Chapter 13 - Whiney Alphas Aren't Fun II - Lorence's Revenge

Great Goddess above, please, end my suffering.

"This is all a bit too convenient, don't you think?" Lorence demanded, already stood up as if he was presenting some grand idea.

"We already explained, Alpha Lorence. Visions are visions. It's not a matter of convenience so much as it just happened," Alpha James said for probably the fifth time already.

Yet another meeting...woo. The only thing keeping me from banging my head against the table repeatedly was Evander's hand firmly grasped in mine. The moment Alpha Lorence started being a handful, Evander slipped his hand into mine under the table. I was more than grateful for the distraction.

"How do we not know that this bloodsucker just wants to lure us into a trap?" Lorence spat, pointing a finger at my mate.

My composure snapped for a moment and I glared right at the offending man. "Don't you dare speak about my mate like that," I gritted out. "Or I will kick your ass out of here myself."

"It makes no sense! A vampire shows up and all of a sudden, the kitsune is having these dreams about the vampire's ex? Are we writing a fairytale right now? Does no one hear how ridiculous this all is?" Lorence exclaimed.

"If I may," Evander suddenly spoke up.

All eyes turned to him. My mate paused for a moment to gather his thoughts before he said, "You're right, the way things are progressing does seem a bit ridiculous, but you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. Visions are very powerful and should be regarded with the utmost caution. If who I believe is trying to call me is in fact doing so, then it could be for more than just me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him curiously.

"Dragons are different from the shifters of this realm. A lot of them have powers that can classify them as mini gods. They also live for thousands of years. It's easy for any one of them to pick up magical arts. Perhaps, Rin trying to warn us all of something bigger? As if they are peering into our future," he tried to explain.

Different, huh? Doesn't sound so different to me, I thought bitterly. "So, you're saying that Rin might be trying to contact us about...The Eye?"

Evander paused. "I'm not very sure, but it's possible. Which is why I wanted to suggest something," he said, looking around at everyone.

"Do tell," Alpha Kristen encouraged.

"An expedition," Evander stated simply. "Maybe Rin, or whoever is sending this message, is trying to ask for help so they can help us. Wouldn't it be nice to possibly have an explanation for the dragon's behavior and a potential ally?"

"And who exactly would be going on this expedition of yours? It would be into unknown territory for who knows how long. You can't expect us to send a lot of people," Alpha James pointed out.

"I'd go," he started. My mate glanced at me, silently asking if I'd join. As if he needed to ask.

"I'll go with him," I agreed, fighting a smile when he squeezed my hand.

"I'd like to go as well if that's alright."

All heads turned to look at Erin, who had a smile on his face. "I want to be there if it means we can get some help against our common enemy."

I almost wanted to argue against him joining us, but I knew it would do nothing but undermine Erin's authority. He was an idiot, but he was also a grown man who could make his own decisions... sorta. He needed pushes at times.

"Well, that's three," Alpha Kristen commented. "Who else would be willing to go?"

Everyone glanced around at each other before a few others raised their hands. Among them was Alpha Lorence, which shocked me to no end. "Why do you want to go? I thought you accused my mate of setting a trap for us?" I bit out harshly.

"We're sending a bunch of children to the dragon realm. An adult should be there, especially if the trap is real. I'm an alpha, so I can protect you all."

Don't roll your eyes, don't roll your eyes, don't roll your eyes.

"I would be more assured if an older adult was with you all. Good, this team seems to be well-formed. Evander, what exactly are your plans?" Alpha James spoke up.

"Assuming that this is in fact Rin who is trying to communicate with us, we should seek out a portal that leads to the dragon realm, preferably one closest to Rin's home territory. Therefore, it would be wise to travel to Japan and start our search there. Rin told me of a portal there, so we can use that," Evander explained.

"And how long do you expect this journey to take? When are you leaving?" One of the betas spoke up.

"I don't know how long this journey might take given that we know so little about this mysterious location, but I think it would be best if we left before the end of this week," Evander said.

"Alright, that can be arranged. Is there anything else we should go over during this meeting?" Alpha James asked everyone.

Luckily, no one spoke up. Thank Goddess. The meeting was quickly adjourned and I stood up to stretch, letting go of Evander's hand in the process. "So, Japan?" I asked.

"Yes, I think that will be our best bet," Evander confirmed. "Thank you for backing me up, by the way."

I looked at him with a frown. "No need to thank me. Of course, I'd support you. You're my mate; I want to look out for you."

"Speaking of mates, do you think Aubrey is alright to travel with us, or do you think he would want to stay here?"

"I doubt he'd let us leave him alone after just getting us. Let's ask him when we get back," I said.

He nodded and walked out of the room. I was about to follow him when someone's hand landed on my shoulder. A sigh was leaving me before he even opened his mouth. "How are things with your mates?" Erin asked me.

"They're good, thanks for asking," I answered, turning to face him.

He had a smirk on his face. "You guys haven't... you know...done the deed yet?" He asked cheekily.

I shoved him, hard, my face cold as he laughed at me. "Okay, okay, I get it. You don't wanna' tell your bestest friend ever all the dirty details and that's fine." He suddenly grew serious, running a hand through his curls. "Hey..."

I noticed how sad he looked and felt my heart clench sympathetically.

"Do you... do you think I'll ever find a mate?" He asked me, his voice low and hesitant.

Where was this coming from all of a sudden? Glancing around, I figured this conversation was best taken somewhere private. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the meeting room, out of the cabin, and to the back porch where a bench sat overlooking the forest. We sat down, remaining silent for a minute.

"Why are you asking about this all of a sudden?" I voiced aloud, looking at the trees ahead of us.

"I don't know. After you found your mates, it just kind of hit me. I'm twenty-five. The pack is going to be ours soon and I still don't have anyone," he admitted. "I thought...I thought Wren and I would mate someday, but now he's happy with Joshua. And I'm really happy for him, don't get me wrong." He sighed, tilting his head back to rest it against the cabin exterior. "I just can't help but wonder if I'll be alone forever."

As he talked, I couldn't stop myself from taking a peep at his hand. It was dumb thinking it'd suddenly disappear, but it was my own love for the idiot making me paranoid. The string was still there, trailing off into the distance. "You won't be alone forever," I whispered.

Erin turned his head a bit to look at me. His brown eyes were filled with sorrow, making him look like a kicked puppy. "How can you be so sure? It feels like every person I love has left me," he said in a low, broken voice.

I knew he'd loved his first mate. They never had to meet for him to already have that connection. It was fated, so of course, he'd feel it. And I know he loved Wren a lot. Erin was also the type of person to fall very quickly. He committed to any of his relationships to the very end. That was part of what made him such a great friend and alpha. As far as I knew, those were his two biggest loves, but they both left him with a broken heart. My breath caught in my throat when I saw a stray tear fall from his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, wiping it away quickly. "I'm being ridiculous, I know."

"You're not," I argued back. "You're afraid, and that's okay. But Erin," I continued, reaching out to grab his shoulder so he'd face me. "You're going to find someone, okay? Or maybe some people like I did. You're going to find your missing piece and it's going to make all of this waiting worthwhile."

Erin cracked a weak smile. "You're such a sap with your words," he teased.

"I don't know why I even bother trying to help you, geez," I grumbled, pulling away.

He chuckled, scooting closer and putting his head on my shoulder. "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you, Aaron," he said sincerely.

"Well, you're stuck with me one way or another," I huffed. "So you better appreciate it."

He hummed. "I do."

.

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Erin and I stayed outside for a bit before we decided to head inside and go our separate ways. I went straight to my room to look for my mates. Before opening the door, I heard more than two voices, which made me frown curiously. Opening the door slowly, I saw that Kit and Wren were inside with Aubrey and Evander.

"Aaron! Evander said we're going to Japan; is that true?" Aubrey asked me excitedly.

"Yeah, we are," I confirmed, stepping inside and closing the door.

"Kit said he wants to come," Aubrey piped up.

"He probably shouldn't. It'd be safer for him to stay here with people protecting him," I said with a shake of my head. "Sorry, Kit."

"It's okay," he said, idly stroking one of his tails.

"I'm surprised you didn't volunteer, Wren," I spoke up, sitting down on the bed.

"I don't think Joshua wanted to leave and I figured I could still be useful here. If I see anything important, I'll be sure to contact you," he said, offering a pointed look.

He meant that he'd contact me in a dreamscape. That reminded me that I should probably explain to my mates that I, too, had abilities like Wren. Ugh, that conversation already sounded tiring in my head. But, they deserved to know. They also deserve to know something else I'm hiding from them.

Please, don't think about that now. I didn't want to add something as dumb as that to my plate right now. Deep down, I knew that putting off telling them would hurt in the long run. How much longer until either one of them tried proposing intimacy? Or even went in for something like a kiss? How much longer could I pretend that I was normal?

"Aaron?"

Evander's whisper right by my ear shocked me out of my thoughts. I looked at him with a questioning gaze. "What?"

"You were spacing out. Is everything alright? You didn't follow me after the meeting ended," he asked.

"I'm fine," I stated simply.

No, no I'm not fine. But, I can't explain that to you just yet.

"I'll leave you guys alone. Joshua said he wanted to take me somewhere anyway. Come on, Kit," Wren spoke up, hopping off the bed.

The two left, leaving my mates and me alone. Evander walked over to where we'd put his suitcases, pulling them out and putting them on the bed. "We should pack accordingly. Since we're not doing anything right now, why don't we start?"

"We still have at least two days before we go. Why so early?" I asked, flopping back on the bed; packing sucked.

"It's better to do it now than leave it for the last minute," Evander explained, already packing his clothes into one of the suitcases.

"But we just unpacked," I groaned.

Evander's chuckle made my cheeks redden a bit. Weirdo. I was glad he'd dropped the subject, though. Packing was more bearable than talking about my feelings.

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.

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I was right - of course, I always am - and we weren't set up to leave until three days later. We had to wake up at an ungodly hour to catch our first flight to the west coast where we would catch another flight to Japan. I was not looking forward to being on a plane for hours on end. I'd only done it a few times and it was never out of the country. Evander seemed accustomed to it and helped Aubrey and me the entire time. Thank Goddess for immortal beings who like to travel a lot.

However, Evander couldn't help me deal with the other people joining us on our trip. Erin was annoying as ever, but Alpha Lorence made me want to throw myself off one of the planes mid-flight. He was insistent on getting a first-class seat because he was "the proper adult" even though a few of the others who volunteered were also "proper adults." He also made the entire trip even more stressful with his constant complaining and nit-picking.

Thankfully, Aubrey and Evander kept me entertained enough so that I wouldn't jump to my death or tear out Alpha Lorence's tongue. By the time we arrived in Japan, I was at my wit's end, but that was okay. The trip was over; time for the hard part.

"Wow," Aubrey whispered in awe, looking around.

We'd decided on Osaka as our place to begin looking since Evander told us that was nearest to the portal Rin told him about. We didn't have much time to look around because we were all exhausted and wanted to rest in the hotel we'd booked, but from what we'd seen, Osaka was beautiful. By the time we got to the hotel and into our rooms, though, I was ready to drop dead. I couldn't even bother looking around the room provided for the three of us. Aubrey was already slowly closing his eyes as he sleepily made his way over to the bed with his suitcase dragging behind him.

Before he dropped, Evander grabbed his suitcase and guided the sleepy nymph into bed. Aubrey passed out shortly after that, luckily dressed in some sweatpants and a comfy shirt he'd borrowed from Wren. I, too, was ready to follow him when Evander gently tapped my shoulder. "Let me take your suitcase. Take off your shoes and go to bed. I'll unpack."

I nodded my head, letting him take the luggage as I took off my shoes silently. "Do you think we'll find anything?" I asked.

"I hope we do, but I also secretly hope that Rin isn't the one contacting us. If they're in danger...," Evander admitted.

"I get it," I said.

I crawled into bed after that and Aubrey snuggled into me almost immediately. We fell asleep to the sound of Evander unzipping the suitcases and pulling open drawers to put stuff away. Tomorrow, our search began. Yay.

~~~

I swear I haven't uploaded two consecutive chapters on a Wednesday in sooo long. I'm really sorry! This week is my fall break but I've been extremely busy. I finished this last night but I couldn't hop onto my computer until now. Anyway, finally, a chapter XD

A bit longer than usual so that's good at least. I feel so bad for Erin. Do y'all?  He's the kind of person who loves devoting his attention to someone and he misses it.

But don't worry, he'll get a happy ending!

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

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