Page 25 of Warwick

I know my brow furrowed. “Why would I? I cannot have children. Does that make me less of a person?”

Cecil took a deep breath. “Wait, so hellhounds can’t have children anyway?”

I shook my head. “Not what I meant. We can if we’re paired with an omega. At least that’s what the goddess said in a meeting. But what I meant was I cannot carry a child.” I gave his hand another gentle squeeze. “If you do not have heat cycles and cannot have children in that way, although I understand that can be upsetting for you, but I do not consider it to be a reason to deny the fact that we are mates.” Cecil took several deep breaths, and I realized he was fighting tears. I used magic to hand him a tissue, and when he took it, I let go of his hand. “Is that why you have a poor relationship with your parents?”

Cecil shook his head while wiping his eyes. “Not completely.” He wiped his nose and took another breath. “My mother is human, and she’s always been obsessed with her image. Hair, makeup, weight, clothing. All of it. She’s incredibly vain, and everything and everyone around her has to fit into her perfect image.”

I snorted. Cecil looked at me with raised eyebrows. “I imagine I absolutely would cause her eyes to twitch, then.”

Cecil stared at me for a moment before he started laughing. I sat there staring at him, wondering if he realized how attractive he was like this.

“Yeah, you’re probably right.” He wiped at his eyes again before he took a deep breath. “I didn’t fit. I was an omega, and I was always really small. I’m smaller than most bear omegas even. And I’m not muscular. Not really.”

“Is that an issue?”

“For my mother, yes. My father wasn’t nearly as bad as she was, but the fact that he simply let her be like that toward me made it just as bad. He should have protected me, but he just went along with her. She controlled what I ate, what I wore, who I could associate with.” Cecil shook his head. “I spent years knowing that I wasn’t wanted. I’m three decades younger than my next older sibling. Just me. Not a second batch of kids, just me. Mother didn’t hide that she didn’t want more children.”

It took a lot of effort to not growl. How could someone not want the man sitting with me? He radiated warmth and acceptance. “I can’t believe Alpha Vitomir allowed such treatment.”

Cecil looked down at his lap. “He didn’t know until yesterday. He and Grandpa only knew that my parents and I didn’t really get along. I’ve never told them why.”

“Why?” I asked.

Cecil shrugged. “I didn’t want to burden them. They’re great, but they’ve always had a lot going on. I left as soon as I could and haven’t been back to my parents’ house since. They message me, but I usually don’t respond.”

I thought about it for a minute before shaking my head. “No. I don’t think I like your parents.”

Cecil sighed before laying his head back against the couch. “Me either. I don’t want to see them if I don’t have to. Them being here yesterday was a surprise. They just showed up, and Grandpa Lev didn’t know they were coming.”

I shook my head again. “Are they still around?”

Cecil shrugged. “I’m not sure. I wouldn’t think so, but with them, you never know.”

My beast was pushing me to protect the omega beside me. I had to agree. “I don’t like them. I don’t want you to be around them. They aren’t good for you.”

Cecil chuckled. “This is true. And I don’t really want to be around them either. But I’m not given a whole lot of choice. They’re my parents, and unless they’re banned from Honey Creek, they can get to me. I live on den lands, but we have people randomly show up all of the time. I wouldn’t put it past them to sniff me out and start knocking on my door.”

That wasn’t acceptable. “You can move up here. I have room here,” I told him without even thinking.

Cecil glanced around. “You don’t have any furniture, Warwick. And what I have won’t fill this place. I live in a tiny cabin. It’s all I need.”

“We have a house. Well, we can pick a house. And furniture is easy. You just have to pick it out.” Cecil looked at me, confusion on his face. “If you want to be my mate, that is. There’s a house for us in mated enforcer housing, and we can move in just as soon as you want.”

“But what about kids? I can’t give them to you. And my parents are assholes.”

I shrugged. “I already answered about the kids. And I agree about your parents. I don’t have any, so I’m not going to miss anything. What about me though? I’m told I’m cranky, and that’s not wrong. I don’t like being around most people or talking. I work too much, and my beast can be a struggle to control when he gets it in his head that he wants something.” Case in point, Cecil. It made sense though, because he’d been almost completely quiet while Cecil had been here with me.

Cecil snorted. “You’ve been talking to me though.”

I nodded. “Yes. Is that enough for you? I might grunt at you though. And I tend to always look mad.”

Cecil smiled, and it did something to my chest. Was this what having a mate would mean?

Chapter 10

Cecil

There was nothing romantic about the way Warwick and I agreed to accept that we were fated to be together. He had been apologetic that he couldn’t scent me the way I did him, but he admitted that he was attracted to me, and his beast had a strong urge to protect me. I was going to accept it and run with it. I couldn’t exactly say that I had an undying love for him either.

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