Just so y'all can have an idea of how in-depth things go (the title kinda gives away something lol), the rating for this book still hasn't changed to mature.

~

After a rather uneventful dinner - aside from worrying over Ella's comment on my smell - Joshua and I excused ourselves quietly. Apparently, he'd been really serious about feeding me and then making sure I got some more rest. Of course, we'd have to be careful with my concussion, but throughout the evening, my injuries had healed a lot more, thankfully. I might have some scarring on my back and head for a bit, but they, too, would fade and heal over time.

Joshua led us up to the third level. He explained that this was where the beta and his immediate family members lived. "So, you guys don't have a gamma?" I asked as he led me down the hall to what I assumed was his room.

Joshua shook his head. "No, we have a head warrior, but we're not as large as your pack, so the position never really needed to be filled," he explained.

We stopped in front of a set of double doors. My stomach began to flutter - and it wasn't all that pleasant given the fact that I just ate - when I realized this would be our first night sleeping together. As in one bed, in a private room, and not a tent on two separate sleeping bags. I noticed that both of our bags were placed on a couch that seemed to be a part of a tiny living room.

The room itself was beautiful. As soon as we entered, we were met with a couch and some seats situated around a coffee table and mounted tv. There was even a fireplace, to which I got a little excited about for no reason. Raised a bit higher than the living area and lead up to by stairs was the actual bedroom portion, with some decorative partitions lining the steps.

I walked into the room, getting a better look at the bed. It looked so soft and comfortable with fitted gray-blue sheets and a fluffy, off-white throw blanket. It took all of my will not to run over and jump onto the bed. I didn't even realize how tired I was until now.

"So... do you want to shower?" Joshua's voice spoke up.

Nevermind, I'm not that tired anymore.

I looked at him quickly, feeling my ears burn. "What? You mean like together or something?! I can handle it myself, no worries."

Joshua mirrored my embarrassment with a blush of his own as he quickly said, "Wait, no! T-that's not what I meant. But, we could if you wanted to - and only if you were okay with it!"

We went silent after that. Was it just me or had the room suddenly gotten really hot? I looked down at my feet, trying to figure out what to say next. What was I even supposed to say?

I figured that, eventually, something like this would happen. We were mates. But were either of us ready for anything close to intimacy? I mean, I was still injured - even if the wounds were healing rapidly - and Joshua would be too worried, and we only just accepted our bond yesterday.

But maybe that didn't matter.

"Wren?"

I looked up to find Joshua standing right in front of me. He reached down to grab my hand in both of his, squeezing gently. I found myself carefully looking at his face, drinking in every edge and curve of his face. His eyes looked so green now. "Joshua, I-"

I was silenced by his soft lips covering mine in a sweet kiss. The moment our lips touched, I didn't feel fireworks - thank goddess, because that was just too much of a cliche - but I did feel an intense warmth that bloomed from the pit of my stomach and spread out to the tips of my fingers in one very pleasurable moment.

Joshua's hands left mine so he could wrap one arm around my waist to pull me closer as the other reached up to run through my hair. My own arms reached up to wrap around his neck to pull him closer, too. Great goddess, why did it feel so good to kiss this man? Was this what I had been missing out on for the past few weeks? Darn it, stupid disability.

Joshua pulled away for a moment, even as I tried to chase his lips again, and asked, "What about your injuries?"

His voice was strained and definitely deeper than usual. I shook my head, thankful that that simple movement didn't cause my vision to swirl. "I'm okay. Please."

I didn't know what I was begging for, but Joshua seemed to get the message as he finally kissed me again, this time nipping at my bottom lip to ask for entrance. I happily obliged, allowing him to explore my mouth to his heart's content. He pulled me even closer if that was possible, seemingly just as lost in the kiss as I was.

I could feel his heart pounding through his chest and it felt like the rhythm encouraged me to kick things up a notch. After a little resistance from Joshua - ha, now you see how I felt - I pulled away. "Joshua, let's do it."

My mate paused, looking down at me with flushed cheeks and swollen lips. "Really? But, your back, and your head. Are you even ready for that kind of commitment?"
I tried so hard to hold onto the fire burning inside of me, but my rationality eventually won out. My injuries weren't my main concern, neither was the commitment, really. No, it was what came after the commitment: heat cycles.

Male wolves weren't historically made to birth pups like females were, but at some point, something happened where it was made possible given that certain conditions were met. First off, a same-sex couple would have to be involved. Next, their mate bond must be sealed before any cycles can start. These cycles allow for the, uh, catcher of the pair to eventually get pregnant. And the chances of pregnancy varied vastly depending on the inseminator's wolf. For example, those of considerable rank - like alphas, betas, or gammas - were more successful than those of regular rank. Many other factors could play into a couple's chance of success, but that was the same for any couple, same-sex or not.

No one quite knew how it worked, aside from the fact that it was probably influenced by magic. But that was still just a theory. Some figured that werewolves simply evolved without us realizing it until it was already in front of us. Either way, it was normal now. What worried me was that I wasn't sure if I was ready to start experiencing that sort of thing now.

I could take suppressants if I really wanted to, but those types of drugs could be expensive and came with less-than-pleasant side effects. Would that be worth it?

But, I didn't want to wait either. I didn't think Joshua wanted to wait very long, either.

With a small sigh, Joshua tried to pull away some more. "Okay, let's take a moment to calm down. Maybe we can-"

"No."

Joshua frowned, looking at me curiously. "Huh?"

I took a deep breath, as if to affirm that the choice I was making was the right one, and said, "No. I want it. I want you."

He did little to mask the excitement that brightened his face in an instant. "Really?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah. We can handle whatever comes next together. Besides, cycles won't start immediately. We'll have time to figure stuff out."

Joshua quickly pulled me into a hug, even going as far as to lift me off the ground and spin us around. He set me down with a large grin. "Then, why don't we take those showers?"

.

.

.

We decided to take showers separately. The moment things settled in, Joshua and I both got extremely nervous. I could tell he clammed up when he started to tap his foot as we figured out whether to shower together or not.

I struggled between hurrying up and taking my sweet time as I showered. I made sure to be thorough as I cleaned everywhere - and I mean everywhere - but there was still a little flit in my movements due to my impatience. This was it. After tonight, I'd officially be mated; taken. Joshua and I would be bonded for eternity.

It was thrilling to think about, but also a bit nerve-wracking. What if I kept messing up? What if I hurt him again? My pack doctor figured when I was younger that once I was fully mated, I'd be able to sense that bond a lot better than others, but what if that didn't happen? What if I still wasn't able to feel anything? It'd crush both of us for sure.

Stop thinking so much, Wren. Joshua cares about you just like you care about him. We can handle anything that's thrown our way, I mentally scolded myself, trying to steel my nerves.

I stepped out of the bathroom with a robe I'd found hanging on a hook by the shower wrapped around me. Joshua looked up from his position on the bed, his eyes slowly tracing my entire body. He'd dimmed the lights and removed the throw blanket already, and I couldn't help but notice the bottle set on the nightstand.

My feet carried me to the bed before I quite realized what I was doing. Joshua reached out, gently taking my hand to pull me between his legs. He looked up at me, a sweet smile on his face - even as I could see the nervous twitch at the corners, it was still enough to make me feel at ease.

Without needing any prompting, he used his free hand to untie my robe. Joshua's eyes drifted down my entire body before rising back up to look me in the eyes. "You're so beautiful."

I felt my cheeks begin to burn as an awkward laugh forced its way past my lips. "You're such a dork," I blurted, to which his smile widened.

"But I'm a very lucky dork," Joshua returned, and it was my turn to grin.

"Goddess, just kiss me already."

Joshua tugged on my hand, pulling me down so I could straddle his lap. Not even a second later, our lips were molded together passionately. Joshua's hands reached inside my robe to gently hold my hips as we kissed.

After a few minutes, we pulled away to breathe properly.

"Tell me if I hurt you, okay?" Joshua said seriously.

"I will, but I don't think you will. You're too gentle for that."

Joshua smiled again, squeezing my hip lightly. "I can't wait to be your mate, Wren."

I smirked, feeling empowered by his confession. "Then why wait?"

.

.

.

The next morning, I woke up to something I didn't think I'd ever feel: sparks. They were light and tingly as they buzzed throughout my entire body. I looked up to find myself cradled into Joshua's bare chest with his arms securely wrapped around my waist. And as my eyes followed up the toned expanses of my mate's chest - I couldn't believe I can call him that now without a second thought - they settled on the slightly faded bite mark on the juncture of his neck and shoulder.

I couldn't control the giggle of pure excitement that escaped me. Yes! This wasn't a dream. We really mated last night. My entire backside hurt now - it was expected no matter how much Joshua tried to prevent it - but it was all worth it.

"Wren?"

Joshua's groggy voice brought my attention back to his face. He was sleepily blinking his eyes open, and I couldn't help but internally awe at how cute he looked; he really was like a puppy. He shifted a bit to look at the clock on my side of the bed, humming afterward. "What time is it?"

"Eight thirty-seven," he answered slowly, his voice going soft towards the end.

"Shouldn't we get up soon to get breakfast?" I asked, but he was already closing his eyes again.

"Noooo, too comfy," he mumbled.

I sighed, fighting back a smile. "Fine, then I'll get up and head down by myself."

"Nooooo."

After that, he went silent again and I would've decided to go back to sleep too if it weren't for the knock on our - great goddess, I just called it our - door. Joshua groaned loudly, opening his eyes again. He looked down at me with that sweet smile of his, leaning down to peck my nose. "Good morning."

"Morning, sleeping beauty."

He frowned at me for that, but it looked more like a pout. "Hey, don't blame a guy for wanting to sleep in."

I rolled my eyes, pulling away from him to sit up. The pain that raced up my back the moment I tried, however, had me laying back down. "Yeah, no."

Joshua chuckled lightly. "I tried to ease up but you were the one insisting that I-"

"No need to remind me, thank you very much," I cut him off.

Another knock, this one a lot more impatient, urged Joshua to stand up and grab his discarded robe off the floor. He walked down to the door and I turned on my side to watch. Luckily, the partitions blocked a direct view of the bed from the door, so I could peek without the other person having to see me in all my naked glory.

"Mark?"

The future alpha's name piqued my interest and I shifted my head a bit so I could get a better look at the door. Why was he at our door? Maybe to tell us that breakfast was soon?

"Wren's pack was attacked."

~~~

I hope y'all liked that little surprise. I just want to say that I won't be changing the rating on this book any time soon. I tried to push myself to write something steamy, but I physically cannot XD (I'm a sex-averse demisexual if anyone knows what that means :P)

So expect any smexy scenes to have a time skip like that. Now if someone is willing to write em for me, I'll gladly incorporate them and change the rating, but I won't be doing it myself.

Now, why was Wren's pack attacked? And by who? Y'all think of this book as a set up for the monumental drama I have planned for the next book. Buckle your seat belts cuz we're going on a ride XD

Stay tuned for more insanity and please stay healthy and safe!

Thank you so much for reading <3

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