Chapter 18
Joel
I really wished I could’ve called in sick this morning, but after I’d missed a few shifts last week, plus anticipating time off for my heat, I knew I couldn’t afford to miss any more.
And so, sleep-deprived and every muscle in my body aching—not to mention my poor abused hole making it impossible to sit down—I’d forced myself out of bed and into the shower.
I’d had to lock North out of the bathroom, because with what that man could do with a bar of soap?
I knew I wouldn’t have the willpower to leave.
I’d also given him strict instructions not to stalk me later, because I would be far too tired to run. I would just have to lie down right there on the sidewalk and let him eat me, end of story. RIP fated mate.
The morning shift at the café was torture.
Everyone was all chipper and well-rested, and if I weren’t so sexually sated, I would’ve been jealous of their full night’s sleep.
There’d been very little sleep had at my apartment last night.
I lost track of how many times I’d woken up with North’s hard-on pressed against me.
It had been far too easy to angle my hips back and let him slide right in.
Sometimes it had been slow and sensual, sometimes frenzied and desperate.
Either way, every time he knotted me, he sighed in my ear, “Mine.”
Even now, standing in the aisle of the pharmacy, I felt horribly empty without him inside me.
I squirmed, getting slick at the mere thought of seeing him again.
Which was why I needed to restock my supply of condoms. That box I’d had at home was already over half gone—after just one night!
That man was voracious, not to mention a quick learner.
If I hadn’t known better, I would guess he’d been studying years for that final exam.
He could peg my prostate without even trying, and not once did he leave me unsatisfied.
He’d somehow clocked every single sound I made and then perfected how to make me repeat them.
I’d come so many times that I swore I was dehydrated.
I’d be sure to pick up some electrolyte drinks too.
I debated the various condoms—glow-in-the-dark, ridged, extra-large, tingling lube, flavored—and then my eyes strayed to the bottom row where the club-size boxes were.
Oh yeah, I’d be needing one of those. Sighing, I grabbed a 50 pack, which was unfortunately the largest they had.
At the rate we were going, it wouldn’t even last a week!
I went to grab a second box, but I paused as my eyes drifted to the display on the shelf to my left.
This was the family planning aisle, so I wasn’t sure why I was so thrown by the rows of pregnancy tests.
I’d passed them plenty of times. Kedi had even used one after a particularly debauched party and a one-night stand with a couple alphas.
Simply put, these tests were a part of life.
Instead of grabbing the condoms, my hand drifted over to the tests, and I plucked one off the shelf, reading the back of the box. I didn’t need it, I wasn’t late, but… what happened when I did need it? How would I feel if I were pregnant?
What would having a baby with North be like?
To feel a life growing inside of me and know that it was half of his DNA.
I already knew he would go feral watching me grow round with his child, and there was no doubt that he would make a great father.
He would dote on me, on our child, his protective instincts made for this.
Without thinking, I set a hand on my stomach. I thought of Kedi’s fear of an unplanned pregnancy, of his relieved tears when the test turned up negative. But when I imagined potentially having a baby with North, it wasn’t fear or uncertainty I felt. It was… hope. Excitement.
We were mates, promised by fate to be blessed with love of the purest form. The kind that lasted forever. And like North had said, I could deny it, but why would I, when it meant being happier with him than anyone else could ever make me?
And if that was true… then what was the point in waiting to claim my future?
North had insisted there was no rush. He’d been patient with me, letting me lead, more than willing to let me take my time to get comfortable with the idea of shifters and fated mates.
As a human, there was a socially expected timeline for these things.
Dating, then moving in together, then marriage, and a few years down the road, trying for a baby.
To do anything faster or out of order raised eyebrows.
And even then, waiting didn’t guarantee there would be no divorce in your future.
But North wasn’t human. And our children wouldn’t be either. We would be part of his pride, and no shifter would ever dare judge the speed of fate.
So when it came right down to it… how did I feel about having kids with North?
With blood rushing in my ears, I slowly lowered the box of condoms back to the shelf, and even though I had no need for it—yet—I found myself walking to the checkout with a pregnancy test, instead—along with a six-pack of sports drinks for the dehydration.
My smile was beaming when I found the choice was easy. And I smiled the whole way home.
Kedi took one look at my smile, though, and sneered, making the stud in his dimple sparkle.
“Ugh, you’re so happy it makes me wanna barf.
Can you at least pretend to fight with your mate for my sake?
” His hair was navy blue today and still smelled faintly like the chemicals used to dye it.
I wondered how he could stand it, with his improved shifter senses.
I dropped onto the couch beside him and stole one of his fries. He’d ordered from the burger place down the street, and my stomach growled. Now I would have to go get one too. “Oh, c’mon, you’re just jealous.”
“You’re damn right I am,” he sniped, licking the grease off his fingers before pulling a second burger out of the grease-soaked paper bag. “Here, I got you one.”
“You do love me,” I gushed, batting my eyelashes at him. “Just for that, you can have one of the drinks I bought.”
He grabbed the shopping bag from me, and his eyes lit up when he saw the energy drinks.
“Ooh! Kiwi strawberry is my fav.” But then he paused when he saw what was left in the bag.
“No.” He pulled out the box and turned wide eyes on me.
“You’re not pregnant, are you? Already? Why are you so lucky?
” he wailed, flopping back on the cushions dramatically.
“You’re not even a shifter. You didn’t even want a fated mate! When’s it gonna be my turn?”
“No, I’m not pregnant,” I assured him, taking the test back. “I’m just… being prepared. Besides, I’m sure fate is working on your happy-ever-after too. I mean, have you tried to figure out what your tattoo means?” I took a massive bite of my burger and groaned as the favor exploded on my tongue.
Kedi paused with his burger halfway to his mouth. His jaw went kinda slack, before a crease formed between his eyebrows, and he turned slowly to look at me. “What about my tat?”
My chewing slowed. Oh shit, was it not common knowledge that North’s tattoos were gifts from Fate? “Um, so… I maybe shouldn’t have said anything, so if I tell you, you have to be sworn to secrecy.”
He plopped his burger back down. “Start talking.”
And so, I explained as much as I could, though it wasn’t like I understood a thing about how the magic worked, just that it held a connection to his fated.
“Does a full moon mean something to you?” I asked.
Our food was long gone by now, and we were lying back on either end of the couch, nudging our legs back and forth as we jockeyed for who had to lie on the edge.
He rolled his eyes. “I’m a wolf shifter. What do you think?”
“Well… maybe you’ll meet him on a full moon,” I suggested, before wincing. “Sorry. That doesn’t narrow it down much.”
Smiling at my best friend, I pinched his big toe where he’d propped his foot on my stomach. “I know it sucks not to know, but… it’ll be worth the wait. I promise.”
He sighed. “Yeah. I know.”