Twizzlers (MxMxM)

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?"