They were mated, but so completely different and in so many ways, that only hard work kept them together.
As well as lust and sexual attraction, of course.
They were huge motivators for both to stick together even if some days they were like chalk and cheese.
Nothing beat sex in a mated bond—something he could now understand when he’d never been able to before.
“Moms are different to dads.There is always that bond that can’t be replaced between a mother and a baby.That isn’t to say your relationships with a kid of ours is less, it’s just… some stuff, a mom always has to do alone.”
He nodded, because she was right.He couldn’t breastfeed a baby.Nor could he give birth or hold the child in a womb for nine months…
“I understand.But still, we’ll be there for you every step of the way.There’s no need at all to be scared.”
Her smile was softer now.“I know you mean that.”
“Of course, I do.And I speak for all of us.”
He admitted, “None of us are ready for a kit.Yet.Marc probably thinks he is because he’s the eldest and been around the longest.He’s been dreaming of a family for as long as I’ve been alive—longer.That changes a man.You have to be patient with him, but I know he’ll be patient with you, too.
“He respects the fact that you’re not only scared about what’s happening here, but that you’re a lot younger than all of us.And that’s fine.No pressure.”
“No pressure,” she repeated, tasting the words softly, and startling him when he saw tears start to dot her eyelashes.
“What is it?”he demanded, reaching up to swipe his thumb across her jaw.
“I’ve never not had any pressure,” she admitted.“T-Thank you for saying that to me.”
“It’s my honor, El.You’re my mate, but you’re also the woman I love.The two don’t necessarily go together, you know?”
She stilled.“They don’t?”
“No.The connection is something no human will ever be able to understand; that will always be so much more than the perception of what love actually is.But no, love doesn’t have to be a part and parcel of a mate bond.”
Her fingers traced a soft pattern on his still slick chest.“What happened to me today?”she asked gently, changing the subjects for reasons unbeknown to him.
Didn’t she want to hear that he loved her?
Maybe she didn’t love him in return?
Though the thought hurt, he rallied around and murmured, “You were jealous.But more than that, your Panther and Lioness were jealous.They were the dangerous ones in the scenario.”
She blinked.“I remember feeling a little out of control but nothing else.”
“They swept over you.You tried to dominate me,” he teased a little, enjoying her blush of astonishment.He tapped her nose with his finger.“Almost won, too.Nearly dragged my Lion out of me when I didn’t want to shift.”
Her mouth dropped open.“I didn’t?”
“Yeah.You did.”He grinned.Maybe a lesser man would have been bristling, annoyed at the affront to his masculinity but El was special.Not just because she was his mate, but because she had two beasts butting heads for space in her soul… that required the kind of control legends were made of.
“If I challenged you, could I win?”
Amused at how her thoughts had veered that way, he contemplated her question for a second, wanting to give her a genuine answer.“I don’t think so,” he said after a moment.
“Why not?”
“Disappointed?”he joked, grinning when she stuck out her tongue at him.
“No.Just curious.”
