~Chapter 20 Dustin's POV~

~Chapter 20 Dustin's POV~

Watching Mason and Blaze argue was entertaining, to say the least. Then Echo came over to my side and whispered in my ear "Hey, Dustin do you want to go explore?" "Sure, that sounds fun," I said before he grabbed my arm and dragged me along with him. We exited the Pack House and started walking towards the forest. "One of my favorite things to do once I go to a new place is to explore the land." Echo said. "Hey, my house is close to the forest. Can we get a change of clothes? I don't want to ruin Blaze's suit." I told Echo.

"Okay. I'll follow your lead for right now." It took about fifteen minutes longer to get home because I was walking and not in a car. The fact the I was wearing a suit and dress shoes made me slower while walking. Blaze had given me the spare house key last night so I could go into the house by myself. "You can sit in the living room on the sofa," I told Echo as I opened the door. I walked upstairs and changed out of the suit and dress shoes into a comfy shirt and pants with a sweatshirt. I also grabbed a small bag I saw where I could put a water bottle and change of clothes. I walked downstairs to look for Echo and Oliver.

"Hey, Echo, where are you?" I yelled. "I'm on the patio with your puppy!" Echo yelled back in response. I walked out onto the patio to see Echo playing with Oliver. "Hey, Dustin, would we be able to take your puppy with us?" Echo asked. "I don't see why not we probably should pack some food and water for us and Oliver though," I told him.

"Makes sense." Echo said while picking up Oliver. I think Oliver likes him because he was licking Echo's face when Echo picked Oliver up. I walked over to the kitchen and made up two sandwiches quickly and filled up another water bottle. Echo had a bag with him already. I have no clue what's in it though. I grabbed a small container and went over to the patio where Oliver's kibble is. I filled up the container with kibble and grabbed a couple of extra water bottles. "Okay so here are your waters and sandwich you can put it into your bag," I told Echo. "Thanks," he said. I walked over to the doorway and put on my sneakers. I took Oliver's harness and leash off of the hook and put them on him.

"You ready to go Echo since you're the one leading the way," I asked him. "Yep, since you were preparing everything I was ready a while ago," Echo told me. I nodded and opened the door. "Let's go have some fun exploring Echo," I said while starting to walk out the door. "Yep, let's go explore some of the woods." Echo replied. We started to walk into the forest. The areas where we could walk were littered with twigs and tree roots. We started to walk in the direction of the hills where the trees get denser and there is a higher elevation. I swear every seven trees we passed Oliver would take a moment to pee on a tree. When the trail started to become steep and rockier we noticed something. The sound of water. When we moved off the trail a little bit we saw a small ravine. There was a creek leading through it and it had rocks you could climb down. I didn't want Oliver stumbling and getting hurt when Echo and I went down into the ravine so I put him in my sweatshirt. I heard that for some cats and dogs the sound of the owner's heart calms them. "Hey, Echo, we should watch our steps, we don't want to get hurt in these rocks," I told him. He responded with a quick nod. I noticed an area where moss covered the ground and it was shaded with trees on the other end of the ravine. It looked like there were several types of flowers there even though it was getting cold out. If it was closer to the summer, I would want to jump in the creek, but it'll probably be cold since it's the middle of fall. "Echo. I have something I want to talk to you about." I said.

Echo turned around and faced me. "Yeah. What do you want to talk about?" Echo asked me. "So I was thinking of starting a haven for Omegas. I was wondering if you would be willing to help me with that? I already have a plan and how it will work out but I need someone else other than Blaze who will help me. I want you to be that person." I told him. "That seems like a good idea. My only question is why are you thinking of this? You have an amazing mate, happy life, and a future that has a happy ending. So why?" Echo asked me. Well, this will be a long talk might as well sit down. I sat down on a large rock that the water did not reach.

When I sat down my legs immediately started to feel better. Oliver snuggled farther into my sweatshirt. With the way I was sitting he was snuggling next to my stomach. "You might as well have a seat because this is going to be a long storytime," I told Echo. He nodded and sat down on a rock a couple of feet in front of me. The breeze and the sound of the flowing water are calming. "Let's start from when I turned fourteen and I found out my secondary gender. My so-called "friends" started to bully me and torment me every day. Soon after my parents disowned me. To keep up appearances they still let me live at the apartment because I was the pack's blessing a rare male omega. Then I found my secret getaway. It's here in these woods but it's destroyed now.

Then at the age of twenty-one, I thought I met my soulmate. He was amazing, he showed me, love, when no one else did, he protected me when no one cared. He didn't take advantage of me and knew some of my secrets. Then the day I should have been there with him he was killed. In a car crash, the driver wasn't paying attention to the road. After he died I started to be harassed and beat up once again. I was so important to the pack but the Elders just stayed in their seats and let this happen. I learned I wasn't the pack's precious male omega I was just a plaything. The day I met Blaze I was running from two Alpha trying to get laid. When I just barely made it to my secret getaway before I passed out. When I woke up there was Blaze. He helped me and protected me from the Alphas when they found me." I told Echo. "Then how did you become mates?" Echo asked me.

"He offered me a deal. I become the Luna and his mate and he will protect me. We just happened to fall in love in the process. I want to help omegas old or young that don't have an alpha to protect them. Now that I've told you my backstory you tell me yours." I told Echo. "Before that, are we business partners or not? Now that you have heard my reasoning." I said to him. "Business partners. Well, my backstory isn't as emotional as yours but it's my story so I hope you enjoy listening and don't have your perception of me altered." Echo told me.

~The End Of Chapter 20~