by Anya Byrne
He was rewarded for his efforts when Val finally appeared, led to their table by the maître d'. This time, Nate couldn't contain himself. He got up and brushed a kiss over Val's lips. "Hey, baby."
"Hi," Val replied, sounding somewhat breathless. "Those for me?"
At first, Nate didn't know what Val was referring to, but then he followed his mate's gaze and realized Val had spotted the wildflowers. "Yeah," he said as he retrieved the flowers from the seat. "Picked them myself."
And moon be blessed, that sounded ridiculous and awfully corny, but Val was used to him saying strange things. He laughed lightly and took the bouquet from his arms. "Thank you, Nate. They're beautiful."
Nate received his reward in the shape of another kiss—chaste, more of a peck really, but one that still reassured Nate tremendously. It was with a great deal of reluctance that Nate agreed to let his mate go, but he did it nonetheless, reminding himself that he had all this planned out. Wine and dine Val, just like he'd said, and then come clean. No problem.
Of course, things couldn't possibly go his way, not at all. Nate wasn't the only one who'd learned things during the past month. It went both ways. By now, Val knew him very well, and he saw straight through the facade of calm Nate was attempting to project. "Nate? What's wrong? You look agitated."
The words 'I'm fine' were on Nate's lips, and he almost said them. At least until he got a good look at Val's face and realized meaningless reassurance would be futile. He reached for his mate's hand and squeezed it. "I know you've been worried about us, about our relationship. I just... There's something I've been planning to tell you, but I'm not quite sure how you'll take it."
"Oh my God, you're cheating on me." Val freed his hand from Nate and shot to his feet. "I knew this was too good to be true. Guys don't just wait for their boyfriends to be ready for sex. Fuck, I'm so stupid."
He was already walking away, muttering under his breath and not waiting for Nate to explain. By the time Nate snapped out of his pained trance, Val had passed the confused waiter who'd been coming to take their order. Thankfully, Nate was nothing if not very fast, and very convinced of the love he felt for Val.
He grabbed Val's arm before his mate could leave the restaurant. "Stop, Val, please. Just listen. It's nothing like that. I would never cheat on you."
Much to his surprise, Val did stop. He took a deep breath and faced Nate. "I... I'm sorry." He released a disgruntled huff. "That was childish. I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. Could we maybe talk about this someplace else? I have a feeling I already ruined our date."
His mate had obviously been more stressed about this than Nate had even realized. He mentally kicked himself for dealing with the issue so poorly. Already this was going far worse than he'd expected—and that was quite a performance indeed.
"Okay. Maybe we should talk first, and celebrate later. How does that sound?"
Val shot him a weak smile. "Better. Makes me think there will be something to celebrate."
Nate suppressed a wince, since he had no idea if that was the case or not. Truth be told, their relationship was in Val's hands, not his own. But he couldn't debate this here, and while he'd originally wanted to prepare Val for the conversation with gentle reassurances, that had obviously not worked.
"Give me a moment. I'll be right back."
He went to see the maître d' and made their apologies for having to cancel their dinner. Since this was a very fancy restaurant—nothing but the best for Val—it wasn't actually very nice of them to depart just like that, but Nate left a generous tip as compensation. Hopefully, they'd return a different time, in a different mood.
A few minutes later, they were on their way. Since they'd arrived in their respective cars, they had to go their separate ways, which was painful, especially under the circumstances. Nate wished he hadn't chickened out and just met with Val at his place from the very beginning.
Val was the one to drive off first. Thankfully, his mate headed to his house, which was good for two reasons—it would provide them with the privacy they needed for this conversation, and it meant his mate still wanted Nate close.
Nate parked in his now familiar spot, down the road from Val's own car. This wasn't the first time he'd visited Val's townhouse, and he'd always liked it. It was spacious, without being ostentatious, and it had a very distinctive lived-in feel. Everywhere he looked, there were signs of Val's presence, of his interests and life.
When Val guided him inside, Nate's wolf stopped pacing so restlessly, reassured by the comfort of their familiar surroundings. But then, Val turned toward him, fixing Nate with piercing, unrelenting eyes. "All right. You've been hiding something. I can tell. No more beating around the bush. Whatever you want to tell me, I can take it."
Despite his previous resolve, Nate didn't immediately leap into the conversation. "You know I love you, right?" he asked instead.
Val's breath caught. "I... I... Uh..." He shook off his obvious surprise and said, "Then I take it you don't want to break up with me."
"Of course not. There's just something I haven't told you about myself, and it's pretty serious." Nate stepped back and braced himself. "Just promise you'll hear me out and not panic."
Val's face went studiously blank, but he nodded. Perhaps after the scene at the restaurant, he'd decided to give Nate the benefit of the doubt. Taking comfort in that, Nate toed off his shoes and started to take his clothes off.
Val cleared his throat. "Not that I don't appreciate the free show, but I thought we were going to talk?"
His voice came out a little breathy and squeaky toward the end, since Nate chose that exact moment to shove his jeans down. His cock was half-hard simply because of Val's presence, and it was only the seriousness of the circumstances that kept him from going completely erect under Val's gaze.
"We are," he said. "After I show you this. The thing is, baby, I'm a werewolf."
His mate eyed him skeptically. "A werewolf. Is this some kind of joke, Nate? If it is, you're going to have to work on your sense of humor."
"No joke. I'm a werewolf, and this is strongly connected to why I've held back from taking things further. You deserve to know."
Val looked like he wanted to say something else—possibly another argument about the impossibility of a werewolf's existence—but Nate didn't give him the chance. He summoned his beast form to the surface and melted into his wolf, landing on four paws on the floor.
His mate didn't move. He just stood there, mouth still open, gaze fixed on Nate. Nate took a tentative step forward, and that snapped Val out of his trance. He shook his head and pinched himself, all the while backing away from Nate.
"Okay, this is a dream. I'm having a particularly vivid nightmare. That's all there is to it. My boyfriend didn't just turn into a mythological creature in front of me."
Nate had expected a level of denial so he tried not to let it get to him. His wolf shied away from the rejection inherent in the word "nightmare," but Nate reminded himself Val was human, and had been through some pretty bad relationships. It was only normal that he'd react in a less than ideal way to this revelation.
He turned back into his human form and stepped toward his mate, suppressing a wince when the change made no difference in Val's attitude. "Okay, now the hearing me out part begins," he managed to say.
"Right," Val breathed out, sounding dazed. "I did promise that. Can I ask something first?"
"Of course. Anything you like."
"Is this real?" Val gave him a pleading look, but Nate couldn't quite tell whether his mate wanted him to say "yes" or "no".
A lie was unacceptable, so Nate nodded. "Very real. Like I said, I'm a werewolf. And no, I don't plan to hurt you, or turn you into a werewolf, or anything like that. It doesn't work that way. I'm just another species."
Val didn't answer, so Nate went on, hoping to draw some sort of reaction from his mate. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this, but for obvious reasons, we can't reveal the truth about our exist
ence to just anyone. And to be frank, I was afraid of how you'd react."
"Then why tell me now? And what connection does it have with you not wanting to touch me? Are we... incompatible?"
"Uh... Not at all." How was he going to put this? It had sounded unbelievable even for him, and he was a werewolf. "The truth is, I can get you pregnant, even if you're a man, and I'm not 100 percent sure a condom would prevent that."
Val shot him a look a disbelief. "Pregnant. As in, a baby. That kind of pregnant. Nate, I'm a man."
"I'm very aware," Nate replied, "but it's happened before." He licked his lips nervously, unsure if he should say this. The entire werewolf world was aware of it, but in a way, it wasn't his secret to tell.
But this was his mate, looking at him questioningly and Nate couldn't bear to leave him with the questions, with the uncertainty. "You remember when you told me about your staff members who left a while back? Gavin Price and Jessie Orwell."
Val was visibly startled. "I didn't tell you their names, did I?"
"Well, no. I kind of... figured out that part on my own. The truth is, they left because they mated werewolves, and got pregnant. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Gavin's already given birth."
He wasn't very sure about it, since the Simmons family wanted nothing to do with the Adlers, but the conflict between the two packs had naturally led to Nate learning some pretty detailed information. Bits and pieces had been confirmed as time passed, especially since Dean Simmons had left quite the mess at the Gathering.
But Val was too dumbfounded about the information to process any sort of uncertainty on Nate's part. "You're kidding," he said as he plopped down on the couch.
"I wouldn't kid with something like this. Remember when I told you about my family business?" Val nodded, almost absently, like an automaton. "I was referring to my pack. There was a conflict between my Alpha and the Alpha of the pack Gavin and Jessie are kind of affiliated to. The end result, after a lot of political maneuvering I won't bore you with, is that my Alpha and his son—who were, coincidentally, my uncle and my cousin—were killed, and Gavin, Jessie and their mates had to move."
"That... That sort of makes sense. Gavin originally said he wanted to return to his position, but then changed his mind out of the blue."
"It was all very messy." Nate tentatively approached and sat down next to Val, although he didn't touch his mate. "Are you okay?"
"I'm just.... It's a lot to take in." Val stared at his hands, barely acknowledging Nate's presence at his side. "I hate to ask this of you but... Would you give me some time? I need to think."
Nate's heart fell. He'd always known that there was a possibility his wolf might be a deal breaker, but that didn't make it any less painful. "Of course," he said as he got up. "You can have all the time you need."
It hurt to look away from his mate, but Val still wasn't facing him, so maybe it was for the best. Nate found his clothes and pulled them on in quick, jerky motions. "Call me if you... Well... whenever you want."
Val nodded silently and made no move to get up. Nate decided he'd inconvenienced his mate enough and saw himself out. Every step he took away from Val hurt, but he had to get used to it. He had a feeling he would not have much choice.
He returned to his apartment in a daze, his heart swirling with a confusing mass of emotions he couldn't control. He wanted to shift to let some of it out, but Val had said—or, rather, suggested—that he might call, and Nate didn't want to go running and accidentally miss it.
As such, he took refuge on his couch, poured himself a drink he didn't touch and thought.
Dean Simmons had been separated from his human mate for over fifty years. Now that he knew Val, Nate had no idea how the Alpha had managed to survive something like that with his sanity intact. If Val rejected him, Nate couldn't push... But he would be forever shattered.
The mate bond between them was already half-formed. Val was it for Nate, of that there could be no doubt. But until Val accepted Nate's wolf, they could never truly be more—and that didn't seem very likely right about now.
Werewolves were naturally proud of their wild natures. Nate had always loved his beast—it was the one thing that had stayed with him throughout the whole of his existence. To think that the wolf would also separate him from the man he loved... It was far more painful than he could have ever imagined.
He didn't know how long he sat there when that very same wolf unexpectedly perked up inside him. He could feel his mate's presence even before the knock sounded outside.
In seconds, he reached his door and opened it so abruptly the damn thing almost flew of the hinges. He'd been right about one thing. Val stood there, in front of him, big, beautiful eyes fixed on Nate's face. He was wet from head to toe, his clothes clinging to him in a way that would have been sexy if it hadn't concerned Nate.
He grabbed Val's arm and pulled him inside. Now that he was paying attention, he realized he could hear the sound of thunder and pouring rain. "Fuck. You're all wet, baby," he said uselessly. "We need to get you dry, or you might catch a cold."
He was about to leave for the bathroom to find his mate a towel, but Val stopped him. This time, he was the one to grab Nate. "Wait. I have to ask you something."
"Whatever you like." Despite himself, Nate found hope bubbling inside him, a stubborn spark that refused to be extinguished and glowed brighter with every second Val touched him.
"What does a mate mean?"
Nate's mind went blank. He'd expected anything but that. He tried to remember when he might have mentioned Val was his mate—he'd deliberately avoided that since he didn't want to burden Val even more—but he couldn't come up with anything.
"Pardon?"
"You said Gavin and Jessie left with their mates," Val clarified. "What does that mean, exactly?"
Judging by the way Val was looking at Nate, he'd already figured out a lot of it. "That isn't what you're asking, not really." Nate smiled, a little sadly. "Yes, you guessed right. A werewolf's mate is his or her other half, a perfect match in every way. And yes, you're mine. I knew it from the moment we met."
"That isn't really an answer," Val said quietly. "Do you love me, Nate, or is it just your instinct telling you that you do?"
Nate couldn't help it. He wrapped his arms around Val's still very wet body and held him close. "My senses might have guided me to you, but they don't rule my heart. I'm a man and a wolf, Val. At times, those two parts of me pull me in different directions—but with you, they're completely in synch. I want you, with my body and my soul and my mind. The question is... Do you want me back?"
Val released a soft sob and buried himself deeper in Nate's embrace. "Of course I do," he said, squeezing Nate so tightly it might have hurt if not for Nate's werewolf nature. "I don't understand anything anymore. I can't figure out how it's possible for werewolves to exist. But I've decided that I don't care. You're you, and I want to be your mate." He paused and looked up at Nate's face, his eyes a little red, his lips twisting in a small, quirky smile. "Although we might have to wait a little with the pregnant thing. I'm still adapting to that one."
Nate's mouth went dry, and his cock hardened like a rock at his mate's words. "I don't know if... I can control it."
"That's fine," Val replied, still smiling. For all his words, he didn't seem frightened by the prospect of becoming a parent. "We'll deal with everything as it comes."
"Does that mean I can take you to bed?"
"Oh, yes." Val's gaze darkened with lust. "I think we've both waited long enough."
Nate didn't have to be told twice. He picked Val up in his arms, and his mate assisted him by wrapping his arms around Nate's neck. No longer having to disguise his superhuman abilities, Nate rushed to his bedroom using his werewolf speed. Val released a small yelp, but didn't tense, which spoke volumes of his acceptance of Nate's paranormal side.
Even so, Nate was gentle when he set his mate down on the mattress. He had definitely not expected this when he'd come back f
rom their failed date. He'd hoped for it this morning, but after that, he'd feared his confession had ended their relationship exactly on their anniversary. To realize this was not the case was... staggering.
Val's eyes shone with desire and his face was already flushed. He looked so beautiful Nate might have been tempted to just stand there and stare... if he hadn't already waited so long to claim his mate.
As it was, he only hesitated for a few seconds before he climbed on top of Val. With greedy hands, he started to peel his mate's clothes off. The still wet material clung to Val, but Nate was nothing if not persistent. He kept going, and soon, Val's shirt yielded to his efforts. If some seams and buttons suffered because of it...well, neither Nate nor Val minded that much. For his part, Nate felt resentful that he even had to go through this process, since he would have much preferred to focus on Val alone. He couldn't keep himself from pressing his lips to Val's sweet mouth, greedy for his mate's taste, for the flavor he could never get enough of.
Val parted his lips to let him in, and his beautiful surrender fed Nate's lust for him. He buried his tongue in his mate's mouth, stroking and exploring, but also devouring like he'd wanted from the very first day they'd met. Back then, Val had prevented him from taking things further, and he'd been right to do so. Now, there would be no stopping this, no stopping the whirlwind of passion that was rising between them. Maybe it would consume him, but Nate would gladly lose himself in it if it meant he could be with his mate forever.
He broke the kiss only because the need to breathe forced him to. Val licked his lips and looked up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. He didn't have to speak. Everything in his heart and on his mind glowed in his gaze, a silent plea that Nate immediately obeyed. He pulled away long enough to remove his mate's shoes, then focused on Val's jeans. The wet material clung to Val's slender frame with a stubbornness that frustrated Nate, but this time, he didn't have the patience to take it slow. He just used his claws to speed his way through this task that suddenly seemed far too difficult for his heated brain. Val shivered when the tips of Nate's claws nudged his skin ever so slightly, but Nate realized in a mix of relief and pleasure that his mate wasn't afraid. The frisson held only desire and anticipation, an echo of what Nate himself felt.
