Chapter 23 - Y'all Move Fast

After coming out to my mates, we remained cuddled to each other until Aubrey and I were hungry. My body felt light and filled with warmth. I finally did it. After years of worrying about what would happen, my mates were fine with who I was. Not only that, but we had an understanding of our boundaries. We had talked a bit more and Aubrey and Evander made sure to discuss what would happen between them.

Now, I felt closer to them than I had before. We'd forgiven each other, we'd come to a complete understanding, and we knew what to do if we had trouble. Things would be good from now on, I could just tell.

After having breakfast in Yuki and Minori's house, we all packed up to leave. I felt a bit sad. I'd wanted to see more of the dragon realm like other dragons and stuff. But, I was also eager to get back to home base so we could report and figure out what to do next. Now that Rin was safe and with us, we had an advantage. I was sure that Rin would be willing to help, seeing as their mate was so heavily involved.

"I promise we will visit soon," I heard Rin tell their sister.

The two were hugging tightly and when they pulled away, I saw that Yuki was crying. "That's all I could ever ask for, Rin. I've missed you so much."

"I know and I'm sorry. I really am."

Yuki smiled a bit and walked away with Minori by her side. Erin quickly walked to Rin and grabbed their hand. Already, they were practically one person. But, I didn't feel nearly as jealous of it as I did earlier. My mates and I were finally on the right track. I knew we would get there someday soon.

Erin walked over with Rin and grinned at me. "You're happy."

"No shit, Sherlock. I'm alive and we completed our mission," I shot back with a huff.

"No, you're happy because of something else," he elaborated. "But whatever, you don't have to tell me. We should get going so we can call Wren and see how things are going."

"Yeah."

"We're going to your main base?" Rin asked.

"We are. Then, we might rest up a bit at the pack, check things out," Erin added. "Why?"

"Nothing really, just curious," they said with a small shrug. "I'm nervous to meet your pack."

"They're going to love you, okay?" Erin said, reaching out to cup their face.

Rin looked at Erin with wide eyes. Goddess, they looked all mushy-gushy already. I faked a gag which made Erin flip me off as he pulled Rin into a hug. I chuckled and walked off. Idiot. I was glad he was so excited, though. This was finally the start of a new chapter for him. Now, all we needed to do was kick the Eye's ass so we could live in peace.

Mostly peace. You still have problems of your own.

With final farewells to Yuki, Minori led us back to the portal. I was the last one to go through, but before I did, they grabbed my arm. "I never said this in front of Yuki because she believes her sibling is good, but be careful. Rin...they hurt Yuki and their family, a lot. Even if they have changed, I still don't trust them."

"Thank you for the warning," I said. "But why are you telling me?"

"Because I know you're more than just a werewolf. I don't know what you can do, but it's obvious you led us to Rin in more ways than one. Your judgment should guide you. This is simply a warning to keep your eyes open. Rin is not a bad person, they're just...their past is one that doesn't just haunt them."

"I will, but Rin's my best friend's mate. I don't want to suspect his mate without his knowledge."

Minori nodded. "Well, if you need help, you're more than welcome to come back. If I'm being honest, some weird stuff has been happening in the realm." They paused, before waving their hand in dismissal. "That doesn't concern you, though. Get going."

"Bye, thank you again for putting up with us," I said.

They nodded again, so I walked through the portal. Evander and Aubrey were by another tree, holding hands. I walked over to them and offered a small smile. "Are we ready to go?" I asked them.

"We decided to stay for the rest of the day since the best flight would be tonight. What would you like to do?" Evander said.

"Oh. Why don't we do a little sight-seeing?" I offered.

"Rin wants to show me some spots they like. You can join us," Erin piped up as he and Rin walked over.

"You promised you'd show me around, too," Evander added, looking at Rin.

"Let's go then!" Aubrey cheered, making me fight down a smile at his enthusiasm.

The rest of the group split away from us, but we decided to take a walk around and explore. I desperately wished I could hold Evander and Aubrey's hands at once, but I figured it would be a little too much for the humans around us. Still, it was nice being with them close by.

We stopped by an aquarium first. After getting tickets, we stepped inside and walked around. Rin and Erin walked off together, so my mates and I decided to stand by one of the exhibits. "Oh, so pretty," Aubrey whispered. "I've never been to a place like this before."

My chest tightened. He'd missed out on so much being in captivity. Everything I took for granted, that Evander took for granted, Aubrey was experiencing for the first time. With a quick glance around - thank Goddess aquariums aren't brightly-lit - I walked closer and grabbed his hand. "It is. When we get back home, I want to take you to lots of places like this."

He looked up at me with a bright smile. "Really?"

"Of course. You deserve it."

His giggle warmed my heart. I felt Evander's presence behind us, so I knew he heard our plans. I wanted to take them both to the places I enjoyed. There, we could openly be a throuple. I turned my head to look at Evander and he offered a gentle smile. I reached out to squeeze his hand and his smile widened.

After walking around the exhibits some more, we all met up to eat some food. We decided to go back to the hotel and eat at the restaurant there so we could go for a swim and pack up to leave. The food was good - expensive, but we weren't paying for it - and we got to talk to Rin some more.

I quickly noticed that Erin and Rin were very close already. The dragon was very open with their mate, which surprised me a bit, I guess. I never thought they'd be so quick to fawn all over each other but there they were, with Erin letting Rin feed him bites of their food as the dragon smiled.

"Rin's always been quick to move past things. They don't like to dwell on what makes them hurt," Evander whispered from beside me.

"Oh?"

"And once they're comfortable, they're quite open and sociable. You just have to be patient and honest," he further explained.

It made sense, but Rin made it seem like what happened hadn't been an ordeal for them. Was that just their coping mechanism? Evander explained it that way. But, was it healthy? Don't interfere, Aaron. Let them handle it. It's their relationship, not yours.

After we finished eating, we all headed upstairs to change into swimming attire. I rushed into the bathroom to change, but I felt a lot less guilty about it knowing that my mates understood why I was doing it. Once I was changed into some swim trunks, I peeked open the door to see Aubrey and Evander sitting on the bed waiting for me. I opened the door wider and they both smiled at me.

We walked to the pool and found Erin and Rin already inside. They weren't many people around, either. Good for us. The pool was quite large and looked really nice. A nice swim sounded nice to end our short adventure. When Erin saw us, he waved us over with a grin. I rolled my eyes and stepped into the water after putting my towel on a chair. I was about to swim over when I heard a quiet, "I can't swim."

I turned back around to see Aubrey by the steps with Evander gently holding his hand. Wading back over, I watched as Aubrey bit his lip and glanced down at the water. "I never learned," he explained.

"We can teach you," I said.

"You two have fun, I'll just sit by our stuff," he said with a small smile.

"Are you sure? We wouldn't mind helping you, Aubrey," Evander asked.

"I'm fine. Maybe another time, okay?"

"Alright," Evander conceded, letting go of his hand.

Aubrey walked over to our stuff and sat down on a chair while Evander stepped into the pool. "Is everything alright?" Erin asked from behind us.

"Everything's fine," I said. "What about you? You and Rin are very close," I added with a smirk.

The smile that split my best friend's face made me realize that everything I'd done was worth it. The pain, the worry, the lies - which I'd come clean for eventually - were all worth it. "Yes, everything's wonderful. Rin's...amazing."

"I'm happy that you found your mate, Erin," I said honestly.

He nodded his head. "I can't wait to show them our pack. The pack's going to be happy, right? I told them the pack would love them, but what if they don't accept Rin?"

"I'm sure they will, Erin. The pack would never be upset and force you away from your other half," I said.

Erin looked back at his mate, who'd gone over to Evander to chat. He smiled gently and turned back to me. "They are my other half. Goddess, I never knew finding my mate would be this perfect."

"I hope it stays that way for you," I said softly.

After swimming around for an hour or so, we all got out to start packing. When my mates offered for me to join them in the shower again, I declined and they understood. It felt good not hiding things from them. You're not done yet, though. There's still something you're hiding from them.

The thought dampened my mood a bit. That was just one thing I didn't think I could talk to them about quite yet. I wasn't ready. My sexuality and my powers felt less significant than what I had to tell them. Besides, it didn't affect them like my other secrets - well, they're not secrets anymore - did.

I busied myself with packing while they showered, then I showered while they finished packing. Dinner passed by in a blur and we were on the plane heading back home within a few short hours.

Aubrey's head rested on my shoulder as he slept and mine rested on Evander's. "I can't wait to get home," I sighed.

"Osaka was lovely, though," Evander pointed out.

"It was," I agreed. "We should travel like this more, but not to rescue dragons from prisons."

He chuckled. "We can vacation if you would like. It would be fun. I'm sure Aubrey would enjoy it."

We talked for a bit longer before he gently advised me to get some rest. I agreed and fell asleep against his shoulder, content with what we'd accomplished. We did well. Rin was safe, Erin was happy, my mates and I were making progress, and we gained new allies in Minori and Yuki. Aside from me, no one got majorly injured. I'd call that a success.

When we landed, we all tiredly got our luggage and went home in the van sent to pick us up. Even the flight home was good. Alpha Lorence didn't complain and everything went well. Damn, what a good day, huh?

My pocket started buzzing, so I took it out. "Hello?"

Evander and Aubrey, seated beside me in the van, looked at me curiously. When I didn't hear anything, I called out again, "Uh, is anyone there?"

"Aaron, don't come back to the base."

"What? Wren, is that you?"

"Don't come back. Go to the pack! We're going to be attacked," he frantically said.

"Wait, Wren, what? We're going to be attacked?" I asked in shock.

Oh shit. I ruined the good day we were having.

"Our pack was attacked, mine and Joshua's. Ella...they almost killed her."

A chill ran down my spine. Ella? Once we realized that Ella was special, we talked to her about it and we made sure to protect her the best we could. But, it wasn't enough. She almost died. She wasn't even out of middle school yet. Goddess. "Did...did anyone else get hurt?"

"Yes. A handful of pack members were killed," he said tearfully. "Joshua went back to help out, but I had a vision. They're coming for Ridgeside next, along with two other packs. They're growing in numbers, Aaron. You have to protect the pack first."

"But what about the main base? Is everything okay over there?"

"For now," Wren said. "But I'm worried. Something feels off."

"Goddess, Wren, stay safe, please," I begged.

"Don't worry about me," he whispered. "Just protect our pack, okay?"

He hung up after that and I sighed. "We have to go back to Ridgeside. The Eye's going to attack."

Erin turned around in his seat to stare at me with wide eyes. "You've got to be kidding me. We need to alert the pack, make sure they prepare-"

"They're already there," Rin suddenly whispered.

"What?" Erin and I said together.

"Shit, we need to hurry. We're an hour away," I cursed.

Our pack was about to be attacked and we couldn't even be there to help. Goddess, could they hold off that long without as many pack members able to fight? We didn't even know what we'd be up against.

Please, hold on. Goddess, no one else needs to die.

~~~

And we're back with our regularly scheduled program! If I'm being honest, I hated this chapter. It was probably the worst one I've written in a while (in my opinion at least). But, I hope it isn't bad for y'all XD

What do you think this last thing Aaron needs to talk about is? I think it's become somewhat obvious, but if it hasn't, I hope y'all enjoy what else is to come.

And what about Minori's warning? What's Rin's mysterious past all about? Y'all will get to see it in the next book, but I'm considering doing some things a bit differently for the third book. I might split it into two parts (it'll stay within the same book) because Rin's story is one I really want to explore in-depth and it would help develop the story further.

Erin and Rin are so cute lol. I realized this week when someone commented about the fact that Erin and Rin have the same name "Rin" within their names. I genuinely didn't even think about that. Rin's name was a result of researching gender-neutral Japanese names that fit, but I never even paused to consider how similar the names were (I seem to have this problem lmao).

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

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