Chapter Eighteen
The knock on the door came Sunday morning while Leyden was making breakfast.
Connor glanced up from his laptop at the kitchen table, frowning. “Were you expecting someone?”
“No.” Leyden wiped his hands on a towel and headed for the entrance, Connor following a few steps behind.
Leyden opened the door to find his parents on the porch, his mother beaming, his father’s expression neutral.
“Surprise!” His mother swept past him into the house, pulling him into a tight hug. “We were in the area and thought we’d stop by to meet your mate.”
Leyden returned the embrace, catching his father’s measuring gaze over her shoulder. Alpha Sebastian stood tall and imposing, every inch the alpha he’d been for forty years.
“Mom, Dad.” Leyden stepped back, gesturing toward Connor. “This is Connor, my alpha mate. Connor, my parents - Catherine and Sebastian.”
His mother turned to Connor, smile widening. “Oh, he’s gorgeous! Look at those shoulders.” She crossed to Connor, who’d gone slightly rigid. “May I hug you, dear?”
Connor blinked, clearly caught off guard by the request for permission. “Uh. Sure?”
Catherine pulled Connor into a warm embrace, patting his back. “It’s wonderful to meet you. Leyden’s been so secretive about his personal life. We only heard through the grapevine he’d found his mate.”
Connor’s discomfort seemed to ease slightly at her genuine warmth. “Nice to meet you too, ma’am.”
“Call me Catherine, please.” She released Connor, turning to Leyden. “You didn’t tell us you’d claimed your mate. When did this happen?”
“Almost a month ago.” Leyden moved to Connor’s side, resisting the urge to put his arm around his mate. Connor had been more comfortable with touch lately, but not necessarily in front of strangers.
Sebastian stepped inside, closing the door. His gaze traveled over Connor, assessing. “You’re Davis’s former beta, from the next pack over.”
“I am.” Connor’s posture straightened, meeting Sebastian’s eyes without backing down.
“Hmm.” Sebastian’s expression remained unreadable.
Tension crept into Leyden’s shoulders. He knew that tone, that look. His father was forming opinions, none of them were likely positive.
“Have you eaten?” Leyden asked, forcing brightness into his voice. “I was just making breakfast.”
“That would be lovely.” Catherine smiled, already heading toward the kitchen. “Connor, tell me about yourself. How did you and Leyden meet?”
As his mother drew Connor into conversation, Leyden caught his father’s pointed look. Sebastian jerked his head toward the study.
Here it comes.
Leyden followed his father down the hall, closing the study door behind them. Sebastian stood by the window, hands clasped behind his back.
“You’ve made a mistake,” Sebastian said without preamble.
Leyden’s jaw tightened. “I don’t think so. Connor is my fated mate.”
“I don’t dispute that.” Sebastian turned, expression hard. “But taking him as alpha mate? Giving him equal authority? That’s foolish.”
“He’s more than qualified…”
“Rumor has it he won’t even bed you.” Sebastian’s voice cut sharp. “What kind of mate is that? Almost a month claimed and you still don’t carry each other’s scent. The entire territory knows you’re not having sex with your own mate.”
Heat flooded Leyden’s face, anger rising fast. “My private life is none of your business, or anyone else’s for that matter.”
“It becomes my business when my son makes himself look weak.” Sebastian stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You’re an alpha, Leyden. You have needs. Physical needs that require satisfaction.”
“I’m aware of my own needs.”
“Then satisfy them.” Sebastian spread his hands. “Keep Connor as your mate if you must. But take others for your physical needs. Find wolves who are willing and enthusiastic. No one would fault you for it.”
Leyden stared at his father, rage building in his chest. “That’s not even possible, not to mention cheating.”
“It’s practical.”
“It’s betrayal.” Leyden’s hands clenched into fists. “We’ve exchanged claiming bites. Our wolves are bonded. It’s not possible for me to be physically intimate with another. Even trying to take another wolf to my bed would destroy Connor.” And probably turn mine feral.
“From what I understand, he wouldn’t even notice.” Sebastian’s tone carried dismissal. “If he’s not interested in sex with you, why would he care if you found it elsewhere?”
“Because he’s my mate!” Leyden’s voice rose, control slipping. “Because he trusts me. We’re fated and that means everything to me. Even aside from that, I promised him I would never consider another partner, and I meant it. I will never hurt him in that way.”
Sebastian shook his head. “You’re throwing away your sexuality for someone who can’t even appreciate it. That’s not a mating, son. That’s martyrdom.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” Sebastian crossed his arms. “I’ve been mated to your mother for forty-three years. I know what a successful partnership looks like. Physical intimacy is essential. Without it, you have a friendship at best.”
Leyden took a slow breath, trying to rein in his temper. His father had always valued strength, dominance, and traditional alpha behavior. It wasn’t in him to even try and understand.
“Connor satisfies me,” Leyden said carefully.
“How? By holding your hand?” Sebastian’s skepticism was evident. “You’re one of the most sexual alphas I’ve ever known. You need release multiple times a day. How long before that deprivation makes you resent him?”
“I don’t resent Connor.” Leyden met his father’s eyes. “I’ve never been happier.”
“Because you’re still in the honeymoon phase.” Sebastian waved a dismissive hand. “Wait six months. A year. When you’re climbing the walls with need and your mate still can’t give you what your body requires, you’ll see I’m right.”
Understanding crystallized in Leyden’s mind, cold and clear. His father had never viewed mating as anything beyond physical compatibility. The emotional connection, the intellectual partnership, the spiritual bond - none of that mattered to Alpha Sebastian.
Only sex. Only the physical act. My poor mother.
“You really believe that,” Leyden said quietly. “That sex is all that matters in a mating.”
“It’s the foundation.” Sebastian’s conviction rang absolute. “Everything else is window dressing.”
“You’re wrong.” Leyden straightened, meeting his father’s gaze without flinching. “Sex is simply one part of mating. Not even the most important part.”
Sebastian scoffed. “What’s more important than physical compatibility?”
“Emotional intimacy.” Leyden ticked off on his fingers. “Intellectual connection. Shared values. Respect. Trust. Partnership. Connor gives me all of that.”
“But not sex.”
“Not yet,” Leyden corrected. “Maybe not ever. But I don’t care.”
“You should care.” Frustration crept into Sebastian’s tone. “You’re settling for less than you deserve.”
“I’m choosing my mate.” Leyden’s voice hardened.
“Connor is amazing. He’s kind, thoughtful, and makes me laugh.
He understands pack dynamics better than anyone I’ve ever met.
He challenges me intellectually, calls me out when I’m wrong, supports me when I need it.
I can talk to him about anything. And yes, he’s also working through his relationship with physical intimacy, which takes time and patience. Time I can give him.”
“You shouldn’t have to be patient about sex with your own mate.”
“Why not?” Leyden spread his hands. “You waited for Mom, didn’t you? Courted her properly before claiming?”
“That was different. She wanted me.”
“Connor wants me too. Just not sexually. Not yet, maybe never. But every other kind of attraction? Every other kind of connection? That’s all there.
” Leyden moved closer, willing his father to understand.
“Before Connor, I had sex with dozens of wolves. Multiple partners a day, sometimes. And you know what? I was lonely. Desperately lonely. Because sex without emotional connection is just friction and biology.”
Sebastian’s expression remained unmoved.
“Connor sees me,” Leyden continued, urgency creeping into his voice.
“Not Alpha Leyden, the strong leader who never shows weakness. He sees me - the man who gets anxious over pack finances, who worries about making the right decisions, who wanted his parents’ approval so badly he challenged for his own pack instead of taking over yours.
Connor knows all of that and loves me anyway. ”
“Love without physical expression is friendship.”
“No.” Leyden shook his head firmly. “It’s still love.
It’s romance, true partnership, and devotion.
Connor kisses me. He holds my hand. He sits with me and reads while I work because he knows I like the company.
He touches me more every day, building comfort at his own pace.
That’s more intimate than any casual fuck I’ve ever had. ”
“You can’t sustain a mating on hand-holding.”
“Watch me.” Leyden’s voice dropped, deadly serious.
“I would rather spend the rest of my life holding Connor’s hand than fucking anyone else.
Because Connor is my mate. My fated mate.
The other half of my soul. I will not dishonor him by treating our bond like it’s insufficient just because it doesn’t conform to your narrow definition of what mating should look like. ”
Silence stretched between them. Sebastian’s jaw worked, eyes hard.
“You’re making a mistake,” Sebastian said finally. “But you’re too stubborn to see it.”
“I’m making the right choice for me and my mate.” Leyden held his ground. “If you can’t respect that, then maybe you should leave.”
Sebastian’s expression darkened. Without another word, he turned and strode from the study, his footsteps heavy in the hallway.
Leyden sagged against the desk, heart pounding. Through the bond, he felt Connor’s concern, his mate was aware that something had gone wrong.
A moment later, the front door opened and closed. An engine started outside.