Chapter 69 - Weave

Evan had felt a strange contentment in the last few days. His life was still chaotic (otherwise, it wouldn't be his), but at the same time, he felt like something had changed in him. He wasn't afraid to be seen in public with Ryan, he was participating more in pack meetings because of Michael's influence, and thanks to Lola, Millie, Clara, Angie, and Rory, he felt that he wasn't alone and that it was okay to give space to the people he'd hurt.

He still missed Kieran, Aiden, and Josh, but he'd learned not to cling to the idea of them being out of his life since it was still hard anyway, with seeing them in the hallways every day.

He almost felt like an adult. But only almost. He still couldn't help the occasional fight with his parents, even though he'd tried to ignore them for the last few weeks, and if he were truly an adult, he'd begin to prepare himself for life alone as he became more aware that his relationship with his parents was more than toxic. Their love had limits and it wasn't supposed to be that way.

Evan thought more and more about Riley and what his life would be like if they stayed in touch. He did not doubt that Riley would know exactly what to do and would give him advice whenever he needed it. But Riley wasn't here.

Fortunately, Ryan always knew how to make him feel better. And because of that, he knew almost every story Evan had with Riley. How they'd built a castle out of snow in their backyard since the beach was so far from them. How every Christmas Riley brought some bizarre cookie cutter and later started taking Evan with him to the stores to help him find more. How Riley bought him a kit for the little magicians, and later they started inventing their own tricks. After Evan revealed that he could pick a lock with his claws, Ryan immediately demanded a demonstration, and Evan had no problem showing him. It was still a skill he was proud of, even if he never put it into practice.

They were still spending more time together, and Evan realized that much of his life had shifted to North Hallson. In fact, there were 4 parts of his life that were in North Hallson, Marwell, Walley Lane, and wherever Riley lived. Speaking of Walley Lane, one resident needed his help again, and Evan was more than happy to be of assistance for a change.

He was just sitting on Ryan's bed when his phone started ringing, alerting him to an incoming video call. Evan's eyes moved to the door, but Ryan still didn't appear in it, looking for Marshmallow somewhere in the house, and since no one else was in the house but them, Evan clicked the green button.

"Can you talk? I feel like I'm going to explode," Rory immediately began, skipping the greeting. He seemed distressed, and Evan had no doubt that meant another magical problem.

"I can talk," Evan confirmed for him. He wasn't worried that Ryan would overhear their conversation since he'd already briefly explained that Rory knew about his true identity and that he had a certain problem involving witches.

Despite his question, Rory didn't immediately begin to explain but instead sighed. Then he ran his fingers over his forehead, and for a moment, Evan got a closer look at his tired face. The problem with Alexander was wearing him down more and more, and Evan was getting angry with a boy he didn't even know. It was quite ironic since he hadn't told Kieran about his secret either, and they'd been dating for a year.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, though he could see the answer with his own eyes.

Rory sighed again and straightened up, looking at his phone again.

"I really have no idea what to do anymore. I've tried ignoring it, I've tried responding sarcastically, but neither works. I don't want to confront Alex since he clearly doesn't want to tell me about his abilities, but I really can't take it anymore. How can he do magic right in front of me and act like it's normal?"

"Maybe he's his weave." Evan hadn't even realized Ryan had appeared between the doorway and so was left startled by his voice.

"Weave?" Evan repeated. Rory, on the other hand, had obviously heard Ryan's statement and remained silent, either expecting more information or, conversely, waiting for them to be alone again.

"Wolves have mates, witches have weaves," Ryan explained in simplicity and moved closer to his bed. Evan automatically turned his phone so that Rory could see him, and Ryan automatically waved, though it looked quite comical as he held the fluffy cat in his arms.

"Hey," Rory greeted him and thankfully didn't seem bothered by his presence. "You really are handsome."

Ryan chuckled at his statement and then looked at the brunette next to him, who immediately blushed. They both remembered very well their conversation in which Evan admitted that Rory had said that once before, and Evan had reacted jealously.

"Thanks. Nice to meet you, by the way." Ryan's face was marked with his typical beaming smile that even Rory couldn't resist as his grimace quickly turned into a grin.

"You too. And you obviously know about my little problem." His eyes shifted to Evan, but there was no accusation in them.

"Evan mentioned something," Ryan admitted. "I don't know the details, but it sounds to me like you might be his weave."

"What makes you think that?" There was no telling from Rory's expression how he felt about this possible revelation. Evan knew Rory cared about Alexander, or he wouldn't have wasted his time with him, especially when he was giving him this kind of trouble. However, he had no idea how much he cared for him.

"Well, as supernatural beings, we are taught to hide our abilities from humans. If he's not doing it, it sounds like you're supposed to know about it. I mean, it doesn't matter if you know or straight up see it since it's already part of your world anyway, you just don't know about it," Ryan explained, and Evan moved over so he could sit next to him, which he immediately did.

"I could be wrong, but that's how it looks to me." He shrugged and started stroking Marshmallow, which was now lying on his bent legs.

Rory seemed more than intrigued by Ryan's explanation and paused for a moment to think it over.

"Witches have weaves?" Evan repeated the words that had already been said, not hiding his surprise. He had never thought about other supernatural beings and was surprised that Ryan knew of such a thing.

Ryan also looked surprised but for a different reason. Apparently, knowing about other beings was normal for him, and once again, it appeared that while Evan tried to associate as little as possible with the world of the supernatural, Ryan didn't deny his roots and even knew more about his culture than Evan expected.

Ryan nodded. "Wolves have mates, witches have weaves, and vampires have bounds."

"There are vampires?!"

Evan laughed at Rory's reaction, and Ryan joined in after a moment.

"You didn't tell me there were vampires." His rebuke was directed at Evan, who immediately raised his hand in a defensive gesture.

"I've never seen one. I heard they existed, but I had no proof, so I didn't even think of talking about them," he defended himself.

"I know one," Ryan admitted, shocking Evan. He immediately narrowed his gaze at him, his raised eyebrows indicating he wanted to hear more.

"We have a vampire in our pack who is the mate of one of our wolves. He's not old by vampire standards, as he's in his 80s, but he still looks about 25. I've talked to him a few times, especially when I was a curious kid. He's gotten used to all the attention, just like the pack has gotten used to him," he explained.

"That's sick," Rory assessed, stealing the words right out of Evan's mouth.

"I think we need to have more conversations about the supernatural," Evan assessed. He'd never had any desire to know more about his own world, but Ryan obviously knew a lot more than Evan ever suspected, and it sounded most interesting coming out of his mouth.

"I want to be part of those conversations," Rory jumped right in.

Ryan obviously found it comical as he broke into laughter but didn't seem to protest.

"I'll tell you anything you want," he promised.

"Well, there's only one thing I want to know right now. How the hell am I going to find out if I'm really his weave?"

Evan didn't know the answer, of course, but he assumed it would be similar to the wolves, which might have been a problem in Rory's case since he was even younger than the two of them.

"Well..." Ryan began but paused as the answer wasn't as simple as Rory had hoped. "I'm not really sure."

Rory sighed but didn't look disappointed by his answer. He still theoretically knew more than he did before, though he didn't have it backed up with evidence.

"How do wolves know?"

Although this question was aimed at both of them, Evan left it up to his mate to answer.

"There's more than one way to do it. Those visions help with that, although sometimes they don't help much when your soulmate lives on the other side of the world," he mumbled the rest of his sentence, realizing he'd gotten off topic. "Anyway, you have visions until you get together. If you don't get it done by the time you're 18, there's another way. Our sense of smell will change. You will become more susceptible to the smell of your mate. You can spot them from a mile away, and you can identify exactly who it is. In both cases, a kiss starts a bond, and then you have no doubts left."

Evan learned something new again. He thought it was the scent that was changing and not the wolves' sense of smell. However, he didn't admit it out loud because he felt stupid. Not that he ever wanted to study more about his species, but he thought he at least had the basics down.

"What if one of the pair is human?"

"As far as I know, the human part of the couple doesn't have visions. I've heard that after they meet their mate, even though they don't know they're their other half, they start appearing in their dreams. In theory, I suppose they feel different in the presence of their mate, although they don't realize why. Mates simply get each other instantly. You feel a sense of trust in the other person, even though you have no reason to, and I suppose humans feel that too."

Rory listened intently to Ryan's explanation, nodding.

"Can you refuse?" The ink-haired boy blinked in surprise, not expecting the question, but decided to answer anyway, while Evan began to worry. He didn't know how his friend would react to the information that Evan could have rejected Ryan at any time to avoid Kieran's heartbreak.

"You can," Ryan confirmed. "There's a special way to do it. At least for wolves."

"So, if I really were Alexander's weave, I still have a choice?" Rory immediately asked, not realizing the real seriousness of his question. However, Ryan did not look uncomfortable, although he furrowed his brows.

"You always have a choice, but there aren't many cases where someone chooses to use it."

Rory laughed bitterly. "So, Alexander may be my soulmate, but he won't tell me and instead makes me feel like a fool, and I shouldn't reject him because no one rejects their soulmate."

"Honestly, I think you should talk to him about it," Ryan told him in a tone that told him it was just a suggestion, and he wasn't forcing him to do anything since that was obviously the last thing Rory wanted.

"Maybe you can let him know you know about it," Evan suggested, finally joining the conversation.

The brown-haired boy on the other end of the call clearly disagreed with them as he shook his head and let out another bitter laugh.

"I think it might be true. Think about it, he's made me feel like an idiot for months, but I still spend time with him. I can't stop talking to him, and I still like him for some reason," he revealed his thought processes, after which there was another bitter laugh. "I was quite envious of you, E, but now I feel like an idiot."

"Maybe you were just amazed by his magic," Evan offered, though he knew that wouldn't be true. Rory knew his feelings best, so he knew what the situation was.

"I wish it was true." Rory looked despondent, and Evan wished they were having this conversation in person so he could hug him.

"Come on, don't give up so easily. Evan and I will find out everything we can about witches and their weaves, and you can do your own research for now. Maybe you can try to start a serious conversation with Alex, and it doesn't have to be just about witches," Ryan suggested, not leaving Rory in his sadness.

"Where do you even want to look for something like that?"

Evan had no idea what Ryan meant either, but he didn't want to question him, either because he trusted him to figure something out or because he didn't want to take away that last bit of hope from Rory.

"In the library in the pack house. Each pack has one. It has all the information about the supernatural world that that pack has acquired."

"What?! Really?" Evan was shocked by his answer. Michael made him more interested in their pack, but he never mentioned anything about the library, which was exactly what Evan would be interested in.

"I already know where I'm taking you on our next date," Ryan chuckled, once again finding the positive in the situation.

"Next, huh?" Rory caught on immediately and wouldn't let them change the subject.

"We were on one date," Evan admitted honestly, resting his head on Ryan's shoulder, revealing how much their relationship had changed in the past few weeks. Thanks to the phone screen, Evan could see how Ryan looked at him, and he didn't miss how happy he was at the gesture.

"I'm happy for you, guys." Rory's smile was genuine, and Evan was grateful for that. He had no idea how his friends would react to him dating someone and was honestly relieved when Rory didn't blame him.

"Thanks. We look forward to seeing you at North Hallson next time you have time to visit."

"Definitely. Get ready for me to want to know everything about vampires," Rory warned him.

"I'll tell you everything I know. I promise."

Evan listened to the exchange of words between his best friend and his hopefully future boyfriend and couldn't help the wide smile that formed on his lips. It looked like their four-person evenings might one day grow to include another person. Plus, if it turned out that Rory really was a warlock's weave, he would have the door to their pack open for him anytime.

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I know mates is a term for wolf soulmates, but I made the rest up. I use the same terms in my other story, so you can see them more than once. I don't know if there are any official terms for witch and vampire partners, since I came across the term "link" for witch soulmates in a story by another author, but I wanted to come up with something of my own. I hope it won't be confusing.

Also, I started thinking about Rory's story. Let me know if you'd be interested in hearing things from his perspective or if the snippets in this story are enough for you.