Darling? Was I serious? Couldn’t I have said something a little less needy than “darling?” I should have said, “dude.” That would have been way more appropriate.

I liked Tristan. He was fun, sprightly, and cute as hell. Dammit, why did I have to like him so much? Last night was more than exciting. It was like a light bulb had been switched on inside of me again. I hadn’t felt that close to someone in ages.

I forgot what it could be like to connect with someone again. Back in the day, the fires shook me. I saw a lot of my best men die at the hands of those burning embers. It had been a long time since I had been active at the station. I just didn’t ever want to feel hurt like that again.

Tristan’s voice snapped me out of my sleep. Echoing from the kitchen, I heard him sing, “Hey, little one! Are you awake already?”

“Yeah, I’m up,” I grumbled.

“Not you!” he shouted. “I’m talking to my buddy’s kids. I, uh, took the liberty of using your tablet. Sorry about that. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Cute,” I mumbled. “Nah, I don’t care. Let’s see the little buggers.”

I blinked my eyes wildly, adjusting to the sun. “Fuck,” I sighed, feeling my spine ache. I slept under something jagged the whole night, but I never woke up enough to adjust myself.

Reaching below me, I found a small, bronze codex. As soon as I touched it, it began vibrating. The insignia on the front end turned, just like the inside of an old clock. With a sharp click, the center opened like an eye. From inside, a purple light extended.

“Whoa,” I whispered.

On the wall in front of me projected a set of complex geometrical shapes. It was some foreign language or cipher. Within seconds, it disappeared. The codex locked up shut.

“Wait, what?” I sighed. I quickly held it up to the light, peering through each rough edge. “C’mon. Do the thing again.”

Setting it on the counter, I walked out of the room, completely naked. I couldn’t think about this now. The delightful aroma of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. It was coffee time, and that always took precedence.

The lively alpha was standing by the kitchen counter, holding my tablet in the air. “Oh, I made us some coffee,” Tristan said.

He ran over to the pot to pour me a hot cup of joe. When his eyes finally saw my naked body, his jaw dropped. He quickly paused the video feed.

“Omega! Come here now,” he said.

Blushing, I walked forward. My morning wood brushed against his leg. We kissed, as he handed me my coffee. Slapping my ass, he said, “Put some clothes on, and you can talk to my friends and their children. They’re like family to me, by the way. Freddie is the wolf shifter, and Jonas is the Jaguar. You’ll figure out the names soon enough. You’ll really like them.”

I grabbed the nearest pair of pants and slid them over my waist. “Alright, let me see the children.”

On the video screen was a sly wolf shifter and a beautiful Jaguar. In their arms were three young cubs. “Hey, this is someone I met the other day,” Tristan said.

“Oh! So this is your fated mate,” Freddie said, winking.

The Jaguar shifter snorted loudly and covered Freddie’s mouth. “Sorry about him. Since we’ve had the kids, it’s like he doesn’t care what comes out of his mouth.”

I took a sip of my coffee and made sure to enjoy it. Tristan was covering his eyes with his hands, embarrassed. “Don’t worry. I’m a loudmouth sometimes too.”

Freddie kissed his partner and said, “Aw, I’m only kidding. I just want Tristan to be happy. We haven’t talked to him in so long, and I know he skipped town to find a mate.”

“I did not!” he cried out. I walk over to him and give him a big bear hug. He quickly kissed my hand, tenderly. “It’s just an added bonus that I ran into him.”

On the screen, one of the cute cubs disappeared, out of thin air. Then, almost instantaneously, he reappeared on top of Freddie’s head. He kneaded his claws into his soft set of grey hair. “Samuel! Come on, bud! How many times have I told you not to use your powers inside the house!”

“Whoa,” I remarked. “That’s one hell of a gift.”

Jonas scoffed. “Tell me about it. It drives us up the wall. When they were born, they had a golden aura about them. They were simple healers back then. Now, they’ve somehow learned to jump through time. It’s not cool!”

Seeing their family warmed my heart. I was never the guy that saw myself settling down. My parents taught me that a bottle of booze was more important than family. I knew that was bullshit, but it affected me regardless. I jumped to fighting fires. I guess I had a death wish.

“Man, I don’t know how you guys do it. You are warriors,” I said.

“It’s work, brother. But it’s well worth the time and energy spent,” Freddie said.

I looked at Tristan with adoration in my eyes. Maybe we could have a family someday. Who knows?

Eventually, we ended the video call. I finished my coffee and put on an appropriate set of clothing. I walked out, knowing what I had to do. “Look, I want nothing more than to spend all day in this house with you. But I’ve been thinking about us lately.”

Tristan’s beautiful smile showed through his tough exterior. “I have too. Like, a lot.”

“We’re connected, right? You feel it. I feel it.” I thought about the codex in my room. There was no way that it had been there before Tristan got there. I had to come clean and ask him about it. “So, can you tell me what the codex is about?” I asked.

Tristan’s face didn’t budge. He looked confused and pondered over the query. “Codex? Ryan, what are you talking about?”

I ran my hand down his arm, gently. I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. “It’s okay. You can tell me,” I said. “It has something to do with the black pool outside, right? Why were you keeping it from me?”

Tristan remained unaffected. He still looked perplexed. “I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, but you need to show me now.”

“Alright.” I sighed and led him back to my bedroom. As soon as we walked in, I glanced at the counter. There was nothing on it, spare a blank sheet of paper.

“No way,” I whispered. I immediately felt a sense of urgency sink in. “It was just here! I promise you.”

“And it was a—”

“A metal locket of some sort. A codex. I promise, Tristan. I set it right down on this counter,” I said.

I pulled out each drawer, dumping my clothes onto the floor. I looked under the bed and flipped over my mattress.

“Hey, calm down, Ryan. You’re sure it was a genuine codex?” He tried to take charge of the situation, retracing every last one of my steps. It was nowhere to be found.

“Where is it?” I asked, aloud.

I had begun to doubt myself. Thirty minutes ago, it was here. I set it right on that surface. It was like the goddesses were playing tricks with my mind.

Tristan remained calm, tenderly scratching my back. “Maybe it wasn’t important. You know?” he whispered.

Just as he uttered those words, we both heard the scuffling of a small pair of feet. Tristan looked past me, toward the hallway. I followed his gaze and watched as a little toad-like man ran through the hallway. In his hand was a bronze codex.

“Uh,” Tristan whispered.

I sprung into action, running outside into the hallway. The little man was gone, but the front door was left open. “Ryan!” Tristan yelled. “Come back. Wait!”

But I couldn’t listen. My animal-like instincts had kicked in, and I had to chase him down. Outside, I sniffed him out. I shifted into my bear form, hoping to find him faster. I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find him.

Suddenly, I found myself in the forest. In front of me was the black puddle. The door was open. Somehow, the liquid was leaking out of it. The high-pitched, phlegmy voice echoed around me: “Help me,” it said.

A veil of darkness fell over me. I dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. Then, as fast as it came, it drifted away.

Tristan ran out, wielding a sharp blade. “Ryan!” he screamed.

“I’m right here,” I muttered, holding my head. It was throbbing, uncontrollably.

Tristan fell to the ground next to me. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. “What happened?”

“You didn’t see?” I asked him. He shook his head. All felt lost to me at that moment, and I was ready to call it a day already.

“Maybe I’m going crazy,” I whispered.

He stroked his hand through my hair. “You’re not crazy. We just had coffee together, and you talked to my friends back home. You were fine. You’re probably just stressed. Tell me exactly what happened. I’m here, okay?”

I hated feeling weak like this. I was a firefighter. I was supposed to be able to handle intense situations. This was different. It was such a vivid image. It had to be from the outer realms.

“The little man. He had the codex. He ran outside,” I said. Okay. I sounded crazy.

But Tristan was an understanding person. “Gorbins,” he whispered. “It had to be him. He’s playing with us again!”

“Gorbins? You keep saying that name. Who is he? Better yet, what is he?” I asked.

“He’s neither friend nor foe,” Tristan said, placing his blade back in his belt. “He’s from the outer realms. He’s the one who took me away from my home. He promised me more than he could provide.”

“The outer realms. So it is a message,” I said. “Look.”

In front of us, the black liquid had slowly spread closer to our feet. Looking into the substance, I could suddenly see a clear view of the future. I nearly stumbled back, but Tristan held me steady.

“Do you see that?” I asked.

He nodded, looking at the image in front of us. Inside of the darkness was a set of moving pictures. Unexpectedly, there was the image of a cabin. Freddie, Jonas, and Tristan entered. The door shut behind them. Soon after, the cabin disappeared.

The small and light-footed Gorbins wrapped a small cloak over his body. He stared into the mountains in front of him. He made his way toward a cave.

“Something happened in that cave. After Gorbins left us, he made a separate journey. Dammit, how could I have been so blind?” he asked.

Tristan clenched his fists. The images kept playing, streaming into our minds. The black pool grew larger, touching our toes.

Gorbins walked into the caves. I had never heard cries so terrible before. A set of giant, meaty spiders surrounded him. He reached for his magical scepter, but the horrifying arachnids quickly hit out of his hands.

He had no options left but to give in. Their venomous pinchers penetrated deep into his abdomen. His cries were abysmal and seemed to echo for ages.

“He didn’t stand a chance,” Tristan said. “Shit. Do you know what this means, Ryan?”

I shook my head, still debating whether or not what I was seeing was real. Maybe it was just another one of my weird dreams. “No,” I said. “But I know it can’t be good.”

“We thought we had saved the world. We were so wrong, Ryan. We were just sealing his fate. Gorbins saved us,” he said.

“And you think he knew he would get trapped like that?” I asked him.

“I’m not sure. Gorbins isn’t reckless. He knows how to navigate through these terrains,” he said.

The images were dreadful. The spiders spun their webs, hissing with laughter. They curled Gorbins up into a tiny ball. They sealed his fate with an added droplet of venom. He would be in a deep sleep for ages now.

When the images stopped, the black liquid shot back into the hole in the ground. The door shut. All is back to normal. The codex has returned, neatly sitting on top of the panels.

The blood in my veins felt cold. I was so nervous. I had made a comfy life for myself out here. The firemen in those pictures never had to die again. But now, the threat was back. I didn’t know where to turn. I liked Tristan, but maybe I jumped into this too fast.

“I have no clue what you got me into, Tristan. But I am truly freaking out, dude,” I said.

Tristan opened his mouth to speak, but as soon as he could make a sound, a truck pulled up quickly to my house. It was the chief of the fire station, Holger. He leaned out of his window with a panicky gesture.

“Ryan, I need you to come to the station. Something has happened.”

I glanced back at Tristan, frowning. “What? What do you mean something happened?”

“Just get there, dammit. I’ll meet you out front.” Holger said.

Without even realizing it, my sheltered life felt like it was shot to pieces.