Mate: Part Two

~Jane~

It’s been a few months since Nathan surprised me with the house.

A place that was meant to be ours.

Not just somewhere to live… but somewhere to grow. Together.

And somehow, in the quiet spaces between those days, my feelings for him have only deepened. What started as something fragile—something I was almost too afraid to touch—has become the most certain thing in my life.

The fear I used to carry isn’t as strong as it once was.

It’s still there… lingering in the corners of my mind, waiting for the wrong moment to remind me of everything I could lose.

But it doesn’t control me anymore.

Now, I let myself feel it all.

The way my heart races when he looks at me.

The way everything in me settles when he pulls me close.

I’ve stopped fighting it.

Stopped running.

And in doing that… I’ve let us become something stronger.

Every day with Nathan feels like something I was never meant to have—but somehow found anyway. Every laugh, every touch, every quiet moment we share… they’ve become a part of me.

Something I can’t imagine living without.

My love for him has only grown… deeper, stronger, impossible to ignore.

And with it comes a hope I’m almost too afraid to hold onto.

That he could be my mate.

With my seventeenth birthday only a few days away, that hope has started to feel… dangerously real.

But so has the fear.

Because if he isn’t—

The thought alone is enough to break something inside me.

There is nothing in this world I want more than him.

Nothing I crave more than the life we could have together.

Nathan has told me he loves me more times than I can count.

He’s promised me—sworn—that I’m the only one he wants. That he chooses me.

And I’ve chosen him too.

But there’s a part of me that can’t stop wondering…

What if the bond doesn’t agree?

What if everything changes the night I turn seventeen?

The morning sun filtered softly through the window, its warmth brushing against my skin as I slowly woke.

I stayed there for a moment, wrapped in the comfort of the bed, the sheets tangled loosely around me as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

With a quiet breath, I pushed myself up, the covers slipping down to rest at my waist.

My gaze drifted around the room.

Even after all these months… it still didn’t feel real.

Like I had stepped into something I wasn’t meant to have—and somehow, it had stayed.

Our home.

I never imagined I would have something like this.

Even now, every time I wake up here, it feels the same as it did that first night Nathan brought me through the door… like stepping into something I was afraid to touch in case it disappeared.

But it didn’t.

It stayed.

This home he chose for us… it’s more than just a place. It’s where we’ve built something real.

Somewhere safe. Somewhere ours.

And I want more.

A future.

A life.

Maybe even a family.

With him.

The thought lingers, warm and fragile, before I pull myself back to the present.

That’s when I notice it.

He isn’t here.

The space beside me is empty now, the faint trace of his warmth the only sign he’d been there at all.

Nathan must already be up…

A scent drifts through the air.

Eggs. Bacon.

A small smile forms before I can stop it.

Of course.

Throwing the covers aside, I climb out of bed and make my way toward the door. The moment I open it, the scent grows stronger, wrapping around me and pulling me forward.

I didn’t realize how hungry I was… until now.

I move through the hallway, my steps quiet, familiar, until I reach the kitchen.

And then—

I see him.

Nathan stands at the stove, his back to me, moving with an ease that feels so natural… like this life was always meant to be his.

Like we were always meant to be.

For a moment, I just watch him.

My heart begins to pick up, each beat stronger as his scent reaches me—warm, familiar, completely intoxicating.

It pulls at something deep inside me.

It takes everything in me not to go to him.

Because it’s more than want.

It’s something deeper.

Something that feels like it lives in my bones.

And then it happens.

That familiar spark ignites.

The pull.

The heat.

My soul reaching for his.

Before I can steady myself—

He’s there.

His arms wrap around my waist, pulling me gently against him like he already knew I was there… like he felt it too.

My breath catches as I melt into him.

Because what he does to me…

It’s something I still don’t fully understand.

And maybe I don’t want to.

Because when it comes to him…

This is where I belong.

Slowly, his hand rises, his fingers brushing along my cheek as his thumb traces my skin.

“How did you sleep, Jane?” he asks softly.

“Good,” I reply, my voice quieter than usual.

“I made us breakfast… if you’re hungry.”

“I’d love that.”

His gaze lingers, like he doesn’t want to move.

“We should eat before it gets cold.”

Neither of us wants to let go of this.

Before either of us can pull away, he leans in.

His lips meet mine—soft at first, but filled with something deeper.

I kiss him back just as fully.

For a moment, the world disappears.

But as the kiss deepens, as the heat builds between us… he pulls back.

Reluctantly.

His forehead rests against mine.

“I love you so much, Jane Foster,” he whispers.

“I love you too, Nathan.”

He lingers… then finally lets me go.

Even then, he doesn’t let me go completely.

His hand finds mine, fingers threading gently through as he guides me toward the table. He pulls out the chair for me, and I sit, watching him as he moves back toward the stove.

There’s something effortless about the way he moves… like this life—this us—is exactly where he’s meant to be.

He gathers the plates, setting everything together before returning with breakfast in one hand and two glasses of orange juice in the other.

Placing everything down, he takes the seat beside me.

We begin to eat quietly.

Not uncomfortable… but not the same either.

Suddenly I felt like something has shifted, something about Nathan was different.

I didn’t notice it at first.

It was subtle—like a thread pulled just slightly too tight beneath the surface. Easy to ignore… if I wanted to.

But I didn’t.

My eyes drifted toward Nathan as he continued eating, his movements calm, controlled…

Too controlled.

And then he looked up.

Our eyes met.

And that’s when I saw it.

Just for a second—so quick I might have missed it if I wasn’t already looking for it.

Something in his eyes.

Something hidden.

A flicker of something he didn’t want me to see.

My chest tightened.

That feeling crept in again… slow and familiar.

The same one I’ve felt before.

The same one that told me—without a single word—that he was keeping something from me.

My grip tightened slightly around my fork as the memory surfaced, uninvited.

“It’s killing me… not being able to tell you.”

His voice echoed in my mind.

“One day, when the time is right… you’ll understand.”

At the time, I had tried to accept it. Tried to trust him… to believe that whatever he was hiding was for a reason.

That he was protecting me.

But now—

Here it was again.

That same look.

That same distance.

Was it the same secret?

Or something new?

Either way… I could feel it.

That quiet pressure building inside my chest, the need to know growing stronger with each passing second.

I know he’s trying to protect me.

I’ve seen how hard it is for him—the way he struggles to keep it in, the way he almost breaks before pulling himself back together again.

He thinks he’s shielding me.

But he has to know…

It hurts.

More than he probably realizes.

I try not to let it get to me. Try to focus on us, on the moments we share, the life we’re building together.

And most days… I can.

But these past few days…

Something feels different.

He’s been distant in ways he doesn’t realize. Busier. Spending more time with his father… more meetings, more conversations I’m not a part of.

And now this.

Before I can sink too far into my thoughts, I feel it—

His hand.

Warm and steady as it settles over mine.

It pulls me back instantly.

Grounds me.

I glance down at his hand, then back up at him, and just like always… the moment our eyes meet, everything else fades.

He has that effect on me.

Like no matter how far my thoughts drift… he’s the one who brings me back.

“What’s wrong, Jane?” he asks softly, concern threading through his voice. “You looked like you spaced out.”

I hesitate.

Just for a second.

But I can’t hold it in.

“I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me, Nathan,” I admit quietly. “Like you’re keeping something from me.”

His expression shifts—just slightly.

Enough to tell me I’m not wrong.

“I want to know what’s going on.”

For a moment, he doesn’t say anything.

Then he lets out a slow breath, his thumb brushing gently over my skin.

“I promise… it’s nothing you need to worry about, Jane.”

The words are soft.

Careful.

Too careful.

“All I can say is…” he continues, his gaze steady but guarded, “I made you a promise that very first night I found you.”

My heart stumbles slightly.

“And I intend to keep it.”

His voice carries something deeper this time… something almost final.

Like whatever he means by that promise—

It isn’t small.

Something is different.

Whatever he’s holding back… it seemed to very important to him.

Important enough to keep from me.

I can feel it in the way he looks at me. In the weight behind his words.

It unsettles me more than I want to admit.

A part of me wants to push—to keep asking until he finally tells me.

But I don’t.

Because I know him.

I know how much I mean to him… how everything he does is to protect me.

So for now…

I let it go.

I love him so much, that I trust him with everything I have. I know by keeping whatever it is to himself that it won’t change anything between us. Because he still means everything to me.

As we finish breakfast, Nathan glances at his watch.

“It’s almost time to head out.”

I nod.

I never want mornings like this to end.

He lifts my hand, pressing a soft kiss against my skin.

And just like that—

The fire returns.

“Nathan…” I whisper.

“I feel it too,” he says quietly. His lips still kissing my hand.

“Please…” I whispered as if begging him.

“I’ve got you little wolf. I’ll help you with your heat.” He said, his voice rough.

He then stands from his chair, and gently helps me stand from my chair.

Without hesitation I followed him, my hand still in his has he lead us towards our room.

With each step we took, my heart was beating faster and faster. The heat was building up inside me.

My need for release was becoming too much, my body was calling out to him.