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Under other circumstances, Isam might’ve used the opportunity to get a good look at his naked mates, but that was about the furthest thing from his mind right now. He closed his eyes and willed himself to focus.

Call up your wolf, Servas had said. Isam reached inside himself to the part that had felt the connection with Mostyn so strongly. Something flashed inside him, like a flint stone creating a spark, and the next second, he was a wolf.

He. Had. Mates.

He had shifted, so they truly were mates.

He spun around, and as soon as he did, Mostyn changed as well, and a gorgeous brown wolf stood next to him. Servas’s white wolf immediately came over to bump noses with Isam, and they yipped in delight.

God, what a feeling to be in this form, so connected to a part of him that had been asleep for so long. He felt powerful and mighty and so, so grateful he was alive to experience this.

He nuzzled Mostyn, who rubbed himself against Isam, and then the three of them bumped and rubbed, scenting all over each other. They were so beautiful, his mates. In human form too, but maybe even more as wolves.

A noise behind him made him turn. Lidon had sunk to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Isam trotted over, the other two on his heels, and he pressed his head against Lidon’s hand. Seconds later, the alpha was petting them, hugging them. “Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this, for being willing to even try.”

Didn’t his alpha know Isam would do anything for him? For the pack?

They. Were. Family.

And now, he also had two mates.

9

After they’d shifted back and everyone else had left, Servas stood outside the meeting barn with his two mates. A crescent moon provided just enough light to see their faces, and he couldn’t stop staring at them.

They were mates. He had mates.

No, it wasn’t how he had expected this to go, but he wasn’t going to complain. He had no reason to. The only one with a valid reason to protest was Mostyn, but he seemed to be taking it all in stride, which amazed Servas. He wasn’t sure if he would’ve been that cool and collected under those same circumstances. He wasn’t prone to throwing tantrums, but he might’ve raised a stink had he been confronted with one shock after another.

Mostyn shoved his hands into his pockets. “So now what? We’re mates, okay. But what comes next?”

“I have no clue,” Isam said, and Servas smiled. He always loved hearing alphas admit they were as lost as the rest of them, even when they often seemed so confident, to the point of being arrogant. It leveled the playing field.

“Now we get to know each other,” Servas offered. “Which sounds like the wrong order, but that can’t be helped. We can take our time dating and learning more about each other before we take the next step.”

“Dating?” Mostyn slowly repeated, like it were a novel concept. Was he…new to this? To dating or even sex?

Servas frowned. “You haven’t dated before?”

“I’m more of a hookup kind of guy. Never met anyone I liked enough to spend more than a few hours with them. So yeah, the concept of dating is unfamiliar.”

“Same here.” Isam shrugged. “I’ve had some repeat hookup partners, especially since ending up in the pack, but I’ve never actually dated someone.”

Servas couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “I guess that makes me the only experienced one here, then, because I have. Not since joining the pack, but before that, I dated plenty. And hooked up since I love sex as much as the next guy. It’s one of the few downsides of being in the pack. The number of partners is limited.”

Isam sighed. “Tell me about it. And what makes it even more complicated is that you still have to see them every day if things go wrong, which makes it really awkward.”

Servas shared a look with the alpha that told him they’d both been there.

“Well, that certainly brings no extra pressure for our relationship,” Mostyn said dryly. “Good to know that if things go badly, we’ll have to deal with the awkwardness.”

That made them all smile.

“So, the plan is to date?” Mostyn asked.

He was someone who appreciated planning, Servas concluded. Or who wanted certainty and clarity. He could appreciate that. “That would work for me.”

But Mostyn wasn’t done yet. “What about sex? You and I have already made some vague plans to hook up at some point,” he told Isam. “So does that mean we now can’t? Do we have to date for a certain period first?”