Blueberry Scones (MxM)

Chapter 5 - It's Complicated Part II

We arrived at the lake, stretching after the short drive. I inhaled the fresh air, sighing happily. So nice. The lake sparkled in the sunlight, looking so inviting. The sky was so blue, wispy clouds drifting by to provide some shade. It was such a perfect day for a run. We all walked over to meet the rest of the pack, Ryder and Aaron heading off on their own, most likely to find Ryder's mate. He was lucky. Erin hadn't even been able to meet his mate before he felt their bond sever. Aaron hadn't found his mate either, but he didn't seem very bothered by it. I, of course, had my own issues with it, but I was happy with Erin, so it was okay. But when Ryder had come to us saying he'd found his mate, he'd looked so happy. I had felt a little envious knowing I was most likely never going to feel that intense happiness of finding my soulmate. Now I didn't feel that way, at least.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened in the car," Erin spoke up to Joshua, who'd lingered around behind us all.

"It's fine. I get being curious and all," he answered, smiling slightly.

"Good luck with your mate. Hopefully, you two meet soon."

Joshua nodded his head, looking a bit pained. He, again, glanced at me briefly, before sighing softly. He let out a quiet, "yeah," before walking off to join his packmates. Erin now turned to me, grabbing my hand. He placed a kiss on it, looking at me gently. "You know that I love you, right?"

I nodded my head, slightly surprised by his declaration as I looked up at him. I wanted to say the words right back, but they got stuck in my throat. Erin was always so open with his affection. I wanted to return the favor, but it seemed that I was at a loss of words or something, so I squeezed his hand, smiling. "Let's go join the pack now. You can't keep me to yourself forever."

He laughed lightly, both of us walking over to join the pack at the lake. The bright sun warmed our skin as we all enjoyed the wonderful day. We played in the lake, splashing around in both our human and wolf forms. Once the sun was high in the sky we decided to all settle down for a picnic.

Ryder and Aaron were already on a blanket, Ryder's mate seated next to him. She was a really sweet girl and sometimes seemed like the complete opposite of our enthusiastic friend. She was shy and quiet most of the time; however, I'd seen her go off on her mate before. It was kind of scary, actually. Maybe she needed to be the opposite of Ryder to balance their relationship.

It kind of made me wonder if I did the same for Erin. He was already so calm. He was confident and strong and quite intelligent. What did I offer him? Compassion? But he was already so kind. I didn't realize a frown had made its way onto my face until Erin tilted my head to look at him, his brows furrowed in concern.

We had just sat down and I was situated between his legs, my back to his chest. He silently asked me if I was okay, his brows furrowed in concern. "Sorry, I was just thinking," I answered verbally, giving him a small smile.

"Hey! Joshua! Over here!" Ryder suddenly called, waving his arm energetically.

Joshua walked over, his future alpha right beside him. The guy had an easy-going smile on his face, while Joshua kept avoiding looking directly at any of us. They sat down, Joshua sitting as far away from Erin and me as possible. Did I do something wrong? Was he disgusted by our relationship? I knew I shouldn't have cared, but the thought kind of hurt. Homophobia wasn't very common in werewolf packs. Our mates weren't of our choosing. Whoever was given to us we accepted, no matter their gender.

Joshua's friend looked at Erin and me and his eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Wait, aren't you the owner of that cafe? The one we visited our first day here," he asked me.

"I am. My name is Wren. It's nice to meet you," I answered, still leaning against Erin.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, enjoying the simple contact. The guy noticed this and his eyes very briefly flashed with something. I couldn't tell what it was, but I could tell his smile faltered for just a moment. "Nice to meet you, Wren. Name's Mark." He cleared his throat, looking at us again. "So are you two mates then? Not to pry or anything, just curious."