When I walked inside the training center on Monday morning, the first thing everybody noticed was my fresh mate mark so they all congratulated me on finally completing the bond. It really took a long time considering we were mated in late September and today is November 25th.

If you think about it, Carlisle's heat actually took a long time to strike him. It usually takes Omegas a month to be struck by heat when they don't complete the bond within that period. With that being said, it should be noted that he took some time to accept me as his mate.

It wasn't until I brought his parents here in October that he finally agreed to accept me as his mate. That was the happiest day of my life. At least, until last Saturday. I wish my conscience wasn't impaired when we completed the bond - heat clouds your judgment, naturally - but there is nothing more that I wanted in life than to be one with Carlisle.

Especially after he announced his departure. That hurt me more than the bullet to my chest. And no, I am not exaggerating if you can believe it. The wound left a temporary scar on my skin - even with the bulletproof vest, it still hurts and leaves a mark - that it would soon heal itself with my werewolf capabilities. But a broken heart never heals.

Do not get me wrong, I am deeply disturbed by the attack we suffered last Friday with an incursion in our pack. Charlie's safety is of the utmost importance to me. I know full well I can never be happy with my mate unless his son remains here with him. I am completely on board with that concept.

But right now I am over the moon happy and excited, fulfilled to have the man I love by my side once again. Hopefully, together forever.

"For someone who was shot three days ago, I have never seen you this happy since we began working together." Iris commented on my ecstatic happy mood today. We have already greeted each other.

"Hearing my mate would leave Regency Falls hurt me more than the bullet wound, if you can believe it." I told her, still reeling from the recent occurrence. The truth is my mate's heat caused me to dodge a bullet. Pun intended.

"I have never been shot, but I get it. It's your mate. Aside from my daughter, nothing would hurt me more than to be apart from mine." She noted, empathizing with me.

I took her meaning better than she realized in the moment. It would be catastrophic for my mate to be apart from his son. I am not a parent as of yet, but I get it. That boy is his heart.

"Precisely. Get me the two oldest warriors with sniper certification we have on the force." I ordered her, now my expression is serious and concerned.

"Are you placing snipers outside of your house now?" She asked me, considering this would be the next logical move now that my mate and his son live with me.

I scoffed at her question.

"Too predictable. It would be the first thing they are going to think about once they learn where Charles is currently living. It's not a good idea to attack my house. If I had that many safeguards in a school, you can only imagine what I would do to protect my own home." I stated, sounding ominous.

"It's time I do something so daring that nobody in their right mind would even consider it. It's time for 'Operation Sleeper'." I declared with a devious grin. If they think I am going to stand here waiting for them to take my stepson away, they have another thing coming!

They don't know who they messed with. I said this before and I will say it again. I will stop at nothing to protect my loved ones from danger. Charlie is my family now and I will not see him in harm's way.

They should be afraid of me. *growls rabidly*

An hour later, I walked to the second floor to talk to Thomas. He has yet to see me since Friday and he sent a bunch of messages to me after he heard that I was shot by an assailant. By now, I already assured him and my family that I am doing well.

To be honest, nobody expected me to wear Kevlar in that confrontation. But I think ahead.

"Congratulations on completing the bond, my friend. I am so happy for you." He greeted me with a relieved expression on his face to see me out and about. And properly bonded with my mate.

It's a weird thing for werewolves to be able to scent a fresh mate mark half a mile away. It's like I wore a plaque stating 'I had sex with my mate'. Werewolves, am I right? This would be funny if it wasn't a respected right of passage all over the world.

"Thanks, Tommie. You have no idea the journey that it took to get here!" I said, grinning wide and breathing out a sigh of relief. For the longest time, I didn't even know if I would ever get here. Being mated and bonded means the absolute world to me.

By the way, Owen has already completed the bond with his high school mate. I would say I am surprised by the speed at which that happened, but judging from the way that teenager looked at Owen when they were mated, I am surprised if he doesn't turn up pregnant in a month or so. Just saying...

"I can only imagine. Is it true that your mate was supposed to leave Regency Falls but heat got the better of him?" He asked me with a mischievous grin, now inferring what that would entail.

"Yeah, it's true. The rumor mill runs wild among warriors, doesn't it?" I frowned at him, knowing how the men stationed at the pack house must have gossiped about what happened on Saturday.

"Especially when it involves the Beta of the pack locked in his mate's bedroom for two to three hours." He smirked, looking at me with a very naughty expression. Thomas is an Omega, so he knows the deal better than anybody else.

I blushed at his comment and the expression on his face. I am not ashamed of anything that transpired between my mate and me, of course not. But I would have preferred if we didn't need to be compelled by his heat. Again, not to say I regret anything that happened.

"How is the baby?" I deflected from the mildly uncomfortable topic. Thomas is three months pregnant now. He is barely showing right now, but he already has the pregnancy glow.

"Fine. We are going to find out the gender soon. Danny is excited about having a little girl." He replied, rubbing his belly at the thought. Danny is his warrior mate.

"Don't tell this to anyone, but I would love to have a girl too. Fingers crossed." I couldn't help but confess to him. By now, it is known that my mate is pregnant with my pup. If an Omega does not get pregnant in heat, then they cannot get pregnant at all. And we all know by now that is not an issue for my mate...

"Can you imagine our daughters growing up to be best friends like we did?" He smiled at the notion and I joined in his enthusiasm.

"Or mates. I am not opposed to that idea..." I winked at him, though it is very unlikely for two cisgender women to be mates, it can happen. Remember when I told you about the nonbinary AFAB werewolf from my senior class? The one who got mated to another AFAB person? In the werewolf world, anything can happen except being stuck in the closet. Thank Goddess for that! *praying hands emoji*

By lunchtime, I drove myself to the pack house where I was greeted by the Alpha couple looking concerned about me and the recent developments. Naturally, Phillip is mostly worried about what we can do to protect our pack from another foreign incursion.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to keep track of cars that come into our town from the highway. We are fortified from the woods with more than a hundred warriors to protect us, but in human form is another matter.

It is not like we can close the town to outsiders. This is still America and we can not give in to the perception that this is a werewolf town. At least, not to the humans. I told Phillip that we would talk further after lunch, but there is much room to improve our security.

By now, it is fair to assume that the attack last Friday has become the talk of the town. We don't get many strikes like that here, but I assured my boss that I do take that very seriously. They have no idea who they messed with... *stares down menacingly*

Strangely, lunch doesn't taste the same now that my mate no longer lives here and is nearby for me to see whenever I want. I should be glad that he is in my house now and I definitely am, don't get me wrong. But I was somewhat used to seeing him here.

Around two p.m. I stopped by my house to check in with my mate, who did not expect me to come home so soon. It was then that I took the time to tell him that I make my own schedule. Unless Phillip calls me to the pack house, of course.

Carlisle was talking to Lupe [my housekeeper] when I arrived. Apparently, the two of them have really hit it off. Who knew? She gracefully takes care of my house and makes sure my fridge is always stocked. We don't always see each other on a daily basis, but it is nice to see her getting along with my mate.

"Stephano, why didn't you tell me your mate and his son were moving in? I thought your house was invaded when I came in this morning!" She questioned me with a displeased expression. Oh. I forgot about that.

"I am so sorry, Lupe. It was a rollercoaster. My mate decided to move in last Saturday and I didn't think to call you. I was very overwhelmed by his decision." I apologized to her, being called out like that. Charlie was in his room since he didn't have school this week on account of the Thanksgiving holiday. Carlisle was inside the kitchen looking at me as surprised by her question as I was.

"¡Qué hermoso hombre es tu pareja!" She gushed about my mate and I wholeheartedly agreed with her. She looked at Carlisle as she said that, so he knew she was talking about him.

"I know, right? And those eyes..." I swooned, looking at my mate's beautiful eyes. I could lose myself just looking at that gorgeous face. I mean, come on... Carlisle blushed at the compliment.

Moments later, we got together inside our bedroom as Lupe remained working inside the kitchen. First off, he chastised me for forgetting to tell my housekeeper that he was moving in. It took him a while to explain to her that he was my mate since they were never introduced. In the end, she figured it wouldn't make sense for him to NOT be my mate because she knew about Charlie - just not by name.

After the initial awkwardness, they got to talking and hit it off as she told him about her family. She has three children all grown up, two of them already in college. Her mate is a farmer who works in my family's business. It was actually my dad who got her the job.

Carlisle told me that he never had any help around the house - except for his mother when Charlie was still a baby - and was used to doing things himself. He felt awkward once he realized he wouldn't have to do everything around here.

"Mate, take your time getting your footing around the house. I know you have plans to redecorate so have at it. I want you to feel at home." I tried to put him at ease.

"I was just joking when I said I was going to redecorate your entire house and spend your money all day." He said, a bit embarrassed about it.

"I wasn't joking when I gave you my credit card. Buy whatever you want. Make the house your own. And if Charlie needs anything, by all means, go for it. I may not always be here at this hour but you have my full support." I declared, incisively.

"My son has everything he needs with a brand new console with all the video games that he can dream of." He said in a snarky tone. I took the time to make out with my mate before I returned to the training center. The day is still young and crushing enemies wait for no mated werewolf.

It's fair to assume that Richard's people won't try something so soon, especially during Thanksgiving break. Be that as it may, I spent my business day taking various precautions. I even emailed the school superintendent about installing some cameras in the school, though it's very unlikely that they utilize the same tactic again.

I talked at length with Iris and Clarkson about what is next for our pack and the measures that we can take to prevent another stunt like what happened on Friday. I am not taking any chances regarding my pack's safety.

My mom called me up to check in with me after the raucous that happened this weekend. She made sure to remind me to invite my mate for Thanksgiving dinner, which I did as soon as I arrived home. It is past time for my mate to meet the family.

I cannot wait until my parents meet Carlisle and Charlie. I am sure they are going to love them as much as I do. I cannot believe I get to spend my first ever holiday happily mated. For so long, I was the odd one out of the family.

For so long, I was a single boy. The fifth wheel. I became the uncle, but never the father. I was successful but forever lonely. So many nights spent crying over my fate, pleading to the Goddess to send me my mate.

'Where is he? Why isn't he with me? What have I done wrong?'

So many questions without answers until that fateful day in September.

At dinner time, I look at my beautiful family and think of my good fortune. I guess it was just a question of time. The Goddess just had to get her ducks in a row or whatever. I met Carlisle when it was the right time, no sooner or later. Now I understand that.

I am fulfilled. I have a reason to live, to fight for. It is not just about doing what is best for my pack, it's about keeping my family safe and sound. I have my eyes on the prize, looking for tomorrow but thinking about today.

There is nothing I won't do to keep my family secure and Charlie here with his father where he belongs. I am ready to do what is necessary for my loved ones. If they thought this would be an easy task, they really should have googled me. Goddess knows I did my due diligence. Your move, Dick. I am ready if you are.

https://youtu.be/RzhAS_GnJIc

A|N: Oh my dear Stephano...

YOU ARE NOT READY!

Just trust me on this. It's going to be impossible for you to see this coming... O.o

Wait, what was that secret mission?

You can hardly wait to find out!

OFF: Like I always tell you guys time after time, I usually don't know the song that will title the chapter right until the last paragraphs. This song was not envisioned for this chapter, it just wrote itself that way. What can I say? It is what it is.

Funny enough, any other chapter and this song could be a massive spoiler. LOL

Next is "Just The Way You Are."

Love,

Léo.