Chapter 4 - Pancakes Are Good

"So about this mate situation, what will happen next?" Evander asked.

And to be honest? I had no clue.

"Right..." I started, not sure where to go with this now. "Well, I'm a beta, like I said. I have to be with my pack and help my alpha lead."

"I see. I work at a brewery company, but I wouldn't mind giving that up to do something else to be within your pack," Evander said.

I looked up at him in slight shock. "So, you're willing to be our mate?"

"Of course. I wouldn't reject either of you unless I absolutely had to, and you've done nothing wrong," he said. "Besides, I've lived in the city for long enough and worked at the same company since I was practically newly-turned. A change in scenery is more than welcome."

His words reminded me of something else. "What about your immortality? Aubrey and I aren't immortal."

Though, to be fair, Aubrey would probably outlive me anyway. He was a spirit of nature. Even if he wasn't immortal, he could easily live a few centuries before dying peacefully. Ugh, so then I'd be the one left out of things. That wasn't something I wanted to think about. Stupid human lifespan.

Evander hummed, rubbing his chin. "We can cross that bridge when we get there. For now, let's focus on the issue at hand: who were those people? What was that group doing selling people like that?"

It made me immensely relieved to know that Evander had nothing to do with the Eye. If he was truly clueless, then he must've been innocent like he claimed to be when I first met him in the theater.

"They were a cult called the Eye. They've been attacking the werewolf packs in our state for some reason. We don't quite know why yet. The place we were in was one of the houses they own for illegal trading of all sorts, but they specialized in..." I glanced over at Aubrey so he could continue if he wanted.

"They would take us away from our families and bring us to the house. Sometimes, they'd sell us within a few weeks. Sometimes, they'd send us off to a different house for other purposes. But the special ones they kept around to work until they found a good reason to use us. I took care of the landscaping for years before they decided to..." he paused to look away from us. "Sell me."

Evander slowly leaned back into his chair, his face closed off. I wish I could tell what he was thinking, but his mask was firmly in place. There was at least little doubt that his mind was going a hundred miles per hour. "I see. Well, I can assure you I had nothing to do with them. This is disturbing, though. And tonight was...?"

Aubrey slowly slid off my lap to rest his head against my shoulder. I would never tell any of my packmates this - especially Erin or anyone else in our friend group - but I was really liking the physical contact between Aubrey and me. Erin and I are usually touching in some way or another when we're alone - it brought me comfort for some odd reason. I didn't do it around anyone else, or with anyone else, because I had an image to uphold. Aubrey and Evander, however, didn't know about my image, so I could create a new one with them; a real one.

"Tonight, we began our attacks. The packs convened a little while ago to discuss the Eye and decided to take matters into our own hands. For now, they haven't begun any out-of-state attacks or aggravated other species, so we figured we could silently destroy them. Or at least, as silently as possible. Other non-human groups will no doubt hear about it at some point," I answered Evander's unfinished question.

"And why my particular Home?" Aubrey asked, and I was reminded of how Kit called his prison a "Home," too.

"The Eye took someone from us that had just escaped his Home, so we figured now was as good a time as any to do something."

Evander was about to question me further when Aubrey yawned, covering his mouth. His yawn almost triggered one of my own, but I kept it down. "I think we should sleep now. We can talk more tomorrow," I suggested.

"Oh, right," Evander said, standing up. "I forget that you all have to sleep so often. It's been a while since I had to sleep every night, so it slipped my mind."

Well, excuse me, Mr. I-Don't-Sleep-Because-I'm-Immortal. I knew that vampires didn't have to sleep often, but could choose to if they wanted to keep a routine. I didn't know how often he actually needed to sleep, but it obviously wasn't every night.

Aubrey and I stood up as well, but then I realized something once we were all standing. "Uh... can Aubrey maybe get some clothes and a hot meal?" I asked.

Aubrey perked up at the mention of a meal. "I didn't even realize I was hungry."

Evander nodded. "I have food in the fridge. We can make something for both of you after I get some clothing."

"You have food in your fridge?" I echoed. "But don't you drink blood?"

"I do," the elder man confirmed. "But I can also eat if I want to, though it's more like a treat. Plus, I had...someone who ate it before."

"Wait-"

Before I could question him, the damn guy walked off, leaving both Aubrey and me in confusion. I turned to look at my other mate, who had a frown on his face. "Is he dating someone?"

By the tone of his voice, I could tell he was coming to similar conclusions as me. Evander said he wouldn't reject us, but who's to say he'd actually grow to like us back? We'd fall for him quickly - and for each other - because we were bonded by fate, but Evander wasn't as connected. And with this mention of someone, we couldn't help but question who this someone was and what they meant to our mate. "I don't know," I started. "But he said 'had,' so past tense. Maybe whoever it was, if it was a lover, they broke up not too long ago and he has food leftover. And he did say he likes to eat mortal food once in a while."

Aubrey nodded his head slowly but didn't look any less worried. I walked closer, pulling him into a hug. His breath hitched at the sudden contact, but he was quick to bury his head in the crook of my neck. We heard footsteps on the stairs and I turned my head a bit just in time to see Evander watching us. He cocked his head a bit before walking over to us. "I have some clothes," he announced, causing Aubrey to lift his head to look at him.

"Thank you," I said, letting the flower nymph go so I could accept the clothes offered to me.

"I'm a larger size than both of you, but I figured that it wouldn't be too much of an issue."

"No, no, they're okay."

I don't know why, but I felt like something had just...happened. I wasn't sure how else to explain it, but it felt like something was just silently deducted and it created a bunch of walls between Evander and me. Maybe I could feel it because of my ability.

Aubrey didn't seem to feel the same... tension, because he moved closer to hug the much taller man. It was almost comical seeing the height difference: Evander was easily six-foot-something, while Aubrey's head landed at his chest. He also seemed to be about three inches taller than me, probably a bit less. I couldn't be sure. Still, he was a giant of a man being hugged by a tiny nymph. Aubrey pulled away, clutching the clothes to his chest and offering a smile. "I'm going to go change," he said. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Over there," Evander answered, pointing to the door I had figured was a bathroom earlier.

Haha, called it.

Aubrey walked over to it, closing the door behind him and leaving Evander and me in awkward silence. "So, uh..."

"Are you not going to change as well?" Evander asked. "I can cook something for the three of us if you don't want to."

"That isn't the issue," I quickly blurted out.

Evander blinked in surprise at my outburst. "Alright, then. If you need another bathroom, I have one upstairs."

"Thank you," I quickly said, feeling the need to flee.

Why can't you be normal for one second, Aaron?

I scurried up the steps, making sure not to look down at the probably-confused vampire. Maybe the tension I was feeling was completely on my side. Maybe I was just being paranoid. When I arrived at the top of the steps, I noticed the large bed that looked oh-so-comfy. What I wouldn't give to face-dive into that thing and sleep for an eternity. Even as I passed it to go to the bathroom, I still let my hand glide over the comforter. A few minutes later, I was walking back downstairs in a large shirt that was loose but comfortable and sweats that I'd tied as tightly as I could, my dirty clothes held in my hands.

Aubrey was already seated at the breakfast bar in the kitchen, watching Evander move around the kitchen gracefully - damn vampire. The little nymph had apparently decided to forgo pants since Evander's shirt was able to cover up to his mid-thigh and his pants would've probably slipped right off anyway. After a split-second of hesitation, I walked over and slid into the seat next to Aubrey.

"Evander's making us pancakes," Aubrey whispered excitedly.

"Why pancakes? It's late at night," I asked, aiming it at the chef.

Evander shrugged, not looking away from his work. "Pancakes can be an anytime food, in my opinion. My mother used to make them all the time for me as a treat."

Accepting his answer, I remained silent as I watched him. He was no doubt familiar with the kitchen. I think anyone would be if they cooked for over a century, let alone almost two. The kitchen was silent aside from the sound of the pancake batter hitting the hot surface of the griddle. After a little while, a stack of pancakes was slid over to me. I accepted the knife and fork offered before digging in. I hadn't even realized how hungry I was until a plate of hot food sat right in front of me.

Aubrey hummed when he took his first bite. "It's really good," he commented after he'd swallowed, offering Evander a wide smile.

"Thank you," the vampire accepted with a slight dip of his head, a plate of pancakes in his hand as well.

I noticed that he didn't sit down with us and instead leaned against the counter to face us. Maybe it was still the paranoia speaking, but I felt like he didn't want to sit. Aubrey and I had taken the two middle seats out of four. If he chose to sit, he'd have to pick between sitting next to me or sitting next to Aubrey.

The question began bubbling up inside of me, the one I had been wanting to ask ever since he mentioned someone needing to eat before, but I stomped it down. It wasn't my place to question him.

...

When has that ever stopped me before?

"Evander," I called, gaining his attention, "are you even into guys?"

I looked up at him to watch his reaction. His face spoke of his surprise, but his body remained calm and relaxed. "I am," he admitted. "But I also like women, and anyone else I find interest in. Gender is not something I take much note of. Why do you ask?"

"You mentioned someone before... were they a lover or something?"

The man took my next question in stride. "Yes," he confirmed, adding a nod. "But the romantic relationship ended years ago. Now, we're simply friends. They used to come to my apartment to catch up every week, but they haven't done so in a month now."

I frowned at that. "Shouldn't you be concerned?"

"No, not particularly. They're probably on some spontaneous trip. They like to do that a lot. Used to drive me up the wall when they'd suddenly disappear and leave me panicking."

I remained silent after he finished, shoving a bite of pancake into my mouth. Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea questioning him like that. At least, not so abruptly. I felt like I'd made the walls between us thicker. What was it nagging at the back of my mind telling me this? It was driving me crazy!

We all finished eating, and Aubrey stood up to yawn again. I gathered all of the dishes before dropping them into the sink. "Where do you want us to sleep?" I asked, but I couldn't look at Evander just yet; I still felt weird.

"You're welcome to use my bed if you wish. I won't be using it tonight," he answered.

I flinched slightly when he was suddenly right next to me, his hands moving to take the plate I had in my hand. Damn it, why hadn't I felt him sooner? I let him take the plate and stepped aside, figuring he wanted to wash the dishes himself.

"Thank you," Aubrey said, accepting Evander's offer. He looked at me, tilting his head a bit. "Coming?"

I smiled tightly, hoping that maybe a good night's sleep would help me out. "Yeah."

Maybe by the time I woke up again, whatever happening between Evander and I would go away.

Hopefully.

~~~

Is Aaron just being paranoid or is there something going on with Evander? And what of this mysterious ex? Do you think they'll be an issue in the future?

I hope things aren't very boring right now. I want to give these three time to talk a bit before they get back to the Eye thing. The action will pick up again soon :)

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

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