Page 7 of Chosen: The Lenkov Journals

Theo

Theo made it all the way inside his blissfully empty dorm room and dived into his twin bed. The tears ran down his cheeks unchecked as he buried his face in his pillow.

How was he such a failure? Theo thought he was a good person. He’d never hurt anyone. He wasn’t mean or rude—he’d just wanted to live a good life. Theo just wanted to be happy. Now his insecurities were affecting men that deserved so much better than him.

He sobbed into his pillow until he didn’t have anything else left inside him. Empty, he closed his eyes and slipped into sleep.

When he woke, Theo’s body ached, and his nose was full of snot. He had to push himself up the mattress, which took too much strength. Ethan still hadn’t returned to their room, which gave Theo a little more time to figure out what to tell his roommate. He couldn’t tell him the truth. Who would believe that he had three men convinced they were his mates?

Maybe they were wrong? Could there be a chance that they were scenting someone around him and it wasn’t Theo that was their chosen one? Even as he had the thought, Theo dismissed it. He could feel it down to his soul that they weren’t wrong. Theo might not know what the mating scent smelt like, but he knew the feelings inside himself. The connection he’d not understood. The dreams.

A beep drew his attention. His phone. Still in his pocket. Theo climbed off the bed and looked down. His shirt was wrinkled and his jeans really weren’t that comfortable. He hadn’t even taken his shoes off! Shoving his hand in his jeans, he pulled out his old phone.

Twenty-three messages!

Theo blinked down in confusion. Twenty-three messages? What the heck? Had the zombie apocalypse happened as he napped? As he thumbed through the messages; tears filled his eyes again. Dario’s name and two unknown numbers. He couldn’t read all the messages unless he clicked on them. The preview of the message wasn’t enough to give him a clue on how angry the men were.

As he stared at his phone, another message came through.

Squeaking, he dropped his phone on the mattress, and it bounced toward the wall. He wasn’t ready to deal with that quite yet. Shower! He should shower and get dressed for bed. Yeah, that was a good plan.

Warily eyeing his phone, Theo gathered his towel, a clean T-shirt, underwear, and sweatpants, along with his shower bag, before he headed for his door.

The phone beeped again, and Theo made a hasty exit into the hall. If he ignored the little gadget, then maybe he could put it all out of mind for a while.

Theo kept his head down as he made his way to the showers.

He didn’t mind the large shower room for his floor. The setup was much the same as it had been in most of the boys homes he’d lived in. He pushed open the door and didn’t hear a lot of activity. Maybe two showers running? It was Friday night and Theo expected that most of the students were out. On dates, at parties, or basically having a good time.

Dragging his feet to the farthest single shower stall, Theo wondered how his night would have gone if he’d hadn’t been a little chicken and ran away.

He set his clothes on the bench across from the stall before he hung his towel on the hook next to the curtain. Theo carried his shower bag into the stall and hooked it to the shelf then turned on the water.

Theo grabbed the bar of soap from his bag and began to lather up.

He would need to make another trip to the dollar store soon to get more shower supplies, soap, toothpaste, and shampoo. He was almost out of all three, but he hated having to take the bus across town. There wasn’t a dollar store close to the campus and Theo couldn’t afford to shop at the stores on campus.

He took his time soaping up his body while slowlyrelaxing. He loved showers. Loved feeling clean and warm. It was a luxury that Theo hadn’t always been able to enjoy.

He probably spent entirely too long in the shower but his skin was squeaky clean and pink by the time he stepped out. He glanced down his body while drying himself quickly. He’d hadn’t bothered doing more than cleaning his penis thoroughly. He hadn’t gotten hard with his own hand but seeing his flaccid cock reminded him of the men that he’d left behind. Were they right now sealing the mate bond with one another?

Just the thought of Dario, Wylder, and Aleksander in bed together, without him, made his stomach ache.

It would be so much better for everyone if they forgot all about Theo.

He wasn’t a child. Theo was an average twenty-year-old young man but he did lack any sexual experience. He was na?ve in many aspects of his life, but he wasn’t stupid. Why would the fates pair him with men of such high importance? It didn’t make sense to Theo. He was a nobody and he was okay with that. He really was. Theo didn’t want much out of life. Theo wanted to graduate from college, get a good job, have his own home, and just be happy. He didn’t mind working hard for what he wanted to achieve. Theo knew nothing worth having would come easily. But did everything have to be this hard?

As he dressed, Theo could admit that he had panicked and acted like a child. His mates—oh Hellcats, that word filled him with hope—but his mates were probably really angry with him.

After he’d wasted as much time as possible, Theo headed back to his room. It was time to face his actions. Like a grown-up. Reaching the door, he pulled it open and peeked inside. Ethan still hadn’t returned. Maybe he’d had a date himself. Or had gone to a party.

Theo hung his towel in his closet, replaced his shower bag, then stuffed his dirty clothes into his empty laundry bag. He straightened up a few things around the room until he literally had nothing else to do. With a bottle of water in his hand, Theo returned to his bed.

His phone still beeped.

Missed messages.

From his mates.

Theo turned down the blanket before he climbed under it. He switched the lamp beside his bed off, leaving Ethan’s as the only light source. Setting the water bottle on the floor beside the bed, Theo couldn’t put it off any longer. He reached for his phone.

The latest message was from Dario. Theo opened the message thread. There were several and he had to scroll up to read them in order.

Dario: Tell me you made it back to your dorm okay

Dario: Please, little one. I’m worried about you

Dario: I understand that you’re upset. We should have explained better

Dario: Wylder and Aleksander would like your number. They want to text you

Dario: I’m going to give them your number. I’m sorry if I’m breaking your trust but I think you should listen to what they say and get to know them

Dario: Wylder just texted you. Please answer one of us

Dario: Just tell us that you’re okay

Theo bit his lips until it ached. Dario was so sweet and he sounded so worried. Theo didn’t want Dario to worry about him. There was a good twenty minutes between that message and a more recent blast.

Dario: I’m home now. In my apartment. When I walked in, I looked around and wondered what you would think about it

Dario: I can’t wait to show you. There is this perfect little reading nook that you could curl up in

Dario: You would fit in that little nook in both your human and shifted form

Dario: Does your cat like to sunbathe? I bet he does

There was another break in the messages before one last one from Dario.

Dario: I hope you are sleeping, my sweet boy. Good night and sleep well

Theo sniffed. It wouldn’t be right to not answer.

Theo: Sorry, I fell asleep. I just showered and am back in bed. I’m really sorry.

The response was immediate. The phone lit up in his hand as a new message came through.

Dario: Thank you for texting me back! Get some rest and we’ll talk again soon. We’ll figure things out, little one. It’s going to be okay

Little one. Theo really liked that nickname.

Theo: Ok. Night.

Dario: Good night, precious

He smiled before he moved to the next message thread. One of the two unknown numbers. Again, he had to scroll to see them all.

Unknown: Hey it’s Wylder. I begged Dario for your number so please don’t be mad @ him

Unknown: Worried about u

Unknown: R U OK

Unknown: I messed up. Sorry! I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that. My bad!

Unknown: I could come to your dorm if you wanted. We could talk?

Unknown: It’s ok. We don’t have to.

Unknown: I can’t even imagine how scary this must be for you. I’m kind of freaking out 2.

Theo laughed. Wylder changed from full sentences and text talk within his messages. He was sort of all over the place, but Theo liked that. It was like the guy himself. Theo updated the contact to Wylder’s name before returning to the messages.

Wylder: Back at my room. I wish we were in the same dorm. I would sleep outside your door if I could.

Theo shook his head. That would be hard to explain to his roommate.

Wylder: There’s a party going on down the hall and the music is loud. I’m glad I have a single room but the bumping of rap is annoying.

Wylder: Frowning face emoji. It’s so loud!

Wylder: I’m going to take a shower. Talk soon!

Again, it wouldn’t be right to leave the guy hanging.

Theo: I’m sorry that there’s a party down the hall from you. My floor is pretty quiet. I already showered and am in bed. I’m tired so I’m going to sleep.

There was one thing he needed to say.

Theo: You didn’t mess anything up. I panicked but that isn’t your fault.

He didn’t want Wylder blaming himself.

Theo: Sorry.

He waited but didn’t receive a text right back. Wylder’s last message was less than ten minutes ago so he was probably still in the shower. That left one more message thread he needed to go through.

With a deep breath he moved to the third message. This thread was much shorter.

Unknown: I understand why you ran.

Unknown: This is Aleksander.

Theo rolled his eyes but changed the contact information to Aleksander’s name.

Aleksander: If you’ll allow, I’d like to explain more about why we have more than one mate. There is a lot of family history that can help with the explanation. It might be overwhelming at first, but I believe this is information you should have.

Wow, full sentences, proper punctuation. Even through text messages Aleksander was a little stiff. Theo thought he could get used to that though. It was what made Aleksander special.

That was all Aleksander had written. He hadn’t brought up his worry about Theo like Dario. He hadn’t acted casual like Wylder. He’d just said he would provide information to Theo. Information that Theo wanted.

Theo: I think I would like to know more.

There! He’d been all grown up and texted back, so the three men knew he was still alive. Theo had no idea where they would go from here, but it was a start, right? Feeling overwhelmed and a little bit like a chicken again, Theo turned the sound to vibrate and stuck his phone under his pillow.

Pulling up his blanket to his chin, Theo closed his eyes and willed himself to fall asleep. When he’d been texting, he’d noticed that it was just after ten. His nap had been almost two hours and Theo wasn’t sure he could fall back asleep so soon, but he was warm and safe in his bed. If he could forget about all the information he’d been bombarded with that night, then he could pretend that he was just an average student like everyone else around him.

He was never going to be normal though.

* * * * *

Theo

He wasn’t really surprised when his irritated roommate stomped over to his bed and physically picked him up. Theo squawked but Ethan ignored him as he set Theo on his feet.

“Enough moping around!” Ethan pointed a finger at him while glowering. “I don’t know what happened on your date, because you won’t tell me, but I’m not going to let you wallow in self-pity. You’re too awesome for that!”

Ethan had been great over the entire weekend. Theo hadn’t known what to say so he hadn’t said anything. Ethan had taken his silence as a bad date and had gone above and beyond. While Theo had been camped out in his bed, his roommate had brought him food and even watched a movie on Ethan’s laptop with him.

It had been nice. Even between the text conversations that Theo had been having with his three…mates.

Every time Theo’s phone had chimed, Ethan had smiled at him.

“I’m not wallowing,” Theo complained as he stood in his large sweatpants falling off his hips and digging his toes into the thin carpet. “I’m just confused.”

Ethan beamed. “So it wasn’t a horrible date?”

Theo owed his friend and roommate something. “Not horrible.”

“I really didn’t think so. Your phone has chirped more this weekend than the entire time we’ve shared a room.”

It was true. Theo normally only needed to charge his phone every three to four days but the day before he’d had to keep the device plugged in. Wylder sent him the most messages but sometimes the messages were just emojis or a picture of what he was doing. Silly pictures like Wylder stretched out under a tree, which looked suspiciously like the one across from Theo’s dorm building, while reading a comic book. Of him studying. Lying in bed without a shirt. That picture had almost sent Theo into a panic again.

Dario texted him too. Just to check in. Ask if Theo needed anything. Aleksander’s messages were more informative, with the history of his family featuring prominently. Theo knew all about Aleksander’s brothers with Aleksander even sharing the antics of the twins, as Aleksander called them.

Theo’s responding messages had been shorter, but he’d made sure to always send something. He might still be struggling with the knowledge that he had four mates out there, but he also enjoyed talking to the three men. He hadn’t asked about the fourth mate. How would they find him? Did they need to be searching? If Theo couldn’t handle three, how would he handle a fourth?

“I have to get to practice, but you need to get dressed and have breakfast before your morning class.” Ethan interrupted his thoughts.

Theo scrunched up his nose. He knew he had to go to class, but he really didn’t want to face the real world. It was nice in his safe little bubble inside his dorm room.

“You haven’t had a real meal since Friday night,” Ethan said. “You cannot live on snacks and the crap I’ve been bringing you.”

He rubbed his belly. Theo was hungry and he’d saved quite a bit of money not going to the dining hall over the weekend. He could get himself breakfast. Oh! Maybe there would be bacon left. “I’ll eat breakfast,” he promised.

“Good.” Ethan patted his shoulder before getting up and grabbing his gym bag. “I’ll see you later tonight. We have an away tournament this weekend, so I have practice before and after class. I’ll be late.”

“Okay. Be careful at practice,” Theo told his friend. He wondered if the tournament was something that he could watch online. He’d actually enjoyed the hockey game when he’d seen it live. He also wanted to support his roommate. He’d ask when Ethan wasn’t in a hurry.

Alone in his room, Theo peered around. Ethan wasn’t the best at cleaning after himself.

He spent a few minutes straightening their small space, picking up wrappers and making his bed. Theo hadn’t had any more naughty dreams, so he didn’t need to wash his sheets yet. He did open the window to let in some fresh air.

Theo grabbed the bag to trash,to dump on the way to the showers.

By the time he’d dropped the trash in the bin, showered, brushed his teeth, tried to tame his unruly hair, dressed, and grabbed his backpack, it had been almost forty-five minutes since Ethan had left for practice. Too bad Ethan had forced him up early. His stomach was really rumbling now and he had to go out to get breakfast.

It would be busy at this time of morning too.

Usually, Theo tried to eat just before the dining meal ended so that most of the other students were gone. He’d just have to force himself to deal with the crowd.

He took the stairs down to the first floor. Stepping outside, he lifted his head to the bright sun. It was a warm sunny day and as much as Theo wanted to grumble about it being Monday, he really couldn’t. He started down the steps before he glanced up.

Almost tripping, Theo gripped the handrail as he spotted the three men under the tree.

At his fumble, Dario leapt up and closed the distance. Wow, he moved fast! Oh yeah, shifter, that was right. He slipped a hand under Theo’s elbow while smiling. With those perfect white teeth. Hellcats! Why was Dario so beautiful? Theo was so plain next to him.

“Good morning,” Dario said before he leaned down and kissed Theo’s cheek.

Theo flushed but managed to mumble some kind of reply. He didn’t even know what he said.

“We have coffee and breakfast,” Dario said, guiding Theo down the steps.

“Hey, Theo!” Wylder waved from his spot under the tree. Aleksander sat next to Wylder in another one of his fancy suits, sipping from a cup. Theo recognized the logo from the coffee shop where he worked.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked softly as Dario walked him under the tree.

“Breakfast!” Wylder held up a white paper bag. “Dario brought us coffee and Aleksander bought breakfast sandwiches. We were just about to text you to come down.”

Theo narrowed his eyes. “Were you?” This seemed like a well-orchestrated trap.

“Or wait for you to come out,” Dario admitted with a sheepish grin. “You have class today, so we knew you had to leave your dorm at some point.”

“How do you know I have class this morning?”

Wylder snorted. “It’s Monday. We all have classes Monday mornings.”

“Plus, I had my brother hack into the school system and download your schedule for us,” Aleksander said.

“What?” Theo squeaked.

“Alek! He didn’t need to know that.” Wylder shook his head and frowned.

Aleksander shrugged but winked at Theo. “I’m not ashamed of courting one of my mates.”

“Courting,” Wylder teased but he gently placed his hand on Aleksander’s knee. “You sound so old-fashioned.”

“Or just old,” Dario added with a wicked grin.

Aleksander sent Theo what could only be described as a pout. “Save me, Theo. These two are ganging up on me with their teasing and they keep sending me these things that I do not understand.” Aleksander waved his phone around. “What is wrong with words?”

“They’re emojis and they’re fun!” Wylder claimed.

Theo laughed. It came as a surprise, but he burst out in little giggles that he should probably have been embarrassed about but wasn’t as the three other men all smiled at him. They were just so ridiculous!

“Come, little one.” Dario drew him a few steps. “Let’s sit and eat.” Dario sat with his back to the tree trunk before patting the empty space between his legs.

Gingerly, Theo lowered himself where he was directed. Dario’s legs were on either side of his. Wylder slid his foot against Theo’s and Aleksander placed a hand on Theo’s other ankle.

“This…” he said. “This is nice.” Even better than their dinner picnic since Theo felt like he knew the other men better.

Wylder gave a funny little wiggle. “Right! A great start to a Monday morning.”

Dario handed Theo a cup as Aleksander started to unwrap something in white paper.

“Bacon, egg, and cheese on a croissant,” Aleksander said, passing over the breakfast sandwich. “Is this something that you approve of?”

Theo nodded. “Bacon is the best.”

“It really is,” Wylder agreed. He shoved his own sandwich in his mouth. “So good.”

Aleksander chuckled before he leaned forward and wiped at some of the cheese from Wylder’s mouth. It was sweet and seemed to be done without much thought. It was the kind of care one would take with a mate. Maybe, just maybe, Theo hadn’t totally screwed up this entire mate thing. Here they were sitting on a nice sunny morning sharing breakfast and coffee with one another.

Theo ate half his sandwich in four big bites before speaking.

“Don’t you have jobs?” he asked curiously.

“Of course,” Dario responded as he finished his own food. “I do have meetings that I postponed for later today, but we wanted to share this time with you. To make sure that you understand that there is no pressure. We can take things slow until you are comfortable.”

“I also wanted to drop off these books.” Aleksander pulled a messenger bag from behind him. “These are the volumes I told you about that my brother had.”

Theo accepted the messenger bag and opened it to peer inside at the three thick leather-bound journals. The journals. The ones that he’d seen on Professor Blake’s desk. The ones that Theo had wanted to touch. How weird was that?

“These are the journals written by the chosen?”

“Yes, my human father wrote the volume for my parents. Evian and I share these, trying to make sure we stay well informed.”

Evian. Professor Blake.

“Why doesn’t Professor Blake go by Lenkov? Isn’t that your last name?” Theo asked.

“He uses our human father’s last name for work. There are other paranormals here and since Lenkov is easily recognized, it makes doing his job easier to go by Evian Blake.”

“Did…did you tell your brother? About me? I mean us?”Did Professor Blake know how much Theo had already messed up?

“I did tell Evian I found three of my mates,” Aleksander admitted. “He was not easily convinced to share the volumes without more information. I’d just given them back to him. I swore him to secrecy though.”

“Okay.” Theo didn’t know how to feel about someone outside their little group knowing about them.

“I might have left out names though.” Aleksander grinned at him. “He’s a nosy pain in the ass sometimes.”

Theo pressed his lips together, but his smile was evident. “So, he doesn’t know it was me?”

“Not yet.”

That relieved Theo. He just needed time to sort out all the confusion in his head. Maybe spend some more time with his mates. It was hard enough to think about having four mates. Theo didn’t know what to think about the whole chosen angle either. Who would choose him for anything? Theo wasn’t special.

“Maybe we could look at them together?” Wylder asked as he leaned over Theo’s leg.

“Sure. Um, do you want to meet at the library this afternoon?”

“Cool. I can be there around two. That’s right after your last class, right?”

“Yes. My last class today ends at one thirty.”

Wylder grinned.

Theo was guessing that not only had the guys learned his schedule, but Wylder had probably mapped out exactly what buildings and times where Theo would be. “Uh-huh.”

“Finish your breakfast,” Dario whispered in Theo’s ear.

“Sure.” He ate the rest of his sandwich and shared another with Wylder as they enjoyed the early morning together. This had been exactly what he needed. Casual hanging out with small innocent touches. Not too much pressure to send Theo running.

Dario had stated that they would move at Theo’s pace. That they wanted him to be comfortable. Was that really fair to them though? He could admit, at least to himself, that he wasn’t the bravest boy around, but he also wanted to do right by his mates. He didn’t want them to regret who the fates had stuck them with.

“Thanks for breakfast and the coffee,” Theo said suddenly. He didn’t think he’d thanked his mates. Where were his manners! “And for hanging out with me this morning.” They had to have busy schedules but still they’d made time for him. “And for all the texts this weekend.”

“It is entirely our pleasure, little one.” Dario kissed the back of his head as Aleksander squeezed his ankle and Wylder lay over his leg.

As he finished his coffee, Theo was excited for the future for maybe the first time in his entire life.He looked down at the journals he’d placed back in the messenger bag that Alek had provided.

Again his fingers itched to touch them.

Was this because it was supposed to be his destiny? Magic of some kind. Aleksander had told Theo a ton about his family. One of his fathers was a mage. Another an angel. A freaking angel! Although Alek had been quick to say there was nothing biblical about real angels.

There was so much information about the paranormal world and what being a chosen was like right at his fingertips.

This was everything that Theo had ever wanted. To know more.

“Are you still with us?” Dario pressed his hand against Theo’s lower back.

“Yes. Sorry. I was thinking about the journals.”

Alek’s head snapped up. “You feel drawn to them?”

“I do.” Theo didn’t know how to explain it. “I want to touch them, read them. I just…it’s like they are mine.”

Alek’s entire face brightened. “That is the way it should be.”

“Really?” Theo perked up. He wasn’t being weird?

“My human father felt the same way. He was the historian.”

Theo hummed. Interesting. He liked it.