Ravan's POV
Rowan had been in the bathroom for around 10 minutes when in stormed a boy with silver hair. He glanced around the cafe quickly before his eyes targeted me. I knew the moment he walked in that it was Rylan but I had hoped in all hopes that it was a younger sibling I hadn't met. Boy was I wrong.
His cloudy grey eyes met me and I could see a storm swirling in them. His teeth were slightly bared, I could see two long, fang-looking teeth where his canines were meant to be. I swear I had never seen them before. He didn't have fangs, right? Maybe he has a wolfsona.
He strutted over to me, a deadly glint in his eyes. I don't know how he knew where Rowan and I were spending our first date, but it looked like there wasn't going to be a second after all.
"What the FUCK, Ravan!" He yelled, startling me into dropping the lego I was holding onto the floor. It shattered, a perfect mirror to my emotions.
Behind the counter, Luciana shot Rylan a stern glare and he slumped into Rowan's chair. My eyes burned. I couldn't take a lecture right now, especially from someone as harsh as Rylan. I started to apologise, but he just cut me off.
"I don't want to hear it right now," he growled. "Where is Rowan! What did you do to him!?"
I caught a hint of worry in his voice, but all I could do was shrink into my chair and point nervously towards the bathroom. Immediately, Rylan stood up, nearly knocking over the chair in the process. Before he walked off, he turned to me with an unreadable expression.
"Rowan is... the only person I could ever love, and he loves me too. We don't need you messing everything up. Stay away from him."
In the middle of my storm of emotions, there were two moments of clarity: 'What the actual fuck,' and 'shit, he's gay.'
Rowan's POV
After hastily cleaning the cut on my leg and healing it with mermaid magic, I faked a limp as I walked out of the bathroom, hoping Ravan wouldn't notice the injury's sudden disappearance. I was honestly slightly worried about her, as she had seemed really upset about hurting me. I hoped her low self-esteem could recover. Instead of sitting by herself, however, Ravan had shrunk into herself in her chair, and I was quick to realise why; Rylan. The very boy I was mated with jogged over to me with a troubled look in his sparkling eyes.
"Rowan, we're going," he snapped at me, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door.
My immediate instinct was to comply and follow along with him, like I had been doing all my life, but something in me stopped my legs from moving. Maybe it was Ravan, the pheromones of her so close unlocking my hidden strengths and giving me the power to disobey my alpha.
"No," I said, much more firmly than I felt, my feet rooted to the floor. Rylan turned and gave me an incredulous look.
"No? What do you mean no?" He said, dumbfounded.
Ravan was picking up Lego off the floor but she glanced up at us and gave me a wide-eyed stare. The magnitude of my feewings for her welled up like the sea before a tsunami and I managed a brief thumbs-up before steeling myself and turning to face Rylan again. He looked hurt.
"Why do you care about her, babe. Am I not good enough for you?" To my horror, I realised the sparkles in his orbs were tears. Slowly, one trailed its way down his perfectly pale cheek, lingering at his mouth before falling to the floor. Instantly, I felt awful and reached out for him, but the anger brewing like a cyclone within me spilled over.
"You are good enough," I replied curtly, "but the moon Goddess chose Ravan to be our mate too. You cannot deny the tides of the sea." With that, I let my own tears fall, and I fled to a nearby closet to cry unobserved.
Ravan POV
I wasn't sure where Rowan disappeared to with tears running down his face but I could still see Rylan standing by the door, looking like a kicked puppy. For a moment, Rylan seemed to be reflecting on what had transpired before reluctantly walking over to me. His eyes were red from crying and I couldn't help but feel a surge of pity for him. Nervously, I looked up at him and tried to give him a sympathetic expression.
"Are you alright?" I asked. With a heavy sigh, he collapsed into the chair across from me and put his head in his hands.
He didn't answer at first but then, "I'm sorry for being such a dick to you. I just... He's the only person I can trust in this cruel world and I've always known that you would have him eventually. I couldn't bear to think of that."
Slowly, unsure of what I was even doing, I reached across the table, past the destroyed lego, and placed my hand on his arm. It felt right, as though his muscular form was perfectly fitted to my own. He relaxed his arms under my hands before unlocking his hands, picking mine up. He looked me directly in my eyes, those silver eyes changed something in me and I'm not sure what.
"I understand I haven't been nice to you these past couple of years, especially now with Rowan. But I was hoping that we could put it past us, for Rowan's sake. I know you may be unwilling at first, but I think it would make Rowan happier. I am willing to let you continue going out with Rowan, he would really like you too. I know you may be thinking 'Oh my god is Rowan gay? Is he leading you on? Is he actually dating Rylan? and the answer to that would be no, he's not technically gay, he's bi. He is not leading you on and he really likes you. Yes he is technically dating me, but I am willing to let him date you too, as long as he is always happy, I just need the best for him. It would be like a polyamorous relationship, except that we wouldn't be dating. Justfornowatleast. Youknow,youareprettygorgeousbytheway."
He spoke so clearly for someone who had just been crying. At least until the last sentence that he said under his breath, which I did not catch because I was trying to comprehend what was happening.
I didn't have time to respond as I realised that Rowan had come up next to us.