-Jaden-

Oliver didn't talk much while we were returning to the cabin. He had a lot to think about, so I – or anyone else for that matter – didn't want to disturb him. I couldn't even imagine what it must've been like to finally know who his father was. And to make things worse, it was possible his father didn't even know his mother... It was a fucked-up thought.

I focused a lot on how he was feeling. Confusion, exhaustion and a little bit of anxiety mostly, but still, he stayed calm. I couldn't understand how he could be so calm after everything that had happened in the past two days. In two measly days, his entire life had changed completely, and still he was calm.

"How are you holding up?" I asked quietly once we were out of the woods, walking through the snow again.

"Fine, I guess," he replied slowly. "My head feels like it's exploding though..."

"Can't blame you. This is... it's a lot to handle," I said apologetically.

"I just wish there aren't any more surprises," he chuckled.

"I hope so too," I sighed.

Soon later, we arrived at the cabin, and I could already smell that Aurora wasn't the only one there. The scent was similar to Oliver's so I didn't even have to guess who it was.

"Natalie's here," I informed Oliver as we walked through the gate.

"Clean clothes..." Oliver breathed out in a thankful manner. "I haven't changed since yesterday morning when I left for school."

"I know," I smirked. "I can come with you when you go take a bath," I suggested carefully.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Slow down there, stud," he spoke, making Tilly and Arch snicker.

"I didn't mean it like that!" I grunted, glaring at my best friends. "The closest house with a bathtub is my place. I was just offering to walk you there."

"Oh," Oliver uttered. "Wait, at your place?"

"Yup. Well, I guess there's someone even closer, but we might as well visit my home," I explained.

My dad knocked on the door at that moment, and Aurora came to open it for us. She smiled and stepped out of the way. "We have a guest," she informed us.

"Mrs. Bundt!" Oliver smiled when he saw her sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her. She got up and hugged Oliver with a big smile on her face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come yesterday," she said while letting go of him. "It was getting so late when I finally returned home..."

"Where were you?" Oliver asked.

"We were trying to find the Shadow Walker with the help of the spirits, but I guess he has phased out of this realm, since we couldn't find him... What were you guys doing?"

"I took them to the catacombs," My dad said, sitting down on the couch with a heavy sigh.

"Really? Did you show them...?" Natalie trailed off and peered at Aurora, and then at the rest of us.

"I did," Dad said. "The spirits accepted Tilly and Arch as guardians. And... Oliver opened the lock."

Natalie stared at him for a good moment, blinking her eyes in confusion. Then, I could see realization seeping in.

"He opened the lock? But..." she was silent for a moment, and turned to look at Oliver. I could tell she was stuck on the fact that only Dad and I could open the door. "But..."

"He's not my blood," Dad said shortly.

"But..." Natalie's eyes widened in shock when she finally seemed to understand. "Oh, that son of a bitch!"

"My thoughts exactly," Dad said, and leaned back on the couch.

"Did you tell Oliver?" Natalie gasped.

"He did. Kevin Attwood is my father," Oliver spoke silently. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder when I felt his mood taking a hit.

"Oh, honey..." Natalie said apologetically. "I'm so sorry..."

"It's fine – at least I know who he was," Oliver said with a brave voice. "Did you know him?"

"I've heard of him, but no, I don't think I ever met him. I was twelve, when the battle started. I hadn't met that many of our kind before that," Natalie told him. "But I heard he was a good man – without him, the battle against the Shadow Walkers would've been lost for sure..."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

Natalie smiled. "We're not the most bravest of people. When the Shadow Walkers invaded our land, most of us fled. It was Kevin, who rallied up enough people to face them. He brought the werewolves into the fight."

"He had courage," Dad said with a nod. "I wish he were still here..."

"I was happy to fight alongside him," Aurora said quietly. "You look so much like your father," she added to Oliver.

"You knew about it too?" Oliver asked. "That he's my father?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But we wanted to be absolutely sure about it first, before telling you. How cruel would it had been if we were wrong after telling you...?"

"I get it," Oliver said, and turned to look at Natalie again. "Did you have clean clothes for me? I had to sleep in these..." he said, pointing at the clothes he was wearing.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry I didn't bring you anything yesterday," Natalie said and hurried to get a big duffel bag from the living room. "Here, I packed enough clothes to last you for a week," she said, giving the bag to him. "And..." she trailed off, searched something from her purse, found what she was looking for, and pulled out her wallet. "Here, I don't want you to miss out on your weekly allowance," she said and gave him fifty or sixty bucks as smaller bills.

"This is way too much," Oliver said and tried to give it back, but she stepped away.

"Keep it – you might need it," Natalie said with a smile.

"This is way too much," Oliver repeated, but Natalie had already turned to speak to my dad.

"How much do I owe you for–"

"Nothing – Oliver belongs here with us," Dad said and stood up. "We will take care of him. You don't need to worry about anything."

"Thank you. I know this isn't the best time with full moon and all," Natalie spoke.

"The nights are the worst. During the day even the worst of us can handle themselves," Dad said. "Aurora and her hunters won't let anyone come near this place."

"You have my word," Aurora nodded.

"Thank you," Natalie said again, looking extremely relieved. Then, she turned to look at Oliver again. "I need to talk with Rayleigh about what we're going to do next, but after that I'll come back here, so we can talk. If you want, of course."

"I do have a couple of questions," Oliver said. "But I really need to take a bath first."

"All right then," she smiled. "I'll come back in a couple of hours, and then I'll answer all your questions. Deal?"

"Deal," Oliver smiled.

Natalie gave him a tight hug, and she seemed reluctant to let him go. I could feel Oliver getting happier again. And more relaxed. That was good.

Tilly and Arch – the smirking idiots – stayed at the cabin with Aurora, while the rest of us headed out. Oliver had his shampoo, towel and a set of clean clothes with him. I figured I could take a bath as well, since I wasn't smelling like flowers either.

I listened with one ear while Oliver and Natalie talked about the catacombs and the history of the place, and it was clear they were staying away from the topic of Oliver's parents. I was interested in knowing more about Oliver's mother, but now wasn't the time nor the place to ask about her.

Soon we arrived at my home, and it seemed like it was empty. We bid our farewells to my dad and Natalie and watched them continue towards the hall.

"Come – it's going to take a while to boil enough hot water for you," I said, when Oliver didn't move.

"Boil?" he repeated and turned to face me.

"Yes – we don't have a heater, you see. We do have running water though," I explained, while opening the front door. "Well, if the pipes aren't frozen, that is..."

"Oh, I see," Oliver said, and followed me inside.

As I expected, there was no one home. I walked into our living room to get the fire going, while Oliver followed me at a slower pace, looking around in our small home.

"It's so cute," Oliver said. "I love your home..."

"Thanks," I chuckled, and looked around as well. It was bigger than the safe house, and much, much cozier with a full set of furniture, carpets and curtains. Mom liked to collect pretty figurines and picture frames, so the place was pretty filled with stuff.

I lit up the fireplace, before heading towards the kitchen to do the same to the stove, so we could start boiling water. I grabbed the biggest kettle we had and crossed my fingers, before trying the faucet.

"And we have water!" I said cheerfully, when the water started running down into the kettle.

"Nice," Oliver chuckled.

"Come – the bathroom is in the basement," I said, and gestured him to follow me to the staircase. The door to the basement was right next to it. I lit up a few candles on our way down so neither of us would break our necks in the steep staircase. We had three small windows in the basement, but they didn't let nearly enough light inside, so I grabbed a bunch of new candles to replace most of the old ones and lit them up as well.

"We are planning on building a sauna in our backyard when the summer comes. Then this will get easier," I told Oliver.

"Ohh, I've never been in one before," he said.

"A few of us have one – it's really nice. Especially during winter," I said. Once I was done with the candles, I turned to point at a door that was opposite of the staircase. "Come, this is the bathroom," I said, stepping through the doorway.

It was a pretty small space, but it was enough for a big, old bathtub. I went to open the faucet, and made sure the water started running, before I turned to look at Oliver.

"It'll take a moment before the water is hot enough," I said apologetically. "We're usually using someone else's shower during winters since the water heater is quite expensive... We usually buy them for those who can't carry water anymore."

"It's all right – I have all the time in the world," he smiled, making me feel bubbly inside for some reason. "Your village sounds really amazing, by the way. They way you guys live and manage things on your own and taking care of each other... It's so great."

"Thanks... I do love it here, but sometimes I wish we'd have a little more luxury in our lives. Although, it might be because I have human blood in me..." I said and let out a chuckle.

"I get you. I for one, would love to sleep a night completely alone," he said. I suddenly felt really shitty for talking about luxury with a guy who had no real home.

"I'm sorry – I should be grateful for what I have," I muttered. "And I promise that you'll get to sleep alone tonight," I hurried to add.

"Well..." he said, taking a step closer to me. "I don't actually mind if you're sleeping with me."

I could feel my face turning crimson red. "S-Should we go see... your water... I mean... your bathwater..."

"Okay," he said with a smirk. "Let's go see my water."

Oliver turned around and started climbing up the stairs. I needed a moment.

"Real smooth..." I muttered to myself, before I finally followed him up.

It took a while before we had enough hot water for Oliver's bath. He asked me a lot about my family and the people in our pack. I knew he did that to show me he wasn't trying to push me in any way, even though I had kind of accepted him as my...

I took a deep breath after I poured the last kettleful of boiling water into the bathtub.

"Do you honestly think that..." I started, lost the courage, had a small battle to get it back, and continued, "that I'm suitable for you? As a... as a partner?"

"I've never really thought about things like that," he said. I hesitated for a moment, before I turned to look at him. He was leaning against the door post, holding his hand on his chest for a moment, before moving it in front of him, his palm towards the ceiling. "I'm really fond of your spirit," he added with a smile, staring at his hand and I realized he had to be holding my Echo.

"I guess Moon Goddess made sure that we're suitable," I said, trying not to sound salty or anything. "Before pushing us together."

"I trust her," he said with a small smile. "And I trust your spirit. So, my answer is yes. I think you are suitable for me. I just never thought I'd end up with another guy though..."

"Are you... comfortable about it?" I asked. "About the... gay stuff?"

He started laughing. "Gay stuff..." he repeated.

"You know... Stuff like that... Adult stuff..." I mumbled, feeling like a kindergartener all of a sudden.

His laughter faded and he took a deeper breath. "Comfortable... I don't know. Yes? No? Maybe? I was kind of hoping I didn't need to decide right away..."

"Of course you don't have to," I said hastily, stepping closer to him. "I'm just asking stupid things..."

"That wasn't stupid," he said reassuringly. "I think it was quite considerate actually."

"I'm really bad at this," I sighed.

"Same, but we have time," he said reassuringly. "Is the water good?"

"Yeah – sure – go ahead..." I mumbled making my way to the door while he started taking off his hoodie. I stopped just outside the door. "Hey – I just wanted to say that... I accept you."

"What?" he asked, hanging the hoodie on a towel rack.

"I accept you as my mate," I said, feeling oddly giddy and nervous at the same time. "I never said it... It's... uh... it's... a werewolf thing, and... I just wanted you to know..." I mumbled, feeling like a complete moron again. How stupid did I just sound like?

He smiled wider. "I accept you as my mate as well," he said.

I had a stupid grin growing on my face. Then, he pulled his shirt off. I immediately spotted a big scar on his shoulder, and felt anger rising inside me. "What is that?" I asked.

"What?" he muttered, and looked at his shoulder as well. "Oh... that..."

The mood was dropping fast. I stepped back to him, and touched the scar. It looked old. It started from his collarbone, traveled up to his shoulder, spreading in three different directions on the highest point.

"Apparently it was my first encounter with Shadows," he said quietly, and looked up at me. "Those people Natalie talked about. My last foster parents."

"How did this happen?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

"They threw a broken vase at me," he sighed, touching his scar as well. "I'm still afraid of loud and angry people..."

"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore. I won't let anyone lay a finger on you," I said.

"I know," he smiled up at me, and touched my cheek gently.

I pulled him into a hug, and without giving it a second thought, I kissed him as gently as I could.

I could feel his mood coming back up again.