Had I produced so much precum that it had dripped all the way down to my asshole? Or had I done something much worse? Something that would ruin the ceremony.

I scrambled back into the corner of the room, hoping I didn’t leave a messy trail. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Holden narrowed his eyes at me, seeming confused rather than disgusted. “For what? I thought you were ready. All that slick—”

“Slick?” I’d overheard the term before but had no idea what it meant.

Holden smiled, reaching out for me. “In this world, once the mating ceremony happens, our mates don’t need lube. You produce slick on your own.”

I rolled my eyes and huffed out a breath. “Add that to the list of things people from my world need to be told before the mating ceremony.”

He raised his brows, seeming to be trying hard to hide a smile. “Now that you know, can we get back to it?”

I fake pouted but crawled toward his outstretched arms. “I guess we’d better. Seems like my body is already changing.”

Holden

I’d never had my instincts fight for control of my body with such force. But every part of me, from my head to my toes, pulsed with the need to mate with Nelson, to plant my seed deep inside him while leaving a mark on him so everyone in the forest knew he was mine. They already knew, but a mark meant hewas staying, that he was changing to be in this world with me. I wanted to spend my life making sure he never regretted that decision. Something I planned to start by officially claiming him.

As I held out my arms for him, hoping to convince him to come out of the corner, I made note of the slick issue. I thought he would have heard Walter and Lonnie talk about that change to their body, but I’d been wrong.

The pout he displayed did not match the sparkle in his eyes as he crawled toward me. He wasn’t mad, but I couldn’t imagine experiencing the same changes to my own body. The first time I’d shifted from turtle to human had been strange enough. But I had been so young, I barely remembered it. Nelson’s own change was proving to be more extraordinary. He couldn’t shift forms, but his whole body would change in order to produce offspring, something no one born in the Enchanted Forest had been able to do.

Nelson nuzzled into my neck and kissed along my collarbone, making my body tense with need. “Since I’m so slick for you already, why don’t you fuck me right now? Plow hard into me, the way I like it.”

I didn’t wait for a second invitation, laying him on the mattress before leaning into his spread legs. I lined the tip of my cock with his oh-so-wet pink hole then pushed inside. Not hard at first. I didn’t know how fast his body was changing, and I never wanted to hurt him.

As he gripped my biceps, he leaned his head back and moaned. “Feels so good. Amazing.”

I took that as a sign to let my instincts take complete control, to stop thinking and simply mate as we were intended. I withdrew until only the tip of my cock remained inside him then thrust hard.

His moan was louder, and he clung to me even tighter. “Yes.”

I let go completely, simply thrusting in and out, over and over with all that I had until I felt the fire consume my body, ready to release. Leaning closer to Nelson, I latched onto his neck, preparing to mark him.

He held me tight against him. “I am ready. Make me yours.”

The fire swept through me and released out of my cock like a flashover. I didn’t realize I had bit into Nelson’s neck until I felt his palm against the back of my head, holding me against him.

I let go and sat up, awareness creeping back into my mind. I still had to ensure my mate released. When I looked down between our stomachs, I realized he already had.

Trailing my finger along his belly, I looked into his eyes. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?”

He smiled as tears slipped down his cheeks. “I’m good. I’m more than good.”

“Are you sure?” I slipped out of him before laying beside him. “Why are you crying?”

He wiped his cheek and sniffled. “Because I feel like my wish, the one I made to get here, has come true. You’re the one I wished for.”

My heart warmed in a way I’d never believed possible before that moment. Nelson was what I had wished for, too, but never believed possible. But we had found each other and would someday soon start a family.

Chapter Sixteen

Nelson

A few months had passed since I’d arrived in the Enchanted Forest. At least, it felt like that much time had passed. Though our days and nights did not coincide with the outer-world. When I wasn’t helping Walter and Lonnie with their young ones—Lonnie already having birthed a litter of two—I worked with Marcel as a weaver, making baskets and thatched roofs for the community. When Holden and I had time off together, we made love as much as possible. He had me orgasming so much I felt like I never had a chance to come down from the high of being with him.

Not until I remembered I’d yet to get pregnant. Walter and Lonnie told me they both felt the transformation happen in their body as they suddenly had a womb to carry their mate’s children. Yet, I felt nothing. Other than the ability to produce slick, my body hadn’t changed at all. I worried my bond with Holden wasn’t strong enough, or that this world was simply rejecting me. After all, my mate mark looked more like a bruise than the evident bites on the necks of my fellow outer-worlders.