Chapter 5 - Paranoid Much?

No, a night - however brief it was seeing as we'd stayed up so late - of sleep did nothing to ease my paranoia.

Aubrey and I passed out quickly once we laid down in Evander's bed. It was just as comfortable as I'd imagined. It also helped that I had a natural heater that quickly lulled me to sleep - and, of course, the exhaustion from the day had to catch up to me eventually. The nymph snuggled up to me the entire night. When I woke up, our legs were intertwined and his head was on my chest, his arm thrown over my body.

After reaching over to check my phone, I noticed that I had a few missed calls from Wren. Made sense; it was almost noon. I quickly redialed his number, pressing the phone to my ear as I stared up at the ceiling from my position on the bed, still trapped by my mate.

"Hey, are you okay?" Wren asked the moment he picked up.

"I'm fine," I said. "I met with my mates and we went to the redhead's apartment."

I should probably introduce their names to Wren, but that could come at a slightly later date. It only mattered that he understood what I was saying, especially since I had to keep my voice low; Aubrey was still sound asleep on top of me.

"Good," he sighed. "Well, the mission was a semi-success. We rescued all the captives, but we weren't able to get anyone in charge."

"Hopefully the captives can give as much information as possible."

"Yeah... oh-" the line went silent for a moment before he came back again and said, "Erin wants to talk with you."

I sighed. Of course, he would. Wren no doubt told him that I found my mates and now he wants to either tease me about it, question me, or do both. Probably both. "Put him on."

"Aaron, why didn't you tell me you found your mates? I feel like I've been blindsided," Erin complained the moment he was handed the phone.

Drama queen. "I had more important things on my mind than telling you about my mates, like - oh, I don't know - my mates."

"That's no excuse. I'm your best friend," he countered as if that justified anything.

"Well, I'm telling you now, right?" I pointed out.

He hummed, and I could practically see the nod behind it. "So, tell me. What are they like? Wren said you had two - which, by the way, is so cool."

"They're nice," I stated, not sure what else to say.

What more could I say? I barely knew them. Not to mention, I still felt a bit on edge when it came to Evander. Aubrey and I had gotten along so well right from the beginning, but Evander was so... closed off. And I wasn't nearly as open as Aubrey was, so breaking past Evander's walls seemed even harder. Or maybe they were mine...

"That's it? 'They're nice?' You gotta' give me more than that, man."

"You sound like Ryder," I pointed it out, scrunching up my nose.

Erin laughed loudly. "Well, you've been so active in this attacking thing, and Wren is only around for a few days at a time, so Ryder and Marie are pretty much my only company."

I hummed. It was nice knowing that Wren was mentioned. I'd worried they'd still be awkward - I hadn't kept much track of their relationship - but they seemed to be doing fine. I was glad. Even if Wren wasn't our packmate anymore, he was still our close friend.

A soft groan broke me from my trail of thoughts. I looked down as Aubrey shifted around before his eyes blinked open. He looked up at me with hooded green-brown eyes, a questioning look on his face. "Aaron?" He asked, his voice quiet from sleep. "Who are you talking to?"

"My packmates," I answered, pulling away from the phone so Erin wouldn't hear and try to mess with me.

Didn't work.

"Aaroooon~ who's that? Introduce me," he said.

"I think I'll pass for now," I snorted.

Ryder was really rubbing off on him... though he was always an idiot. Ryder didn't need to influence anything on that front.

"You're so cruel, sometimes," he said. "Fine. I'll wait until you're back to demand introductions. When are you coming back?"

"Hopefully soon. I'll call back to confirm when," I responded.

"Okay. I'll leave you to it, then." He went silent, but didn't hang up, then cheekily added, "I know you must be eager to get it on with your mates."

"Erin," I snapped, but he hung up after laughing again.

I wanted to let out my frustrations with that idiot through a groan but luckily held it in. Erin's final words kind of pissed me off, but how was he to know that sex was the last thing on my mind? He didn't know about...that.

You can barely admit it in your own thoughts. How pathetic is that, Aaron?

"What's happening soon?" Aubrey asked me once I'd put my phone down.

He sat up, and my heart melted at how cute he looked. Evander's shirt was sliding off his thin shoulder and his brown curls were all messy from sleep. I reached up before I could stop myself and tried to smooth down the loose curls, but they refused to stay tamed. Aubrey hummed, leaning into my hand when I settled for petting his head.

"We need to head to my home base at some point. Check in, discuss the mission and whatnot," I finally answered.

Aubrey peeked his eyes open, as they had been previously closed, to look at me carefully. "How soon?"

I shrugged. "Eh, we're not in that much of a rush. Maybe later today? Tomorrow? They understand we all just got together and would probably want some time to figure it out."

The nymph nodded. He then laid back down, resting his head on my chest and closing his eyes again with a tired hum. "I've never slept so well before."

"Me neither," I admitted.

We laid there for a bit, silently enjoying each other's company, when I heard the stairs creak. Aubrey must not have heard because he didn't open his eyes again. I watched as Evander emerged, already dressed in new clothes. When he did that, I had no clue. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning," I answered, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

"I heard that you have to leave soon," he commented, moving to sit down at the end of the bed...farthest away from me.

Maybe his option to sit there had nothing to do with you, Aaron! Stop over-thinking everything.

"We do, yeah," I said, emphasizing the first word. "Wherever I go, I want my mates to join me. Besides, Aubrey might be able to help us."

At the mention of his name, my mate sat up again and looked at me. "Help with what?"

"We need more information. Since you lived in that place for so long, I'm sure there are some things you've heard before, maybe seen. Any information at all would help us a bunch," I explained.

Aubrey nodded, offering a small smile. "Yeah, I'd love to help."

"Awesome," I said, returning the smile.

"We can go tomorrow," Evander commented, breaking the small moment Aubrey and I seemed to be having; it was very easy to get lost in his smile.

I wanted to question why we couldn't go today, but I kept my mouth closed. He'd probably suggested tomorrow to remain cautious; we did just ransack a cult slave-trade or whatever they wanted to call it.

"So, what should we do today?" Aubrey asked, looking between the both of us excitedly.

"I don't really care, so long as we stay safe," I answered with a shrug.

Evander watched my movement before slowly standing up. "I think that, for now, I should make some breakfast for the both of you. Feel free to use my bathroom to shower and whatnot."

He left after that. Curt and efficient. I didn't get what his problem was. It felt like he was barely even trying to get to know us. Yeah, it'd been only a day - not even that - but still. Was he going to be this dry the entirety of our relationship? That didn't exactly sound fun.

Aubrey slid out of bed, catching my attention. He smiled down at me, his hands playing with the edges of Evander's shirt. "Do you...want to shower together?"

I think my heart just stopped for a second there. My cheeks instantly reddened at his offer, but I cleared my throat to try and divert the attention away from my clear embarrassment. "Um..."

"It's okay if you don't want to," Aubrey quickly added. "It would save us both time, though, and I really don't feel like being alone just yet."

His words melted my heart right away and I found myself nodding before I could really think about it. Aubrey grinned, grabbing my hand to pull me up and drag me into the bathroom.

Geez, so eager.

He didn't bother closing the bathroom door, but I did. Even if Evander was our third, I wasn't sure how he'd take seeing us naked or something. I just couldn't tell what was going through his stupid, immortal head. Besides, I wasn't feeling very eager to undress in front of Aubrey. I wasn't self-conscious by any means - I was actually quite proud of my body - I just...didn't like naked bodies. They were so weird-looking.

Aubrey was quick to throw Evander's shirt over his head and onto the tile floor. I turned away from him so I could undress in at least a bit of privacy, listening as he walked over to turn the shower on.

Evander's bathroom was just as grand and luxurious as the rest of his apartment. I hadn't paid much attention to it last night, but now, I got a good look at it. It seemed that each floor was occupied by a single apartment, so the bathroom had a nice-sized window that overlooked another view. In front of it was a large bathtub that looked extremely nice for a soak. A large shower was against one of the walls - holy shit, is that a waterfall shower?- and opposite of it was a bathroom sink with plenty of counter space.

"Aaron," Aubrey called, leading me to turn back towards the shower where he waited.

Oh geez. Even naked, he's cute? You can't just do that! That's not fair. Even if I was uncomfortable with naked bodies - which, now that I think about it, is kind of odd given that I'm a werewolf and I see nudity all the time - I couldn't deny that Aubrey was breathtaking. If only he had more meat on his bones, and the scars and markings on his otherwise smooth, brown skin were erased. They reminded me of the situation Aubrey had endured for so long. I felt my chest well up with emotion and I walked over, pulling him into a hug despite the slight roll of my stomach in protest.

"Aaron? What's wrong?" Aubrey asked, obviously confused by my random action.

"I'm so sorry, Aubrey. I wish I could've rescued you sooner," I whispered, leaning down to rest my head in the crook of his neck to inhale his sweet scent.

He stiffened up a bit in my arms, but relaxed after a moment. "It's okay. You saved me anyway. That's all that matters."

I slowly pulled away, nodding along with his words. He grabbed my hand, offering a smile, and pulling me into the shower. The warm spray of water was greatly welcomed. The tension in my body ebbed away as I pushed my hair away from my face, which had pasted itself across my face and past my chin - it wasn't exactly very short.

Aubrey and I showered fairly silently, but it was a comfortable silence. I found it surprising that I didn't feel uncomfortable around him like this. Was this truly the power of mate bonds? I could feel Aubrey sneaking peeks at me, but it didn't seem to bother me nearly as much as I thought it would.

We got dressed and made our way downstairs in some more of Evander's clothes - he set some aside on the bed at some point while we were showering. The smell of bacon made me smile as we entered the kitchen. The vampire turned to look at us, offering a nod, before going back to frying the bacon currently sizzling in a large pan.

"Smells good," Aubrey hummed, sliding into the same seat he did last night.

I did the same, putting my elbows on the table so I could support my head in my hands as I watched Evander's back. He must've felt my gaze because he turned to look at me after turning the stove off. I found myself quickly looking away so I wouldn't get caught - though, I know I already was caught. "So, what do the two of you wish to do today? Talk some more?" Evander asked.

I nodded my head, looking down at the marble counter. "Yeah, that'd be nice. I feel like there are still some things that we need to...air out."

Evander crossed his arms casually, and I noticed the way his biceps bulged slightly; damn vampires and their inhuman bodies. Not that I was anywhere near scrawny - being a beta meant I was constantly training - but my Goddess the guy was freaking ripped. I have no doubt that if I wasn't... uninterested in sex that I'd be drooling over him or something. One glance at Aubrey tells me that he's not far off from that sentiment.

A few minutes later, a plate was set in front of me. I glanced up at Evander, but he'd already turned away to clean up. Irritation built up inside of me, but I tried my best to extinguish it before I could let myself act on it. After shoveling a forkful of food into my mouth, I felt a lot better. Of course, he's good at cooking. Years of experience would make anyone good.

The three of us remained silent as Aubrey and I ate. Evander didn't even look at us, opting to wash the dishes and then head to the living room. I could feel Aubrey watching Evander and me, going back and forth between us, but he didn't say anything. Did he feel it, too? The slowly rising tension that was leaving a bad taste in my mouth - despite the food - and a knot in my stomach?

Maybe it wasn't just my imagination...

Damn it.

~~~

I honestly don't have much to say about this chapter :/ I know it's slightly boring, but I'm trying to give them time to bond before things blow up. Hopefully within the next two chapters, they'll leave Evander's apartment and head to home base. That'll make things more interesting.

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

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