Chapter 11 Thorne
Chapter eleven
Thorne
Two and a half weeks together might not seem long, but between fated mates who are also forming an intense magical bond, it’s enough time for my lion and me to know we are in love with Hayden.
I can’t even fight the grin when his head pops up like a Jack-in-the-box between the racks of clothing. We are shopping in the next town over again, but this time we are shopping for family. Hayden insisted on buying gifts for my alpha dad, my omega papa, and even my brother.
As if hearing my thoughts, my phone rings, indicating that Dimitri is video calling me. I hold up my phone and point at it when Hayden peers my way. I point outside, and he nods. As soon as I step outside, the snow crunching under my boots, I answer the call.
“Hey, Dimitri!”
“Wow, okay,” Dimitri grins. “I didn’t expect to see you looking so damn happy. Who’s got you smiling like that, big bro?”
My eyes wander back over to the omega that has me feeling all kinds of ways. Hayden is wrapping a pretty royal-blue scarf around his neck, and I must admit, the color looks stunning on him.
Dimitri clears his throat. “Holy shit, Thorne. There really is someone, isn’t there?”
I startle at his voice. Oh crap. I totally forgot I was on the phone. What the hell is Hayden doing to me? I grin again. “I found him, Dee.”
“Found who? Your fated? Because you’re acting like you met your fated mate.”
I bite my lip and nod. I feel like a fucking teenager, not a grown forty-one-year-old shifter. “I found my fated mate.”
“Well, hot damn! Don’t keep me in suspense. What is he like? I’m assuming that this trip to get over your one-night stand worked miracles?”
“Actually, they are one and the same. Hayden is here, and he’s my fated mate.”
Dimitri’s mouth drops open. I launch into the story of how Hayden found me in my lion form, to how I discovered we were double-booked. Skipping the part about Hayden’s heat, I tell him about the last couple of weeks and the time we’ve spent together at the lodge.
“That’s amazing, Thorne. Truly. That’s a story you’ll be able to tell your great-grandchildren.
” My stomach swoops with joy. I’ve always wanted a large family.
Over the last few days, I’ve wondered if Hayden might be pregnant.
I’ll admit, I’ve been keeping an eye out for any signs.
Mating with your fated during a heat is one of the fastest ways to get pregnant. Goddess, I hope I’d be that lucky.
“What about you?” I ask Dimitri. “Are you still dreaming of your fated? Any clues?”
Dimitri shakes his head. “No real clues. All I know is that they are some kind of shifter, like us. It’s all I know. It’s almost as if they are hiding from me. Not that it matters since I’m bi, but I don’t even know their gender or designation.”
“You’ll find them someday; I have faith now.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Dimitri laughs. “Go back to your omega, and have a wonderful Christmas, Thorne. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“Thanks, Dee. Merry Christmas. Oh, and can you keep this a secret? We want to call Papa and Dad over video and tell them.”
“Sure thing. Now, go find your omega.”
As soon as I walk back inside, I find Hayden by the door. “You ready to go?” I ask.
He nods, holding up a few shopping bags. “Who was that on the phone?”
“My brother, Dimitri. I told him that I’d finally found you again. He knows how sad I’ve been these past six years, but he only recently found out how serious I felt about you.”
Hayden pauses, looking torn. I instantly feel bad.
My poor mate has been harboring so much guilt about that night.
He looks up at me with pleading eyes. “I went back for you,” he whispers.
“That night, after I left, I kept having this horrible thought that I needed to turn around. I wandered the city, walking aimlessly. Somehow, I ended up in front of the wishing tree. That’s when I found your wish on the ground. ”
“My wish?”
“Your wish.” He nods. “Crazy, right? As soon as I read it, I ran all the way back to the hotel. But by the time I made it back to your room, you had already checked out. You were gone.”
What were the fucking chances? I kiss Hayden’s temple. “See, it sounds like Fate had her own plans. Maybe we weren’t supposed to be together just yet. She has made it very clear that we were supposed to wait for each other.”
We exit the shop and see snowflakes gently falling all around us. “Back then, during our date, what made you realize there might be something more to us?” Hayden asks.
I think back to that night. “I think it was when we were in line waiting to hang our wishes on the wishing tree. Snowflakes were falling all around us, just like they are now. I kept watching the way they landed in your hair.”
Hayden nods. “I loved the way the snowflakes landed on your skin before melting. It somehow made the night feel magical.”
“Why were you wearing scent blockers that night?” I blurt. “It took until we were reunited to figure it out, but there was something off about your scent back then.”
“I was getting ready to go into heat. I didn’t want to distract my date with my pheromones.
I always seem to go into heat around this time.
But goddess, that night I enjoyed your company so much I was almost upset that I didn’t.
I’m so embarrassed to say this, but I wanted to go into heat with you there,” he admits.
“And to think that we reunited during the winter season. Maybe we were always meant to be bound in heat and snow.” I grin, amused at such a romantic thought.
“Bound in heat and snow.” Hayden nods, lacing our gloved fingers together. “I like it, Alpha mine.”
“Me too, sweet omega.”
Twenty minutes later, we are in front of our cabin making out like teenagers sneaking around for the first time.
As we kiss, we giggle and point out all the different types of snowflakes that land on our skin before melting against our heat.
When it gets just a little too cold, we rush inside and cuddle under the covers while watching our favorite Christmas movies.
Christmas really is my favorite time of the year.