The Golden Rule

Chapter Thirteen: Lace

ERIC

Eric caught himself humming.

That wasn't a normal habit, but he heard music while organizing the mountain of papers on his desk. Then, he realized the music was coming from himself. It was a slow song, only what he could remember: the melody and a few lyrics. He couldn't even name the song if he tried.

"You seem happy," Leo said, poking his head through the door.

"Hey!" Eric stood up straight. He raised the folders up. "Did you come here to help me file? You're too kind."

Leo smirked and let himself inside. Eric's office was small. He believed most of his work was accomplished by visiting other packs, by personally shaking their hand. Nothing important ever got done through email. He only had the essentials: a desk, filing cabinets and a couple of shelves. There were chairs, but Izzy used them the most just to hang out and run recipes by him. The door and the first wall was made up mostly by warped, foggy glass. People could only see shapes and colors on the other side.

"We didn't talk much when I was in the city," Eric admitted, plopping down on his chair. He didn't feel quiet at home yet. He couldn't relax. He felt like there were a million things he still needed to do.

Slouching, Leo shuffled inside. He didn't sit down immediately. He glanced to the side. "Well, you're not very good at texting. Like you're on Abuelo's level of bad."

"Thank you..." Eric chuckled, watching his little brother chew on a thought. Still, without looking at him, Leo crept closer, slowly settling into one of the chairs.

Eric started to ask, when Leo said, "James is cool. The girls are like dragging him around, making him levitate stuff. They keep calling him magic man and shit- oh, sorry. Um, Mom keeps watching from the distance like a crazy person. She's already picked out your wedding colors. I hope you like yellow-"

"Leo..." Eric sat up. "Is something wrong?"

Leo finally looked at him. His eyes said it all, the worry and the fear. Leo slumped deeper into his seat, snapping his eyes down at his hands. He fiddled with his fingers and mumbled, "I guess... I guess, I was just wondering um, did you... did you always know your mate was going to be a guy?"

Eric rubbed a hand through his hair. Wow. Leo grew up when Eric wasn't looking. Eric shrugged with a fond sort of smile. He remembered staring at guys a little too long in middle school. He remembered nearly running into walls while staring at guys in high school. He remembered wondering what it'd be like to kiss another guy. He remembered kissing girls and thinking there was something missing.

He remembered how awkward it was to be Leo's age.

Eric said, "Sort of... I had my suspicions but then, in college, I had my first boyfriend and everything felt right. It was like my whole world started to make sense. I was like that's when my life started." Eric leaned back, admiring his little brother. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to come here and ask. Eric explained, "I trusted my wolf and my instincts. That's the good thing about being a wolf and having a mate out there somewhere. Your instincts will take over. When you meet your mate, you'll know."

"Did you know when you met James?"

Eric's mouth tightened to a line. "That was... well, it's complicated." He didn't think his brother needed to hear that when he first met James, James was the last person he ever wanted to mate with and yet, despite his own stubbornness, they've ended up here. "I guess that's another lesson for you. Everyone's story is different. Your story will be different from mine, Izzy's and our parents. It'll happen for you, I promise Leo."