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I shook my head. Priorities. As much as I could spend an entire weekend ravishing my mate, her health took precedence over that.
“I didn’t realize it would be so sensitive,” Ayla said, her cheeks a bright pink as her hand went over her neck. It was dizzying to think I had a matching one over my own mating gland, that I had her matching mark. I couldn’t wait for both of us to shows ours off. No more hiding, no more trying to be covert. We could be just like everyone else and publicly celebrate our love.
Ayla was thinking about the same thing but with a slightly different reaction. “People are going to see our marks and think we’ve had sex.”
I chuckled lightly, pulling her closer to me. “I don’t know how to tell you this, my dear, but most people assume adult couples have had sex.”
“Yeah, but they don’t have visual proof of it right by their face.”
I could tell she was more flustered than upset, so I just nuzzled the top of her head. “But I like that there’s visual evidence of it,” I rumbled, knowing what it did for Ayla when my voice got all low. “I like looking at your mark, remembering how it got there and thinking what it would be like to suck on that gland every time the old ones fade.”
Ayla flushed even harder, and I could hear her heart flutter in her chest. All sorts of emotions came through our bond together, stronger than they had ever been before. If our previous half-completed bond was like calling to each other from opposite sides of a wall, this completed one was like being able to whisper directly in each other’s ears. It was clearer, and somehow more real, like her emotions were my own.
But despite how appealing the idea was of continually flustering her, I decided to grant her mercy. Giving her a peck on the lips, I released my hold on her.
“Shall we get dressed?” I asked.
“You sound like you really don’t want to.”
I had to chuckle. My darling knew me so well. “I don’t, but while I wish we could just have days of spoiling each other in bed like newly mated shifters on their honeymoon, I figure we should get some food and liquids into you, then maybe check in on some of our friends. We did disappear for most of the day.”
Ayla chuckled at that. “Yeah, I’m surprised they haven’t banged down the door already.”
“For all we know, there’s a queue outside.”
“Oh, don’t even try to talk about it or it’ll happen.”
“My apologies. I’ll make you breakfast in apology.”
Suddenly, Ayla sat upright, and for a moment, I thought something terrible had happened. “My groceries!”
I had no idea what she meant for a beat, then I remembered the bag of food she’d set on the table when she told me we needed to talk. I had truly been shocked in that moment, wondering what on earth I could have done wrong, only to be blindsided with the best news I could have received.
Never in a thousand years had I expected the next words out of her mouth, but I was certainly more than grateful for them. I felt… incredible, like I could do anything, and with Ayla by my side, that well could be true.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” I said. “Why don’t you show me what you got, and we can cook breakfast together?”
Ayla nodded, only wincing a little as she moved to get out of bed. “Sounds good to me.”
As it were, we’d only just finished our meal when there was a knock at the door. It was unorthodox to have breakfast in the middle of the afternoon, yet it was still wonderful to have our first meal together as fully bonded fated mates, so I was grateful no one had interrupted it beforehand.
I sniffed the air for a moment and recognized the two familiar scents waiting for us: Darla and Oren, our two best friends.
“You ready to face the world?” I asked Ayla, reaching over to gently rest my hand over hers. We’d been doing that increasingly lately, to the extent that it was becoming a second habit.
“I don’t know if our closest friends are quite the world,” Ayla said with a chuckle. Was she laughing more these days? It sure seemed like it. “But, yes. I’m ready.”
Together, the two of us went to the door, and unsurprisingly, Oren looked shocked once he saw us. Clearly he’d scented us too as we’d approached.
What was surprising, however, was the way Darla winced and put a hand to the side of her head. “Whoa, Ayla. What the fuck happened?”
While Oren could clearly scent that we’d become mates, there wasn’t really a way the psychic could, and with how she was wincing, it was like just looking at Ayla was physically difficult for her.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, when did you get so… so… shiny?” Darla shook her head then squinted at Ayla. “This is really freaky. It’s like I can see your magic radiating around you.” As soon as those words were out of her mouth, Darla’s eyes landed on Ayla’s neck and then mine. “Oh. My. Gods! Did you just—”
“You’re mated,” Oren said, his tone unreadable. But that was all right. I was well aware that my friend often needed extra time to process his emotions. “You completed your bond.”
