"You understand the plan, right?" I asked Damien. He replied with a nod. "We just need to explore that cave before the Vampire Queen makes any moves." Teotwawki stepped closer to us, "We can go tomorrow. For now, Adelina and Lucas need to head home. No one outside of our alliance must know that you two are out here." With that, Lucas and I left Teotwawki, Kiel, and Damien in the woods. I turned to Lucas, "Did you notice Kiel and Teotwawki looking at each other?" Lucas looked at me and nodded, "It was pretty obvious. They clearly have feelings for each other." I agreed with Lucas.
"I hope they confess to each other soon, they'll be adorable together," I smiled as we walked up to my house. I heard Lucas give a chuckle, "They won't be as cute as us though." Lucas held my waist before kissing my neck. Just feeling his lips on my skin made me giggle. "Hey, no making any moves tonight. You already did that, remember?" I kissed his cheek before climbing up the tree. Lucas climbed up after me, saying, "How can I forget something like that?" Without even looking at him, I knew Lucas was smiling.
We climbed through my bedroom window and sat on my bed. "I won't forget it either; but if I get pregnant with a litter, you'll have to deal with my parents," I teased Lucas. He laughed a bit, "They like me, but we'll do all that when we're both ready to be parents." Lucas wrapped an arm around me and kissed my head.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day at school, Lucas and I walked to our first class. On our way, we saw Ginger confronting Chase. I noticed that Chase's wings were hidden, a common thing for a Nao to do to hide their true identities. "You know you're not allowed to interfere! So why would you make a stupid move like that?!" Ginger was really blowing up at Chase, he looked like he wanted to burn her. But we knew he couldn't since we were surrounded by other students. Chase gritted his teeth, "You did that to my little sister! She was only 7, you psycho!" At Chase's words, Ginger raised her hand to slap Chase. Lucas and I had heard enough, so we ran to Chase's side. I grabbed Ginger's wrist and prevented her from hitting Chase. "You lay a hand on him and you will lose your whole arm," I growled into Ginger's ear.
Lucas pulled Chase away from Ginger while I pushed her away from us. She glared at me with her blood-red eyes, "You're lucky we're in school, Mutt." She spat in my face before storming away from the three of us. I wiped the spit off of my face and looked at Chase. Chase's expression was one of sorrow and guilt. I felt his pain over the loss of his sister; if I could feel it, then I knew Lucas could feel it too. Lucas nudged Chase, "Hey, let's go to class, man." Lucas gave Chase a smile, to which Chase smiled a little. "Alright," Chase responded.
"Hey, wait up!" A voice yelled at us. We all turned and saw Damien running towards us. He stopped a couple feet in front of us and keeled over a bit, trying to catch his breath. "Damien? What are you doing here? Your vessel isn't a student in this school, you could get caught," Lucas whisper-yelled, to which Damien just waved off. "I won't be here long, but there is something I need to ask you guys," Damien stood up straight and looked at us. "Its about King Kiel and Teotwawki."
Chase shifted uncomfortably, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Lucas looked at him while Damien looked at me. "Have you noticed that they act differently around each other?" Damien asked me. I nodded my head before saying, "I have. Lucas noticed too. Do you think they have feelings for each other?" At my question, Damien thought for a minute before responding, "I wouldn't doubt it, but it would be hard for both of them to be together." Suddenly, I questioned what Damien said. "What? Why?" I asked. Damien didn't respond and instead motioned for me to follow him. I looked over at Chase and Lucas to see them watching us. Lucas smiled, "Go Liner, it sounds like a situation you could break down. We'll wait for you in class." I smiled at Lucas and gave him a quick kiss, "I'll be back." Then, Damien led me outside to the school's courtyard.
We sat on one of the benches in the middle of the courtyard. When we got settled, I turned to Damien, "What do you mean it'll be hard for both of them?" Damien sighed and looked at me before responding, "Relationships among Naos have many rules and issues. Like Angels and Demons are forbidden to be together, much like Lycanthropes and Vampires. We're all unconsciously tied to these rules by our Creators. Demons can live for centuries, while Lycanthropes only live about the same as any mortal. If they did get together and things worked out with them, Teotwawki would die while Kiel lived on without him. On top of this, they're both male. It goes against our Creators whims." Damien's point made it clear that both of them would face serious challenges if they were to start dating.
I had a sinking feeling in my heart. If I were in a situation like theirs, I would be hurt at the thought of losing the person I had feelings for. I looked away from Damien, "You're right, they'll both get hurt. They won't be able to be together forever and they'll face serious judgement." Each word I said made me feel worse for them. I wanted both Kiel and Teotwawki to be happy, but being a Nao has many drawbacks - especially when it came to relationships. Even Lucas and I had problems when he found out I was a Lycanthrope and, after he turned. 'People should be happy, no matter the outcome. I say if they want to be together, then let them be together. Just don't be around them when they get all lovey-dovey, I can barely handle you and Lucas,' The voice in my head had been quiet until now. Both Damien and the voice in my head had a point, but the situation would still hurt Kiel and Teotwawki.
I sighed and looked at Damien, "Maybe we can help them confess their feelings to each other. Whatever happens from there will have to be something Kiel and Teotwawki will have to talk about." At my suggestion, Damien's eyes had a glint of uncertainty; regardless, he still nodded his head. "I've never seen King Kiel act like the way he does with Teotwawki. Let's just hope that they can overlook the problems of a male Lycanthrope and a male Demon being together. It's not as bad as an Angel and a Demon having a relationship, but any Nao relationship will have problems." I didn't respond because I didn't know what to say.
Every relationship has issues, but Naos in relationships have it harder. Vampires always need easy access to blood, Angels can accidentally burn a person if they don't focus on keeping control over their powers, Demons have the need to go out and gather souls as a way to live for thousands of years, and Lycanthropes are strong enough to rip a person in half if they lose control. These alone cause enough problems, but the rules for Naos and normal dating issues only adds more problems. "I think they already know the end result of being together," I said without even thinking. "I agree. King Kiel has been on this Earth long enough to know what would happen if he were to be with anyone," Damien looked at me.
"I know, but love can blind people," I turned to face Damien. "They should be happy together. No matter how long they have with each other and no matter their gender." He nodded as a response, "I say we help them before we go and find that cave Teotwawki was talking about." Before I could respond, the late bell rang. I looked at the school as Damien stood up, "Sounds like you have to head to class. I'll see you and Lucas tonight, Alpha." I looked at Damien to see his familiar smirk before he walked out of the courtyard. I stood up and ran as fast as I could to my class.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I walked towards the tree lines at around 12 in the morning. I looked at my phone. 'Lucas should be here,' I thought to myself. As I kept looking at my phone, I felt something grab my shoulders. I turned around and kicked whatever had grabbed me. I heard a groan and looked at Lucas. "Lucas? Don't sneak up on me! Are you okay?" I should have known he would do this, but now I feel bad for kicking him in the side. Lucas nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm okay. But Jesus, you have a hard kick, babes." He groaned in pain. I hugged Lucas, "I'm so sorry. Just don't do that ever again." I felt Lucas' arms wrap around me, "I think I've learned my lesson, and this bruise will be a temporary reminder." He chuckled.
I heard an animal running towards us, but as I listened more I recognized the rhythm of the paws hitting the ground as Teotwawki's running rhythm. Lucas and I turned to the sound and saw Teotwawki stop in front of us. He bowed his head to us before shifting back to his human form, "Hello Alpha," Teotwawki greeted us in his usual soothing tone. "Kiel and Damien are waiting, are you two ready?" He asked us. Lucas was the one to respond, "We are, but I think you and Kiel need to talk about something first." Teotwawki looked at us confused, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you mean by that." I sighed and looked into Teotwawki's gray eyes, "We know you and Kiel have feelings for each other." This made Teotwawki's cheeks turn a light shade of red.
"I do not!" Teotwawki said, quite loudly. Lucas and I looked at each other before looking back at Teotwawki. Lucas spoke up, "You clearly do. You two look at each other like you two like each other." Teotwawki shook his head again. His expression changed from calm to frustrated in a flash.
"I said it once, so I'll say it again: I do NOT like Kiel in that manner." Teotwawki said with a cold edge to his words. "You.. don't?" We heard Kiel's voice say.
Teotwawki whipped around to see Kiel with a pained expression on his face. Teotwawki's expression changed again, but to one of regret. "K-Kiel.. No, no that's not what I meant." Teotwawki defended himself. Lucas held my hand, "Kiel, we know you and Teotwawki like each other." Kiel looked at Lucas surprised before quickly changing back to his usual cold expression. "If that's true, I wanna hear it straight from Teotwawki." The three of us looked at Teotwawki.
Teotwawki visibly froze. He didn't move and I don't think he was even breathing. "Well?" Kiel said with a hurt tone in his voice. With that, Teotwawki shrunk back a bit from Kiel. I suddenly felt awkward around them, and with how Lucas was holding my hand I knew he felt awkward too. Teotwawki began to speak, "I-I... I didn't mean... It like that." He stumbled over his words, I could barely understand him.
"If it helps, I'll say it first. I do have feelings for you, Teotwawki," Kiel's expression softened as he continued. "I just hope you feel the same and didn't mean what you said before." For the first time, I saw Kiel blush since they met each other. I looked at Teotwawki and saw him covering his mouth in an attempt to hide his blush. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kiel shift his weight from one foot to the other, anxiously waiting for Teotwawki to say something. "Teotwawki-" Lucas started.
"I-I know... I'm trying to say it." Teotwawki cut off Lucas and took a deep breath. "Kiel, I do have feelings for you. I know what I said before... I only said it because of how we are. We're Naos-" Kiel cut him off this time, "I know, but I don't care. I want to be with you... If you'll have me."
'If that's not a proposal then I don't know what is! Tell him to say yes!' The voice yelled in my mind. I shook my head, 'I thought you didn't like this kind of stuff?' I asked the voice. 'Eh, it's like seeing a drama series through your eyes and ears. It's better than nothing,' the voice responded. I just shrugged.
Teotwawki looked Kiel in the eyes and stepped closer to him, "I want to be with you too, Kiel." A declaration of love, finally. I smiled and looked at Lucas, who was also wearing a smile on his face. I looked back at them to see them kissing. 'Woah! That was fast, but expected,' the voice was really enjoying this. He must be very bored, even though he's a disembodied voice in my head. I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit. Kiel and Teotwawki broke their kiss, both equally red from embarrassment and being near each other. I smiled at them, "You guys are a very cute couple." They looked at me and Teotwawki smiled, "Thank you, Alpha." I felt Lucas wrap an arm around me and chuckled softly, "Yeah, y'all are cute but not as cute as me and Liner." With that, he and Kiel laughed a bit. Kiel opened his mouth to say something before we heard someone clear their throat.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Damien said. We all looked at him and froze. He crossed his arms and quirked his eyebrows. "I thought we were meeting up here for something important, like Teotwawki said," Damien said.
"Oh right," Teotwawki said and stepped away from Kiel. Teotwawki looked at us, "Out of the whole time our pack was out here, I found an underground ruin." I remember him saying something about a ruin earlier. It apparently has carvings of all the classes, including Lycanthropes. I nodded my head, "Lead the way, Teotwawki."
And with that, Teotwawki led us into the darkest part of the forest.