Chapter 31 - Well Shit

It took me almost an hour to find my mates. I helped multiple people around the packhouse get medical attention, but I also watched many slowly bleed out. By the time I found my mates safely tucked behind the packhouse, I was ready to break down.

Evander saw me first. He was crouched with Aubrey in his lap, the nymph tucked protectively into his chest with Evander's arm covering his head. "Aaron," Evander called once he saw me.

Oh, thank Goddess. Not even caring that I was still injured, I ran over and dropped down in front of my mates. I grabbed Evander's face in my hands and turned it this way and that to assess any damage, then I brought his lips to mine and kissed him fiercely. He accepted the kiss and brought one of his free hands to run through my hair and pull me closer.

When we broke apart for air, I had little time to catch my breath before Aubrey was pulling me into a bruising kiss as well. It was a bit more awkward since Aubrey was in Evander's lap, but I didn't care. Why would I? My mates were safe. That's all I cared about. The kiss ended and I hugged both of them. "Thank fuck. Oh my Goddess. Are you two okay?" I rambled, looking over both of them once I pulled away.

"We're fine," Evander said. "I grabbed Aubrey and brought him here as soon as the shooting started."

"Good. I'm glad." I swallowed, trying to calm my emotions. "If I had lost you two, I don't know what I would've done."

"We didn't want to lose you either," Aubrey whispered.

I looked at them. "You mean so much to me. I've watched fated mates find each other and live happy endings, but I never thought I'd be this happy. I...I love you two. I don't ever want to think about you getting hurt or dying or-"

Evander silenced me with another—brief—kiss. "I love you, too, Aaron." He then turned his head to look at Aubrey and pulled him into a kiss. "And I love you, Aubrey."

The nymph giggled. "I love you both. You saved me from hell," he said seriously. "I could never thank you enough."

We sat in silence for a bit, relishing in the confessions. I wished I could pause the moment for eternity, but we all knew we had to get back to the matter at hand.

"What happened?" Aubrey asked.

"Suicide bombers. I think," I said, then frowned. "Honestly I'm not really sure what happened. I've been thinking about it but nothing makes perfect sense. I'm missing something."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. For now, we should go see how everyone else is doing."

"Right."

I stood up first and they followed. Aubrey immediately jumped at me and wrapped his legs around my waist as I hoisted him up. "You scared me so bad. I saw the guns pointed at you and I thought you were going to die. And then Rin-" Aubrey rambled.

"It's okay," I whispered. "I'm okay."

I ignored the burn still flaring from my back wounds. I was alive and that was all that mattered. I carried Aubrey to the packhouse while Evander followed next to me. Having them with me eased the tension in my body, but I wasn't completely relaxed. How could I be when my pack had been attacked like this? Not just my pack, but also every pack that attended the ceremony. Goddess, how could we be so naive? A gathering of the most important wolves in the packs? All in one place? A perfect chance to disrupt the power of the packs.

How the hell do we win this fight if they know our every move and we barely know what they are?

The thought stayed with me as we made our way inside the packhouse. It was packed with people looking for loved ones and crying over losses. The way to the pack doctor was even more crowded. I fought my way through the crowds when I saw Alpha Kristen's tall frame against the crowd. Once I was near her, I noticed that she was crying. She noticed me and nodded her head at one of the private rooms. Was that where Erin and Rin were?

"James told me to let you in if you came," she said. "Do you need medical attention?"

"No, I'm fine," I said stubbornly. "Are Rin and Erin in there?"

"James' son is in there, yes, and his mate. Joshua, his mate, and some others are in there as well."

I hesitated for a moment before asking, "Your son...?"

"He got caught in an explosion. He's dead," she said, her jaw clenched tight to hide the pain.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

She remained silent. I walked past her and slowly opened the door. I put Aubrey down in the doorway and let him walk inside first, followed by Evander then men. James and everyone else of importance to me were crowded in the room along with Dr. Milton. In the center of it all was Rin in a hospital bed. They looked pale, their face scrunched up in pain. Dr. Milton was hunched over their body digging into the bullet wound on Rin's chest.

"Don't hurt them," Erin begged.

He was being held by his father because it was clear he was about to lose it. I walked over and stood in front of him. "Hey," I snapped to get his attention. "Being agitated will make everyone else agitated. The bullet needs to be taken out in order for any healing to take place. Dragons heal quickly just like us. Dr. Milton is not hurting your mate."

"But they're in pain because of me. The bullet was meant for me-"

"Rin took the bullet because they must've seen it coming. Future sight and all that. The only person to blame here is the person who decided to shoot at you. This is the Eye's fault, not anyone else's here."

Erin blinked at me. I could tell he didn't really believe me, but I didn't care. What I said was the truth. It was his choice to calm down and believe it or not.

The sound of Rin crying out brought my attention back to the hospital bed. Next to Dr. Milton was a medical tray with his tools and a discarded bullet, but the man was still hunched over Rin's body. "Their body is trying to reject the toxin infused in the bullet," he noted.

So this bullet was like the one that shot Evander and the arrow that shot me. But, didn't that mean the wound would have to be purified with that flame thing? Could a dragon purify themselves? Was that a thing? I decided to voice this thought. "How do we purify them?"

Everyone went silent. Evander never needed it because the toxin wasn't lethal to an immortal being, but I was helped by Minori. We didn't have any other dragons around to help Rin. What even happened to dragons when they came in contact with the poison?

"I-I can do it."

Everyone turned to look at Rin. They were pale, but conscious at the very least.

"What do you mean?" Erin asked.

"I can purify myself," Rin stated.

"But how?" I asked this time. "I thought another dragon needed to use their flame."

Rin shook their head. "That's to channel the flame and bring the poison with it. I can do that by myself. Not many dragons know how, so others help them."

They brought a hand up to their chest and pressed into the wound. With a wince, they shut their eyes and slowly pulled their hand away. With it, a dark blue flow of what looked like ribbon pulled away as their hand lifted. Attached to it was a dark, inky substance. I was instantly reminded of the strings I could see attached to people. Was it a similar kind of magic?

Rin's body heaved once the last bit of the toxic left their body. What was left was a floating mass of blue ribbon with the poison. They then clenched their fist and the entire thing erupted into flames. I didn't remember that happening when Minor flushed my system, but maybe I was just delirious. It would make sense to burn the toxin.

"Has the damage to the pack been fully assessed?" James asked.

"I spent some time helping survivors and identifying bodies," I said. "There were a lot of casualties."

The room went silent again. At some point, Dr. Milton had left after patching Rin up to help other people in need. It was just everyone of importance to me in the room now: James, my mates, and my friends, including Joshua. At least I could say they were all safe.

"I'm so sorry."

I turned to look at Rin, who'd whispered that. What shocked me was the look on their face. Their eyes were far away and filled with tears. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything," Marie told the dragon.

"No! I did. It's my fault. If I didn't-" Rin frantically tried to explain, but Erin ripped away from his father's grip to kneel in front of his mate.

"None of it is your fault. You are a victim, just like everyone here."

"No, you were almost killed because of me" they wailed, their voice rising in pitch. "I'm not a victim. I'm not..."

"You saved my life," Erin tried to tell them, but the dragon wasn't listening.

Rin's entire demeanor changed. They reached up to grip their long hair and pull at it as their breathing increased. "It's my fault, it's my fault, I'm not a victim," they sobbed.

A chill ran down my spine watching them break down. I couldn't help but glance over at Evander, and to my surprise, his face was ashen. "What do you know?" I whispered to him.

He looked down at me. "Ella and I had a conversation once. She said Rin smelled rotten, like how the people from the Eye smelled to her. I reasoned that it was because he'd been in their grasp for months, but she didn't seem to agree. I think I understand now."

"What?" I asked.

"Rin, baby, please take a few deep breaths," Erin begged, reaching out to grab his mate's hand and hold them away from their hair.

Rin refused to look at Erin, instead deciding to stare at their lap. They'd suddenly gone very still. "I'm not a victim," they whispered. "I'm the reason you're all hurting."

"Just because you were captured and forced to use your abilities, does not mean it is your fault," Erin argued.

Rin shook their head slowly. "No, not that. I- please don't hate me."

"I could never," Erin insisted.

They paused.

"The Eye...it's not just some symbol. It's like...like a god. Not just any god, though. It's me. I'm the Eye."

Within an instant, the mood in the room dropped considerably. "What?" someone asked in shock, but I couldn't tell who. For all I know, it could've been me that voiced the same thought everyone was likely having.

Rin looked up and their eyes were still filled with tears. "I'm the reason the cult exists. It's my fault. I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen," they cried out.

Erin's grip on Rin's hands loosened enough for the dragon to cover their face in shame. I wasn't sure what to feel. Shock? Anger? Betrayal? Curiosity? But even if I couldn't distinguish the emotions rolling around inside of me, I knew one thing for certain: this was our chance. Our chance to turn the tide in our favor. It was obvious something happened if Rin was acting this way, especially if they'd been kidnapped and forced to use their powers. A god worshipped by their cult shouldn't be forced to work for said cult. No, something else was in play. There was more to the story.

I stepped forward and knelt next to Erin. Rin looked up to face me.

"Rin," I started slowly. "If you care about any of us, if you care about Erin at all, then make up for this by telling us everything you know. Your apology means nothing if you don't actively work to fix this. So, tell us. Please."

They sniffled but nodded. "I can do that. I'll tell you everything. But it's a long story."

"Just talk. We'll listen."

~~~

Ahhh. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to reveal who Rin really is XDD When the idea first came to me I was so excited. But with that, Twizzlers has come to an end. I know it lacks a lot of a "formal" conclusion but that's because it's going to lead directly into the third book.

I hope you all enjoy the conclusion to this story in the third book! Everything will finally be revealed. The third book will be a bit different, though. The first half is going to be Rin telling the story of how the Eye came to be, how they came to the human realm, and why they are on bad terms with their family like Yuki mentioned. So, it'll take place in the past. There will be no snippets of the future, just the story in its entirety as a flashback.

The second half (I'll make a clear distinction between the two) will get back to the present and will move on from there. We'll see how big this book will be because of that lol. Hopefully not toooo long.

So, watch out for when I announce the publication of Sakura Mochi, the third and final book of this series. It'll probably be a little while until I can publish anything because I barely finished this book, so I don't think I have enough to publish consistently with Sakura Mochi yet.

Keep this book in your library for when I make the announcement!

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

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