“I have so much to learn.”
“I’m here to help.”
Chapter Fifteen
Theo
After my mate accepted that not only were shifters real, but he was one, he was really trying to figure it all out. I’d known I was a shifter since birth, but Brent had just learned about his other half. And he didn’t know how to make it happen, which was frustrating for him.
We’d walked the forest together the day after the fire, looking for the source and we found it. A campfire someone had built without care, maybe gone away without being sure it was all out. Either way, it wasn’t arson, but it was someone who did not belong on the land. And with my mate around more and more, I didn’t want strangers who could even accidentally set up a situation that could harm him.
As an alpha, it was my job to make sure he was protected. My land was too extensive to fence, and obviously not everyone respected the signs, so I needed another plan. And the one I came up with was cameras. I found some that were affordable and would cover large areas, reporting to an app on my phone.
In the weeks since, the only things I’d seen wandering the land were of the animal variety. Squirrels, birds, chipmunks, possums, foxes, and even a few coyotes. Rabbits… In fact, watching the camera views on our phones became one of our favorite activities in the evening. Not our very favorite but way up there.
And gradually, I felt his walls crumbling. We spent as much time together as we could, with our schedules, particularly mine. That was one reason I’d been so concerned with knowing what went on on the land. If we mated and he moved in, he’d be there for a couple of nights at a time without me. But so far, itall looked good. Whoever had lit that campfire must have been moving through. The cameras provided extra security.
I thought we were doing well, but I came home one day to find Brent waiting for me. I’d given him a key early on, in case he arrived before me, but we hadn’t had plans that evening, and he looked so serious, it made me nervous. I tried not to show it, as I got out of the car.
“This is a nice surprise. I’m so glad to see you. It’s been a rough couple of days at the firehouse and you are just the remedy for it.”
“Am I?” He lifted his face for a kiss. “I’m glad because I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Why don’t we go inside, then.” I put an arm over his shoulders. “I’m sure we can find something to eat.”
“Oh wait.” He ran back to his car and returned with a box. “I brought pizza.”
“Clever omega. That’s perfect food for conversation.” If he was feeding me, he couldn’t be breaking up with me, could he?
We set the box on the table and got out plates and napkins as well as the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator and some glasses. But neither of us took a slice.
“Brent, you’re going to have to tell me what you want to talk about. Is it something bad?”
“What? No. At least I hope you don’t feel that way. It’s…well, I’ve decided it’s time.”
“To…” I hoped I knew, but I didn’t want to assume anything.
“For you to mate and mark me, if you still want me, that is. If I haven’t made you wait so long you’ve lost interest.”
“Omega, I’m never losing interest in you. No matter what. You are my mate, and there will never be anyone else for me.”
“I believe you, and I can’t imagine anyone else for me. My cat is nagging me. He wants this too. Is that what it’s like?Having someone nag you all the time from the inside when you’re a shifter?”
“Not really. At least, my dragon doesn’t have opinions on a lot of things. But on matings? He is nagging me too. Did you really decide it’s time? You have to be sure. Not just because your cat feels this way.”
“Alpha, I want to be with you all the time. When I thought I was human, I hoped for a good marriage, but the prospect of being mated to you is so much more than that. Whenever we’re not together, I’m wondering what you’re doing. I won’t lie and say I don’t worry about you when you’re fighting fires, but I think your dragon offers you protection others don’t have.”
“That is true.” And I was grateful, but right now, my entire focus was on my mate. “Would you mind terribly if we put the pizza away for a while and took this conversation to the bedroom?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
We didn’t make it that far. Although we made love every night we were together, so far, this was something else, and we only got to the couch before we landed, kissing and tossing clothing in every direction.
I wanted to take our time and give him all the foreplay, but neither of us had the patience. Not with the urge to mate taking over. I wanted to be inside him, and he demanded the same. Kissing him, always heady, now had my head absolutely spinning. This omega, this cat shifter, was the one Fate had made for me, and we fitted together perfectly. But knowing where this was going, we were moving fast. As if the moment could pass us by. He enveloped me, his body massaging my cock, a tight velvet sheath. “Omega, I’m not going to last long.” Plunging in, I sought to go deeper, to bury myself in my mate’s body. To join us finally.
He bucked his hips, crying out my name while I drove in again and again. “Alpha, I want you so much.”
“You have me, omega. Always.” And with those words, I lost myself in him entirely, his thrashing beneath me and the heat of his cum on my belly telling me he’d done the same. Knotting, holding us together, this time we went all the way. I pierced his throat, marking him there as I’d done with my needles symbolically. He wore my dragon on his back and my mark on his neck.
