13. Todd
13
TODD
Waking up with Niam in my arms was everything to me—taking in his scent, listening to his breathing, feeling his warmth. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start the day.
He was my omega, my love, my partner in this life.
But as wonderful as our life currently was, my bear was pissed. Pissed that I didn’t mark him. Pissed that I didn’t show the world that he was mine. Pissed that we still hadn’t fully mated.
But I couldn’t do that to Niam without his consent. Not until we talked about it—really talked about it—so he could make an informed decision. He needed to know what he was getting into.
Once I marked him, that was it for me. That was it for him. It was the equivalent of human marriage on steroids. And that wasn’t something you did on a whim.
To me, this wasn’t a whim. Now that I knew Niam was mine, that was all there was to it. Done. But for a human, it might seem like a moment of lust or too sudden. Like we were rushing things or any of the other excuses humans made for not following their hearts.
I got it, I really did.
Unlike shifters, marriages weren’t really forever, not with the divorce rate as high as it was.
Niam’s breathing changed, and I knew he was awake.
“Good morning, sunshine.” I pressed a kiss to his shoulder—right where I would mark him one day.
My bear snarled at me, but I ignored him. He could be mad about it, but I refused to mate our omega without his full, informed consent. He deserved better than that.
“Mmm. Want to sleep more.” He was more mumbling than speaking, but I understood exactly what he wanted.
“You can sleep all you want.” As far as I knew, he had no place to go today, and if he wanted to spend the entirety of it in my bed, I was here for it.
“No. Can’t.” He sighed heavily and started to get up.
“Where are you going?” I wasn’t on board with him leaving. And truthfully, I didn’t think I ever would be.
“Bathroom.”
I lifted my arm and let him go. As much as I wanted him to stay in my arms, I understood why he needed to get up.
He padded into the bathroom, and I grabbed my phone to check the time. It was barely seven. Even if he wanted to get some work done today or go out and run errands or what have you, there was still plenty of time for us to snuggle.
A few minutes later, he crawled right back to where he had been and grabbed my hand before pulling it around him. “Sleep more.”
“Yes, my love, sleep more.” I listened to his breathing as it evened out. Eventually, he fell asleep. I didn’t know how long I lay there, just enjoying being in his presence, before I fell asleep too.
The next time I woke up, Niam wasn’t there. He hadn’t left the house because his jeans were still a puddle on the floor, so my heart immediately went back to normal.
Stretching wide, I checked the time and saw it was almost 11. Most definitely time to get up. I never slept this late. Then again, we had spent most of the night exploring each other's bodies. It was no wonder I was sleepy.
I threw on a pair of pajama pants and made a quick stop at the bathroom. I headed to the kitchen and found Niam there, sipping a mug of coffee with a whole bunch of ingredients laid out in little bowls on the counter behind him.
He set his mug down and grabbed one for me. “Morning, sleepyhead.” He filled the mug and handed it to me.
I inhaled the hot steam and moaned. “You should’ve woken me up.”
“Nah. Figured you’d get up when you got cold.” He winked at me over his own mug.
“Got cold?” The weather was cool, but hardly cold enough to rival my furnace.
“Yeah. Without we keeping you warm.” He stuck out his tongue playfully and followed it up with a kiss on my cheek.
Touche. “It was warmer with you there.”
“I’ve only been up about twenty minutes—perfect timing. The coffee just finished, and I’m ready for omelets.”
“Omelets?” My omega was making me a fancy breakfast. I should’ve been the one to get up early and cook, but also, I wasn’t going to turn down a home-cooked breakfast.
“Yeah, omelets. I don’t know how to make a lot of breakfast foods from scratch because I cheat with my pancakes and waffles by using mixes. And cinnamon rolls always come from a bakery. But I can make a mean omelet.”
“I love all of that, and I can cook too. My breakfast speciality is French toast.”
“Yum. Next time, breakfast is on you.” He clicked on the burner and added butter to the pan. “What kind would you like?”
I looked at the selection of ingredients he had laid out and opted for an “everything” omelet.
“Sorry, I don’t have more to offer. I didn’t think to bring breakfast toppings, and it looks like it’s probably grocery day for you.”
“Yesterday was, actually.” I chuckled as I thought about how bare my fridge was. “But really, this is perfect.”
He cracked an egg and started working. “Sit down and enjoy your coffee. This won’t take long”
“How about I get on toast duty, and we make breakfast together?” The bread I had was sourdough I bought a few days ago. It was perfect for toasting and not much else at this point.
“Works for me.”
We worked side by side to make our breakfast, then sat down to eat together. We talked about our plans for the day because I wanted to make sure he had time for whatever his father or the office might need, but I also wanted to spend every waking moment with my mate.
Thankfully, he felt the same.
After a quick stop at his dad’s house for a change of clothes and probably to explain why he hadn’t come home the night before, we had to run a few errands. We stopped at the hardware store to grab what he needed for the bathroom, then hit the grocery store and picked up some steaks to grill for dinner.
It was normal.
Boring.
And all kinds of perfect.
A bear could get used to this.
“Niam?” I held my breath, committed to saying something that would change everything.
He looked up from his phone. “Yeah.”
“I think I love you.” My heart was pounding in my chest, but it needed to be said. I couldn’t keep my feelings to myself anymore.
His breath hitched as tears filled his eyes. “I love you too, alpha.”