Chapter Twenty-One
Eryx
With all the craziness that was life lately, my mate and I hadn’t gone out to shift together. We did once, before we realized we were fated. Before I knew that majestic tiger was mine to keep forever.
Joaquin and our babe inside him were getting bigger by the moment. Quinn told us that after next week, he wouldn’t be able to shift, and while I hadn’t told him, I wouldn’t shift without him. Maybe never again. Didn’t seem fair to go running as my wolf when my mate couldn’t.
Today was a surprise. Joaquin was all moved in. Our theater was open, and today was the first day that we, unbeknownst to my mate, would trust that management to run the theater without us.
He woke up later than usual. We’d had some late-night showings and slept in.
I waited in the kitchen with a big breakfast fit for my carnivore tiger.
“Good morning? Or afternoon?” He wiped his sleepy eyes and came over to plop his head against my chest. It was the most adorable thing he did, and there were plenty of those.
“Doesn’t matter.” My hands roamed down his sides and landed on the outer rim of his belly. “Did you two get plenty of sleep?”
“We did. But I woke up with a foot or a hand in my ribs. I couldn’t tell which.”
Rubbing his belly, I chuckled. “Are you giving your daddy trouble? Maybe he’ll be a gymnast or a wrestler.”
“I don’t know but whatever it is, he or she is already practicing. And why do you keep saying he? Maybe it’s a girl.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter to me. But sometimes my wolf gets a feeling. Like it might be a boy.”
“I need to eat and then get ready for work.”
“No, you don’t,” I said. “Today, you and I have a date of sorts.”
His entire face lit up as he peered up at me with wide eyes. “We do? What about the theater?”
“The theater will be well-manned. I have everything in place. Trust me?”
“Of course, Eryx. But…what are we doing? Our date?”
“Get dressed in something casual and let’s go. No hurry but, well, yes, hurry. I’m eager to get my mate alone. We’ve been working so hard, and we need a date. A few of them before the baby comes. Don’t you think?”
He nodded and in less than thirty minutes was ready to go.
I had a picnic basket in the back of the car, which I was sure he saw but didn’t say anything about.
His smile was priceless. I promised myself to make sure that once he was ready, we would go on dates.
Our family was important, but the root of us as a family was him and me. We had to nurture it.
We arrived at the forest where we first met, and the excitement oozed from my mate.
“This is where we first met, but we didn’t know.”
I held his hand. “This time we know. And I wanted to make this special since you won’t be able to shift for a while.”
“It is special. Thank you. I couldn’t have asked for a more caring alpha.”
We had our picnic in a bare space among the trees.
I’d picked up some salted-maple cashew butter along with lots of goodies for a charcuterie board and brought some pumpkin cream cheese cookies from the bakery.
It was the perfect fall day. The sun was warm on our skin, but a slight breeze carried all the scents of the changing seasons.
Leaves fell from trees and were taken by the wind and, for a long time, we simply ate and enjoyed the peace.
“This is what I needed,” Joaquin commented with a sigh. He moved to lay his head on my lap, and my hand instinctively went to his belly.
“I’m glad. You deserve it. You’ve been working so hard. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, mate.”
“Yes, you could’ve but it wouldn’t have been half as amazing.” He giggled like it was a joke but it was true. The mural. His ideas. His unique concessions. It made our theater a destination instead of any old theater in a small town. We stood out from the rest.
“You’re right. How about I pack all of this up and you go ahead and run.”
He stiffened. “Are you sure? I can help.”
“Hey,” I said, stroking his cheek. “This might be the last time for a long while. Enjoy a long run. Besides, I’d love to watch my big tiger run a bit before joining you.”
“If you insist.”
He shifted and all motion stopped on my part. He was breathtaking. More than I remembered. Maybe because now, he was mine. His tiger belly was bigger since he carried our baby in there.
I even took a few pictures with my phone to keep the memory close to me.
Once the picnic was cleaned up, I shifted but didn’t run. I waited for my omega while laying on my belly. Patient. Always patient with him.
He came over and nudged me with his nose and for the rest of the afternoon, we ran together. Playing. Teasing. Until the sun went down.
“I love you,” I said as soon as we were both on two legs again.
“I love you, Eryx. Today was perfect. Thank you.”
I walked over and leaned down to kiss his belly. “Thank you, omega.”