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“Is everything all right?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. Mason said it might be like this today. Hard to control it. Having you right next to me, knowing that tonight’s the full moon and you’ll be at my side. It’s just a lot. I’ll be honest, you are not helping by being next to me.”

I grinned. “I can leave?”

He held me tighter. “Don’t you dare. I want you next to me. Always.”

I sighed and laid my head on his bare chest. “I want that, too. So much.”

“We should probably get up, though. Unless we are going to stay in bed all day. I have a feeling we’ll be interrupted several times, though.” Based on what I had heard from the pack the day before, they were planning quite the celebration. Somehow this had turned from celebrating Jack’s full shift, to Jack being named official alpha of the pack.

I sat up and cupped his face in my hand as I looked down at him. “This is all pretty amazing. I am really glad I found you, Jack.”

He smiled. “I’m glad I found you, too. I can’t imagine doing this without you.”

“I can’t wait until I get the shift.”

“That will apparently take several weeks.”

I grinned. “I know, but I can’t wait.”

After we had agreed to make this thing real between us, we had informed Mason. He took the opportunity to explain (over the phone, since we certainly didn’t want anyone in the house with us) that for the next month, we would have to mate repeatedly, and also, we’d have to have lots of sex and biting in order to make this transformation complete. As soon as the next full moon, I could be shifting to a wolf for the first time. I worried that something might go wrong. That maybe we had it wrong. Mason assured me that one, everyone in the pack could tell that Jack was the alpha and I was his consort, and two, they could smell it.

Jack had gone slightly red at that.

“Wait, so even in your human form, you have a heightened sense of smell?” I asked.

Jack nodded.

“So anytime we’re turned on or…”

He nodded again.

I winced. “That’s just great. I bet the teenagers love it.”

That had gotten a giggle out of Mason and a blush spreading even further across Jack’s face.

Jack sat up in bed and swung his legs over to the side. I joined him. We weren’t moving off the bed yet, but we would eventually. As much as I wanted to spend all day in bed with him—and we would, just not on a full moon—we had responsibilities to the pack.

“I’m a little nervous,” he admitted. He kept his faze focused on the floor, his hands wringing together.

“That’s normal. I’m nervous, too.” I laid my head on his shoulder. Now that the blankets were off, the cold was seeping in. His body was always warm, though. My personal heater.

“What if I’m not a good enough alpha? What if this doesn’t go the way we think it does?”

I pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. “All of those feelings are valid, and we will work through them. But just know that everyone here, their instincts tell them that you are their alpha and that you are good. The whole pack can’t be wrong. This will be amazing and life-changing. You are going to be amazing. You’ve been preparing for this your whole life, and you didn’t even know. You’re a leader, Jack. One with compassion, understanding, patience for days, and you are going to have the coolest consort by your side.”

“The coolest, huh? So sure of yourself?”

“Indeed,” I said. I laid my head on his shoulder. The warmth of his body radiated off him and sent a sense of comfort through me. “I have a good feeling about this.”

“Me too,” he said, patting my knee. “Honestly, it feels a lot like it did when I became a parent for the first time. I just don’t want to fuck it up.”

“See, and you did a great job as a dad. Maya’s amazing.”

“She is. She is also incredibly impatient for her own shift to come.”

“I know. Me too. For both hers and my own.”