40

Caden’s POV
“I can’t wait to see what we have,” I muttered, my fingers trailing lazily over Lily’s smooth back, her skin warm beneath my touch. She was half-awake, barely lifting her head, but I could feel the exhaustion that still clung to her. We’d woken up around three in the morning, and I’d taken her again. This time, it had been just me and Lily, a private moment where, even in my half-daze, I couldn’t believe how amazing she made me feel. It was unreal. She was mine, and I had no doubt that this was meant to be. I wanted her-needed her-more than anything.
“Hmm? For what? Breakfast? Are you cooking? I’m so starved, I think I lost ten pounds last night,” she groaned, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Not for breakfast, silly,” I grinned. “For a pup. We’ll see if the rumors are true about mates and twins. There’s only one set of twins in our family who share a mate, and they had their firstborn as twins.”
Her eyes snapped open, and she immediately sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. Without saying another word, she shuffled off to the bathroom, leaving me with a dry chuckle escaping my lips.
“Shit, man, maybe you should’ve waited a bit. Didn’t have to throw it out there on day one,” Caleb’s voice broke the silence as he pulled himself out of bed.
I rubbed my eyes, a grin tugging at the corner of my lips. What could I say? I was beyond happy. This was everything I’d ever wanted, and I wasn’t going to apologize for it. I’d been waiting for this moment for so long, waiting to see what our mate would be like, wondering what our pups would look like, and now, everything felt real. I wasn’t sorry for dreaming of a future.
*And don’t think we’re just ignoring the fact that she hasn’t marked us yet? Everyone’s going to expect it. How could she not want to mark her territory? I thought Lily, of all people, would be all over it,* I voiced my thoughts through the mind-link, irritation creeping in.
Caleb’s response was quiet, his fingers brushing his chin before he nodded slowly.
*Yeah, I’m pissed too,* he agreed. We both were. We were proud to call her ours, even with the mess of everything else going on-the benefit, the craziness of Friday night. We’d been through worse, after all. I remembered the time Caleb knocked a guy out cold just for grabbing his date’s ass. He hadn’t even remembered the woman’s name the next day-it had been pure instinct.
A few minutes later, Lily came back from the bathroom, freshly showered, a towel wrapped around her. Caleb was on her in a flash, trying to tug the towel off, and I couldn’t help but smirk at the sight of him.
“Ah, no,” she laughed, stepping back, holding her ground. “Look, uh… I guess I haven’t told you guys, but I’m on birth control. I get the shot, religiously. Even though I’ve always used condoms until now, I need my own insurance policy. I see a doctor in the city, off-campus. She gives me a special formula for shifters. It’s supposed to be about 97% effective.”
Well, that was news. I couldn’t exactly tell her what to do with her body, but it made me realize just how much we still had to learn about each other.
“So… you want pups someday?” Caleb asked, his tone slow, careful.
I wasn’t used to having to tiptoe around anyone, not even my parents. I wasn’t about to do that now, but I didn’t want to push her either. She was my mate, sure, but we still had so much to figure out, so much about how to handle each other.
“Yeah,” she nodded, walking toward the dresser. “One day.”
She rifled through it until she found one of my old t-shirts, pulled it over her head, and I couldn’t help but notice her hard nipples pressing through the fabric. The sight had me instinctively licking my lips.
I raised my hand to run it through my hair, but before I could, Lily shrieked, her eyes widening as she grabbed my arm.
“What? How did you… when did you…?” she stammered, her hand gently brushing the ink on my arm.
Caleb stepped forward then, pulling up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo on his own arm. She gasped, reaching out to touch it as if she hadn’t noticed it before.
“We got them after the game,” I explained. “Mine’s on the left, Caleb’s on the right. We wanted you to know-you’re with us, always. In our hearts, in our arms.”
Caleb added, “We meant to show you last night, but the night was so intense, we forgot. These tattoos are permanent. We’re men of action, not just words. We wanted to prove to you how much we already love you.”
She blinked, breath hitching. “But you said you were too indecisive to ever commit to a tattoo,” she whispered, almost breathless.
I grinned at that, pulling her close, wrapping my arm around her, and pressing my lips to hers in a kiss that was all heat and longing. I didn’t let her move-just held her tightly, savoring the moment.
Caleb, ever the smooth talker, took her hand off my back and kissed it gently. “That’s how much we already care about you,” he said, his voice sincere. She pulled back from the kiss, but not before Caleb tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers grazing her skin.
Her breath hitched again, and I felt a tight knot of discomfort in my chest. I didn’t like that look on her face.
“I’m not stupid,” she said quietly, her voice tinged with something like apprehension. “I know you’ve got a lot of expectations… and soon. Kids, and… I’ve seen the other guys at Blood Moon, they’re all marked too.”
“Lily,” I said softly, stepping closer, “we have time. We don’t need to rush anything.”
She pulled away from me, the tension between us palpable. “Let’s just get through today, okay? Finals, and… everything else.”
I could feel the shift, the distance growing between us. It wasn’t just about the tattoos or the future. It was about us, and the path we were starting to walk together. There were still so many things to work through.
Caleb and I exchanged a glance as she picked up some shorts from the floor and pulled them on, crossing her arms over her chest.
“So, how about breakfast?” she said, her gaze drifting out the window, her posture stiff.
I felt the weight of her discomfort, the way she couldn’t even look at us. Caleb and I just stood there, unsure of what to say. Neither of us had the right words. I could feel her emotions in our bond-fear, confusion, uncertainty. It made me uneasy.
*What did you do?* Hade’s voice came through, groggy but insistent. I groaned inwardly.
Neither Caleb nor I spoke as we all settled into silence. Caleb went downstairs to start breakfast, and I headed for the shower. By the time we were on our way back to campus, the tension hadn’t lifted, and I fucking hated it. I’d been naive to think everything would just magically fall into place. Maybe it would, but I didn’t want to change Lily. I just needed her to see the future I saw for us. I could feel that the tattoos meant something to her, just as they meant everything to us. Caleb and I had promised we’d never get another tattoo, except for the names of our pups when they came. Nothing else would be worthy of our bodies.
We could wait to start a family. I’d wait as long as it took. But she was different now, distant. I could feel the shift inside her, and it wasn’t something I could ignore.
After we dropped Lily at her apartment, Caleb made some excuse about having something to do and wandered off. I was glad for the time alone. Sitting at my drawing table, I started sketching ideas for the house, thinking that showing her something tangible might help. If I could present her with something concrete, maybe she’d feel more comfortable, more at ease. I transferred the designs onto my tablet, hoping that visualizing our future together would make it all real for her.
Soon, it was time to head over to the school paper’s office. The unease I’d been feeling lingered, this strange sense that I couldn’t fully be myself around my mate, that we couldn’t talk about everything openly. But something told me it was better to wait until the end of the week-finals were looming over all of us, and we had enough on our plates without adding this mess to the mix.
Neither Caleb nor I had bothered studying. But, well, that was nothing new.
Caleb’s phone beeped as we walked, and he glanced at it.
“We’re good to go. She’s pulling in now,” he said.
Minutes later, I saw Lily talking to Ivana. Thank the Goddess they both looked happy, laughing, even. It was a relief, considering the tension I felt with everything happening so quickly.
I’d known the Moons my entire life; they were like pack family to me. But I hadn’t seen them much lately. Ivana, who used to babysit us when we were little, was here now. Even though she was mated, she’d kept her iconic last name. I wondered, briefly, if Lily would take ours. It felt like a natural progression, something that should happen… but fuck, my mind was spinning.
“Look at you two, huh? Been what, eight years? You’ve really bulked up,” Ivana said, punching my shoulder with that mischievous grin that reminded me so much of her mother.
“Something like that,” Caleb said, flashing that perfect smile of his.
But then Ivana’s eyes narrowed, and her expression shifted.
“Wait a minute… Why is she marked, but you guys aren’t?” she asked, her voice suddenly serious.
My stomach sank. Damn it, I should have expected this. She crossed her arms, scrutinizing us with more than just her reporter’s eye. She was probing, judging, and it wasn’t lost on me.
Before I could answer, I felt a flash of movement beside me. A soft pressure on my neck, then-Lily. Her hands gripped my head, jerking it to the side as her lips pressed against my skin, the sharp sting of her bite sending a wave of heat through me.
I gasped, thrown off balance, and for a moment, I could only grunt in surprise.
Ivana laughed, a little too loudly. “Well, that’s a sight you don’t see every day. Front-row tickets to the marking of the Alphas.”
I closed my eyes, letting the moment wash over me. This was the dream I’d had countless times. I felt Lily’s blood mingling with mine, a sensation that made me weak in the knees. The world around me blurred, but then Caleb’s hand was on my shoulder, steadying me.
If this were any other day, the entire campus would be here to watch. I was grateful for the quiet.
Lily pulled back, wiping the blood from her face with the back of her hand, as though it were nothing more than a little mess. I couldn’t help but think she looked like a warrior, her Led Zeppelin t-shirt clinging to her body, her flip-flops marking her as someone who didn’t give a damn about anyone’s expectations.
*Take her now, throw her over your shoulder, get her home in OUR bed,* Hade practically screamed in my head, his frustration clear.
I was dizzy, struggling to stay upright, but the moment she pulled away, the older female clapped with exaggerated delight. Lily ignored her cheers, instead turning to Caleb, grabbing him by the hair with unexpected force. She sank her teeth into his neck, and I instinctively held his shoulder, trying to steady myself.
Lily’s intensity was impossible to ignore. She was alive with power, her breaths ragged, and I knew without a doubt that she was turned on. My focus wavered as I saw her licking Caleb’s neck. His hand moved, almost involuntarily, to rub himself, and I nudged his arm.
We didn’t need any pictures circulating right now.
Yeah, part of me-the animal in me-wanted to drag her into the grass and claim her. But I couldn’t help wondering if she was doing this to avoid the deeper conversations we needed to have. Maybe the mood just struck. Either way, I wasn’t going to question it.
*She feels territorial,* Hade observed. *Another female questioned her place with us.*
I licked my lips, agreeing. It was damn hot.
I’d seen people get marked in public before, but I never thought I’d be on the receiving end. It was strange, knowing people often couldn’t separate mating from marking, and I was left to wait for the release of that particular need.
I took a step toward Lily, the scent of her-my scent, the mix of blood-filling my senses. I could feel myself responding to it in ways that had me fighting for control.
Lily pulled away from Caleb, wiping her mouth with the same shirt she wore, looking every bit like someone who’d just stepped out of a fight, yet still somehow divine. She was my angel, and now, she was mine, forever.
“Now that I’ve had a taste for blood, let’s see how we’re going to end these bitches who fucked with us,” she said, her voice fierce as she adjusted her shirt.
Ivana, mouth agape, gave a single nod, her approval clear. Without a word, the two women joined arms, leading us into the building.
*Can you fucking believe she’s ours?* I mind-linked Caleb as I watched Lily walk ahead, her hips swaying like she owned the world. She always walked like that, no matter where she was.
*Is it possible to die from the most intense blue balls on the planet?* Caleb asked, his voice filled with frustration.
I just glanced at him and nodded. I guess we’d find out. As we walked side by side, there were two of us and one of her-but it was clear from the way she moved, the way she held herself, that she would always wear the pants in this relationship.
And I was fine with that.