Dima's answer was straightforward. "I don't think so."

Elio slipped out of the room, foreseeing the argument that was about to break.

"That's enough of your bullshit." Chris snapped and that was a wonder Dimitri's eyes were refusing to speculate. The outburst didn't stop there. "I am lost right now and very much perplexed. I can see the panic on your face from a mile away and believe me, we both are in the same boat. This situation...our situation cannot be taken lightly." And cool-as-ice Chris was back. "Come here and sit quietly now. Come on now," he urged when he saw the hesitation on his mate's part. "Lean back and relax."

Dima leaned back against the headboard and released an unsteady sigh, reflecting his capitulation.

"We are mates."

"Well, I heard you speaking that Sherlock."

"We are mates, Dima." The repetition of the statement, the fact demanded an eye-roll but the astonishment with which Chris said it made Dima pause. The Alpha looked mesmerized and his face was a mixture of sunny and surprised. His eyes held a gleam that Dima never saw before. Speechless, Dima gave a tiny nod. "I should have realized sooner. The signs were all there – the odd attraction, my obsession with you and the incapability to walk away when you were frustrated with me. I...I am so unsettled, Dima." To anchor himself, Chris inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of his mate. Dima smelled like cocoa to him and he couldn't get enough.

Always confident Chris sounded lost and that did make Dima a little uncomfortable. A feeling of unease washed over him. It wasn't something he ever wanted a repeat of.

A sudden warmth enveloped Dimas's hand. Chris entwining fingers with his seemed absurd to the vampire, but eyes don't lie. Without reflecting on his action, he yanked his hand back from Chris'.

It was the werewolf's turn to release a weary breath.

Chris' face became the definition of dejected and that thought broke Dima's heart a little. Without giving it much thought he initiation the hand holding this time. He took Chris' hand that laid by his side and entwined their fingers as the werewolf did before. And the fucker did what thereafter?! He took advantage and leaned his head on my shoulder.

"Feel at home," Dimitri muttered sarcastically.

"Shh..." was what Dima got in return. Squeezing his hand, Chris went back to 'the talk'. "Even though everything is complicated and we are in the dark about our predicament, I am not sad. It's not awful, I mean."

The vampire kept silent for a few minutes and the hush — surprisingly — wasn't uncomfortable. "What does it feel like?" he implored quietly.

"What?"

"Me. You. What's the difference between then and now?"

"Your eyes, they were bright before but weren't deep enough to get lost. Now, they are. Your smile was beautiful before, but it is perfect now. Your scent, it was just...your scent. Now, it feels like...I am not saying home but it feels something like home." Dima decided to ignore the mild information that Chris took a whiff of his neck while making those declarations. It might be subconscious...or not. "It is like a particular kind of tea your mom makes or an old picture that has been on the walls of your home since forever. The moment you feel or see them, you know you are home."

Dimitri's breath hitched at the Alpha's words. Now, he knew how Chris wrote such beautiful poems; his words effortlessly radiate beauty and warmth.

"You said the day you met your mate, you'll kill them. So, do I get to say my last wish?"

"Don't joke Dima." Dima can gamble that Chris had a scowl set on his face at the moment. "This ain't funny."

"Lo and behold! For the first time, something is not funny for Chris - the Demon."

"That's Chris Damon, you ass. For the last time, this isn't funny."

And suddenly Dima was angry at Chris. "What if I was serious? You did say you'd kill your mate after all and now I came out to be your mate, so I had to ask."

"Well, I am sorry! It was a joke. And forgive me if I said something in the damn past and you got butt hurt for it in the present. But do you remember this other thing I said? Dima, I don't want to be in a life long relationship that pushes you to love someone. I told you my reason for not wanting a mate. This isn't the same."

"And how is it not the same?"

"Because this wasn't the mate bond. It could have been the mate pull if I knew you were my mate, but I didn't; I was already interested in you. I liked you, didn't I? This was all you, not the bond." Chris' emotions were all over the place, though his eyes were blazing and his tone spelled A-G-I-T-A-T-I-O-N.

Dima kept quiet. Chris was right. After a brief break, the latter spoke again. "Dima." The vampire hummed in reply. "You are sexy when you are all worked up, and sexier when you are worked up about being mine."

There Chris goes being himself again.

"You are a douche."

Chris only chuckled and Dima soon followed with a chuckle of his own.

They both were happy, Dima was basking in their joint happiness and Chris was barking in it.

A chuckle slipped out of Dima at his silly connotation, making Chris ask him the reason for his amusement.

"Inside joke."

Chris shrugged and went back to drawing circles on his newly discovered mate's hand.

That's how Elio found them when he made a comeback with food.

👑♥️♥️👑