Epilogue
SILAS
SOMETIME LATER
S tuck inside a stuffy conference room in Anchorage, Silas and Finn were three hours deep into pitching a security system to developers of a new sporting goods store in town.
Silas had heard this spiel a thousand times and could recite it in his sleep.
In fact, he’d already given it once today. However, their client, Brandon— or was it Brian? —had asked Finn to go over the proposal again.
And again.
They were meant to be on their way home by now, and with every minute that ticked by, Silas grew more and more agitated.
One of his socks had slipped ever so slightly down his heel, he could smell the egg-salad sandwich Brett had eaten for lunch from across the room, and if he asked Finn to “go over how all this works” one more time, Silas would start banging his head against the table.
Just as Brayden, or Brenden, or whatever the fuck his name was, asked Finn to run through the pricing estimates again, Silas’ phone buzzed in his pocket three times in quick succession.
Bzzz, Bzzz, Bzzz
Casually, he pulled it out under the table to peek at the back-to-back notifications. His heart skipped a little when he saw they were incoming messages from Sammy.
He knew Silas would be in this meeting. Sammy had kindly listened to him whine all week about having to wake up early to drive to Anchorage today. He also would’ve called if it were an emergency, so the likelihood that Sammy’s messages were important was low.
Still, Silas had already become bored enough to covertly read the label on the mini water bottles Bradley had handed them when they’d arrived—twice. He’d certainly read whatever Sammy was chattering about while Finn explained their pricing summaries again .
Phone still hidden under the table, Silas unlocked it with a swipe, opened their messages, and choked.
Coughing like he’d just swallowed a fly, Silas bumped the underside of the conference table with his knee, shaking it. Leaning into the crook of his arm to stifle his coughs, he hurriedly locked his phone screen.
“Sorry,” he croaked to Finn, whose brow was creased in worry. “Just… swallowed wrong. Excuse me, I’ll step out.”
“Of course, the restroom’s down the hall on your left,” probably Brian said, before turning back to Finn. “So, what’s your timeline for installation?”
Silas quietly shut the door behind him and paced down the hall until he couldn't hear the sound of Finn’s repeated explanations anymore.
His coughing had subsided, but there was no way in hell he could stay in that room for another minute with what Sammy had just sent him burning a hole in his pocket.
Slipping into the one-room, single-occupancy bathroom, Silas flipped the lock and strode over to the sink, setting his phone down before he splashed cool water on his face.
As if that would help.
Casting a furtive glance around, like the office staff were crowded in there with him and peering over his shoulder, Silas opened Sammy’s message again.
He didn’t know where to look first.
Sammy had sent Silas a mirror selfie.
Except instead of the usual pose where he’d stand and face his reflection, he was kneeling on their bed, back to the full-length mirror mounted on their bedroom door. His face was turned to the side, coyly looking over his shoulder with those fuck me eyes that drove Silas crazy, and he’d angled the phone over his shoulder to take the picture.
That pose alone was enough to make Silas hard, the bulge in his pants growing alarmingly fast.
God, his mate was hot. He wanted to tip Sammy forward on the bed so his ass was in the air, and show him exactly what those fuck me eyes earned him.
But Sammy wasn’t just kneeling on the bed.
Silas followed the bare, lightly freckled planes of his back, muscles flexed from twisting for the photo, all the way down to where a hot pink jockstrap framed his thick, perky ass like a fucking work of art. Silas zoomed in, breathing heavily as he focused on the way Sammy’s cheeks were pushed out and tilted just enough to highlight his slick, pink hole, stretched around the dildo Sammy was riding.
Fucking hell.
With the photo, he’d sent a six-minute-long voice note, along with the message:
Sammy Love
I miss you, Alpha. Will you listen to me get ready for you while you’re at work?
Fucking. Hell.
That brat. That beautiful, naughty, perfect brat.
Not long after their mating ceremony, Silas and Sammy listened to one of his audios together for the first time.
He’d come embarrassingly fast.
Like, real-life Sammy had barely wrapped his lips around Silas’ cock before he’d blown his load all over his face to the soundtrack of audio-Sammy whimpering that he wanted to fit all of his alpha’s cock in his mouth.
They didn’t do that very often, but when they were in the mood Silas loved to play one while they fucked. Sammy seemed to enjoy it too—it was almost like a chance to act out his fantasies.
Listening to one Sammy gasp into the sheets while he took Silas’ knot was everything, but hearing two of his mate ? It completely overwhelmed his senses in the best way possible.
His wolf preened and strutted around in his mind every time audio-Sammy begged for his alpha’s cock, knowing he’d been thinking about Silas, pining for him just as Silas had in return.
Sometimes it made his heart ache, knowing they’d wanted each other from afar for so long, but what he’d said to Sammy was true—he’d have waited forever and didn’t regret a second of the time it took for them to find their way home to each other.
Silas debated whether or not he should listen to the audio message Sammy had sent.
Finn had just started re-explaining the pricing estimates, and if Brad agreed to hire them for the installation, the paperwork would take at least ten minutes to talk through. If Sammy had sent the voice note now, that meant he wanted Silas to listen to it before he drove home, right?
Silas shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping he’d find what he was searching for— yes.
He pulled out his keys, the case holding his wireless earbuds securely attached so he wouldn't keep losing them. Hoping Brady had at least six minutes worth of questions left in him— sorry, Finny— Silas turned on the tap to muffle the noise, put in his earbuds, and hit play.
“ Hi, ” Sammy began softly, almost like he was whispering right into Silas’ ear. His husky voice and low chuckle shot straight to his cock, already hard and pressed uncomfortably against his zipper.
“ Are you listening to this while you’re at work? ” he teased, voice breathy and so, so fuckable. “ Were you in a meeting when you saw my picture? Maybe you should find somewhere more private. As fun as it would be to spread myself open for you on a big conference table, I don’t want anyone else to see that beautiful bulge in your pants. Because you are hard, aren’t you? I know you are. Better go hide somewhere and keep quiet, so no one hears you fisting your giant cock while you listen to me ride this dildo and scream your name. ”
Fuck. Silas palmed his cock through his slacks and slowly worked his fly open, careful not to catch his raging erection in the zipper. He dropped his pants and underwear just enough for his cock to swing free, a bead of precum already forming.
He pulled up the photo Sammy had sent, zooming in just enough so he filled the screen, propped it up against the mirror over the sink, and took himself in hand, pumping so his cockhead was fully exposed.
“ I miss you, Alpha, ” Sammy went on, pouting.
There was rustling in the background, like limbs sliding against bed sheets, occasionally punctuated by those soft mewling noises and wet gasps Sammy made that drove Silas’ inner predator mad; that made him want to hunt and take .
He imagined Sammy opening himself up too fast—he was never patient enough to fully prep the way he should before demanding to be fucked.
Silas braced his other hand against the wall, leaning over the sink as he jerked himself at a steady pace.
“ I woke up this morning so horny, so needy—but you’d already left. I’m empty without you here to fill me up. I don’t want to be empty, ” Sammy whined, voice hitching when a wet, rhythmic schlick sound started up in the background. Was he jerking himself off, too? Or was he lubing up that dildo he’d sat on before taking the picture?
Silas matched the pace of his own hard pumps to the sound, eyes gobbling up the photo of Sammy, but that quickly became too much.
Quietly cursing to himself, he released his cock so he wouldn’t come too soon, and fondled his balls instead, breathing through the pleasure racing up his spine.
“ I need a fat cock in me right now. Please Alpha, will you hurry home? I’m so empty. I can’t wait. I’m sorry. I’ll just get started before you get here, ok? I’ll sit on my dildo and get all stretched out for you, so when you come home you’ll be able to put yours in right away. Will you do that? Will you hurry home so you can fill your mate the second you walk in the door? I need—need—ah!”
Sammy sobbed, and Silas imagined him dropping his weight down onto the dildo, his slick hole stretching around the girth while he let gravity seat it deep inside.
Silas squeezed at the base of his cock, staving off his orgasm again. He pressed his lips together to muffle his heavy breaths, hoping the sound of the running tap was enough to mask what he was doing.
“ I—I just sat down on it, Alpha. Oh, it feels good. S’good, Si. I’m sorry I couldn’t wait—wait—wait. ” Sammy’s words were accompanied by the steady sounds of him riding the dildo; his rhythmic uh, uh, uh’s each time he lifted and dropped back down, along with the wet schlick of the cock pumping in and out of him were fucking filthy.
Silas began pumping himself again to the rhythm, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hold off a third time.
“ I need—you. Need you. Please come home. Please hurry, Oh, fuck!” Sammy’s voice began to shake as he bounced on the dildo.
He worked himself roughly, trembling, twisting his hand and occasionally sliding his thumb over his cockhead just the way he liked, his breath fogging the mirror as pleasure raced up his spine.
He shifted his stance wider, cock throbbing as he prepared to shoot into the sink, staring at the photo of Sammy and imagining it was his ass Silas tunneled into.
“ It's not as big as you are, Alpha, ” Sammy said through hitched breaths. “ It won't go deep enough. S’not enough. I want your cock inside me—me. ”
Another shaky breath as the sounds of Sammy riding the dildo sped up. Silas imagined he was jerking his cock now, too. “ Shit. I want to feel you come in my tummy. I want you to press on it when you knot me. I want to keep it inside. I’m so close, Silas. Come home. Come—come—I’m coming! ”
Silas hurtled over the edge to the sounds of Sammy’s orgasm, toes curling in his shoes as he clapped a hand over his mouth, balls pulling up tight and painting ropes of cum into the sink basin.
Chest heaving, he listened to the soft moans Sammy made while he came down from the release, followed by more shuffling. He imagined him lifting up and off the dildo, letting it slip out while his gaping hole clenched, searching for Silas’ knot.
Sammy’s voice was suddenly very close, like he’d leaned right into the microphone. “ This one was just for you, Alpha. I’ll be waiting, ” he breathed, chuckling again as the recording cut out.
Oh, that little brat would pay.
Silas hastily cleaned himself up and tucked his cock back into his pants.
He wiped down the sink with hot, soapy water, washed his hands, and checked his reflection to make sure he didn’t look too much like he’d just jerked one out in the office bathroom before he unlocked the door and stepped out.
No one was in the hall, thank God, and when he quietly made his way to the conference room, he could still hear Finn and Brandon talking about contracts.
Thinking twice before going back inside right away—Finn would never let him live it down—Silas kept walking past the conference room toward a side door that led outside.
Stepping out into the freezing wind, he blew out a heavy breath, letting the cold air out his scent for a minute.
Pulling out his phone, Silas tapped out a reply to Sammy.
Silas
You’ll pay for that, brat. You’d better be ready for me when I get home.
Sammy Love
I’m waiting
Their newly built cabin sat nestled into the same cluster of trees Silas had grown up in, warmly lit with smoke cheerily dancing from the chimney.
They’d moved in last fall, and with snow thick on the ground, he parked his truck in the warming shed, shoved his clothes into a satchel he looped around his neck, shifted, and ran the last leg home.
Familiar sounds of the forest all around greeted him; the distant echo of shifting river ice, the rustling of nearby wildlife, and the way the trees whispered welcome every time he and Sammy came home.
Home. We’re home, his wolf sighed.
When he reached the porch, Silas didn’t even put his clothes back on.
He scented Sammy waiting inside, so he shifted back to two legs, dropped his bag by the door, and tracked the crackle and pop of Sammy’s arousal into the living room where he stood, naked and ready.
Mate is here. Mate wants us.
Matematemate.
Yes, we’re home with our Sammy.
They didn’t exchange words.
Sammy cocked one eyebrow at Silas, flooding the bond with the want pulsing through his veins, and that was all the go-ahead Silas needed.
Everything after that was a blur of wet kisses and sizzling touches and the most delicious sounds Silas could draw out of him.
Sammy had already prepped—just like he’d said he would—so Silas laid him down with rough hands on the rug in front of the fireplace, quickly slicking up his cock.
He knelt between Sammy’s legs, wrapped one around his hip, and pushed into him, hard, eyes locked together so he could watch Sammy react to the sensation of taking him inside.
“That feel good?” Silas asked, already out of breath from slinging his hips into Sammy.
“ Uh-huh,” Sammy said.
Silas bared his teeth. “Have I already fucked all the naughty words out of you, mate? You had plenty to say earlier.”
Sammy only cursed, back arching and tweaking his own nipples while Silas continued to pound into him, face slack with pleasure and pouting.
Taking hold of one of Sammy’s hands, Silas laid it over his soft, lightly freckled stomach, just below his navel, and pressed down hard. “Feel that? Feel me moving inside of you? That’s what you fucking do to me.”
Sammy cried out. “ Fuck!” he yelled, wrapping his other leg around Silas’ waist and drawing him closer, deeper. “Mine. Your cock is mine.”
“That’s right it fucking is, mate. It’s yours. I belong to you,” Silas said, voice low and rumbling, jarred by each of his heavy thrusts into Sammy.
“Deeper. I want you deeper,” Sammy wailed, pressing against his stomach even more.
Silas pulled out and flipped him over. “You want it deeper? Want it on your belly, brat? Yeah? Here you go.”
Silas slapped his oversized cock against Sammy’s ass, once, twice, watching it jiggle.
Pushing on his lower back to keep him lying flat, Silas used his other hand to thumb one cheek to the side, opening Sammy up just enough to sink into him again with a heavy thrust.
“Oh my God, Silas,” Sammy said, grunting, face turned to the side and hands searching over his head for something to hold on to.
Silas draped his body over him and took hold of his hands, barely bracing his weight on his knees. Sammy always came the hardest when he was helpless underneath him.
With Sammy’s legs tucked together, Silas’ cock would feel massive. “It’ll feel even bigger this way. That’s what you wanted, right? To feel me in your fucking throat?”
Sammy gasped something Silas couldn’t understand, words jumbled around with each of his thrusts.
He picked up his pace again, driving into Sammy so hard he was jolted forward. Silas pressed more of his torso down onto him to hold him still, completely surrounding him, head bent to suck on their mating mark while he rocked them together.
“I can feel it in my stomach,” Sammy croaked, fingers tangling with Silas’ and clinging on. “Just—keep— yes! There! Oh God, Silas, it’s too big. It really is too big,” he sobbed, crying real tears.
Silas had learned early on—that didn’t mean stop.
Sammy kicked up his heels between Silas’ legs, toes curling as he ground his cock down into the rug while Silas pegged his prostate over and over. He screamed through his orgasm when Silas shoved his knot inside one final time, roaring his own release soon after.
Long minutes later, he grasped Sammy’s hips and rolled so they were spooned together. Still panting and sweaty, he danced kisses along Sammy’s shoulders and up the nape of his neck, rocking his hips ever so slightly where they were locked, making him squirm.
“Sensitive,” Sammy mumbled, reaching back to grip Silas’ hip.
Silas chuckled. “Well, mate. Do you still feel empty?”
Sammy huffed, shimmying his hips further onto Silas’ knot. “Tease me and you’ll get one of those every time you leave the house.”
Silas grinned, pressing his teeth into Sammy’s neck. “I don’t think that’s quite the threat you think it is.”
“Hmmm,” Sammy mumbled, linking his fingers through Silas’. “How was the meeting?”
“He made Finn talk his ear off first, but he signed, so I suppose it was worth the trip. How was your day?”
Sammy yawned. “Good. I got the audiobook samples sent off, we’ll see if their agent is interested.”
Silas adored seeing Sammy work.
Sometimes he’d stay up well after Silas fell asleep, and he’d wake in the middle of the night to find Sammy still in the makeshift recording booth he’d built in one of their spare rooms. His mate didn’t have an off switch when he worked on something he enjoyed, so Silas had to make sure he ate and slept regularly when he was sucked into a project.
“That’s wonderful news, love. I’m sure they’ll love it. Speaking of loving something…” Silas nibbled at Sammy’s earlobe. “Thank you for my message earlier.”
An adorable blush crept up Sammy’s neck. “Did you like it?”
Silas growled. “That picture nearly gave me a heart attack. I had to excuse myself to the restroom when I saw it, where I came all over the sink listening to you.”
Sammy turned as much of his upper body as he could to look at Silas, eyes full of mirth and faux disbelief. “You did not.”
Silas kissed him. “I did, you brat, and I fucking loved it.”
“Please tell me you at least cleaned up after yourself.”
Silas laughed, causing Sammy to gasp and squirm some more. “Yes, I left it better than I found it.”
Sammy looked so quietly pleased with himself that Silas had to squeeze him in a tight embrace, just because.
The rest of their evening was quiet and uneventful.
The blustery wind rattled the windows and whistled down the chimney just like it had in his childhood home, but the sound was a little different now—the same melody, in a different key.
Maybe that was because of the time that’d passed, or because they’d used updated building materials, or maybe because someone else’s magic blanketed their home, knitting protections into their walls and foundation.
Silas let the bittersweet sound wash over him, relishing it as he sat in front of the fire.
It reminded him of rebuilding, and quiet nights holding his mate, and the cacophony of so many feet, new and old, padding around the hardwood floors when they’d host pack dinners.
“You should be in bed by now,” Sammy said quietly, several hours after they’d cleaned up the mess they’d made of the carpet. He was leaning on the door frame that led into the kitchen. “You were up early.”
Silas stood and stretched. “You’re right. Come with me?”
Sammy nodded, his smile warm and open. Silas thought back to a time when he’d scaled walls just to see that smile.
He never took for granted that it was given so freely, now.
“Let’s go to bed, you giant oaf,” Sammy said, pulling Silas up the stairs.
Silas had stopped counting the moments he’d thought he’d reached the peak of happiness. It was a silly thing to do when he woke up next to Sammy every day.
Even through life’s hardships, they’d laughed, and cried, and mourned together. They’d cheered each other on, held each other up, and learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Sammy’s love for Silas was as fierce and fortifying as the wind; mountains bowed to it. Sometimes it still took his breath away to feel it ringing down the bond.
The love Silas felt for Sammy in return was steadfast; as enduring and powerful as a river. Calm and unwavering most days, an unstoppable force of nature on others.
Together, they could face anything.
Silas let Sammy, the man who smelled like toasted marshmallows and crackling embers, lead him upstairs.
He let his mate lead him home.