Time Change (bxb)

Eighteen

Marcus P.O.V

I couldn't believe where I was. Instead of being in the high school having a civil conversation with my fated like I had hoped, things have gone about as wrong as possible.

I could only take a deep breath, moving to get more comfortable. I didn't think that he'd run out of the school. I didn't think from there that he'd rush into the woods. I most definitely didn't think he'd fall and twist his ankle in the process either, but things happen. I eyed him slightly, hoping that I wouldn't get caught.

'I'm not a twink,'

He had said that, albeit quietly and not with the intention of me hearing it, I heard him, though. It was hard not to in the silence of the woods, the only other noise I could hear other than the whisper, was the slightest shuffle of leaves, jostled by the wind. I know for a fact that I didn't call him that out loud, I know I didn't, so how did he? That question stirred around in my head in an endless loop with the same result; I have no idea.

If you looked at my smaller fated, you wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary. You'd see a slightly smaller than average teenage boy. Actually a lot smaller, but it was a cute shortness. I'm sure we've probably crossed paths before, but we've never made eye contact. If we had made eye contact before now, I would have known he was my fated long before. If only I had made eye contact with him before the other day.

Even now, sitting up against that tree, one of his legs pulled against his leg, examining his ankle; he looked so ordinary. Apart of me felt terrible for chasing Tiny into the woods, a part of me knew I needed to assist him, but he pulled away, rejecting my help.

I couldn't move away from him, sitting on the ground a couple of feet away. I refused to leave him alone in the woods. I know this town had all kinds of creatures roaming around, too many of them would be willing to do my fated some harm, even more so knowing he defenseless. This forest was connected to the same woods that Grayson's pack owned. If I left him alone, who knows what would happen.

If a wolf came along and saw Tiny just sitting there, it would probably see him as nothing short of an offering. Thoughts like that sent anger through my entire being. I couldn't risk leaving him alone. I think Grayson would kill me if I left Tiny in the woods all alone. I don't even think I could if I wanted to.

Tiny hissed slightly, his fingers lightly brushing over his ankle. It appeared that even the most delicate of touches hurt him.

I continued to look at him, noticing every little thing about him. His hair, which looked fluffy and soft, moved gently in the wind. His eyes held strength and boldness, but even I could see the secrets that hid in his gaze behind a thick wall of defensiveness. He was beautiful, but without a doubt, he'd kill me if told him that. I imagine he already considers me a creepy stalker.

"Why were you following me?" The question had caught me off guard, considering the silence that had fallen over the two of us. I glanced over at my tiny mate, somewhat shocked that he was even talking to me, albeit it wasn't in the most civil thing, but it was progress. It was better than nothing. It took me a couple of seconds to remember what exactly he had asked me, but when I did, I was filled with anxiety. How would I go about explaining to my human fated that he was destined to not only be with me, a warlock, but Grayson, a werewolf, for the rest of his life. Most humans thought werewolves and warlocks only existed in books like Harry Potter or Twilight. Let me assure you, both aren't anything like in those franchises.

How in the world was I going to tell him? What would I tell him?

"Oh, I'm a warlock, yeah, a guy with magical powers, and you are my fated, as well as Grayson's, that guy you bumped into yesterday, yeah, by the way, he's a werewolf!" Those types of conversations don't typically go over very well. Not that he'd even believe me, he'd probably look at me like I was crazy and accidentally hurt himself more in an attempt to getaway. Our already fragile relationship couldn't take many more misunderstandings. It was bad enough that he considered me to be a stalker. Much more and he'll want absolutely nothing to do with me, which wouldn't just affect my chances to be with one of my fated's, it would likely harm Grayson's chances as well. I refuse to screw up our opportunity to be with Tiny. For both my sake and Grayson's.

Grayson was too nice and loving to have me accidentally ruin his chance to love both of his mates. Grayson deserves to have us both, and I'm going to make sure it happens on good terms.

"Well, believe it or not, I'm a wizard an-"

"I already know what you are," Tiny cut me off, making my mouth drop open in shock. He already knew?? There shouldn't be any reason whatsoever that he would already know about supernaturals. As far as I could tell, he was human. He wasn't radiating in magic, and usually, supernatural creatures had their telltale signs. With vampires, it was their overall bleachy white skin, brown eyes that borderline red, and sharper than average canine teeth. With species like elves and fae, it was their ears and lack of the ability to lie. With werewolves . . . they were just werewolves; you could just tell when you're around one. "What does you being a warlock have to do with you chasing me?" My fated ask, confusing me more.

"How in the world do you know what I am?" I asked, completely ignoring his question. I could see this peeved him by the way he scoffed. He looked at me like I was stupid, which I might have been. If you knew about supernaturals, at least the minimum basics, you could point out vampires and werewolves, but not wizards. We looked and were entirely human, aside from the magic that runs through our veins.

Rolling his eyes, Tiny answered my question. "You weren't the most intelligent person when you decide to use magic in the hallway. Ice isn't something that would appear out of nowhere," Tiny smirked at me as I nodded dumbly, struggling to recall the event that I knew had taken place. Using magic like that was a common occurrence to me, it wasn't something I gave a second thought to. "You all but gave yourself away when you do stuff like that. You're lucky I'm not a hunter,"

Hunters. That was definitely not something he thought his fated would know about, and it was most definitely not something to be mentioned lightly and joked about. Hunters didn't stick to one species; they kill anything that came from the magical world without a lick of hesitation. They were cruel and heartless humans who waved guns around like they were nothing. Once, my kind was known for traveling, never staying in one place because of hunters. We had once been known to travel with the moon.

"You really shouldn't know about that," I said, worried about where my mate learned about those things. He couldn't be a hunter; they wouldn't have hesitated to kill me already unless they are suddenly developing new tactics. We had too many supernaturals in our school for a hunter to slip in without being noticed. "Where did you even earn about them?"

My fated tilted his head slightly, a dull look of confusion crossing his face. He turned away as if he wasn't sure whether he was going to answer the question, and he was pondering his options. I was hoping he would as it would be a real sign of trust developing between the two of us.

"I can't say," Tiny said, avoiding eye contact with me. I couldn't help but look at him suspiciously. That statement didn't comfort me in the slightest. If anything, it made a warning siren begin to go off in the back of my head.

Even though I was suspicious of how he learned of supernaturals and hunters, it made me even more curious about my small fated.

I dropped the topic, not wanting to overwhelm him with too many questions about a topic he was clearly not wanting to converse about. I made the executive decision not to mention us being fated. At the moment, it was clearly the last thing I needed to mention. I glanced around, wondering what time it was. If it was further into the afternoon, there was a chance that Grayson was already heading towards the school. I'd feel horrible if he waited outside the school only for us to not show up. Then again, he might be able to figure out where we were by scent. We would just have to wait and see if my stubborn twink will either let me heal him or for Grayson to find us.

"I can heal you, you know," I said patiently, a part of me hoping he'd take me up on my healing offer. His ankle was clearly causing him discomfort, and him being stubborn about not letting me heal him was nothing short of stupid. His eyes slid to lock onto mine, before he scuffed, looking away again.

Okay, so it seems like healing is off the table for now.

We continued to sit there, neither one of us saying anything to the other. I was more than content just being in his presence. Being around my fated caused warm tingles to surround me. It made me wonder if Tiny could feel it too. The almost overwhelming warmth that has since taken over my mind.

Our shortlived alone time was halted when a giant furry beast ran through, right by the tree me and Tiny were sitting by.

Hello to you to Grayson.