Chapter Fourteen
Bowen
I waited in his room while Remi was in the en suite preparing for bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, I smoothed my palms over the quilt he’d bought me, the fabric cool and smooth, the stitching complex and precise. It was so beautiful, and the nicest gift I’d ever received.
In a moment or two, he’d emerge and we’d…we’d…
As shifter connections went, twenty-four hours was a relatively long time before mating and marking.
My family and friends all had stories of meeting and instantly picking up life together.
No questions asked until after the fact.
Fated mates were a gift that required nothing but acceptance.
There would be a lifetime to get to know one another.
And after a day with Remi, that lifetime glowed in front of us.
If we could figure out a way to make it work, that was, because our work and lives were so far apart.
Ranger jobs were very difficult to come by, and even though funding and favoritism were threatening my current position, if I did not lose it, I was unlikely to find another easily.
National park funding would not just affect our lands.
If we, who actually generated income, were facing layoffs, others would be in worse shape.
But, as I had earlier, I pushed the thoughts down.
The only time we were guaranteed was that moment, this weekend when we were enjoying one another’s company and having a good time together.
I had to trust that the rest would resolve itself in time.
I’d never been good at trusting things I could not control. And this situation, job-wise at least, definitely felt that way. When I got the text, every inch of me tensed, fight or flight kicking in, and both of those options required a return to the park.
Yet…I didn’t.
The job I’d spent years acquiring and then gave my whole soul to took second place. Options were yet to present themselves, but I had to believe we would figure it out. Because once we did this thing, being apart was going to be painful. I expected a feeling of panic to reemerge, but it didn’t.
But I was still a little tense, and when Remi emerged from the bathroom, he took one look at me and shook his head. “Omega, my panther wants to meet your wolf. Don’t you think that would be polite, to introduce them before we mate?”
My wolf’s excitement nearly had him breaking through to take his fur right there and then.
I controlled him with difficulty while the tension I felt eased at the thought.
My wolf’s sense of people and what was good held no peer.
For example, he thought taking a big bite out of a certain coworker was a great idea.
Okay, his awareness of what would have us put in jail might not be good, but he recognized those who belonged in our life, and he so far was fully on board with Remi as our mate.
“My wolf agrees. But we’d better get outside ASAP, or they’ll be meeting right here. ”
“Franklin might not appreciate the damage panther claws could do to hardwood floors,” he said. “Outside?”
We linked hands and raced down the stairs, out onto the porch, and hurriedly undressed.
Having my sexy-butt jeans ruined by my wolf bursting free was not on my agenda for tonight.
When we were nude, we paused for a moment.
I wanted it to be much longer, to take the time to really see my mate, but my wolf had been stymied long enough, and I let loose and let him take over.
Standing on four paws, looking out through wolf eyes, I saw my mate was still in human form.
My wolf was not impressed with his sexy body, but I was.
All his work at the nursery, added to shifter genes, left me with a mate anyone would be proud to have.
And that was on top of his kindness, thoughtfulness, and every other quality I’d learned about in these few hours together.
A good sense of humor and a calm I could only dream of possessing.
But while these thoughts passed through the human part of my mind, the panther appeared. Thick black fur and golden eyes. He winked at us, rubbed his muzzle against our head, and leapt over the railing and toward the woods.
My wolf was not as hesitant about anything as I was, and also liked showing off.
Unlike the big cat, he didn’t clear the railing, but he did bounce off it, and the two of us were off.
Racing into the trees, the panther led the way as if he’d known the lands his whole life, my wolf happy to follow.
I might be an omega, but my wolf, in the past, had preferred to be at the front of any runs we participated in.
Tonight, under the full moon, he chose to follow his alpha through the beautiful landscape, trees and grasses, splashing across a couple of streams, and eventually circling back to the porch where we’d left our clothes.
Too short a time, but it was our last night together for at least a while, and when we’d shifted back and grabbed our clothing, we didn’t bother to dress before racing up the stairs.
The common areas were dark, but if Franklin was aware of our public nudity, he would no doubt understand.
We fell through the open doorway, barely managing to make the bed instead of landing on the floor.
Kissing, touching, whispering to one another, limbs entangled, I didn’t know where he ended and I began.
And that felt just perfect. Everything felt perfect, and when his fingers found their way to my hole, he growled, “All ready for me, omega?”
“Yes, alpha, so ready.”
A little repositioning, and my alpha was inside me, stretching me nearly to my limits.
It should have been uncomfortable, but somehow that only added to how great it felt.
Throwing my head back, I bucked my hips, wanting every generous inch of him deep inside.
Filling me all the way. Not an inch of space between us that we could avoid.
My cock, trapped between us, was benefitting from friction to the point that as he sped up, my balls tightened.
I struggled, wanting to wait, to hold back until he reached orgasm too, but the heat of our two moving bodies overwhelmed my self-control, and with a groan, I tipped over the edge, hot jets spurting onto both of our torsos.
“Omega,” he rumbled. “How did you….ohhhh.” He shuddered, following me into the abyss.
And then his knot swelled, further stretching me, making my eyes roll back in my head.
The pierce of sharp fangs in my throat brought me back to awareness.
My alpha marking me. Finalizing the connection between us.
Golden contentment poured through my limbs. I was his. And he was mine.
Any other details could work themselves out later.