Chapter Thirty-Five
Thirty-Five
Atlas
“As much as I’m enjoying this, don’t you have to get ready for work, baby?” I peppered kisses along her jawline and flared my nostrils, inhaling as much of her scent as I could.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” she said as she buried her face in the fluffy hair of my ruff. “But you’re just so warm.” She let out a small sigh and I could have died from cuteness overload.
This was everything I had wanted for so long.
“Come on. That’s a good girl,” I said as she peeled herself away from my body and rose to her feet. “Let me help you get your stuff to your car. I’m sorry for even dragging you here in the first place.”
I reached for her bag, but Tegan grabbed it before I could get to it.
“It’s okay. I got it.” She ran her fingers through the fur of my arm.
“I can walk myself out. I’m sure you have work to do.
” She tilted her head toward the stack of papers gracing the corner of my desk.
Unpaid invoices, time sheets, and promotional proofs all awaited my approval.
“Are you sure?” I whined, and nuzzled her softly.
“Positive. I’ll text you later.” She stood on her tiptoes and placed a light kiss on my snout.
When she pulled away, I let out a groan, which had her smiling. I didn’t want her to go, but we were adults with lives and responsibilities. It wasn’t like I was never going to see her again.
“Bye,” she said, clutching the doorframe of my office.
“Bye, baby.” I watched her walk away, staring after her like an idiot for a moment before sitting down at my computer.
I puffed out a breath and ran my fingers through my fur.
Of all the times for Jade to show her face around here, it had to be when Tegan was with me. In a way, it had worked out, though.
Tegan and I needed to have this discussion.
I hated it, but some of the things Jade brought up made sense. Wolven were different during the full moon. Would I be able to control myself around Tegan? Sure, I told her now that I wouldn’t hurt her, but what if I was too rough with her during rut?
What if I tried to mate her?
I’d had my suspicions since the last full moon, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that Tegan was more to me than just my girlfriend. Admitting it felt scary.
I’d spent so long with Jade, sticking things out in the hopes that the mating bond would fall into place, that things would click and I’d feel the urge to claim her, but it never did.
That’s because there was someone else the goddess had chosen for me.
Tegan was my mate.
Because my parents were great, we’d had plenty of talks about mating when I was growing up. I could have done a simple internet search as a refresher, but I wanted to talk to a couple who had experience with this sort of thing, even if my parents were both wolven.
Gods, my mom was going to absolutely lose her shit when she found out I had a mate.
I started the video chat, staring at myself on the screen while I waited for my parents to pick up.
My dad answered, shifting what I assumed was the tablet my brothers and I got them for Christmas last year upward, until I could see his face.
“Hey, son. We weren’t expecting a call from you today.”
I puffed out a tight breath. “Yeah, I, uh, I have something I want to talk to you and Mom about.”
His bushy brows furrowed. The last time I called them like this was when I broke things off with Jade. “Give me a second to grab your mother. She’s out in the garden.”
He set the tablet on the kitchen table, giving me a perfect view of their recently remodeled kitchen. Bit by bit they’d been renovating the old farmhouse I grew up in. It was strange seeing everything new and pristine, but my parents worked hard. They deserved a nice, updated home.
Tegan did, too.
“Give us one second, sweetheart,” Mom said, walking into the kitchen. She had her big sun hat on and her favorite pair of yard work overalls. “I was weeding the garden. Getting it ready for spring.”
She loved to garden. She and Tegan would have that in common.
Mom washed her hands, then she and Dad sat down in front of the tablet.
“What did you want to talk to us about?” she asked, giving me her full attention. “Is everything okay?”
I was lucky to have such amazing parents. They made me feel so loved.
“Um—” Gods, it was hard to even bring this up. It was wild that my mom mentioned mating the last time we talked about Tegan and here we were. It must have been some weird mom sixth sense.
They stared intently, waiting for me to continue.
“I think Tegan is my mate,” I murmured.
My mom gasped. “See, Zeus.” She shook Dad’s arm frantically. “I told you. I just knew.”
“How did you know?” I asked, my ears perking up.
“Atlas.” She laughed, staring down her muzzle at me. “I’m your mother. I could see it in your eyes when you talked about her.”
“How—how do I know for sure?”
“Well, how did the last full moon go?” Dad asked.
“I kept going to her house. Running back and forth all night long until I passed out. I couldn’t keep myself away from her.”
My dad nodded, a wide grin on his face. “Sounds about right.”
I ran my hand along the back of my neck. “It’s just really unexpected. It’s throwing me off a little bit.”
“It’s normal to feel that way,” my mom reassured me. “It’s a lot of emotions hitting you all at once.”
“You feel a little out of control,” Dad said. He hit the nail right on the head.
“Yes. And that’s what I’m worried about. What if I accidentally hurt her?”
“Atlas.” His voice was soft—sympathetic. “We obviously aren’t humans, but I don’t think you have to worry about harming her.”
“There are so many wolven-human mated pairs. We’re extremely compatible,” Mom said, and Dad nodded in agreement.
“Have you talked to her about it yet?” he asked.
“No. I mean, I mentioned mates and the full moon, but I didn’t tell her that I think she’s my mate.” I let out another deep breath. “I’m just not sure how to bring it up without freaking her out. I don’t want it to seem like I’m pressuring her into it or moving too fast.”
“You need to remember that you aren’t the only one who’s affected by this,” he said. “She must be feeling it, too, but without the knowledge to know exactly what’s happening. There’s still some time before the next full moon. You should talk to her about it and see how she feels.”
“Yeah,” I said. “You’re right.” Just like they always were.
“The worst that could happen is that she wants to take it slow,” he added.
“Spend a few more full moons away from you and slowly ease into it—or she’ll be gung-ho and ready to embrace the mating bond.
For some pairs, it’s one of those ‘when you know, you know’ type of situations. There’s no point in dragging it out.”
I wondered what type Tegan would be. We had only been together a short time, but if I knew her like I think I did, she would be the jump-headfirst-into-it type.
“I really appreciate you guys,” I told them.
My mom wrapped her arm around my dad’s, leaning into him. “We’re glad that you felt comfortable coming to us about this.”
Dad nodded. “Remember what I said last time, we just want you to be happy.”
“I am just so excited for you, but I’m trying to hold it in,” Mom said, wiggling back and forth. Her tail was probably going a mile a minute. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
I laughed. I loved how happy she was about this. “I promise that as soon as it happens, I’ll let you know, and we’ll come for a visit.”
“We’ll be looking forward to it,” Dad said.
“Love you, sweetheart,” Mom said, still swaying from the force of her tail. “We are so happy for you.”
“Thanks. Love you, too.”
We said our goodbyes, and I ended the call feeling slightly better about things.
I needed to talk to Tegan, but she’d already had a lot dumped on her today that she wasn’t ready for. If she was really my mate, there wasn’t any reason to rush the convo. We had a lifetime together.