LEON ADLER

Once we're back in the Crescent Pack home, it's already midnight. But the members are still awake, waiting for my return. I don't have an idea how they knew, but once I see their faces, I let out a sigh in relief. These are the faces that I'm going to protect, and with my mate by my side, I think I would be able to fulfill the shoes my dad is going to leave.

Ethan climbs out of my back, and my mom immediately tends to me. As I transform, she quickly puts a big towel around me, and I kiss her cheek. My mom, looking at Ethan whose head is hanging low, approaches him, puts her hand on his face, and gives him a reassuring smile, then she hugs him.

My mate looks at me with a confused expression on his face, and I just smile at him, shrugging as my mom lets him go. I look at my dad and my heart swells at the sight. He's smiling at me, giving me a thumbs up. I nod at him, and look at my mate who looks confused as my mom literally showers him with attention.

"Shao, where are the medics?"

"Leon, they are waiting in that hut." I nod my head at Shao, and head to my mate. Ethan looks at my mom shyly. His face is contorted in pain, and my mom hasn't yet noticed that my mate is fatally wounded. "Ethan, come on, let's get that wound treated."

My mom gasps, inspecting Ethan. "My poor baby." My mom is all over my mate, and I look at dad who sighs. He grabs my mom's arm and pulls her to him. My mom glares at dad. "That poor boy is hurt."

"And he needs medical attention immediately," dad tells her. My mom huffs.

"Thank you," Ethan says to both of them, and my parents smile at him.

I lead Ethan to the hut where the medics are. He looks at me through his lashes and my heart swells at the sight. Even though he's in pain right now, he tries his best to hide it like it doesn't exist. He walks as if he's ready to fall down in any minute, but he keeps himself up. I feel proud of my mate for bearing the pain like it's nothing. But at the same time, I feel useless and an idiot for having him deal with his monsters alone.

My mate grabs my arm for support, and I suck in a breath. His touch is warm, lighting me up with desire. My wolf whines, wanting the attention of our mate. Since we haven't done the mating, our connection to each other is quite a broken. Something like an internet. But that would change soon, hopefully. Ethan came back home with me, so that has to mean something, right? Like he accepts me. I hope so.

As soon as the medics see my mate, they immediately tend to him. A lot of people are touching him, and my wolf just wants to lash out at them for touching their Alpha. I shut my eyes, calming myself as I take deep, huge breath. I watch the medics tend to my mate. Ethan looks at me, wincing in the process. He gives me a small smile and my heart melts at the sight. I never thought that I'd see his precious smile directed at me. I mean, I know he has given me smiles today but I swear, whenever he smiles at me, it's like the first time I've seen him.

The whole time my mate is being taken care of, I stay by his side. My mom got me and my mate some food – a steak. Ethan keeps throwing glances at me, studying me. Of course, I can see his stares. There are times I'm flexing out so he can see how good-looking I am. Ethan just smiles genuinely, not falling for my wicked tempts and tricks.

"Leon, we've successfully removed the silver out of his body." Kirk, one of the medics, says to me. "He needs a lot of rest. That bullet took a lot of energy out of him."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"He is. There's nothing to worry about." Kirk shares a smile, looking over his shoulder to watch my mate. "He's a strong person, and I'm glad that he's going to be my Alpha as well. It's such an honor to finally meet him, though I wish it's not in this circumstance."

"Well, as soon as he recovers, he'll be presented officially."

"Thank you, Leon. You can take him out now if you wish." As I turn around, Kirk stops me as if remembering something. "Oh, before I forget, please be with him. It'd be much easier for him to recover if you're around."

Nodding my head, I head over to my mate who is watching his feet swinging back and forth with such interest that it amuses me. Ethan looks at me with furrowed brows, I touch his cheek. He looks down, blushing, his cheeks tinting pink. I hold his hand, pulling him and he gently jumps out of the small table he's been sitting on for about two hours. Ethan grabs my hand for support again, and as his eyes watch the gesture, his ears turn red. I smile, knowing that I'm the cause of that.

Ethan takes my hand, pulling him gently as if he's a little kid. The people have already gone to sleep, except for the pack warriors who patrol the area. My mate and I both look at the dark sky dotted with stars. A gentle breeze whirls past us, and a shiver runs down my spine. My mate squeezes my hand, and I look at him.

He looks so breathtaking. How the fuck am I just seeing this now?

Ethan lets go of my hand, and my brows furrow. I look at him in confusion. But I tug on him. Now, it's his turn to give me the same look. I shake my head.

"Where are you going?" I ask him.

"My house?" I shake my head again. "Then where the hell am I going?"

"To my room." Ethan's cheeks tint pink once again. He shakes his head, and I hide a grin. I grab his hand, leading him to my room. He protests but I just keep on tugging him. My mate whines as I practically drag him. "Kirk said I have to stay with you so you'd recover fast. I'm only following what the medics said. Now just don't protest. This is for your own good."

"My own good?" Ethan raises a brow at me, snatching his hand. He crosses his arms as he looks at me expectantly. "Is that really it, or is there a different motive?"

"I have no other motive," I shake my head as I look at him, pretending that I'm offended. My mate rolls his eyes at me. I pull him closer to me, which makes him blush and I let out a smirk. I place my forehead against his, listening to his soft breathing as we bask under the moon. "Of course, I just want you there with me. I've lost so much time without you because I made stupid decisions. And honestly, right now, I'm beginning to think you made the right decision because you're mated to a stupid Alpha. But I want to be selfish."

"Stop it, this is not about you being dumb." He tells me, letting out a sigh. My mate purses his lips before stepping back. "Leon, you don't know what was going on inside my head. It was the only way I could think of just to protect you and this pack. I left in the first place because I wanted the people here safe, and if I could do it again, I would. But of course you being dumb enough, you would follow me. I don't know what changed your mind to pursue me."

"I made bad decisions," I pull him closer, my fingers gently touching the exposed skin on his hips. "I was too caught up in imagining of having a perfect family. A woman, pups, me. But I realized that there's something better than that. When I was standing there about to make a grand ass speech, I couldn't find you. I wanted to introduce you as my mate, and that was my way of redeeming. But then I found out that you ran away, and you kept things for me like my necklace."

"Oh, that."

"Yeah, that."

"You were stupid to lose that gift from you mom."

"But you kept it." I laugh, grinning from ear to ear. My nose barely touches his, and his breath fans my face. I put a hand on his flushed cheek. He tries to look away, but I keep his face steady, facing me. "Thank you. That gift really meant a lot to me. I gave up finding that because I couldn't really find it. Can you stay with me? Please?"

Ethan laughs, pushing me away. "You really get what you like, huh?"

"Of course, I'm the Alpha."

"Excuse me, the next Alpha in line. You're not an Alpha yet." He teases as he takes a step back. He twirls around, and the moon lights up his face and my breath hitches. My mate looks so fucking beautiful, and my heart somersaults at the sight of him being carefree and enthusiastic. "What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to bring me to your room? I'm kind of tired."

Never have I ever been so fast in my whole life. I grab his hand and practically drag him to my room. Ethan laughs as he tries to catch up with me. He winces and I suddenly get worried, my instinct to care for my mate kicking in. He puts a hand in the air, and then gives me a thumbs up.

I lead him up to my room and once we're in, I let my mate bask into my scent. He sniffs the room, and throw himself on my bed. He winces and I roll my eyes at him, but my wolf is so happy to see him enjoying himself.

Joining him, Ethan entangles himself with my favorite sheet and I laugh at him. I prop my elbow, resting my head on my palm as I watch my mate enjoy his time in my bed. Ethan looks at me with a sheepish expression. I put my arm around his waist, pulling him closer. Ethan blushes and tweaks my nose.

As I lean down, Ethan stays in his place, watching me with half hooded eyes.

"Can I kiss you?" I ask him. Ethan nods his head.

Slowly, I place my lips against his and he returns the favor. Never have I felt this feeling before, and it's so goddamn amazing to finally taste him. His lips are gentle, like a cotton candy, like your favorite pillow you always love to lie your head on. His fingers instantly clutch my hair, and I pull him closer, closing the gap between us. I remove the sheet entangled in his body, and I straddle him. My mate lets out a groan that is music to my ears as I attack his lips.

Biting on his lower lip, Ethan gasps. His fingers dig into my back, his legs wrapping around me. I begin showering his neck with butterfly kisses, all the way to his collarbone. Ethan is a mess beneath me, and I can't wait on the day where he and I would become as one – as fully mated mates. Ethan shuts his eyes as I begin to suck on his Adam's apples, and he takes a deep breath when my fingers hook into his pants, pulling it down a bit.

This is just supposed to be a kiss, but it's escalating further.

I have to stop myself from going further, so I pull away immediately. My wolf whines, wanting to continue all the way. I calm myself down, letting the blood travel all over my body and not just to my southern region.

"Your lips feel amazing," Ethan blushes at the compliment.

His fingers go straight to my lips, and he feels it beneath his fingertips as he looks at me with genuine happiness in his eyes. This beautiful male specie in front of me was supposed to be rejected by me, and I'm glad I didn't make that decision. Ethan is amazing, and even though he's just a regular werewolf, I would still come up with the same decision to pursue him.

Ethan is stronger, and if someone has that type of power, I wouldn't have a chance to be with my mate. Clearly, Ethan deserves a better mate. But I'm going to try to be that deserving mate for him. I'm going to protect him from this demon werewolf he was talking about earlier before we went home.

"Thank you for being a persistent little bitch," he tells me.

Normally, if I hear those words coming out from a different person, I would lash out. But this is my mate saying those words, and when listening to it, it's actually pretty funny. I let out a laugh, resting my forehead against his.

"You think you can avoid me, but you can't." I flick his forehead gently, and my mate pouts at me. I groan, wanting to attack his lips again for being so fucking cute. Ethan laughs at my reaction. "Now that I'm feeling the mate bond, and it's getting stronger, I'm finding you cuter and cuter. I like it."

"Well, even without the mate bond, I always thought you were handsome."

"So hypothetically," I begin, pulling him closer to me. Ethan rests his head on my arm as he looks at me through his lashes. "If we were just regular humans, without the knowledge of mate bond or anything like that, do you think you would fall for me?"

"Hmm, I think so. Keeping the same face, yeah, I would."

"Really?"

"You know what, I think I know what you're doing." Ethan throws a pillow at me.

I duck it. "What? What am I doing?"

"You're asking me because you wanted to feed your ego," my mate rolls around the bed, getting entangled again with my sheet around him. "All right, Leon Adler. I admit you're cute, you're handsome even, and I would totally date you if we were just regular humans. There, are you happy?"

"I am," I run my nose across his jaw and he chuckles, pulling back. "Ticklish. Hmm."

"Stop that," Ethan throws another pillow at me and I catch it. "You're being a bad werewolf, Leon. Calm yourself down."

"I can't. My mate is too cute and I can't stop myself from being in trance." I fake bite his collarbone and he bursts out laughing. Ethan steals a kiss from me, and my grin grows into a smile. "Let's sleep?"

"Yeah, right."

"I'm serious!"

We both laugh. I wrap my arms around him again, pulling him to me, his back resting against my chest. I shut my eyes, thinking of my mate as I fall into the abyss. This time, with a smile on my face as I know I'm holding my mate as I sleep.