Chapter 12 - The Ex...Ugh

I secretly hoped that when I'd open the door to our room, Evander and Aubrey would be asleep so I could avoid talking about serious shit anymore. I was tired. But, why would things work out like that, right?

As soon as I opened the door, Evander looked up from the book in his hands. "You're finally back," he commented.

I nodded slowly, shutting the door. Aubrey was passed out with his head in Evander's lap, his body curled in towards the other man. Evander put the book down on the bed, probably noticing how tired I looked. "How did the meeting go?"

"Could've been worse, but it could've been way better, too," I grumbled.

"I take it the information Elvira gave was...?"

"Questioned," I filled in. "And argued about. Still, we were going to talk to your elders. Would that be alright?"

He nodded. After a moment of awkward silence, Evander patted the other side of the bed where he'd left some space for me I'm assuming. I cursed my heart for jumping at such a simple invitation. We'd only known each other for a few days but I was already way too attached to these two people.

I quickly took my shoes off and went into the ensuite bathroom to change and brush my teeth. When I came out, Evander was reading his book again but looked up at me when I re-entered the room. Slowly, as if he'd revoke the invitation if I moved too fast, I walked over, crawling into bed. It was a bit of a tight squeeze with three grown men - even if Aubrey was small like most nymphs are - but it wasn't horrible.

I'm ashamed to say that I almost jumped off the bed when Evander's very, very bare arm made its way across my shoulders, pulling me into his very, very bare chest. A blush made its way across my face as I stuttered out rather pathetically, "W-what are you doing?"

Nice, Aaron.

"You look tired. I'm trying to be supportive. If this is too much, I can-"

"No," I quickly answered, before shutting my mouth out of embarrassment. "Uhh, I mean it's fine. I don't mind."

Evander nodded, before looking at me expectantly. With a sigh, I told him about everything, including what Wren talked to me about after the meeting. When a frown made its way onto his face, I realized he wouldn't possibly have any answers.

"How strange. And what did they look like again?" Evander asked.

"Wren said they had long, black hair. That's all he saw in terms of features. The person was wearing bloodstained-robes, but aside from that, Wren said he couldn't identify anything else about the person. They just asked for help and mentioned your name."

I looked over at him expecting to still see that frown, but instead, I saw a look that said he recognized something. Well, shit, maybe I should've mentioned the long hair first. Or was it the robes that did it? Either way, Evander's frown was gone so that meant he may know something. "What is it?" I asked hesitantly.

"Well...I'm not sure how helpful this is, but do you remember when I mentioned that person who used to visit me often? And how they haven't been around in over a month?"

"Yeah?"

Evander looked away, his eyes slightly narrowed in concentration. "The only connection I can think of is that person. They like their hair long, and it's black, too. I always asked them about it, but they never wanted to cut it, even when it'd get caught in so many things," he mused.

I couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. The look on his face was open and soft as he recounted information I didn't even ask about. It was obvious to me he cared about this person. My only concern was how much.

"And the robes part?" I prompted.

"That doesn't make as much sense to me, to be honest," he began, before his eyes widened slightly.

I cut him off before he could talk, though. I just had to know. "Evander...who is this person? You said they were once a lover of yours, but I want," - no, need - "you to tell me who it is. We need this information if it could be important."

Evander looked at me carefully and I had a feeling he saw right through me. Yeah, I was asking because we needed as much information as possible, but I was also trying to quell my jealousy. My wolf was only fueling that jealousy more and more. I was desperate to know what my mate's ex-lover was like, as stupid as that sounded.

"Their name is Rin."

"Rin?" I echoed.

Evander nodded. He sighed, using his free arm to run a hand down his face. His other arm was still around my shoulders. "Yes, Rin. They're a dragon."

Are you serious?

My incredulous look made him sigh again. "I'm telling the truth. Rin is a dragon shifter. They came to the mortal world sometime in the eighties, but I didn't meet them until the early two-thousands. We dated for a while, but they cut things off about five years ago. Like I said before, we stayed friends. They'd often leave for periods of time. They always said they were traveling. I assumed this disappearance was the same thing. I found it odd Rin never said anything, but I guess it makes sense now."

So...he had a dragon for a lover...for a loooong time. Focus, Aaron. Worry about your jealousy later. "So, what's with the robe thing? Your eyes widened as if you realized something."

"Rin's a Japanese dragon. They said that in the place they came from, people wore clothes similar to what would be considered a kimono in our world. Perhaps they're trapped in the dragon realm," he explained.

"But why?" I couldn't help but ask. "Isn't that supposed to be the home of the dragons? Why would Rin be trapped?"

Evander bit his lip. "I know Rin doesn't like to talk about it, but they ran away from home. I don't feel right disclosing the really personal details, but I know that Rin came from an influential family and they never really talked about them fondly."

We went silent after that. What could we say? I looked down at my lap, unsure of what to do now.

"I'm not in love with them if that's what you're worried about."

My head shot up to stare at him, eyes wide. "Uh, I-"

"Your face screamed jealousy. You're not very good at hiding the emotions in your eyes, Aaron. Aubrey and I can read you like an open book," he pointed out with the hint of a teasing smile. "I can tell you're upset, but Rin is of no threat to you or Aubrey. We were in love once, but not anymore. It didn't work out, simple as that. But this," he lifted his free arm to lift my chin up so I couldn't escape his dark gaze, "will work out. It might take some time, it might not, but you and Aubrey are who I plan on loving. Rin is my past; you two are my future."

My cheeks burned at his words, and my heart stopped when he smiled at my reaction. Great Goddess, he's not allowed to smile like that anymore. "Um-"

We both paused when the bedsheets shifted, drawing our attention to a sleepy, but awake, Aubrey. "Why are you guys still up?" He asked sleepily, rubbing at his eyes.

"We were just talking," Evander answered calmly. "But you two should sleep now. We can talk more in the morning."

Aubrey accepted that and laid back down, curling up to face Evander. I gulped, feeling like I just dodged a bullet for some reason. It was starting to get a little intense. Evander looked at me, slowly letting go of my chin. "I'll let you sleep now. If we need to, we can talk about Rin tomorrow."

"Okay," I mumbled, looking away.

I turned the light off on my side, hearing Evander lay down properly. I hesitantly did the same, finding that his arm was gone now, but I couldn't fall asleep just yet.

If Evander's ex-lover contacted Wren, the question was why. And how the hell did they even know that Wren would get it to us? And how the hell did they even know of Wren? None of it made sense to me. The fact that probably few of us even knew a lot about dragons made it worse. We never entered their world, but they entered ours once in a while. What were we supposed to do with this information? I wanted to keep talking to Evander seeing as he probably knew way more than what he's already told, but he ended the conversation.

A small sigh escaped me as I listened to the sound of my two mates breathing quietly. I didn't think I'd be sleeping anytime soon. There was just way too much going on in my brain to try.

.

.

.

Turns out I didn't fall asleep until the sun was starting to rise. My eyes finally closed, but my sleep was interrupted by the sound of my mates talking. With a groan, I peeked my eyes open, turning my head to see that I'd gotten about two hours of sleep if that. Wonderful. Evander and Aubrey paused their conversation when they heard me groan. I could feel their eyes on me as I sat up, pushing my hair out of my face and squinting past slightly blurry eyes.

"Good morning, Aaron," Aubrey said.

I nodded my head in return, letting my face fall into my hands to try and get my eyes to adjust. Goddess, I can't believe I spent so long thinking about Evander's ex. That's ridiculous. And now I was going to be talking about them probably for the rest of the day. I'd have to report on what Evander told me and Goddess forbid Wren had another dream-vision-thing last night. Ugh, the thought of it already made my head ache. Please, not another meeting.

"Are you okay?"

I peeked through my fingers to see Aubrey looking at me with an adorable frown on his face. Evander watched me curiously as well, interest piqued by the nymph's question.

"I'm fine, just tired," I answered.

They accepted my answer and we all got out of bed to get ready for the day. It felt weird getting ready together as if this was our daily routine, but it was a good weird. Comforting...mostly. It was really awkward needing to shoo them out of the bathroom so I could shower and change. Even though I'd already showered with Aubrey, I still felt awkward about it. The idea of them watching me undress made my stomach roll. Stupid body.

We all went downstairs where breakfast was already being served. It was like the moment we all sat down, Aubrey and me each with a bowl of oatmeal and fruit, Wren decided to bother us. He sat down in front of us at one of the tables in the common room, his lip already worrying between his teeth. Goddess, you can't be serious.

"You had another dream," I said, casually spooning some oatmeal into my mouth.

"Yes- how'd you know?" Wren asked with a confused frown.

"Lucky guess," I muttered.

"Well, this time I got a look at the person. Thing is, I couldn't tell whether it was a guy or a girl. They looked both effeminate and masculine at the same time," Wren mused.

"That's because dragons don't have genders the way we define them," Evander spoke up.

Wren looked shocked when my mate spoke. "How do you know it was a dragon?" He asked.

"Because I know who it is. But, just to be sure, what else struck you as odd about their appearance?" Evander said.

"The eyes...their eyes were so beautiful. They looked like glass or crystal, both colorless and full of color. I don't even know how to describe it," Wren whispered.

Evander smiled lightly. "Yes, that sounds a lot like Rin. That's their name. Did they say anything to you?"

"Nothing that they didn't already say before. They asked for your help again," Wren answered with a shake of his head.

"Hmm, perhaps when you report this, I should come along. I have a suggestion."

I looked at Evander with a raised brow. "Really?"

"Yes," he confirmed with an amused smile. "But I think it would be best if I ran it by the rest of your people first, though."

Goddess, help me his smile is so captivating.

"Okay, I'll tell Alpha James to set up another meeting today," Wren said with a smile before leaving.

Ugh, no. Not another meeting... and about Evander's ex, no less. Well, may as well enjoy my time with my mates while I can. In a few hours, I'll be dealing with adult babies. At least, Evander will be there to keep me sane.

~~~

So...a day late. Sorry about that. I had trouble figuring out where I wanted to end it, but I think I'll have the meeting in the next chapter.

Y'all finally know about Rin! Ugh, I love them so so so so much. And on that topic, yes, Rin goes by they/them pronouns. You will see, however, that they will also go by he/him at times. That'll come much later and will be explained in further detail when I get into the dragon dealio.

ALSO, if I use the wrong pronouns (meaning I use he/him with characters who usually don't) please tell me okay? Rin was originally going to be a male but I realized that I was keeping myself constrained in the binary. I don't want to mess this up. If y'all could just keep an eye out for me that would be awesome!

I was so excited to have a non-binary character and I figured Rin would be perfect. I hope y'all come to love them as much as I do XD you'll see how much of a character they are (literally lol). Aaron is sarcastic and very personable in his head, but Rin definitely shows it outwardly as well.

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

Please vote, share, and comment if you like it :)