by Aria Grace
He thrust his hips upward, his legs spreading as I settled into them. His tongue danced against mine. I wanted to touch him everywhere, feel his skin again mine in every way I could.
The scent of slick reached my nostrils and any ounce of control I had slipped.
My hard cock lined up with his hole and he welcomed me in. Inch by inch, I filled his channel. His hands gripped at my back, urging me deeper.
He arched his back as I kissed his neck, sucking the spot where a mating bite would go. Where I wanted my mating bite to go. My fangs descended. I wanted to mark him as mine, but I held back. That was not something to be done without discussing it first.
“Fuck, Curt. Make me yours,” he groaned. “Fuck me.”
“Oh omega, I—” I groaned as I filled him more. My cock seemed to— “Holy shit,” I said.
Tyson stilled. “Is that—”
“Yes.” My cock inflated, locking us together. It only happened to fated mates. Which meant…
“You’re mine,” he said. He smiled up at me, his hand caressed my cheek. “My alpha.”
The words, the look on his face, pure longing and devotion, drove me over the edge. Cum erupted from my cock as I filled his channel.
He followed soon after, his cum splashing between us.
I rolled us over so that he lay on top of me and not on the cold snow. Now that things had calmed down and the lust-filled haze dissipated, I began to feel the coldness from the air seep in.
“We’re mates,” I said. “Fated.” My knot would take a moment to go down. It wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before and I wished I could truly enjoy it, but it took me by surprise.
“Yeah,” he said. He rested his head on my chest and kissed my skin.
I kissed the top of his head. My cock still buried in his ass.
“I can’t believe it,” I said.
“Are you upset?” he asked. “I—”
“No, mate. You are mine. I’m happy. Just so incredibly shocked.” I wished I had knotted him in a bed, he deserved so much more than a quick fuck on cold ground.
“Me too,” he said.
“I’ve never shifted like that before, unconsciously, I mean. One minute I was wolf, the next I was naked on top of you,” I said.
He laughed. “I think our wolves forced us together. I mean, they retreated the moment you were on top of me.”
“They knew,” I said. “I guess this isn’t fake anymore.” I threaded my fingers through his hair, just like I’d wanted to do all throughout dinner.
“Nope. It’s not.”
5. Tyson
The week between the new moon and the winter solstice were busy and extremely hectic. I didn't get a chance to have a lot of one on one time with Curt, because we were either working or with our family members doing various activities, including decorating the pavilions for the winter solstice celebration. Any and all spare time I had was spent putting together the meal for the entire pack.
This year, since our regular chef had additional help from me and Mia, the three of us were working to put together the entire meal without any other pack members having to do anything. We were excited—more than excited for this event. It was going to be a lot of fun for the pack, but a lot of work for us.
We would have the pack meal very early since the sun set a little after five in the evening, and it was tradition that we would spend the duration of the night from sundown to sunup in our wolf forms.
“How's that soup coming?” Mia asked me.
“It looks great,” I said. “Can you taste it for me?”
“You don't want to taste it yourself?” she said.
I blushed. “My stomach has been a little off and the paprika in here is strong.”
“Stomach has been off, huh?” she hip checked me. “Are we going to have a cold moon mating for you and that mate of yours?”
I laughed nervously. Curt and I hadn't discussed the fact that we were clearly fated and likely going to have a young pup very soon. It was common that fated mates got pregnant quickly, especially when no protection was used. I wanted nothing more than to be mated. But what did he want? And were pups a good idea right now? Goodness gracious, we’d just found out we were mated. How did everyone else deal with this?
“I think the soup smells delicious.” Curt's voice sent a thrill down my spine.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Awww, aren't you two too cute for words?” Mia said as she walked away laughing.
“How are you feeling?” Curt asked.
“Fine,” I said.
“That's it?”
I rolled my eyes. “Well, what did you expect?”
Curt shrugged. “I don't know. Is it too soon to get a test from Lissy?”
I shook my head. “Probably not. But I think we should wait.”
“For what?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don't know. I mean—”
“I spoke with Byrom briefly yesterday. There's still no matings on the cold noon,” Curt said.
I raised eyebrow and my jaw dropped. “Is that—? Was that—? Are you—?” I shook my head. “For real Curt? I mean, I didn't need romance and flowers and any sort of crazy display but I guess I didn't expect someone to ask me to mate them with by saying ‘no one else is doing it on that day, so it's free.’” I took a step back from him, suddenly we were too close and I was annoyed. “I am going to finish this meal. I'll see you at the run.”
“You’re going to sit with me at the dinner, right?” he called after me.
“I think I'm going to be busy,” I said. “I've got to go.” I turned on my heel and walked away.
6. Curt
I watched my fated mate stomp away, the acrid smell of sadness coming off him in waves. I'd never been so in tune with his emotions or anyone’s for that matter. Was that a mate thing? Or were we just special? I liked to think that we were special.
“Boy, you have got a lot to learn about having a mate,” Mia said.
“Weren't you supposed to give us our space?” I said.
“I can eavesdrop,” she said. “Now, actually taste the soup and tell me if it's any good.”
I took a sip of the soup. The taste exploding on my tongue. My mate sure knew how to make a meal. He had always been talented with baking and cooking, but he’d clearly learned a ton of new techniques while in Ashcliff. I couldn’t wait to taste all of his new dishes. “It's delicious,” I said.
“Your mate is talented. Now, go sit down and think about the conversation you just had and where you might have gone wrong.”
“Can I have a hint?”
She rolled her eyes. “Haven't you ever dreamed about what your mating would be like?”
“Well, sure. But—”
“But nothing. He deserves a little more than ‘no one else is getting mated on that day.’” She made her voice deep as if to mock me.
“It's only practical, especially if we have a pup on the way, to get mated as soon possible.”
She rolled her eyes hard. “Practical. There's nothing practical about being mated. Just because fate brought you together doesn't mean everything gets to be easy peasy.”
“Okay,” I said, still very confused.
She pushed me out of the kitchen. “Go on now. I'm sure there's some work for you alphas to do?”
“I guess,” I said and walked away.
Did he want a more romantic proposal? Like what? Maybe it was time I visited his parents to see what they thought. They kept going on about the cold moon and how it was good luck for mating. And it was a family tradition. It seemed only practical that we would continue it.
I thought about asking my brothers, but goodness, I didn't want to hear what their advice might be.
7. Tyson
I blinked back tears as I helped set the buffet table. Soon pack members would arrive for the feast, I needed to get a grip.
It wasn’t Curt’s fault. He had no way of knowing what I wanted, the two of us hadn’t spoken much about
a future. For him, it made logical sense for us to jump right into a mating ceremony and probably move in together or whatever. That was what his siblings had done.
But was it so wrong to want a little romance? A little fanfare?
Just because we were fated didn’t mean we were a done deal. I mean, we sort of were, because I had no intention of denying my mate. But that didn’t let him off the hook for a least a little bit of wooing or courting. Something!
I took a deep breath, clamped back my personal issues and focused on the task at hand. Before I knew it, the buffet table was set and we were ready for the pack members to arrive. It didn’t take long and their wolf noses lead them to the pavilions.
A hand landed on my shoulder, bringing me out of my thoughts. “This looks so great, Tyson,” the Alpha Omega, Cord stood at my side. He had his first born, Patrick, on his hip.
“Thank you,” I said. “I am happy to be home and contributing to the pack.”
“We are lucky to have you,” he said. His name was called from across the way and he handed me Patrick. “Can you hold him for a second? I have to take care of this.”
I didn’t get a chance to respond before I had a handful of toddler. My heart rate increased as I looked at the little guy in my hands. I’d never been much of a kid person, though if my suspicious were correct and I was pregnant with Curt’s child, I’d better get used to them sooner or later.
Patrick’s face contorted like he might let out a wicked cry. I braced myself for the ear-piercing screech I knew was coming.
“Need some help with that?” Curt asked.
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes,” I said. Me and my wolf settled now that our mate was closer.
Patrick launched himself at Curt and it was as if Curt was a natural, holding the toddler on his hip like his own father had done. Patrick settled, a smile now on his face.
“How do you know how to do that?” I asked.
“This?” Curt indicated the child in his arms. He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just like kids; I’ve always helped out with my cousins and stuff.”
“Oh.”
It did look good on him, having a child in his arms. I didn’t get a chance to say anything though before Cord was back and took Patrick from Curt.
“Thank you for all your work on this, Tyson. Go ahead and enjoy the solstice dinner and run. We have a group of us that are going to take care of serving and clean up.”
“But—”
“But nothing, Tyson. Enjoy your night! You did great. Look, Mia’s even out there having a good time.”
Sure enough, Mia and Lissy sat together at a table, sharing a plate of the meal we’d put together. I supposed if the Alpha Omega told me I had to rest, then who was I to question him?
Curt lifted his arm for me to link mine into. “Shall we?” he said.
I followed, but instead of leading me to the table to enjoy our meal, he led me around the pavilion down the path that lead toward my parent’s home.
“Did you know that the winter solstice is a time for regeneration, reflection, and renewal?” he said. “Equal parts day and night, equal parts as man and as world. Ample time for a wolf to take a look at himself and see how he might make improvements. Don’t you think?”
“Sure,” I said slowly. This was a side of Curt I’d never seen before. When had he become so philosophical?
“When I called that day to ask you to be my fake boyfriend, I never dreamed you were my actual mate. In hindsight, I should have known. My wolf went dormant when you left, but I didn’t make the connection until now. I couldn’t be happier about you being my mate, Tyson. I love you. So much.”
My heart warmed. I bit my lip to keep myself grounded. I wanted to jump for joy. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes for the second time that night, but for an entirely different reason now.
“It took me a minute to catch up with everything,” he continued. “From this being a fake idea, to a real attraction, and then to top it off we’re real mates. I fumbled a bit. But now, after some reflection, I’d like to start anew.”
He stopped walking and faced me. We were just outside a small house, one I’d never been in before, but had seen many times. An older couple with two grown children had just moved out of this house into a smaller one now that they’re kids had moved out.
“I’m not going to be a perfect mate,” Curt said. “But I will be a good one. I’ll make mistakes, but I’ll never stop loving you, making you happy, and supporting you in all that you do. If you’ll have me of course.”
“Curt, there was no doubt since the moment that I felt your knot that we’d be together. I love you, too. I have wanted you for a long time now, I just didn’t know how to say it or what to say. Luckily, fate intervened for us.”
Curt grinned. “So, what do you think? Will you take me to be your mate? Or do you think we should ask the snowman, see if he has an opinion.”
“What?”
Curt stepped away, walking up the front walk toward the house. He stopped and stood next to the snowman that was nearly his height. It was a perfect structure, three perfectly rounded snow balls, two pieces of charcoal for his eyes, a carrot nose. Someone had spent a lot of time on this guy.
“What do you think, Mr. Snowman? Should Tyson take me as his mate on the full cold moon? Move into this house with me? We can fill it full of pups.”
I wanted that. All of it and more. “Wait, what? This house—”
“It’s ours if we want it. I spoke to Byrom this afternoon, when I realized I needed more to offer you than a mating ceremony.”
“Our own place?” My eyes widened as I looked over the home in front of me. A porch, with a swing. A large bay window. Two stories. All ours?
“Yup. Mr. Snowman has the keys, he’s ready to hand them over.”
On the twig that was the snowman’s arm hung a single key. I grabbed it and laced my fingers into Curt’s. “Show me our house, alpha,” I said.
He grinned. “Gladly.”
8. Curt
Being that we’d adopted some human holiday traditions, such as gift giving, in the wolf pack, we didn’t have much trouble filling our new home. Once other pack members found out we would be moving in, they began giving us things. Within days we had the place nearly furnished.
One family was getting a new couch as a family gift, so we picked up their old one. Another family was replacing their dishes, so we took on their old ones.
Our home was being filled with second hand items, and we didn’t mind at all.
For my gift to Tyson, for our new home, our mating, and Christmas all wrapped up into one, I asked Ozzy, our resident wood worker, to build us a bed. He, being the generous omega that he was, completely outdid himself. We got a bed, two nightstands, and a dining room table.
The four poster bed had intricate designs carved into each post. The headboard had a line of pine trees carved in it. Upon closer inspection, we discovered it was the line of pine trees that lead into the north side of our pack territory. He’d captured the image perfectly, in spectacular detail.
I couldn’t stop staring at it. Neither could Tyson.
I had my arm wrapped around his middle and we stared at it in awe.
“We should sleep with our head on the opposite side, so we can look at it,” he said.
I chuckled. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“It’s just so beautiful,” he said.
“It really is,” I agreed.
“Thank you, mate,” he said.
I kissed his temple. “Thank you.” A feeling of absolute happiness rippled through me. I was happy, elated, completely overjoyed just to be standing in my bedroom with my mate. This was our home, where we would raise our family together.
“I haven’t gotten you anything,” Tyson said.
I shrugged a shoulder. “I’m just happy to have you. Happy that we concocted this crazy idea of you being my fake boyfriend so my family would stop setting me up with omegas.”
“Ye
ah, how’d that work out for you? You wanted to avoid being mated, doesn’t seem to me like you succeeded.”
I tickled his side and he yelped. “I suppose it worked out okay.”
He turned in my arms until we were facing each other. I kissed him. Just as I was about to tug at his shirt and unbuckle his pants, he was bolting out of my arms and into the bathroom.
I stood stunned for a moment until I heard the unmistakable noises of vomiting coming from the other room.
“Tyson?” I said and I walked into the bathroom.
He was kneeling on the floor directly in front of the toilet. I wet a washcloth and ran it over his face. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“Well, I think I know what your getting as a solstice gift.”
“What’s that?”
“How do you feel about being a father?” he said.
9. Tyson
“It’s been another beautiful year for our pack,” Alpha Byrom said. “On the new moon, our packmate Tyson returned, on winter solstice, his wolf found his mate in Curt, and now on the full cold moon, they will complete their mating and begin their life together. And also, in some months time, will bring new life into our pack, beginning the cycle again.”
I smiled at my mate as he stood across from me, our hands joined as Byrom blessed our mating. The Alpha Omega at his side, their two children nearby.
We opted for a mating ceremony on the full cold moon after all. Once we confirmed that I was in fact pregnant, there was no reason to delay. I wanted to begin my life, officially, with Curt at my side.
“From the power of this pack, and all the wolves within, I bless this mating and welcome the pack to do the same,” Byrom said.
Curt and I turned and faced the pack members, each of them whooped and howled their praise at our mating.
“Now, let us take our wolf form and celebrate this cold night, the last full moon of the year,” Byrom said.
