The Seasons

Chapter 19

Summer had difficulty wrapping his head around what he had heard after the revelation of the small blue dot linking all supernatural beings to their essence and the damage that could lead to that essentially being stolen.

“So,” Wing said, clearing his throat as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, staring at everyone. “This essence is what gives the beings their powers in a way. And the removal of said essence in a way makes them mortal?”

“It’s much more complicated than that,” Blue said, frowning as they crossed their leg over the other. “But essentially, yes.”

“What are they doing with the essences?” Wing asked, shifting on the couch a little. Summer rolled his eyes; could he not sit still?

“That’s for us to figure out,” Cairo said, eyes narrowed on the giant pile of folders with all the people who had had their essence taken from them.

Neo rubbed the bridge of his nose, shifting a little as Maddox groaned a little, also moving before he fell back asleep, resting his head on Neo’s shoulder. “We’ve been at this for hours,” he said. “Why don’t we all go home and get some sleep? We also need to relieve Andrew; the poor chap has been babysitting for hours. I need to make sure he’s alive.”

Alexander snorted as he ran a hand through his hair. “Bet he didn’t think it would have become a full time job when he covered for Angelica when she popped out her first kid.”

“Nope, but it’s his job now,” Warren grumbled as he patted Blue’s leg and stood up. “But what Neo said. We’re going home. I’m getting too old for this shit.” Blue sighed as they put the folder down and stood up, lacing their hands with Warren as they said their goodbyes and left.

Winter was the first to stand up, and when Aether also stood up, he turned to glare at the mer-man. “Sit back down. Stop f*****g following me.” And then he stormed out of the room. Aether smiled politely, but Jasper grabbed his arm just as he was about to follow Winter out.

“What the hell was that?” Neo asked, confused as he stared at the door.

Jasper groaned as he waved his hand free a little. “It’s a whole thing. I’m working on it. Come on, Aether. You can crash with us for the night.”

Soon after, everyone else began to pile out of the house, and Summer remained seated on the couch, trying to process everything. Oh, what the f**k was happening? A group of psychopaths was out there stealing their essence, making them mortal and then killing them with their weaknesses. Why? What did they get out of this? No one could explain what an essence was either, which didn’t help him. The wolves, vampires and even the merfolk all had one; they said they could feel it if they focused on it, but other than that, nothing. A hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Autumn looking down at him with a small smile.

Summer couldn’t help but smile back as he ignored Autumn’s red eyes. “Are you okay?”

No. He was not. But he couldn’t say anything. So, he just shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, I will be. I guess.”

He frowned but said nothing as he sat beside him. Summer shifted a little so their shoulders touched, and a small smile danced on his face. Autumn didn’t say anything as he watched Cairo, Wing, and Thorne pick the folders up and organise them as he slipped them back into the bag. Once the trio were done, they left, leaving Summer and Autumn alone.

Neither man said anything, and they sat in a comfortable silence. Summer found his eyes drooping with sleepiness, and he moved, resting his head on Autumn’s shoulder. He closed his eyes but scrunched his nose when Autumn’s shoulder-length hair brushed against his face. He moved the dark red strand but held onto it, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger.

“What are you doing, Summer?”

“I’m just surprised,” he murmured. “Your hair is so soft.” Summer dropped his hand, and it brushed Autumn’s. To his surprise, Autumn held it. Summer looked down at their intertwined hands, and he smiled as he finally let sleep overcome him.

When he woke up, he was surprised that he was in bed at home. Autumn was sitting on the chair near the bar counter in his room, eyeing the wall decorations behind it. However, when he realised Summer was awake, he turned to look at him. He smiled but said nothing. He wore a dark red sweatshirt and black sweats with his hair tied up but noted his eyes were still red. Had he been crying? Why was he crying?

Summer smiled back as he wrapped himself further in his duvet but adjusted himself to see Autumn, who appeared to be lost in thought. And he thought that this could be it. This could be his life. He had heard of some wolves settling down with humans, albeit rare, but it did happen. But how could he put Autumn in that situation? He knew wolves most often mate for life, so when he died, would Autumn be alone for the rest of his? Or would Autumn forget about him and move on to someone else?

It wouldn’t be a problem if Elizabeth or Slaine turned him, but they wouldn’t. No matter how much he asked, they would not turn him. And in all honesty, he didn’t think he could fathom having to live off blood. He hated the sight of blood, even when they drank from the thermos; Summer knew what it was, and it didn’t sit right with him in his stomach. But would that feeling change if he became a vampire? Well, he wouldn’t know because they wouldn’t turn him. And, if he could stay with Autumn, this could be it; he could live with Autumn forever.

He could ask again. Yes. He would go to Slaine’s apartment before going to the bar for his shift and ask him to turn him. He had turned Wing, who hadn’t even known vampires existed so that he could turn him. Otherwise, it wasn’t fair.

It wasn't fair. They would live for so much longer, and he wanted that too. He wanted to spend as long as he could with Autumn; that was all he wanted. And he would do whatever he could to achieve it.

~*~