went to the bathroom in my bedroom and cleaned myself up in the sink, then changed into some clean clothes and took the dirty ones to the laundry room, starting the load in the machine. Sitting in the living room, I grumbled about Elbio and Forrest mothering me. After a while, Elbio brought me out a large bowl full of meat. He put it in my lap and sat in the chair next to the couch. “Eat or I’ll make you eat,” he growled. With a glare, I started eating the food. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. He must have put something in the food because I finished the bowl and handed it back to him. Elbio took it and went to fill it again. When he returned with the bowl, I took it from him and started eating again. It was barely cooked and it tasted amazing. Elbio, Forrest, and I had learned to cook so we could take care of ourselves. Elbio and Forrest liked their food less cooked and it made the meat’s flavor really pop. “I know you weren’t ready for your mate to be gone like this, but you can’t just stop eating and taking care of yourself. What would your mom say if she knew? You have too many people who care about you to just go all feral like that,” Elbio told me. “Aww, you love me.” I laughed as I ate. “Well, you are all small and soft like a little girl. I thought you were more of a troll than this. Don’t scare Forrest like that. He thought he was going to have to make me kick your ass.” Elbio didn’t like that idea, and I knew it. He would play fight with me, but he didn’t like the idea of really hurting me. Forrest was soft inside, but Elbio wasn’t. He was honorable, though. It wasn’t a fair fight.“I want my mate back and there was too much time to wait. I don’t know what happened. Food didn’t appeal to me. I did eat a little on the first day. But it was hard and my stomach didn’t like it,” I told him as I focused on the food. “There’s enough for one more bowl. I want you to eat all of it. If I’d known you’d take such a backslide, just because she was gone for less than a week, I would’ve been here. Next time this has to happen, I’m coming to stay with you,” he insisted. There was no way to stop him when he decided something. I simply nodded and finished the bowl of food. Elbio took the bowl again and went back to the kitchen. I was starting to feel more like myself again. I was grateful for Elbio coming over. He didn’t have to. He could have told his mom and she would have come to take care of me. Elbio didn’t like it when his mother doted on me, but if this were really a hassle for him, I knew he wouldn’t have come. Being a troll means being selfish. Elbio was more of a troll than Forrest and me. We always joked about that. He came back with the last bowl of food and I dug in as soon as he gave it to me. Elbio watched me intently. I was grateful. When trolls got too hungry, they went feral and started killing others for food. I may not be stronger than other trolls, but this was a mixed community and I could easily eat a few of our neighboring fae before my mind came back or the other trolls stopped me. “What the hell happened? You’re not this stupid,” he grumbled. “I don’t know. It seemed pointless. Carmen was gone and I couldn’t even call her. It was as if my heart was taken from me…. You’ll understand when you find your mate.” “Dear goddess, if I’m ever in this situation because my mate is gone for a few days then I don’t deserve to be called a troll. Forrest said Gemma had a message. Carmen’s worried about you even more after she asked about you last night. She doesn’t want you to be mean to your friends. “Don’t scare your mate like that, man. She depends on you to be strong for her because she’s just a little wolf. What would happen if you’d killed someone and she had to be without you while you were punished? What if you accidentally killed her? We used to eat werewolves and she wouldn’t fight back.“If you don’t start acting better, I’m really gonna kick your ass. Just because I lost to Forrest, doesn’t mean I’ll lose to you. Even after getting my ass kicked by him, I could kick your ass,” Elbio told me. “What was up with that? You never get territorial over a female.” “Oh, don’t tell Forrest, but as soon as I saw Pyla, I thought Forrest might like her. So I acted the way I saw you acting with the wolves and asked her to the barbecue, then I started acting like a troll again. I also removed Shayle. Then Forrest started dating her and not fuсking her. Other males still flirted and I could see that he was liking Pyla more and more,” he explained. “So you challenged him as soon as you had an opening to make it seem natural. But you pissed Pyla off. Aren’t you worried about that?” “No. No one can break the three of us up.” He laughed. “Forrest really likes Pyla. I’ve never seen him like that with any other female. I hope she’s his true mate. It would make him happy to have a little mate like you have. I have my eye on a girl I met in the forest village. She’s from the troll village in the fae lands. Hot like you wouldn’t believe.” I laughed. “So you were playing matchmaker? That’s great.” “I know Forrest’s type, even if he doesn’t.” We laughed and talked for a while. I was feeling a lot better by the time Forrest arrived. He told me how worried he was about me and how he’d have to ‘take care’ of my mate if anything happened to me. For the rest of the night, we talked, joked, and fought. It was like the nights back when we were much younger. I was grateful to the goddess, my mother, and my friends’ mothers for blessing me with them.