Chapter 58 - First Snow

One week. Exactly one week, and Ryan would be back in Manvale. Evan resented the idea even though he knew it was natural that he wanted to spend the holidays with his family.

The approaching holidays gave him the opportunity to think about his own family, too. He had long thought that his relationship with his parents was doomed and beyond repair, but the last few days had made him question that. He couldn't even remember the last time they had argued.

Maybe that's why he spent more and more time with them and even volunteered to join them at the pack meeting. Knowing that Michael and Ryan would definitely be there, he was actually looking forward to it. This time it was Angie who wasn't happy as he somehow convinced her to come with them. Fortunately for him, she couldn't complain too much as Evan's parents walked by their side.

But that didn't mean she didn't give him a nasty look now and then.

As usual, when Evan found himself at a pack meeting, he stopped paying attention the moment he arrived at the meeting place. His eyes roamed the crowd, searching for a pair of black-haired boys.

"At least try to pay attention for a second," his mom drew his attention to her, and his gaze turned to her. She didn't look like she was scolding him, which was still new to him, but he still knew she meant it.

"I'll try," he promised her, and she surprisingly seemed pleased with his words. She obviously knew that if he agreed right away, it probably wouldn't be true, so even a little was enough for her.

"You remember our alpha's name, right?" his father's tone was amused, and Evan rolled his eyes at that. Apparently, he decided it was finally appropriate to start picking on him again after two weeks of tiptoeing around him and always trying to be near him so he wouldn't be alone. He'd been working from home more than usual lately, and Evan knew it was because of him.

"Our alpha is Lucas, our beta is Nelson, and our pack is called The Ice Claws Pack. Anything else?" he named in a hurry since he couldn't wait to be with Ryan.

"You forgot about Luna," his dad was undaunted by his annoyed tone. His mom was surprisingly quiet, but she was also watching him as if to make sure he didn't forget this basic information, which was not realistically possible. He didn't even have to look at Angie to know that she was more than amused by this whole exchange.

"Margaret," he replied as his dad looked at him as if seriously testing whether he knew this.

Their Luna was memorable in a way, and that's how he would probably remember her even if he wasn't from this pack. Not only did she have one white streak in her hair that was an anomaly, and she couldn't get rid of it, but she also stood out from the other wolves in other ways. She was infertile.

Infertility was not something typical for wolves, but rather the opposite. Moreover, when it came to high-ranking wolves like their alpha Lucas, it was expected that he would have an heir to the throne, which was not possible in this case. From the stories Evan had heard, he knew that the couple didn't have the easiest time when they found out they were mates and that they tried to convince Lucas to reject her. But that didn't happen, and they were still together today. Evan had no idea how they solved the successor problem, but he probably would have if he'd been paying attention at pack meetings. Or if he attended them more often.

"How about the number of members in our pack?" his mom intervened, and he gave her a look that said she was crazy. He had no idea how many people lived on their street, let alone the whole pack.

"Do you know?" he turned the question to her.

"Of course not," she laughed in amusement. So, this was another attempt to catch him. Evan rolled his eyes again and shifted his attention to his best friend who was trying not to laugh the whole time.

"Can we finally separate?" he tried to keep the annoyance from being audible in his voice, but he didn't succeed. Fortunately, his parents finally agreed without further ado, and he was finally able to lower the age level of their group, which for now consisted of just him and Angie, as he didn't see the Saunders cousins anywhere.

"I'm surprised no one has gotten a shock from seeing you here yet," Angie remarked when they were far enough out of earshot of his parents.

"You're the one to talk." He shook his head at her, only half listening to her as his eyes scanned the crowd in front of him.

"I hope you at least asked him if he was coming," Angie commented and since he was barely paying attention to her, he decided to ignore her comment. Of course, he didn't ask him as he was counting on him being there as Michael adored pack meetings for some reason. And where Michael was, there was Ryan.

"If you're going to ignore me the whole time, I might as well have stayed home." Despite her words, he still didn't look at her as he began to think about whether or not to push forward, even though there was a good chance that Ryan would be there. The first time they met here, he and Michael went all the way under the stage, which was literally the place Evan used to stay as far away from as possible.

"Just call him." He finally looked at the brunette next to him and nodded. He stopped in his tracks and pulled out his phone, hoping Ryan would hear it ring. They only recently exchanged numbers, and neither of them has used them yet. Evan would not have thought that he would be the first, but here we are.

Fortunately, Ryan picked up after a few rings.

"Hey, handsome," Ryan sounded cheerful, and Evan didn't know if he was in a good mood or just happy to hear him. Probably both.

"Hi. Are you going to a pack meeting?" he went straight to the point. Not that he didn't want to flirt with him a little, but his parents were nearby, and it just wasn't the right place for it.

"I'm already there." Evan frowned and turned on his axis, flicking his eyes at the crowd. However, wherever he looked, he still couldn't see the raven-haired boy.

"Then why can't I see you?" he voiced his trouble out loud.

"Should I find you?" Ryan chuckled. He clearly enjoyed knowing that Evan was trying to find him and wanted to be in his presence just like him.

"Please," he agreed immediately, having had enough of searching. A little while longer and he would have felt like Dora the Explorer.

"Okay. I'm going to get you," he still sounded amused, showing the contrast between them again. Irritated and cheerful. Although he managed to get Evan on his side most of the time, he still didn't give up his typical petulance.

"See you," Evan said goodbye to him for a moment, hoping that his words would come true.

"Actually, I can see you." Ryan's words made him frown as he began to spin again on his axis like a spinning top. Before his head could spin, luckily, he finally saw his favourite werewolf in the crowd. He still had the phone to his ear, reminding Evan that their call was still ongoing.

"I swear you move like a ghost," he commented, implying that he hadn't been able to see him anywhere before.

"Maybe I've been hiding from you, hoping you'll start missing me," came a chuckle from the other end of the call. Evan rolled his eyes at his words, knowing he wasn't that desperate, although he wasn't far from it. He had gotten too used to Ryan's presence in that short time and couldn't imagine not having him in his life. He apparently had a problem with clinginess.

"We see each other every day," he reminded him. If anyone heard them, they'd probably think they went to school together, but no, he just picked him up at the bus stop every day. Nothing weird.

"I miss you even though we see each other every day," the other boy admitted, causing Evan to blush even though he didn't fully believe his words.

"Shut up," he responded typically for him and decided to hang up since Ryan was already quite close to him anyway. Fortunately, the black-haired boy was used to his manners and didn't care about his sudden hanging up. He still looked amused and had a big smile on his face.

"Hurry up 'cause he's driving me crazy." It wasn't until Angie screamed almost in his ear, with how close she was to him, that he remembered she was still next to him. He was seriously starting to have trouble paying attention to his surroundings when Ryan was in his presence, or as in this case, a few feet in front of him.

"I'm not sure I want him driving me crazy," he yelled back at her, shocking Evan. Only when both of his closest friends laughed did he realize that his mouth was still open, so he quickly closed it.

"You two are driving me crazy right now," he stated, nodding his head at the truth of his words. He didn't even bother to raise his voice, knowing that Ryan would hear him anyway.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss Michael," he shook his head as he said it, as he himself couldn't believe what he said nor that it was the truth.

"Aww, I'm touched." He quickly turned behind him and saw the aforementioned boy. Apparently, today was not his day. He grunted, tilting his head, and hearing his friends laugh behind him.

"You really should start using your wolf hearing more," Michael advised, and Evan just rolled his eyes. Sure, he managed to use it at school among people where he wasn't supposed to, but he forgot about it the second he was in the pack.

"Why are you even here?" Michael asked, his question directed at both him and Angie. It was still strange to see them at a pack meeting, as it was like seeing a Yeti in the mountains. However, Evan wasn't going to admit that he was there just to see a certain someone.

"I have no idea," Angie took it upon herself to answer, not forgetting to be honest. It took all of Evan's strength to convince her to come, as he didn't want to go here alone, let alone with his parents. Although they were currently getting along, he was aware that their relationship was fragile, and he surprisingly didn't want to ruin it.

"Can't I come to the pack meeting?" However, he wasn't going to admit any of it out loud and that's why he decided to gaslight it.

"I'm glad you're here," Ryan, sensing that this could quickly turn into an argument, interjected into the conversation.

"The meeting is about to begin. We should find a place to stand," Michael commented, and Evan realized that the wolves around them had stopped talking so loudly and had begun to form into one large mass that surrounded the wooden stage.

"Do we have to?" Angie spoke up, and it was clear from her tone that she hadn't previously realized that she would actually have to get involved. She didn't like these meetings any more than Evan did. Like him, she didn't plan on getting involved in the pack's affairs, and when something wasn't mandatory, she didn't go there.

"Did you come here thinking you weren't going to listen?" Michael was obviously confused by her approach.

"Maybe," Angie ignored his shock and shrugged. Now it was finally Evan who laughed, as Michael obviously couldn't handle two wolves at once who didn't care about their own pack. It sounded terrible, but it was true.

"Maybe we can find a compromise?" suggested Ryan, who had been watching the exchange in silence until now. He took a step closer, and his arm brushed against Evan's as they stood side by side now.

Before he could answer, he felt something cold land on his nose. At first, he thought it was starting to rain, but when he looked up at the sky, he realized it was snowing. The first December snow.

"It's snowing," he automatically said aloud, opening his mouth to catch a cold flake on his tongue. When he was a child, Riley convinced him that every snowflake tasted different and that December 1st snowflakes tasted the sweetest. Evan was still verifying this theory until now, even though he knew it was just nonsense told to children.

"The first snowflakes in December are the sweetest," Angie said, earning confused looks and also tilted her head to catch a snowflake on her tongue. Evan was reminded again that he wasn't the only one who grew up with Riley.

"I'm sure they all taste the same," Micheal stated, but then stuck his tongue out to try it as well. His cousin joined in with a laugh. Evan had to admit it must have looked pretty comical. The four of them in a circle with their tongues out, tasting the snowflakes.

"They taste like water," Ryan commented. Evan automatically took a step to the side to get a better look at him. The snow was slowly changing from a fleeting drift to an increasingly intense snowfall, and this could easily be seen on the raven-haired boy's hair, where small pieces of snow strongly contrasted and drew attention to them.

"I think I've come up with a compromise," Michael said, and three pairs of eyes immediately turned to him. But before any of them could ask, he revealed it himself.

"We can go for a run in wolf form. At this rate, there will be enough snow." Wolves loved rolling in the snow. The more snow to play on, the better. And age didn't matter either. It was a universal thing.

"I agree, what about you?" Ryan's gaze automatically fell to the boy at his side as he realized what this meant for the two of them. Both avoided the topic of mates, but in wolf form, they wouldn't have that option. Their wolves, while still not fully revealing that they were soul-bonded, perceived the other's scent differently. It was yet another step that would move them further in their non-existent relationship. Another step towards them being together one day.

Angie was silent as she obviously realized the same connection, unlike Michael who was kept in the dark. She waited for Evan's answer, although he knew that she mainly wanted to get out of there, and she didn't care in what form.

"Why not." He shrugged and tried to pretend it wasn't a big deal. At that time, however, he had no idea that the memory of this moment would be projected in his mind like a jammed record for days. It was something he couldn't stop thinking about all holiday long, as he didn't get another chance like that before Ryan went home. And his soul made him feel the separation.