by Fel Fern
His wolf pressed an impossibly tender kiss to the side of his neck.
“I love you,” Zack said, meaning every word.
“I fucking love you, too, little cat. You’re mine.”
“Yours,” Zack agreed, crying out when Santino unsheathed his fangs and struck the side of his neck.
Pain flared, but only for a brief moment. The mating bond rose up between his bobcat and Santino’s fierce and protective wolf, joining their life forces and souls as one. Santino pulled his teeth away, reaching for his hand and twirling their fingers together.
“Say those words,” he told his mate with a smile on his lips.
“I’ll say it as many times as you want, little cat,” Santino said, and did as he asked. Zack would never get sick of hearing those words.
Epilogue
One week later
“You’re in a grumpy mood,” Sabine observed as Santino blocked the roundhouse kick she executed.
They were in one of the private training rooms in the pack house. A week had passed since she woke up and he’d been helping her train her body and regain muscle after weeks of sleep. Pretty soon, she’d be able to take up her duties as pack enforcer again, much to the relief of Lance, the other enforcers, and the pack.
Santino promised Zack he wouldn’t interfere in her relationship with Madeline, and he had to admit she did seem a lot happier. Sylvia, thank God, was back to her wild and cheerful self. Santino and his team’s recent fight with the Discipline Squad in the western section of their territory made the pack tighten their security measures, although he had a feeling the humans would think twice before crossing their land again.
Realizing Sabine waited for his response, he sighed. Santino supposed she had the right to pry, given younger sisters could be sometimes annoying.
“Zack and I have both been busy. Elaine’s been hogging Zack too much. She’s too excited to get another healer around, but then again, she’s always been overworked. We’ve increased our number of patrols, too,” he grumbled with a sigh. Grumbling aside, Santino was proud of his mate for choosing to become a secondary healer for the pack.
Santino continued, “Whatever free time I have, I’m working on the project.” His personal project, as he liked to call it, was a surprise he planned on showing Zack soon. “We’re too tired to do anything else once we get to bed. I haven’t fucked—”
“Too much detail,” she interrupted. He’d been too distracted, and he swore when she delivered a sharp elbow jab to his ribs. Santino narrowed his eyes. He shouldn’t really let his guard down around her.
“Let me take over some of your shifts so you can spend more time with your mate. It’s the least I can do,” she offered as they finished their training session.
“Actually,” he began. “What about tonight?”
“Tonight’s fine. Sylvia has a play date with Janice anyway.”
“Thanks.” Santino grabbed his water bottle from the floor and took a huge gulp. “I’m bringing Zack to the house.”
“It’s done?”
“I just need to make a few finishing touches,” Santino admitted.
“Need some extra help?”
“You’re offering?”
She nodded. “We can rope Forrest and Lance in, too, as well as other packmates.”
“Lance? Since when are you and the Beta buddies?”
“Lance mentioned you two are friends now.”
He scoffed. “We have an understanding, that’s all.”
Santino thought about her offer, though. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on Zack’s face when he showed his mate what he’d been laboring over the past few days.
“Then I appreciate the help,” he told his sister.
* * * *
“Are we there yet?” Zack complained, wanting to tug the blindfold Santino placed over his eyes.
He smelled pine and soil, so they were somewhere near the woods. Some parts of the terrain were uneven, but Santino guided him every step of the way, making sure he didn’t trip or get hurt. To be fair, it was kind of sweet the way Santino dragged him away from the pack clinic for a surprise.
“Soon,” Santino reprimanded, giving his shoulders a squeeze, as if Santino knew he wanted to rip the piece of cloth away. A few more steps, then Santino said, “Okay, now.”
Santino tugged the scrap of fabric away. He blinked, staring at the simple cabin in front of him that looked similar to the ones families and couples in the pack were given. Zack sucked in a breath, then looked at his mate.
“Is this,” Zack began, seeing the welcome mat on the front door, taking in all the details. The outside walls of the cabin as well as the porch looked newly painted. Zack managed to choke out the last word. “Ours?”
Santino hugged him tightly from behind. “Yes. This is ours.”
Zack couldn’t speak, he was too emotional, so he merely let Santino open the door and lead him inside, which surprisingly looked spacious. The cabin didn’t have much furniture yet, but he could tell plenty of work and love had been put into the space.
“Let me give you the tour,” Santino said, extending a hand toward him.
Zack took it as let Santino lead him through the cozy living room with the impressive fireplace, the dining room with the wonderful long table that could sit a party of eight, to the furnished kitchen and their shared bedroom.
With each new area, warmth grew in his chest. The mate mark on his neck pulsed. After Santino bit him, he’d also become part of the pack bonds that connected every Devil Hills werewolf and their mates to each other. Fate didn’t just lead him here to finally meet the man who owned him, body, heart, and soul, it also gave him a new family.
Without realizing it, tears gathered in his eyes. Santino halted, furrowing his brows. He could detect nervousness and confusion through their mate bond. Sometimes, he could tell what Santino was feeling, but not always. Since they were newly mated, Zack was only beginning to understand how the marks worked. Daryl told him that the bonds between them were constantly growing, just like their relationship.
“You don’t like it?” Santino asked. “We can always change the furniture.”
“It’s not that. Santino, these are tears of joy,” he blurted, resting his head on Santino’s warm chest. “You did all this and somehow managed to keep it from me?”
“I had help from the pack,” Santino admitted. “I wanted to finish our home as soon as possible, and to be honest, I have a hard time keeping secrets.”
“Our home.” Zack smiled. They’d been staying with Sabine and Sylvia for the past few days. While he was grateful for Sabine’s hospitality, he always thought it would be nice to have more privacy, a space of their own. “I like the sound of that. It’s perfect, baby.”
Santino tipped his chin and kissed him tenderly, slowly. Zack gripped Santino’s biceps, panting when Santino pulled away, familiar knowing look in his silver eyes. Then he said his mate Zack’s three favorite words.
“I love you.”
THE END
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