Chapter Twelve
Wren didn’t think he had had a more enjoyable day in his entire life.
Bear, or Devon, as Wren had to keep reminding himself to call him, had been amazingly attentive, so much fun to be with, and above all, so calm and peaceful to be around.
The stress and anxiety Wren had accepted as normal in his life, was slowly starting to melt away.
The picnic had been so much fun. The forest was gorgeous, and just being able to walk around and touch the trees was so invigorating – freeing in a way Wren didn’t think possible.
Bear made him laugh, talking about some of the funny things the other guys in the Alley had done.
Wren noticed that he didn’t talk about his work, but then he figured killing people probably wasn’t a relaxing topic of conversation.
He had so many questions, most importantly, why Bear was doing that work in the first place, but when he mentioned it, Bear asked if they could focus on Wren having a light and happy day after all he’d been through instead.
“I’ll never hide any secrets from you, my precious Wren,” Bear had promised. “But my main focus is for you to heal first.”
It was a heady feeling, having someone as fine as Bear putting him first, and Wren realized that he truly trusted the man, even if he wasn’t sure what the mate business was all about.
He focused on how the light played with the leaves in the trees, and how alive the grass felt under his fingers.
It was like he was rediscovering the meaning of life, all while having a picnic.
Flint had given him a pair of sneakers, which made Wren happy, and even a pair of socks so he wouldn’t get any blisters from wearing unfamiliar footwear.
But the sneakers fascinated him – they were bright pink and had rainbow colored diamantes in patterns on both sides.
Wren couldn’t stop looking at them. They were the prettiest things he’d ever seen.
He was still wearing them when it was early evening and Bear and his friends had all gathered around a grill, where Levi and Calvin were busy cooking up food that smelled incredible.
Wren didn’t think he’d ever eaten as much as he had in the day he’d spent with Bear, but that didn’t mean to say he was going to turn down food that looked and smelled so good.
There were a few things that were niggling at Wren’s insides.
Bear had mentioned that they were mates and said something about claiming him one day.
But when Wren asked him about it again when they were on the picnic, Bear got a strange look on his face, and his cheeks had gone bright red before he said that wasn’t something Wren needed to worry about right now.
That Bear would look after him, claiming or not.
Wren wanted to know. It sounded like it was a really big deal. There were a couple of times, especially when Bear was cuddling him - which Wren really loved - when Bear would move closer one minute and then move away, almost as if it hurt him to be so close to Wren.
The last thing Wren wanted was for his savior, the man who said he’d be his forever, to feel uncomfortable around him.
While the prospect was boggling in itself, Wren needed to know more about the claiming business.
He got his chance to ask his two new friends, Flint and Pax, while Bear was busy over in another corner of the courtyard talking to Cyrus and Python.
The food had already been eaten, everybody was just chatting, the sun was slowly setting, and Wren imagined himself being a part of the group in the future.
It was a wonderful feeling – especially when everyone was so friendly toward him - and one Wren wanted to hold on to.
He worried that the concept of his being able to stay in the alley would hinge on being claimed by Bear.
“Hey guys,” he said, interrupting Pax’s description of apparently a Wonder Woman’s, Gwen’s, latest donut recipe. “What’s all this business about claiming a mate? What does that involve?”
“Ooh,” Pax said, “that’s where the fun side of the relationship comes in.”
“Yeah, from what I hear, that can be a lot of fun,” Flint agreed, sitting on the other side of him. “I’ve not found my mate yet, but I know the gist of it. What is it you don’t understand? I take it Devon has already told you that you’re mates.”
Wren nodded. “He just didn’t go into a lot of details.
I mean, he told me it meant that he wouldn’t cheat on me, or lie to me, and that we would be together forever.
But he only briefly mentioned the claiming business.
I asked him what that involved, but he didn’t say what that process was.
He’s making it sound very mysterious. Is it a secret ritual or something? ”
“Hmm,” Pax said, looking over at where Bear was still talking to Cyrus. “I wonder why the big guy doesn’t want to say anything.”
“I think I know. Have you had any sexual experience before?” Flint asked.
“Sex?” Wren scratched his head. “I think I have a general idea of what that is. There were times Michael would come home, bragging about actions he’d done with his latest girlfriend, or things he wanted to do to women he’d seen while out at a club. Is sex part of claiming?”
Pax slapped his knee and laughed. “It’s the biggest part of claiming,” he said. “And man, when these guys get going, especially when everything’s all new, they can fricking boink for hours.”
“Boink?” Maybe asking his new friends was the wrong idea. Or perhaps he wasn’t asking the right questions. “I’ve never heard of boink.”
“He means sex,” Flint said. He was a lot quieter than Pax, but he seemed like a genuinely nice person. When Wren and Bear had come back from their picnic, Flint had been sunning himself in his snake form on a big rock.
Wren had been fascinated when Flint had come over and quietly wrapped himself around Wren’s feet before sliding back onto the rock again.
It was the most exciting encounter Wren had ever had with an animal.
To know that Flint was sentient - that was the word that Bear had used and apparently meant Flint knew who Wren was, even though he was a snake - just made the whole encounter all the more fascinating.
But that wasn’t helping with the claiming business.
“It could be that Devon is putting off talking to you about it because he feels that you probably don’t know a lot about sex,” Flint said quietly.
“From what I hear, claiming sex is very intense, and if that’s tied into the fact that it would be your first time, Devon isn’t going to want you to feel pressured.
First time sex with a person who wasn’t your mate is going to give you conflicting feelings, and the mating/claiming aspect can heighten those feelings. ”
“Because Devon’s a shifter, and the claiming side of things is a really important part of paranormal mating culture, it shows how good a mate he will be because he’s giving you space,” Pax agreed.
“So you think Bear’s worried because I don’t know about sex?
” Wren wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
His friends were still talking about concepts, but Wren wanted specifics.
“Are there places online I can go to have a look at what sex is about?” Wren asked.
“I know Bear’s got a computer, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me using it.
Do you think that if I looked up a few things for myself, then he wouldn’t feel like he had to explain things to me as if I were still a teenager? ”
“Didn’t your parents talk to you about this when you were younger?” Pax asked. “I mean, slap me down if I’m treading on info you’re not ready to share. I wouldn’t be offended. But from what I gather in my time among humans, most parents talk to their children about this when they’re teenagers.”
Wren looked down at the sparkly sneakers.
“I never met my parents,” he said quietly.
“I lived with my dad’s parents, or at least that’s who I was told they were.
My grandparents were…they were very strict about a lot of things.
No loud music, no racy books, at least that’s what my grandfather used to call them, although I never knew what he meant by that.
They were always very quiet and spent most of their time reading the Bible.
I went to school for a few years, until I was ten, but everyone else was like me, too.
We learned to read and write, and how to follow the Bible’s teachings. Anything else was deemed wicked.”
“There’s nothing creepy about that at all.” Pax shuddered.
“I never understood that. How could learning about the world be something wicked? We were all kids.”
“Some people have some really weird ideas,” Pax said. “It’s just life, Wren. You’ve just got to go with it.”
“Yes, well… so, no, I never saw my grandparents being affectionate with each other. I’m assuming that’s what sex is.”
Flint nodded. “Affection with extra bits is a good way of putting it.”
“Extra bits?” Pax laughed. “Sex usually involves being naked, and doing certain things with each other, and certain bits that are more pleasurable to be touched by another person.” He laughed even harder.
“Oh, my goodness. Did you just hear what I said? Perhaps we’re not the best suited to give you sex advice.
My first time was so long ago, I can barely remember it. ”
“I can remember mine.” Flint screwed up his nose. “Not a situation worth talking about here. Let’s just say that it wasn’t fun, so the less said about that, the better. But your first time will be with your mate, which will make all the difference.”
“I still think I’d feel better if I researched it a bit more. Can I find that sort of stuff on the computer?”
“That’s right, you know your way around a computer, don’t you?” Pax said eagerly. “Isn’t that how you met up with Bear in the first place? I can’t believe you call him Bear. I think that’s cute. It suits him so much better than Devon. But didn’t you meet him online?”
“Yes, I did. Michael wanted me to do some courses online at one point, and he gave me an old laptop I was allowed to use. I found a forum that students used, and I asked a question about one of my assignments on there one day. Bear answered. Our chats expanded from there. He sounded so intelligent on the forum.”
“We call him the professor sometimes.” Flint chuckled. “He is very smart.”
Slipping his hands under his legs, Wren swung his feet.
“You’re going to think it’s silly, but I felt like I had a connection to him even then.
I used to try and message him several times a week, every day sometimes, for days in a row.
When Michael found the computer under my mattress that last day…
” Wren broke off as tears blurred his vision.
“He completely ripped it apart at the hinges and smashed the screen into a hundred pieces. I felt like my life was over at that point. Standing on that ledge, I was mentally saying goodbye to Bear, and then he came and saved me. You might think that’s weird, but here I am. ”
He looked over to where Bear was still talking. As if he knew he was being watched, Bear turned round and smiled at him, before turning back to talk with Cyrus. Whatever it was they were discussing must have been important.
“We have a saying – the Fates move in mysterious ways,” Flint said softly. “You mean the world to Devon and always will. I tell you what. I’ll do a spot of research tonight and find some suitable websites for you, so you don’t end up on parts of the internet that might give you the wrong idea.”
“Oh, yes, good idea.” Pax was nodding. “I’ve been on some of those iffy sites. Some of the stuff I’ve seen would put me off sex for life if I didn’t have my sexy mate.”
“Definitely,” Flint added. “There’s no point in muddying the waters, so to speak, especially when you’re just researching.”
“Thank you,” Wren said, and he meant it.
He wasn’t used to having friends, apart from Bear of course, so Flint and Pax’s offer to help was a lovely surprise.
“One last thing. Do you think there might be some work around here that I could do? I’d really love to save up and buy a computer of my own.
It’s not something I’ve ever had, but even just a small laptop, secondhand, would be fine. ”
“My little cherub,” Pax said, patting his arm.
“That’s not how things are done with mates.
All you have to do is mention to your Bear that you’d like a computer of your own, and he’ll get you one.
Don’t ever worry about money or anything, because these guys are loaded.
The assassin business is lucrative. Honestly, it blew my mind when Storm told me about it. ”
“We make ludicrous amounts of money, and we don’t have a lot to spend it on,” Flint agreed. “As a shifter, I can tell you that the one thing a mate wants to do for their partner more than anything else is to meet their needs and make them happy. If you want a computer, then Devon will get you one.”
“But what does Bear get out of doing that?” Wren wasn’t sure he could ever ask Bear for anything. The wonderful man had done so much for him already.
“He gets to see you happy,” Flint said. “That’s basically what having a mate is all about. You could laze around on the couch and eat boxes of chocolate all day…”
“Or donuts,” Pax added quickly. “Donuts are far better than chocolates any day of the week.”
“Or donuts, and Devon wouldn’t care so long as you were happy. It’s the shifter way – just the way we are.”
“But I want to make him happy too.” Wren hated the idea that things between him and Bear might be one-sided.
“You’ll make him happy just by being happy yourself,” Flint said.
“And the sex helps, too,” Pax said with a giggle. “But it’s all right. Do your research first before jumping into things you’re not ready for yet.”
Bear chose that moment to come over. “Is everything all right over here?” he asked.
Wren nodded, giving Bear a smile. “Pax and Flint have been really helpful,” he said. I think.