22. Reunited
Reunited
Jasper
“W hen Blake gets back from meeting the elves, we can all go and shift together. It’d be good for you, Papa. It’s been what, more than a week at least, since you last shifted? You heard what Aldrin and James said about regular shifting.”
I had to cut Kade off. Otherwise, he’d get into full lecture mode.
“Sounds great.” I didn’t want to leave the house.
Didn’t want to shift just in case there was any news from Dakota about Angel or my friends.
I had to though, since regular shifting was good for the baby.
If I didn’t go, then Kade wouldn’t be able to, and with three babies, he needed it more than me.
Showering and dressing daily was an increasingly tough challenge the longer that I went spending no time with my mate, but I struggled through it for Kade’s sake.
The Luna had not designed mate bonds for extended separation.
The video calls and the scent covered clothing helped, but they were just a patch on a larger problem.
We had no idea how long this would go on for.
Each day was a struggle to keep myself motivated and upbeat.
I wanted to sink into the depression that was taking hold, as everything felt so hopeless without my daughter and Dakota around.
Only the thought of him with her, watching over her, made it easier to breathe.
The other packs weren’t sharing information and from what Kade could glean from his daily updates, Sweetwater had been disproportionately affected.
In other packs that we got information from, only a fraction got the illness, perhaps because they weren’t as connected to each other.
Who knows? All we could understand was that no one that was sworn to Blake had been spared.
“Papa!” Kade shouted excitedly as I exited my room that I was still sharing with Deke.
“Yeah?”
“Chase is awake!”
“That’s wonderful!” It truly was. My heart fell, though. “Just him?”
Kade understood my sadness. “Yeah.”
“Still, it’s great news. Hopefully, the others won’t be long behind him.” I tried to be upbeat. This was a glimmer of hope that things were improving.
Kade enveloped me in a hug, our extended bellies making the action difficult. “It’ll be over soon, Papa.”
I rested my head against his and soaked in the scent of him, soothing my fox. My alter loved being around our boy but missed our little kit awfully. There were days they were as low as me, leaving it up to our alpha to keep us going.
My respect had risen exponentially for the young man. He was a different breed of alpha and I wondered if part of the reason that The Luna was testing the Sweetwater pack was because of him. She seemed to be guiding the pack towards something.
We waited for quite some time for news of Blake’s return, only to get a message instead. “Papa! Blake said that Dakota is visiting. The elves say it’s okay!”
“What?”
“Blake wants to spend a little longer with his brothers, so they’ve okayed it for Dakota to come spend time with you.”
“Oh!” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. It was more than I’d hoped for out of the day. When I’d heard about the elves, I’d been mildly curious. I would have liked to meet them, but knew it wasn’t possible until the worst was over, and by then they might have gone.
The other supernatural races had fascinated me all my life.
My pack had been insular, much like Rincoln’s had been.
We kept to shifters and the occasional trip to see witches, for things like fertility boosters and wards.
The fae and elves kept themselves separate from the others, seeing themselves as superior to beings like us or vampires, who they looked upon as parasites.
After learning about Isaac from Kade’s old workplace, I wondered if that comparison was accurate. The man was a leech.
“Papa? We’re going to go out and shift so you can spend some time alone.” His face had colored. The blush spreading down his neck amused me.
“Thank you.”
“Kade—“ Deke’s voice held a tone of warning.
“Security issue? Really? I’ve already planned around that. How about we meet up with some friends?”
“Who?”
I ignored their conversation and started bustling about the house, making it tidier for Dakota’s visit.
The room that I was staying in was all wrong.
Deke’s scent was all over it. Pushing open the window wide, I assessed the space.
There was no way that Dakota was going to fit on the single bed.
I stripped both the trundle and single bed and started moving furniture so I could push them together, and make the trundle a little higher to make a double when Deke caught me.
“What on earth are you doing?”
“Moving the beds.” I answered firmly.
“In your condition? Nevermind. Just let me do it, okay?”
I stepped aside to let him take over. He soon had them the way that I wanted. They had already been closer so he could hold my hand at night, but the height difference made them an issue.
“Tonight I’ll take the couch.”
Deke cut my noise of protest off. “I want you to enjoy the scent of your mate around you for a bit longer. I see how you are struggling. You need this.” I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight.
“I don’t know how I would have coped without you here. Thank you.”
He rested his head on mine for a full minute and we just enjoyed being in each other’s company.
“Come on, let’s get this room finished and then you better have another shower.”
“Why? Do I stink?”
“Stink of another alpha? Yes. His bear will hate that and we don’t want either of you hurt because his bear overreacted.”
“It’s not like hugging a friend is wrong.”
“No, but you can’t expect his alter to be reasonable after weeks away from you. Dakota will be fine, but his bear will see a challenge to their mating.”
I guess he had a point there.
Before long, we had sorted the room out. It was a little uncomfortable to be aware of what Dakota and I would do in here and knowing that my son and friend knew about it. The need for my mate was intense. Like a sharp knife driven into my side, every movement made me aware of it.
There was no chance that we were going to be in the same room together and not get naked. In fact, I wanted him inside me as soon as possible. The thought of him driving inside me had me slick, arousal running through my veins. A blush heated my cheeks as my scent sharpened, and I grew hard.
“We’ll go wait outside,” said Kade, and he pulled Deke to the door.
I heard the truck pull up, the sound familiar. I dug my nails into my legs to keep myself from moving. Dakota was so close, but I had to allow Kade a little time with him. Their bond was important, too.
Perhaps they realized how on edge I was because they soon made moves to go and Dakota approached the door.
The door nearly tore off the hinges with how hard I flung it open.
Dakota and I stared at each other. I absorbed every minute detail about my mate. The beard that hadn’t been there before, the exhausted pinch to his dark eyes, his skin paler from spending most of his day inside.
Maybe a second passed. It felt like a lifetime, but the moment snapped and I launched myself at my mate.
He caught me securely, like I knew he would. I had no doubt that he would always be my safe place and he would never let me down.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck, and fused my mouth to his. The explosion of his taste on my tongue pulled a groan from me. I was so ready for him; I ached from the emptiness.
Dakota walked us into the house towards the spare room without removing his mouth from mine, except to breathe.
He swallowed down every sound I made as our tongues twinned.
He pushed his fingers into my hair, grasping me tightly to him.
I felt his hardness against my ass, and I wriggled just to feel the friction against my hole.
His gasp was loud in the silence. “Jas, please.”
Slowly, he lay me down on the bed, coming down over me.
We ground our bodies together, hands wandering as we reacquainted ourselves with the other.
My bear had lost weight, likely from the stress.
His lips left my mouth and traveled down my neck.
He pulled up my shirt to lave at each nipple, the extra sensitivity making me squirm and plead. “Dakota!”
He removed his shirt, then mine. The feel of his hot, hair dusted skin on mine was heavenly after so long apart. “Kota.” I cupped his jaw and brought our lips together again. The intense need was getting worse, not better, for having him in my arms. “I need—“
“I’ve got you.”
In a move he better never repeat, he pulled down his pants, exposing his long, thick cock, then tore my pants and briefs in two over my hole. In one thrust, he was inside me, plunging deep with every push.
I cried out at the sudden stretch, the sharp burn, and the stupid, indignant realization that he’d ruined my clothes.
A laugh turned into a moan as the burn morphed into pure pleasure.
Each thrust of Dakota’s cock inside me had me climbing higher as he hit my prostate with each drive of his hips.
I clung to sweaty skin as he kissed, licked and nipped at my neck and shoulder, small growls and groans leaving him as I angled my pelvis to take him even deeper.
I wanted no distance between us, to truly become one so that he couldn’t leave me again.
“More! Harder,” I urged, wrapping my legs around his waist, my feet pushing on his fine ass to have him even deeper.
“No!” I gasped as he pulled away to rest on his knees. His lips were too far from mine. He pulled my ass into the cradle of his lap and pushed back inside me.
The angle was glorious. My walls squeezed him and he stroked my dick, looking at me with love and heat in his expression. I was addicted to the way that he felt inside me and wanted to keep this moment in my memory.