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  “Yes, please. So ready. Make me yours.”

  I lined up my cock to his hole and held his gaze as I plunged into him. His eyes shone in the moonlight, full of trust and love. He was mine. My mate. And I wanted him more than anything. I’d waited my whole life for this moment, never sure if I’d meet my match, my one and only. But here he was.

  I kissed him, holding him tight against me as I pumped my cock into him again and again. His hands were everywhere, more like an octopus than a wolf, touching, caressing me, holding me against him like he was afraid I may disappear.

  “So close,” I said. I tried to slow myself, but he bucked his hips and any hopes I had for making this last longer dissolved as I came. My seed released deep in him as I buried myself to the hilt.

  Archer cried out and his own cum splashed between us. “Yes! Sanford! Mate! Yes!”

  My hips jerked and my cock swelled. A knot forming. There it was. The undeniable truth. We already knew we were mates, but this left us with no questions. It was fate.

  He grinned and cupped my cheek. “Mine,” he said.

  “Mine,” I agreed.

  I kissed him, then held him tightly as we lay linked together in the most intimate way.

  Fourteen

  Sanford

  “Sanford?” Archer said quietly.

  “Yes?” I pressed a kiss to his temple. We walked hand in hand back to his home. Up before the sun, we made our way along the trail by moonlight.

  “What happens now?” he asked.

  I stopped and faced him. “That's up to you. I don't want to pressure you into anything.”

  He bit his lip. “I'm not sure how my family is going to take this. It's a shock to me, and it's happening to me. If they find out—”

  My stomach churned. I didn’t look forward to this conversation any more than he did, but it had to happen. “They're gonna have to find out, sweetheart. Unless you don't want to be—”

  “No! Of course I want to be mated. Officially. With the ceremony and everything. But can we wait a while to tell them? At least a few hours, maybe a day?”

  I squeezed his hand. I wouldn’t mind the time to gather my thoughts and plan a discussion. “Of course. I wasn’t going to walk into your home and declare you as my mate over the breakfast table.”

  Archer giggled. “I wouldn’t have minded. My dad…. He’s going to take some time.”

  I nodded. Zack was in for a shock. Hell, I had been shocked. But fate couldn’t be argued with. “There is a very likely chance that you are pregnant after last night though. You know that right?” Saying the words out loud made the situation even more real. Fated mates meant a high conception rate. Shifters in general were very fertile creatures, but when Fate was involved the chances of conception from unprotected sex was almost a guarantee.

  “Yeah, I know. Would you like it if that were the case?” he asked tentatively, his eyes peeking from under his lowered lashes.

  I lifted his chin with my hand. “So much so,” I said and kissed him. “Now let's get home before your whole family is awake.”

  Archer looked to the sky. “We've got a few minutes before they all get up.”

  I pulled him closer to me, until our bodies were molded against one another. “Well, we could have stayed by the lake then.”

  He chuckled and stood on his toes to kiss me. His arms going around my neck. I’d never grow tired of the feel of him in my arms or the taste of him on my lips. He was mine. How had I lived this long without him?

  After a moment he pulled away. “We will want to get into the house before everyone is awake.”

  “Spoilsport,” I said.

  We hadn't worked out everything, but it was a start. I found myself happier than I ever had been in my entire life. Instead of planning my next assignment, and which pack I'd visit next, I was content to be here, in one place.

  We went our separate ways when we got back to his house. I went to my room and he went to his. We both showered, in separate bathrooms, though I made a note to shower together as soon as we were able to. Hopefully, the shower would mask the scent of us being together. That tactic would work for a time. Sooner or later, our two scents would become so ingrained with one another, we wouldn't know where he ended and I began.

  I went down for breakfast a while later. Archer sat at the table, he blushed a deep red when I came in the room and focused intently on the book in his hands.

  “Good morning everyone,” I said. The open layout of the house meant the kitchen was visible from the dining table. Yvette was at the stove finishing up the pancakes, while Ben and Archer sat at the table. Zack stood at the sink, holding a cup of coffee.

  “Morning—” Zack started before a knock sounded at the door.

  Before anyone answered it, a woman's voice called out, “Knock knock.”

  “Come on in, Mia,” Yvette called back.

  A shorter woman with curly brown hair came into the room. She held her hand to me. “Hi, I'm Mia.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I said. “I’m Sanford.” By now, with the way pack gossip worked, she likely knew who I was, why I was here, and a brief background on me.

  “I'm the school teacher here.” She grinned and I knew the look on her face meant I was in for some trouble. I didn’t mind, I was used to it. “And it just so happens, we are doing a lesson on marine life.”

  I smiled. “Is that right? I suppose your students want to see a porpoise in real life?”

  “Do you mind?” she said. She smiled so sweetly, how could I say no? Besides, I needed a distraction today to keep my mind off proclaiming Archer as my mate in front of the entire family.

  “Not at all. Anything particular in mind you want me to talk about or do they just want to see me in all my glory?”

  Zack snorted. “You always did think you were so cool.” He sat down next to Ben. Archer had yet to look up from his book, but I was sure he wasn’t reading anymore.

  “I can’t help it if I’m a cool rare shifter.” My porpoise clicked in agreement. It had been a while since my last shift and being near the water along with finding my mate had my animal excited.

  “Thank you, Sanford. We’ll be heading out to the lake in about thirty minutes.”

  My eyebrows rose. “We’ll be going to the lake?”

  “Of course. That’s the only place you’ll be able to shift. Unless you want us to fill up a swimming pool,” Mia said. “Archer, you're coming too right? You look like you didn’t get much sleep. Are you feeling okay?”

  “Yes. I’m fine,” Archer squeaked.

  “You’ll go with us. You’re going to show the kids the lake trout and talk about freshwater fish, right?” Mia asked.

  Archer closed the book. He sat up straight and looked up with wide eyes. “What, now?”

  “You didn't forget, did you?”

  Archer licked his lips, his gaze flicking between me and Mia. “No, of course not. I have my notes ready.”

  It had been awhile since we were at the lake. Surely any scent of us had washed away with the morning dew? But I couldn't help but think there might be some evidence of what had transpired there. And now we’d be returning, this time with a group of school kids and a teacher in tow.

  “I’ll go, too. If you don’t mind,” Zack said, still drinking his coffee.

  “Of course,” Mia said. “The more the merrier. Ben, would you like to come?”

  He shrugged. “Sure, why not. I've got nothing better to do this morning.”

  Everyone went their separate ways, perhaps to gather jackets or shoes or I didn’t know what. Meanwhile, I stood in the dining room staring at my mate who looked more like a deer caught in headlights than a wolf.

  “It will be fine,” he said. “I do this all the time with the kids in the forest. It’s just a quick trip to the lake, then a short lecture, and we all go home. It’s fine.”

  I nodded. He was right. It was fine.

  We'd all be going out to the lake, where just hours ago I had claimed my
mate for the first time. My mate, who was my best friend's son, and now his whole family was going to go there. This wouldn’t be awkward at all.

  Fifteen

  Archer

  My mind raced and the breakfast I had enjoyed just moments ago sat like a rock in my gut.

  The group of us, fifteen students of various ages, Mia, my parents, my brother, and my mate all walked the trail to the lake. It was no big deal. It's not like they were going to know what had happened there.

  They’d have no way of knowing that I’d snuck out of the house last night and Sanford had followed and that he’d knotted me and that we were fated mates. It wasn’t obvious. Right?

  But the more time I spent amongst people and my mate at the same time, the more likely we were to slip up. Not to mention the fact that I didn’t want to keep this secret from everyone. We needed to tell them all, it was just hard.

  My dad had talked a lot about Sanford over the years. They were close. Best friends even. Would he freak out when he found out his son was mated to his best friend? I hoped not.

  When I said that I needed time I just assumed I would take the day to think about how to broach the subject with my dad. I didn't expect to spend the day with everyone.

  Admittedly, I had forgotten about the lecture with the kids. It was something I did on a regular basis so forgetting had been silly, but my mind had been wrapped up in other things, like my mate.

  My skin pickled with excitement at the thought.

  A fated mate. I'd found mine. I had one. The future looked brighter now, like I had a direction for the first time in my life.

  Not many shifters were blessed with that, especially so young. I was only twenty-three.

  When we arrived at the lake, Mia began talking about the various wildlife surrounding us while the pups sat in a circle, listening intently.

  I had to look away while Sanford stripped off his clothes to get ready to shift.

  “We're lucky enough today, kids, that we have a porpoise shifter here in our territory. Mr. Harbor, met our packmate Zack in college, and has visited our territory a few times.”

  Sanford chuckled. “Actually, I have only been here once and it was twenty-five years ago.”

  Mia smiled and continued. “He is a shifter historian who travels around to other packs and shifter groups documenting their histories.”

  Some of the kids looked excited at that, others were clearly bored.

  Sanford went to the lake and dipped a toe in. “Chilly,” he said.

  “Aren't porpoises native to the ocean?” one kid asked.

  “They are. That is a very good question. But I am a Harbor porpoise, which means I can tolerate freshwater, though I do enjoy the ocean more. Now, who wants to see me in my shifter form?”

  “Me! Me! Me!” the kids yelled.

  Meanwhile, I enjoyed looking at him in all his naked glory. I wanted to see his porpoise as well. It was a toss up on which one I wanted to see more right then.

  Where Sanford once stood at the shore of the lake, there was a splash of water.

  Generally, porpoises didn’t play in the water. They weren't like dolphins and they very rarely jumped into the air, but Sanford put on a little show for us. He came out of the water to show the pups his form. They had lots of questions that myself and Mia answered. More me than Mia since I knew more about marine life.

  After a few moments, Sanford changed back to his human form and sat on the rock. The same one that he and I had shared in the moonlight. He dried off and put on a pair of sweatpants, not bothering with a shirt.

  Great, now I had to sit here and stare at him half naked while I gave my lecture.

  “What's this?” one of the younger kids, Parker, I think his name was, asked. He held up a blanket. The very blanket that Sanford and I had laid on last night while consummating our mating.

  The blood drained from my face and my knees got a little wobbly. I was too far away to snatch it from his hands, but my mom was close by. She eyed the blanket carefully.

  “It smells like him,” the kid said.

  I had hoped he was going to point at me, then I could claim that I had left it there after reading one day, which was true, but I had also left it there after being with my mate for the first time. But no, the kid pointed right at Sanford. “It smells like him, and something else.” The kid wrinkled his nose. He held the blanket away from him, like it was a bad smell.

  My mom grabbed the blanket from him. A look of confusion came over her face. Then realization hit. She gasped, dropping the blanket to the ground.

  She looked at me, then at Sanford.

  My dad rushed to her side. “Yvette, are you okay?”

  “It's nothing,” she said. She pasted on a smile and tried to push my dad away from the blanket. “Don't worry about it.”

  He picked up the blanket. “This looks like one of our quilts.” He sniffed it and then dropped it to the ground. His face went red and at any moment I expected smoke to billow from his ears.

  Ben, ever the clueless one, chimed in. “What the hell's going on?” he asked.

  Thankfully, Mia caught on that this wasn’t a normal interaction and something else was happening here. “Come on children, it's time to go look at this... thing over here.” She ushered the children away while the rest of us remained at the lake.

  Ben looked from the blanket to my dad to me to Sanford. His eyes widened. “You guys—”

  “I’m sorry. I can explain,” I said.

  Sanford put his hand on my shoulder.

  “Don’t you touch my son,” my dad said, taking a step toward Sanford. My mom grabbed his arm to stop him.

  “We don't have anything to apologize for,” Sanford said.

  “You damn well do!” my dad shouted. “That's my son. I invited you to my home and this is what happens? After I graciously invited you to stay in my home you defiled my son!”

  “Well—” I said.

  “That's not fair, Zack,” Sanford said.

  “I think you should let them talk,” my mother said, oddly calm.

  Ben burst out laughing. “Archer and Sanford! Oh my! Curt’s never going to believe this. He’s old!”

  I frowned. “He’s not that old.” I said. If Ben had really looked at Sanford while he was naked, he’d know that age was just a number and my mate was a handsome man with muscles, and a smattering of chest hair that—I squashed those thoughts. My brother did not need to look at my naked mate and I didn’t need to think about my naked mate right now, else my body might start reacting.

  “He's dad's age!”

  “Shut up, Ben,” my mother said before I could.

  “He's my fated mate, you jerk!” I pushed Ben and he fell backward. If I was going for maturity, it did not happen.

  “Zach, please,” my mom admonished.

  “Look, Zach. This is as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. But Archer is my mate,” Sanford said. He held me around the waist, the two of us standing together.

  “I want you gone tonight,” he said. “Go back to your wandering ways. You are not welcome here.”

  “No, Dad,” I said, standing my ground. “What Sanford says is true. He is my mate, my fated. You can't send him away.”

  “You can't expect me to just allow him to be here after what he's done!”

  “He didn't do anything I didn't want him to do!” I said. “If he leaves, I leave with him. I am adult. He is my mate, and our being together is non-negotiable.”

  My father's jaw set and he stared at us. He turned on his heel and marched toward the trail.

  My mom smiled at me. “He’ll come around. Don’t worry. He’s just a little shocked. A lot shocked. We both are. But this is a good thing.”

  “Thanks Mom,” I said.

  “I better go talk to him.” She took a few steps, then came back toward me and pulled me into a tight hug. She pulled Sanford in as well. “This really is a blessing. It’s just also very surprising. And you know your dad doesn’t like surpr
ises.”

  Hope blossomed in my chest. Dad would come around.

  “Congratulations,” she said and she brushed a tear from her eye.

  Ben laughed and put a hand on Sanford’s shoulder. “Welcome to the family. In case you thought pack life was completely normal, you were sadly mistaken.” He winked at me. “Congratulations, bro. I mean, I would have gone for someone younger, but I'm happy you found your fated. That's pretty cool.”

  “Thanks, Ben. I appreciate it.” At least we had some support.

  Ben took off toward the trail, following Mom and Dad. My lecture to the kids wasn’t going to happen. They were half way back to their classroom by now.

  Sanford pulled me into a hug. He kissed my neck. “It’s going to be okay,” he said.

  I relaxed into his embrace. “I know it will. I’ll—I’ll leave with you. We can travel together.” My voice shook with emotion. It had never occurred to me to leave the pack territory, at least not for a long time.

  If I left with Sanford under these conditions, how likely were we to be welcomed back by my dad?

  “Is that what you want?” he asked.

  “I want to be with you,” I said.

  He stepped back and cupped my face in his hands. “Your wolf doesn’t like the idea of being away from your pack.”

  “We’ll do it. For you,” I said. “Neither my wolf nor I would do well if we were away from you.”

  Sanford kissed me. “I know. But my porpoise doesn’t like your wolf to be so riled. We will make things right with your dad. And we will stay here. Sure, we’ll have to travel a bit for my work, but I want to be here just as much as you do. Your pack is my pack now. This is our home”

  “You mean it? You won’t get tired of being in one place?”

  Sanford shook his head. “No, love. Not when I have you.”

  I hugged him. “You are the most wonderful mate in the world.”

  Sanford laughed. “Should we go see if we can convince your dad of that?”

  I groaned. “Do we have to?”

  Sixteen