Joshua

Watching Wren break down in front of me had to be the worst thing that could've happened. It felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest. It easily compared to the pain I'd felt during rejection, except this time, I could hold him. That at least made things a bit easier to manage.

"Wren?" I prompted, waiting for him to explain.

What was going on with him? What was going through that head of his? I wanted so badly to know so I could make it all better. He didn't deserve to be tortured like this. It was all a bit too much. If I felt off-balance, what did Wren feel? All of the stuff happening personally involved him: his pack being attacked, the threat, his parent's revelation, even when we were attacked in the forest.

And I can't help but wonder if I'm causing him any trouble. Am I responsible for some of the tears falling down his red cheeks right now? I didn't want to think that I was. I didn't want to burden him; I wanted to carry his burdens for him. I didn't want to make him cry; I wanted to wipe his tears away.

"Everything is just so much and I don't know what to do," he finally admitted.

I looked at him, but he couldn't look back. I reached out to wipe the tears from his cheeks, brushing away a strand of his hair on the way. "It is a lot," I agreed.

He let out a watery laugh, sniffling after. "I'm sorry I keep doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Breaking down in front of you. This is the second time I've cried in my car with you," he explained.

Right. The last time we were in this position, I chickened out of telling him we were mates. How funny. Not even a week later, we're mated and already planning to move in together. It was so crazy when I thought about it like that. But, I was happy. I finally had my mate, my other half. Wren and I could be happy together. We will be happy together. My chest warmed as I leaned forward, tilting his head up with my hand to kiss his quivering lips. I pulled back after a moment, not wanting to overwhelm him. "It's alright with me. I'll always be here if you need to break down."

"You're too good for me," he said, his eyes filling with tears again.

"No, no, no. You're too good for me. Don't you know how amazing you are, Wren? You're so strong. This is a lot for anyone. The fact that you only just broke down speaks volumes on how amazing you are. I'm so lucky to be yours."

Wren shook his head. "You're just saying that because you're my mate."

"But isn't that enough?" I asked softly. "I am your mate. It's my job to care for you. How could I not?"

He glanced at me, his face almost too sad for me to face. What could I do to convince him? What could make him forget about his troubles for just a minute? Just one moment of peace; he deserved that much. An idea suddenly popped into my head, and a smile broke out on my face. Wren looked at me quizzically, probably wondering if I'd gone insane.

I unbuckled my seatbelt, opening the door. "Joshua?" Wren called out as I closed the door.

I walked around to his side and Wren turned off the car, opening his door to face me. "What are you doing?"

Grabbing his hand, I pulled him out of the car. "We're going on a run."

"What? Joshua, now isn't the time to-"

"No, Wren. It's a perfect time. You need a distraction and our wolves need to finally meet each other. What would you do anyway? You're obviously not ready to talk with Aaron or Alpha James, and most certainly anyone else. It's the best time."

Wren sighed, closing his car door and locking it with his keys. "Okay, let's go."

I pulled him closer, pressing a quick kiss to his hair before leading us into the forest on the edge of the road. It was good that Wren decided to drive down such an empty road. We could slip away and no one would notice. Once we were a decent way into the forest, we paused. "Okay, let's shift."

Wren looked away shyly. "If you need some privacy I can step over there if you want," I offered, jabbing my thumb in a random direction.

"No, it's okay. You've already seen everything, right?"

It was my turn to be shy as I rubbed the back of my neck bashfully. "Right."

Wren took that as his cue to start undressing. I couldn't help but watch for a moment, transfixed by his beauty. Goddess, he was so handsome. He paused after he removed his shirt, catching me staring. "Joshua!" He scolded, his cheeks reddening.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I can't help myself; you're so amazing."

My embarrassed mate threw his shirt at me, quickly removing the rest of his clothes as he kept his gaze to the ground. I decided to join him and undressed as well. It took a lot to hide the smile creeping up my lips when I felt him watching me as well. Hypocrite. Within a few more minutes, we were both shifted and ready to go.

I was happy to let my wolf take over after so long. He could finally meet his other half. I'd met Wren's wolf, but my wolf had never met his; I'd always been sure to maintain control over our body to avoid any mishaps before Wren knew about us. I knew he'd been eager to since the first time we saw Wren. The first thing my wolf did was walk over to our mate and nuzzle his neck. We pulled back after my wolf decided it was time to run.

With a playful yip, my wolf took off running and we could hear Wren following closely behind. We made sure to keep our pace moderate so Wren wouldn't be left behind. Still, it was nice letting the greenery blur by as we ran and leaped around, letting the wind carry our worries away. Hopefully, this could help both Wren and me. There's no way we could've gone back to face everyone just yet.

There were things I wanted to deal with later, too. My mate was suffering, and what his parents told us concerned me. He had an ability that I helped to unlock? It sounded like something straight out of a fantasy novel, but it wasn't. Just what exactly was Wren's ability, though? What made him special in that sense? And what did Aaron have? And Ella? My baby sister? I couldn't fathom it. We never knew Ella was special. Did she know she was special, too? Or was this all just a big accident? I wanted so badly to reach out to her so I could keep her safe, but I couldn't do anything just yet. Wren needed me here. We could see Ella and my family within a few weeks when Wren moved to my pack.

Stop thinking about it. You were just telling Wren he needed a distraction. Take your own advice, I mentally scolded myself, pushing away any thoughts about what was going on. Right now, Wren and I were supposed to let our wolves bond.

After a decent amount of time running, the wolves stepped up to a river. After they drank, I decided to shift back. I sat down by the bank, dipping my feet into the water. A hand on my shoulder drew my attention to Wren, who'd shifted back as well. "Did you have fun?" I asked.

He nodded, offering a sweet smile. Good. "I'm glad."

Wren settled down next to me before he leaned his head on my shoulder, sighing. "I'm tired," he declared softly.

"We could nap for a bit if you want."

He was silent for a while before he finally answered with, "No. We need to get back at some point... right? If I slept, I'd never want to wake up."

"I understand what you mean."

We fell into comfortable silence after that, enjoying the sun on our skin and the quiet babble of the river flowing by. It was nice. I was yet again reminded of how lucky I was. Finally, after so many years of searching, I could hold the one person that completed me. We'd been through a lot to get to where we were, but it was worth it. And I knew that anything else we faced would continue to make it worthwhile.

.

.

.

Turns out that we were both in need of a nap. I didn't even know when I closed my eyes, but as I opened them up again, I noticed that the shadows around us had lengthened considerably. I glanced over at Wren, who was sleeping peacefully with his head still on my shoulder. "Wren, sweetie," I called softly.

He hummed, shifting around but not opening his eyes. "Wren, we have to get back. It's going to be dark soon."

"Don' wanna'."

"I know," I exhaled. "Me neither, but we have to. Come on."

I started to stand up, forcing him to sit up and rub at his eyes. "I wish we could stay out here," he said.

"Me too."

"Do you think Aaron is going to confront me when we get back?"

I looked at him as he stood up, reaching out to brush away a leaf stuck in his hair. With a small laugh, I said, "Probably, but you don't have to face him just yet. He can wait."

"Yeah... but he's not the only problem I have."

"Hmm?"

He sighed, looking down. "I need to talk to Erin. We never got any closure."

I paused, realizing that he was right. "Well, I guess you'll have to do that when we get back. If you're ready to, that is."

Wren nodded. "Yeah, I think I am. I need to face him at some point, right?"

"Yeah."

I smiled lightly, reaching out to offer my hand. He accepted it, giving it a small squeeze. "Your idea really helped. Thank you."

"Of course. And if you ever need more support, I will always be there."

We decided to run back, so we quickly shifted and took off. I could tell that Wren felt a lot better by the way his wolf ran next to me. His pace was a lot more relaxed. I was extremely happy that it worked. Now that our heads were cleared, we could face our problems head-on.

Within an hour, we were walking up Wren's driveway. "So, when do you plan on talking with him?" I asked my mate as we approached the door.

There hadn't been a clear view of it just yet. If there had been, we would've been able to see who was standing right in front of it, waiting patiently.

"Erin."

The future alpha looked up when he heard Wren's whisper, offering a sheepish smile. "Uh, hi."

"Hi," Wren greeted back, obviously not sure what else to say.

Erin glanced around awkwardly, his hands buried in the pockets of the jacket he was wearing. "Is this a bad time? I can come back tomorrow. It is kind of late, isn't it?" He rushed out with a small laugh.

The sun had set on our way back, so now it was dark and cold, the light on Wren's porch the only thing illuminating us. I squeezed Wren's hand, silently urging him to go for it. "I'll head inside, now," I spoke up.

Wren looked at me, an expression of panic flashing across his features. "Right now?"

"Yes. You two need to talk. I'll see you in a bit."

After a brief kiss on his cheek, I left Wren behind and slipped past Erin to head inside. I was glad Wren gave me his spare key, otherwise, it would've just made things even more awkward. Now, I could leave them in peace so they could get the closure they deserved.

I quickly shut the door behind me with a sigh. I felt bad for Erin. Even if Wren was my mate, it still felt like I stole him away. They'd been in love at one point, and I wasn't sure what they felt for each other anymore. I knew Wren cared about me, but what lingered behind for Erin? I couldn't help but be a little curious.

Shaking away my thoughts, I decided I could at least surprise Wren with a hot meal waiting for him after he was done officially breaking up with his boyfriend.

~~~

So... it's finally time for Erin and Wren to talk, huh. Erin is so adorable and I don't want to hurt him, but he'll find happiness soon ;)

But I am so sorry, everyone! Good news, though! Because I missed last week, you guys get a double update this week XD

AND, I want to TRY (extra emphasis on try) to update twice weekly. I want to get the second book started during pride month because it has a huge part of my heart (one of the main characters is very near and dear to me in terms of experiences and traits). 

Also, thank you again for 1k! I'm so happy lol.

Stay tuned for more insanity and please stay healthy and safe!

Thank you so much for reading <3

Don't forget to like, share, and comment!

The updated schedule will be every Wednesday like usual and probably Fridays or Mondays. I'm not 100% sure yet but expect there to be about two chapters per week now. The end will come a lot quicker now hehe.