𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒

God this chapter is much shorter than the others T_T


REDIS POV

Redis was still rather scared of these two men, especially after all this information about being mates with the man who saved him. But so far, they haven't made any moves to attack him.

Biting his lip, unsure if he should ask, what if they were lying to him?

"What happened to the Rouges?" he asked, facepalming mentally while spewing curses inside. Outside, he looked unsure and wary at the two men who stopped talking with each other to look at him, surprised expressions on their faces.

"There's no need to be scared. We, well, I eliminated them." Arden told him.

All Redis did was nod while pulling the coat tighter around him. In the end, he had to let go of Arden, which he didn't want to do, still wary of the man Alastair. But as they had to discuss what to do now, Redis had to let go, but not without getting the coat wrapped around his shoulders by Arden.

Mates.

Of course, Redis didn't live completely under a rock and had heard of mates before. He mostly heard of them from his mother, who spoke so highly of the man Redis had never met, his father. They were both mates, but his mother never really told him how humans could be mates. But his mother barely said anything about his father. The man who was dead was a mystery, a secret to Redis.

Hazel eyes stared at the tall man that saved him, Arden.

Arden had black tousled hair that reached his nape. His brown eyes were darker, and his lips were pinkish. A mole was on the right side of his lips, and another was on the outer corner of his left eye. His nose was straight, with a slight bump at the top and a strong jawline.

Redis' eyes scanned over the rest of the other man before going back upwards. They came face to face with a small smirk on Alastairs' lips while their eyes met, which seemed to confuse Arden as he also turned his head in Redis' direction.

With the attention on him again, Redis turned his back to them in embarrassment. He could hear a chuckle, but he ignored it. I'd rather turn my back to them and risk getting attacked, he thought. Pulling the coat from his back, he let his eyes scan over the obvious expensive fabric. It felt heavy yet almost soft on his shoulders.

His eyes caught the rather obvious badge on the front of the coat. He dropped the coat into his lap with widened eyes before glancing back toward Arden. He turned his head back to the coat on his lap, with the golden badge shining in the sun's light, frowning at it as he simply didn't want to let his mind map out some delusion.

The Badge was a full-body dragon with a crown above its head.

Picking nervously at the grass beneath him, Redis looked back at the two men. His eyes caught Arden's brown eyes, who seemed to notice the nervousness radiating off of Redis. Gnawing on his lip, Redis thought it over before he let his breath out. "Are you Arden? You know, the Leader of the Dragons?" he asked nervously. He wasn't sure what to hope with the answer; he was just curious, right?

Of course, anyone could have the same name as the current Leader, as names are simply names, open to anyone to use.

"I am." was Arden's answer as he walked closer to Redis before squatting beside him with a gentle smile on his lips. "Does that scare you?" was the question, probably one of his own running through his mind.

A frown made its way onto Redis' face as he thought about it before slowly shaking his head no. "No, it doesn't scare me in particular. But what does it mean for two different species to be bound as mates?" Redis asked he knew of mates, but not much he would say.

The chuckle of Arden brought Redis' attention to the male. "You seem to know at least what mates are, but that seems to be it," Arden said in a matter-of-fact tone, which made Redis lower his head in embarrassment because the male in front of him was, in fact, right about that.

After he nodded, he felt a hand gently patting his head, running through his hair. Looking back up, he saw Arden's still smiling face. "You don't have to be embarrassed about that. I have enough time and patience to explain it and answer your questions." A small smile made its way onto Redis' lips.

He whispered a thanks to Arden.

"I really don't want to interrupt your guys' moment, but I think it's time to head back." Alastair interrupted the two. Redis watched as Arden stood back up. He was about to get up, too, but a hand in front of his face confused him. Lifting the coat from his lap toward the hand, he heard another chuckle ripple from the other's lips. "I wanted to give you a helping hand if you don't mind too much. The coat you can keep until we return." Arden said.

Looking at the outstretched hand, Redis cleared his throat as his cheeks heated up and turned slightly reddish before he put his hand on Arden's waiting one.

Arden's hand was a bit bigger than Redis', but what surprised him most was that he only reached to Arden's shoulder. Standing close to Arden after getting pulled up made his heartbeat quicken.

He knew Arden for barely an hour, yet he felt so different in the other's presence. His heart, mind, and body generally felt strange, as if he didn't even know his own body. And in a way, it was indeed scary for Redis.

Is this what Mother always talked about? What.. Falling in love is like?

This thought ran through his head, and his eyes were still focused on Arden's side profile. They started to walk where the other two came from on foot. As he felt a gentle squeeze around his hand, his eyes darted downward, only to realize that Arden held his hand gently in his bigger one.

Widened hazel eyes stared, surprised at affectionate brown ones.

The way Arden looked at Redis, the emotions that swirled in the eyes of the other while being directed at him, made his stomach summersault. A blush fired up his cheeks as he looked ahead for the first time on their way back, yet he didn't take his hand out of Arden's hold.

It gave him a feeling of comfort, and he liked it.

Time passed as they walked back in a comfortable silence, at least from his side, as Arden and Alastair conversed with each other.

Lost in his own mind, Redis watched, confused, as Alastair jogged ahead. Slowly, he realized that they were close to his home, and his stomach churned. I survived, he thought, but these words didn't feel good in the slightest; they made his heartache.

He was a coward, yet he knew as bad as it was. In a way, he was grateful that he was still alive. Even when the guilt will eat away at him, should he really be grateful as a coward?

Another squeeze from Ardan's hand made him look over, yet his thoughts were still clear. He bit his lip as the small house came into view, gripping tightly onto Arden's hand.

From the explanation of how Arden found him, Redis was sure he was also inside the house. "She's dead, isn't she?" he asked the other as tears slowly welled up in his eyes. "She told me to run, but why does it feel like it's my fault that I ran instead of helping her?" he bit his lip as he tried not to cry.

Before the first tear could fall, he was pulled into a firm chest. Accepting the comfort, Redis held onto the hand and Arden's clothes with the other hand. The feeling of Arden's hand gently combing through his hair made Redis feel even more comforted.

As they stood in silence, tears slowly fell from his eyes. Yet Arden didn't let go of him one second, and Redis was thankful for this.

We haven't known each other for more than two hours, yet I wish this never ended.

Redis knew he shouldn't trust this easily; it was foolish and stupid. But even so, he clung to the other male, wishing for him to stay by his side. It was selfish after today's events, and still, it didn't change his mind.

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What do y'all think is Redis really a coward?
And is it too fast for Redis to be this touchy already?

Anyways damn 4 Chaps in 2 days with my brain fried.
I just hope next chapter is longer, I write as long as I can before I burn out </3

Hope y'all have a great day or night
-Z