I gave my brother the suspicious side-eye, “I don’t think I’m very comfortable with this idea. Why don’t you and your mate sit and we can all just get to know one another?” Caleb shrugged, “That will work. This is my mate, Raven, Princess of the White Witch Coven.” I smiled at the beautiful black-haired, tiny woman, “I’m very happy to meet you. It’s going to be nice to not be the only tiny person in a family of huge Lycans.” Caleb chuckled, “Sis, you will always be the one Kurt and I pick on. You make it too much fun.” I chuckled, “I am his sister, Sylvie, and this is my mate, Prince Luke from the werebear kingdom.”
Luke greeted, “It’s very nice to meet you Caleb, I remember you from when we were little. I met you all at a birthday party for Princess Chloe’s triplets. My kingdom is the Northern US, so I didn’t get to see you all very much, but I fell in love with my mate back then. I have had dreams about her from then up until now.” Caleb cringed, “We won’t talk about those dreams. That’s a visual I do not want swimming in my head.” I laughed, “Aw, come on, Caleb. I would love to hear about those dreams.” Caleb smiled, “You two have the rest of your lives to talk about those dreams.” Raven and I were laughing hard at this point while Luke smiled at me and Caleb, ”I think we could put that subject off for later, but they weren’t the kind of dreams you are all thinking of.” I laugh, “He burned you, Caleb! That’s what you get for assuming his mind works like yours.” Everyone else at our table laughed, including Caleb.
I remembered that Raven was raised by her grandma and I asked her, “How are your grandma and Elisa?” She smiled, “They’re doing well. Elisa has her hands full with the kids. Elliot is wrapped around her finger.” I smiled, “I’m so glad they are all happy.” Luke asked, “Elliot found his mate?” I smiled, “He did. She’s a werebear/witch hybrid named Elise.”
Luke gasped, “Wow! Did she have Elliot give her a dragon and wolf spirit too?” I laughed and nodded, “So she now has a bear, wolf and dragon, PLUS she is a witch. I don’t know how she does it. My wolf is enough attitude for me. I can’t imagine three voices in my head, trying to tell me what to do.” Luke laughed, “Me neither. My bear is a major smart ass.” I smiled, “Then he will get along just fine with my wolf.” I asked, “What is your bear’s name?” He replied, “Xavion. What is your wolf’s name?” I replied, “Nicona. Maybe we can let our animals run together soon.” He smiled, “We will live in the mountains of Colorado. You will love it there. There are miles of woods to run.” I smiled, “That would be awesome. Maybe once we get to your home.” He brushed the side of my face with the back of his fingers, “Our home. Everything of mine is yours now.” I blushed, “All I want is my mate. Everything else is just stuff.” He smiled, “Everything I’ve done since I was a child has been to prepare for my mate. All I ever wanted was to have a sweet and beautiful mate and to be able to keep her happy.” I smiled, “I was raised the same way. Do you want to go out to the gardens and talk?” He smiled, “I would love to.”
We excused ourselves from the table and walked out the double doors to the garden. As we walked through the garden, I guided him to the edge of the garden where the bench is totally surrounded by thick honeysuckle vines. We walked into the area and I took an exaggerated breath, “This is my favorite part of the garden. I love the smell of honeysuckle.” He smiled as he took a deep breath, “I love the taste of it too.” I gasped as I grinned, “Me too!” We both just sat quietly for a minute as we reached for a flower. Without talking about it, we each took a flower, removed the center part of it, and sucked the honeysuckle water from it. As I glanced over at Luke while sucking the flower, I noticed he was doing it too and chuckled.
He asked, “Have you ever made honeysuckle tea before?” I shook my head, “I haven’t. Do you use the flowers when they are in full bloom or after they are slightly withered?” He replied, “Ideally, it’s when they are in full bloom, but they can be slightly withered as long as they still have their color.” I smiled, “You will have to show me how to make it. I imagine it’s soothing.” He smiled, “It is.”
I asked, “Do you like to cook?” He smiled, “I do.” I smiled, “Sweet! We can cook together! It surprises me how much we have in common. I would love to see what else we can do together.” I watched Luke’s eyes go dark and I immediately knew what he was thinking. I nudged him with my shoulder, “I’m talking about other aspects of life. I think we have a lot to discover about each other.” He smiled, “The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. We definitely belong together.” He leaned in and kissed me tenderly while he gently held my face in his hands. When he sat back up, I smiled, “I think we do belong together. We could take on the world together.” Luke laughed, “How about we just take time for each other first.” I smiled, “I think we can do that.”
Luke and I talked the night away in the garden. At one point, my mom mind linked me, “Sweetie, are you okay?” I linked back, “I’m fine mom. We’re just talking and trying to get to know each other.” Mom replies, “Okay. Just checking on you.” Luke saw that I was mind linking and asked, “Can I ask?” I smiled, “Just my mom checking on me.” He furrowed his brow, “Because I’m a true Omega, there are several packs who have tried to kidnap me.” Luke growled as he pulled me close to him, “How powerful are you? I don’t feel anything.” I replied, “I am storing my waves right now.” I took his hand in mine and let just a few waves flow through my hands, into his. He visible relaxed and sighed, “Wow. That feels nice.” I smiled, “That’s just a few of my waves.” He asked, “What do you do with the waves you’re storing?” I chuckled, “I save it for when we may need it… like a rogue attack. I can do some serious damage with them. When we get home, I will let the waves go full force, if you want. You can get an idea of how much I have stored away.” He smiled, “Why don’t we put our powers together and see what we can do?” I smiled, “That sounds awesome.”
As we continued talking, we found out a lot about each other. We realized that we have a lot of the same tastes in music and television. He chuckled, “I’m glad I won’t be stuck watching chick flicks all day on our days off.” I laughed, “I really hate chick flicks. They are totally unrealistic. I hate movies that insult my intelligence.” He smiled, “I love that. I’m the same way.” I chuckled, “It’s so crazy how much we have in common. I can’t wait to start our life together.” Luke held me close as I replied, “Me too.”
We just sat there, enjoying the night sounds, the fresh air and the sparks while he held me close. I smiled, just thinking about this feeling I have that is already growing. It’s crazy. I want to go right away, but I want to be able to say goodbye to the rest of my siblings and my parents. I know that everything will work out the way it needs to go, and I can’t wait to see it.
When we went back inside, we decided to talk to my parents about going upstairs. When I approached my mom, I asked, “How’s everything going?” She smiled, “Everything is great. Are you wanting to go upstairs?” I asked, “I was thinking that we could go ahead and go back home.” She shook her head, “Are you sure you won’t stay to have breakfast with grandma and grandpa in the morning?” I shrugged, “Maybe we should stay in his room here tonight?” Mom nodded, “Think that’s a great idea. We are going to your great-grandma’s tomorrow. She’s cooking lunch for us. You guys should join us. This could also be your last chance to see Grandma Honi. She’s not doing very well.” I nodded, “I will talk to Luke about it. I would like to.” Mom reminded me, “Don’t forget to make sure Luke wears something with elastic or a drawstring.” I nodded, “Yep. Will do!” I walked back to Luke and asked, “Would you mind if we have lunch with my great-grandparents before we go to my parents’ house tomorrow? My great-
After agreeing to talk about the dreams at a more appropriate time, we finished getting ready and went up to my grandma and grandpa’s suite for breakfast. As we got up to door, I started to knock but Luke stopped me to kiss me one more time. I blushed as I smiled at him. He whispered in my ear, “Just needed one more to tide me over for a bit.” I laughed and just shook my head as I blushed even more. He smiled, “That blush is going to be the death of me.”I knocked on the door and dad opened it. I asked dad, “Dad, I don’t recall if you met Luke last night. Luke, this is my dad, Conri.” Dad nodded, “We have met before. I am glad to see that you’re my sweetie’s mate. She needs someone strong to be her mate.” Luke smiled, “I will always do my best for her. I always prayed that she would be my mate.” Dad smiled, “That’s exactly what happened to me too. I met my mate when we were kids at a party and I fell in love at that moment. I was ten.” Luke smiled, “I was around eight. I was fascinate
We all laughed and dad chuckled, “She wants you to crank the ice cream maker.” I laughed, “You won’t be sorry. Her homemade ice cream is the bomb! Especially when she makes a pie or cobbler with it.” We all walked to the door and grandma gave me a huge hug, “Grandma Honi isn’t doing well, sweetie. I’m glad you’re here.” I asked, “Where is she?” Grandma sighs, “She’s in one of the guest rooms. Second one on the right.” I smiled, “I’ll go see her.” Luke asked, “Would it be okay if I come with you?” I took his hand and we walked to her room. When we got to the room, we walked in and grandma was laying in bed, watching television. She looked at me and held out her arms, “Come give me a hug.” We both walked to the bed and I sat beside her, taking her tiny body in a gentle embrace, “Grandma, how are you feeling?” She smiled at me, but I could tell she wasn’t feeling well, “I’m okay, nihˀoːteibeihi.” I smiled, “You have always called me that, but you never told me what it means.” She giggle
We walked out of grandma’s room and I pulled Luke outside. I pulled him to the side of the house and pushed him up against the house. I jumped and wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. He smiled at me with his eyes turning black, indicating his bear is taking control, “Well, little mate, what did I do to deserve this beautiful torture?” I kissed him gently, “You treated my grandma with such love and care. Thank you.” He smiled, his eyes going back to normal, “She’s a beautiful woman with a beautiful personality. I could listen to her stories of while she was growing up all day.” I smiled, “She has seen a lot in her life. Some good, some bad, but everything contained a lesson for her to learn. She learned each lesson well and never repeated the mistakes again.” We heard mom and dad come out and Luke groaned, “Ugh! I was enjoying this a lot.” I laughed, “I’m sure you were. We can continue this when we get to our home.” Luke smiled as he eased me back to the grou
I can’t stop looking out the windows, enjoying the scenery as we go. He asks, “What are you thinking, love?” I smile, “I’m not really thinking anything. Just really enjoying the scenery.” He laughed, “I guess I’m just used to it. It’s not such a big deal for me.” We continue on our way and I ask, “Do we live at the top of a mountain?” He smiled, “Not at the top of the one we live on. We live at nearly nine thousand feet. We are going to stay in a hotel at a lower elevation for the first night. It will help with your acclimation. Some people have a hard time breathing on our mountain for the first week or so. I think if you have a night at a slightly lower elevation first, you might breathe a little easier at our home.” I smiled, “Thank you so much for thinking of me.” He chuckled, “You are all I think about.” I gush, “Aw, you’re so sweet.” We get to a town called Canon City. We park in a hotel parking lot at around eleven pm. Luke goes in and gets a room for us while I grab my bag. I
I’m looking around and I smile as I spread my arms open wide, “Are you kidding me? I love it!” I can not believe this is my new home. The entire main floor was my favorite design… Modern rustic! It had whitewashed hardwood floors, reclaimed wood wainscoting and antique white walls. The kitchen cabinets were white with black marble countertops. All of the appliances are stainless steel. I kept looking around and smiled, “This house is absolutely perfect, Luke.” He walked to me and wrapped his arms around me, “I’m so glad you like it. Do you want to unpack and then go for a run?” I nodded, “That sounds awesome.” I followed Luke to his truck then grabbed a bag and took it up to our room. I started folding items and putting them in my drawers. Luke continued to bring stuff in the house, while I continued to unpack. I had everything unpacked in no time and walked downstairs to find my mate in his office, “Hey, ready for that run?” He sighed, “I just got a message to call one of my assistan
I sighed, “I did see it. I take it that’s the suspicious activity?” He looked up and nodded as he took a bite of his peach cobbler and his eyes rolled back in his head, “Oh. My. Goddess. Baby, this is really good. It’s just like your grandma’s.” I laughed, “I’m glad you like it.” He sighed, “Can we talk about the books after I enjoy this? I can’t form a coherent thought right now.” I laughed and nodded as I ate my cobbler too. I smiled, “We should buy the stuff for homemade ice cream next time we’re in Canon City. This cobbler is really good with homemade ice cream. But it’s also good cold for breakfast.” He smiled, “I will be eating this for breakfast and probably after every meal.” I laughed, “You don’t want to burn out on it right away, do you?” He laughed, “That can never happen. I’m a bear. We love our fruit and berries.” I asked, “So if I found a place to pick some blackberries?” He gasped, “I would love you forever if you made this with blackberries! Well, I already will love yo
I woke this morning feeling happier than I have ever been. I tried to get out of bed, but there was a heavy arm draped over me. I laid back and thought over last night’s events. Luke had been so gentle and loving with me, it brought tears to my eyes. Not because it hurt, but because I could literally feel how much he loves me. When we marked each other, the feeling of euphoria was more intense than anything I have ever felt in my life. Our marks! I look at my mark on his neck and see a bear curled around a sleeping wolf with a silver full moon in the background. I can’t wait to see his mark on my neck. I gently moved Luke’s arm off of me and walked to the bathroom. I’m looking in the mirror and see our marks are identical. I smile in admiration and I love how the simple thought of him being mine makes me feel. I never thought that I could feel this loved or that I could love someone this much. I’m smiling more than I ever have in my life as I start the shower. I get in as soon as the