From there, he asked no more questions, just eased me onto the edge of the mattress with my ass hanging off, knees pressed to my chest, and my ass cheeks spread wide. He wasted no time, my slick easing his thrust. When he was balls deep, he reached for my cock and jerked it several times before replacing his hand with mine. I was so deep into the moment I barely noticed the change until he urged me to stroke myself.

“I won’t take long, omega.”

He clearly wanted me to come before he did, but as the speed of his thrusts increased, my strokes lost rhythm. Instead, I clung to him, my cock only receiving friction from the movement of our bodies, but to my shock, that was all it took, and I was spurting my cum onto both of us seconds before I felt the heat of his cum filling me and then, as he sagged over me, braced on his arms, his knot swelled, and his teeth pierced my shoulder.

And seconds after that, my teeth sunk into his shoulder in turn.

It was too much…everything went dark, and I blacked out for a moment, awaking to find him rolling us to the side, stillconnected in the most intimate clasp of alpha and omega. We were fated mates, but this act had left a visible mark. Anyone who saw it, at least any shifter, would know I belonged to someone. And anyone who saw us together would know that someone was Leon. My alpha. My fated. My true mate.

And yet, a panic lay under the joy and pleasure. Mates usually jumped right in with both feet, literally. But I wasn’t ready for that. But then I let it all go. For now. For tonight. The future would have to take care of itself.

Chapter Thirteen

Leon

There was nothing in the world as good or as beautiful as waking up with your mate in your arms. Or, in this case, draped over your body. Tobias’ head lay on my chest. One of his legs hooked over mine, and his arms held me tight even in sleep.

Like he was afraid I would leave if he let go—not that I was complaining.

I moved my arms a bit and felt the twinge of the mating mark on my shoulder. It would take a while to heal unless we shifted, but I didn’t mind. The tiny amount of pain reminded me that I was marked by my mate.

As if I needed reminding.

“Mmm,” Tobias made a noise in his sleep. He also snored, but the soft sound actually calmed me and my jackal.

“I’m going to shower and make us some breakfast,” I whispered to him.

His eyes flew open. “You’re leaving?”

I moved and covered him up with my comforter, placing a kiss on his temple. “I’m going to shower and make us breakfast. Not leaving. We’re at my house. I can’t really leave even if I wanted to, which I don’t. Sleep some more. It’s okay. I’m here.”

As soon as I wrapped the comforter around his shoulders, his breathing slowed once again.

Last night had been incredible. Different than the first time we’d mated. The first time was fueled by lust and attraction but last night, while there was plenty of lust and attraction, was born out of our new bond. Stroke for stroke, our tether thickened. And once he bit down on my shoulder, my world tilted in the best way possible.

Showered, I set about making my mate breakfast. I wantedto go out and buy us both some breakfast, so I could get back into bed with him, but my jackal insisted his breakfast the day after mating be made by my hands.

The jackal got his way most of the time, and this was no exception.

I gathered the ingredients for all different kinds of pancakes and hoped I got one combination right. My personal favorite was blueberry pecan, but I also intended to make banana chocolate chip and sweet potato cinnamon ones as well. I had some leftover sweet potatoes in the fridge and, while I was out of bananas, the dried ones would have to do.

I put on a pot of coffee and pulled out the creamer, sugar, and some alternatives like brown sugar and honey. One day, these things would be second nature and I would know exactly what my mate wanted for breakfast and every other meal.

While the coffee percolated, I heard the water in the shower turn on. I whistled a bit, picturing my mate under the spray, and I swore that if I wasn’t prioritizing feeding him after a long night of shifting and lovemaking, I would be in the shower with him, seeing all of it in person. Would this be a problem every day we were together? I hoped so.

Once the shower ended and I heard him bustling about in the bedroom, I rushed to finish up and have everything ready once he emerged.

“Good morning,” he said, coming down the hallway as I placed the platter of pancakes on the table.

“Good morning it is,” I replied and opened my arms. He smelled more delicious than all the pancakes in the world, but now his scent was mixed with mine, along with my soap and shampoo he’d used. “I hope you’re hungry,” I said. “I didn’t know what you’d like so I made a bit of every kind of pancake.”

He rested his head on my chest as I rubbed his back. “I’m starving and…I smell coffee?”

I chuckled at his raspy morning voice. “Yes. Coffee. Sit down and I’ll get you a cup.”

When I set it down in front of him, he blushed. “You don’t have to serve me, Leon.”

“I know I don’t but I like to. It’s my pleasure. You’re my mate.”