Chapter 9 - Vacation's Over

"What's your pack like, Aaron?" Aubrey asked me excitedly, looking out the window of Evander's car.

We stayed in his apartment for another day to allow him to heal. His sire brought him a few blood bags, including some extra to take with him in case blood wasn't readily available back at our base. Given my feelings on the topic of him feeding on me, it was a smart idea.

Evander was, thankfully, much better now. The bullets had taken a lot out of him, so he spent most of yesterday sleeping. Aubrey and I hung around him, not sure what to do if he was asleep. When he woke up in the evening, he told me about what he and his sire had talked about earlier. To say I was concerned would be the understatement of the century.

What the hell had we gotten ourselves into? Assuming this was the Eye's work, then they were more than just a cult with influence in a single American state. Were they global? Was there something else going on? Worrying about it was all I could do as we drove. The moment we arrived, I'd talk with Erin and the others about it. They needed to know about what was potentially going to change and I'd honestly rather tell them in person than do it over the phone.

"Aaron?" Aubrey called out, pulling me from my thoughts.

Shoot, I forgot about his question. I turned away from the window to face the grinning nymph. "It's nice. We basically make up our entire town, so there's plenty to do and lots of people to meet. Hopefully, you'll like it."

But, we weren't going there just yet. When we decided to attack the Eye with the neighboring packs, we set up a base of operations somewhere we could all get to with few difficulties. It'd been a few weeks since I'd been in our pack for more than a couple of hours. We'd been so busy planning, researching our enemy, and arguing a lot. The packs could barely settle on agreed meeting times, let alone plans of action. It was headache-inducing.

"I can't wait to see the others. I'm sure they're happy we're all free," Aubrey mused, leaning back in his seat.

"Hopefully my people tried finding contacts for your friends. They deserve to go home or wherever they wish to go," I said.

A few minutes later, we were finally able to go off-road after about three hours of nonstop driving. The city was fun and all, but it was so crowded. I much preferred the peaceful forest.

"Do you think your pack will like me?" Aubrey suddenly piped up again.

I glanced over again and he was worrying his lip between his teeth. I offered a small smile. "I'm sure they'll love you," I reassured him.

He smiled, looking significantly less worried.

Half an hour later, we were driving up a dirt path that led to a secluded and very large two-story cabin. Surrounding it were tents and trailers, as well as the trucks and cars we'd brought. It was kind of funny all of this could be kept hidden in a forest, but we were pretty far from any hiking trails or towns.

Evander parked his car off to the side of the cabin with a few other cars. We all exited his car, only for our heads to turn when we heard my name get called.

"Aaron! You're back!"

Ryder ran at me full speed, tackling me to the ground as he followed. I groaned, pushing him off. "Geez, Ryder. You know I hate that."

"I missed you so much. Don't you ever leave me again," he dramatically cried, before laughing loudly. "Goddess, Erin blabbed my ear off worrying about you, and Wren almost went out to try and find you."

I rolled my eyes, sitting up. "Of course. Thank goodness those idiots didn't. I'm fine."

I helped Ryder stand before I realized my mates were still there, standing awkwardly. "Oh. Ryder, these are my mates, Evander and Aubrey. Evander, Aubrey, this is one of my closest friends, Ryder. He's my future gamma."

"I'm your close friend? Aaron, I am offended! I'm your best friend."

"No," I started, shoving his shoulder. "We both know that I care about Erin more. He doesn't annoy the shit out of me like you do."

Ryder pouted. "You're so mean to me. Come on, let's go find the others." He turned to look at my mates, offering a grin and a wave. "Nice to meet you, by the way. I can't believe Aaron finally found his mates. Maybe you guys will soften him up."

As soon as we entered the cabin, I found myself glancing around to look for the one person I'd probably missed the most. When I found him talking with his father, I couldn't stop the small smile from taking over my face. At least, I smiled to contain the grin that wanted to erupt. Even if I'd gotten over my feelings for Erin, he was still someone I cared about a lot.

My feet carried me over to the pair of alphas quietly talking, and when they saw me, Erin grinned brightly. "Aaron," he said, stepping away from his dad to pull me into a hug.

I hugged him back, refraining my sighing against him. I could tell by the way he snorted under his breath that he knew what I was trying not to do. He knew me too well. "Glad to see you, Aaron. Maybe now I'll get some peace from Ryder and Wren. They're killing me," he whispered.

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry I couldn't come and rescue you sooner, Princess," I teased.

We pulled away and he pouted. "Why are you so mean to me. We both know you loooove me," he pointed out.

"Shut it, you idiot."

I punched him in the shoulder, brow furrowed. I didn't want my mates to hear him. Did they even know that I care about them? Would it matter if they got the wrong idea? Of course, dummy.

"It's wonderful to have you back, Aaron. I was just about to leave, so I'm glad I caught you," Alpha James said with a friendly smile.

Since we couldn't leave the packs defenseless, we were doing rotations. At least one pack leader stayed behind while the others were here, though my father decided to stay in the pack full-time. Of course, he did. Workaholic. I pushed that thought of my head and nodded to the alpha as he passed by.

"So," Erin piped up, raising an eyebrow. "You gonna' introduce me?"

Oh. "Right, uh, Erin, these are my mates."

"Evander Carlin, a pleasure to meet you," Evander cut in before I could say anything else.

The vampire held his hand out for Erin to accept and they shook hands. Erin then looked to Aubrey and the nymph glanced away shyly. "I'm Aubrey," he offered.

What happened to his usually outgoing personality? He'd been so open around us before. I reached out to take his hand, which he gladly accepted. Erin must've noticed the small action because he suddenly smirked, crossing his arms. "I can't believe my bestie went and got himself two mates while on a mission. Only Aaron," he teased.

"It wasn't on purpose. About that mission, though," I started, gaining his serious attention, "how did it go? How are the freed captives?"

Erin nodded. "Right to business I see. Well, we've been able to contact a few of the families and give those who have no contacts and wished to leave some supplies and money. Kit said he wanted to stay with Wren and Joshua, so he's still here for now. We're going to have a proper meeting later tonight now that you're here."

"Okay."

"Uh, for now, I guess you'd want to hang around, show your mates to your room, or whatever. Be in the meeting room by seven-thirty." Erin smiled lightly, his brown eyes unable to hide the pain he felt. "I'm really glad you're okay, and that you found your mates. You deserve it."

He walked away, leaving us in silence. The pain in my best friend's eyes pulled at my heart. Even if he'd never met his intended mate, it was still a burden on his heart. And after Wren found Joshua, Erin was...different. He still goofed around and stayed his positive self around the pack, but I knew better. He was hurting.

I wanted so badly to tell him that he shouldn't give up hope. He had someone else.

Before he disappeared, I made sure to focus on one of his hands for a moment. A faint red string tied to his pinkie floated in the air, leading outside. The string wasn't nearly as vibrant or thick as ones that signified a primary mate bond, but the fact that it was there was enough of a relief. He deserved happiness. Often, I checked his hand to make sure it was still there, that he didn't have to feel another string break. I wished I could tell him the truth and guide him straight to his second-chance mate, but I couldn't. For one, I'd be tampering with fate - no matter how weak it is given he had a second-chance mate - and I wasn't sure about my powers getting out on accident. Erin would never snitch on me if I told him, but it would be extremely suspicious if we randomly left to find his mate and came back within a short period of time. People would ask questions and I wasn't about to draw that kind of attention to myself.

"Aaron, should we get situated in your room?" Evander asked, drawing me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, follow me."

Luckily, I got one of the cabin rooms. It was probably because I'd been very busy helping to lead our group as a substitute for our beta. Now, I also had the excuse of having mates with me. Wren and Joshua got their own room for that reason.

What funny timing.

As the three of us climbed the steps leading to the second floor, I paused when I saw Wren and Joshua by the top of the stairs. Joshua had his arm around the shorter, a goofy grin on his face. When Wren saw me, he grinned, leaving his mate's side to greet us once we were in front of them. "Aaron, you're here!"

Wren hugged me tightly, squeezing me until I felt like I was about to stop breathing; why was he trying to kill me? "I was so worried, you have no idea. You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine, Wren," I answered, offering a very small smile. "I wasn't even gone that long."

"Still," he insisted. Wren then glanced behind me at my mates, a gentle smile overtaking his previous grin. "Hi, I'm Wren."

"It's nice to meet you, Wren," Evander greeted politely, Aubrey nodding along by his side.

"You must be tired from your trip. I'll leave you guys alone," Wren said, stepping back into Joshua's hold.

"Nice to see you, Aaron," Joshua added before they both walked downstairs.

"Okay, I swear you guys can get some rest now. No more introductions," I said with an apologetic smile.

"It's not a problem. They're your people," Evander said.

I silently led them to the room we'd be sharing, opening the door and letting them inside. It was small with a bed that would probably barely fit us if we all slept together, a nightstand on either side, a dresser in the corner next to a window, and a single chair next to a set of shelves containing some books. "It's small, but I think we can fit in here well enough," I said, stepping inside after them and shutting the door.

"It's fine, Aaron," Evander assured, sitting down on the bed.

Our bags we'd packed were already by the bed, so I grabbed one of them to begin unpacking. We weren't sure how long we'd stay here, to be honest. Maybe days, maybe months. As I unzipped the bag, Aubrey sat down next to Evander, leaning his head on the vampire's shoulder. I looked up from the clothes I was refolding to hold Aubrey's gaze. "Are you...okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm fine," he answered, looking away for a moment. "I just got a little shy. They're your friends and I didn't want them to hate me."

My chest warmed at his words. Putting the shirt I held in my hand on the bed, I sat down on the other side of the nymph. "They could never hate you," I said seriously. "You're too likable."

Aubrey blushed at that, looking down shyly. "Thanks," he whispered.

This time, he initiated the hand-holding as he slid his small hand into mine. I squeezed it gently, a small smile slipping onto my face, the smile widening when I felt the presence of Evander's arm spread out to balance himself from behind me. At least, I could spend a few minutes with my mates before sitting in a boring meeting with yelling werewolves.

Oh, joy.

~~~

Finally back to Aaron's pov! I had a thought to make an Aubrey and Evander bonding chapter. Would you guys be interested in seeing that from the nymph's point of view? Aubrey hasn't gotten the spotlight yet and this is his story too (though Aaron is the main-main character).

Either way, Aubrey and Evander are going to have a couple of moments coming up but I just don't know if I want to dedicate a chapter to it or just mention it in passing. Aaron's meeting will also be a chapter so I'm thinking the Aubrey-Evander thing will come after that but during the same time period? Does that interest y'all?

Also, thank you for 1K! Every time I see the read count go up I feel so happy. People actually read my stories and like them XD

It's such a motivating feeling.

Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!

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