We should have talked. There was so much to say, but my omega had a long day. When he asked to come back to the Mates Motel with me, I was surprised and pleased, but I wanted to be sure he knew I truly was not that kind of guy. I couldn’t say it often enough. I’d always believed I had a mate out there somewhere, but also that he would be a shifter. Most likely a wolf shifter. Humans had different customs, none of which had been modeled for me as I grew into adulthood.
My wolf was happy because he was with us. He wanted to mate and mark, but he was showing remarkable patience, for which I was grateful. I wanted him desperately, but it would have to be on his terms. My friends who had mated spoke of meeting and forming an instant connection. Most had mated that same day or not much longer.
But humans, at least from what I had seen on social media, took their time before “marrying” someone, and about half of those ended in divorce. My mate, should he decide to accept me, would need to know how that worked. Mates almost never split up, and when they did, it left both partners wrecked. Should we mate and he walk away, I honestly had no idea how that might work on his end. But I knew it would be the end of me. Less than twenty-four hours after meeting him, I already could not imagine walking a step, breathing a breath, or living at all without knowing my fated mate was in my life.
“You okay, Gabe?” His soft voice crossed the space between us. “Was it all right that I wanted to come with you?”
“Of course. I told you earlier I would invite you back but didn’t want to give you the wrong impression of my intentions.” Which were to win him over and mate him. Over and over and…
“I’m not that innocent you know,” he said, catching me off guard. “I know how these things work.”
“You do?” If he already recognized the facts of mating—which he might, living with three shifters who probably didn’t mince words about their conquests or future plans—it would be so much easier. Not having to explain? Just telling him my wolf and I recognized him as ours and he could say yes or no. What if he said no?
“Sure. I know how sex works,” he said “But you aren’t going to seduce me against my will.”
Oh. The act of intercourse. Maybe oral. Just the physical aspects and probably not even marking.
“Well, that’s not why you’re here me tonight, right?”
“No,” he said softly. “I don’t want to rush into anything, but I do know I like you and I feel good when I’m with you.”
Oh, mate!
What a compliment. That was, although he might not be aware of it, the core principle of being mates. Never being quite happy unless with a mate. Of course, most people spent some time apart for work or other responsibilities. But when given the choice, mates would be together. Period.
It just felt better.
“Here we are.” I showed him around the motel room. “Home sweet home.”
“I’ve wondered what the rooms were like here. It looks so…old, but I’ve heard customers say they like it.”
“I will warn you it is not the Four Seasons.”
“The what?” He looked around. “Is that a motel?”
“No, it’s a fancy hotel I haven’t been to either. But it looks amazing in movies.” Yeah. Human movies. Shifter media was just really getting started, but there were a lot of shifters in the mainstream, with most people having no idea what they were looking at. “Anyway, come with me.” I opened the door and lethim precede me inside. “I’m afraid there’s only one bed, but I’ll take the sofa.”
“You don’t have to. I will.”
“No, you’re my guest.” I showed him where the bathroom was, basically did all the things a hotel bellman would do. I hadn’t been to the Four Seasons, but I’d been to a few other hotels. “Why don’t you go get ready for bed?”
“I’m not that ti—” His yawn cut him off, and he shrugged and blushed.
Pressing his backpack into his hands, I pointed to the bathroom. “Off you go.”
After the day he’d had, the big fight with his brothers, a full day of working, and, even if he didn’t realize it, the shock to his system of meeting his mate, Temple needed rest. And as his alpha mate, it was my duty to make sure he got it.
As soon as he came out of the bathroom, I tucked him into bed with a kiss on his forehead. His eyes closed, and he was asleep faster than I’d ever believed possible. One day soon, I’d be under those covers with him.
But not tonight.
I sat down at the small table, thinking of the situation he currently lived in. Those shifter brothers who had been menacing him created a stressful environment at best, dangerous at worst. While he showered, I was left with his brothers who were, obviously, not my favorite shifters at the moment. But it was my opportunity to see what they would tell me about their family.
“What is your pack?” I asked.
They glanced at one another then shrugged, all of them. The tallest of the three—I still didn’t know their names or care to—spoke for them again. “Deepwell pack.”
“I’ve never seen you there.” They weren’t close friends with ours, but I’d been a few times for gatherings over the years.
