Page 60 of The Fated Mate Bandit

“For what?”

“For your paws.”

It’s terrifying to utter those words. Silver might change his mind now that I’ve finally agreed. It’s still hard to believe that he wants to claim me. It feels too much like the impossible daydreams that have kept me afloat for the last five years.

“Are you sure?” Silver asks.

I nod against his chest. Maybe I’m not worthy of him. He might regret bonding to me later on. He might regret becoming a father so suddenly, too. But I will do my very best to be good to him. I’ll give our bond my everything.

I’ll give our pups my everything, too.

As much as I hate to admit it, I never gave that to Daryll. I don’t know if it would have made a difference. Daryll didn’t give me his everything either. But I think Silver will.

Two people giving their everything to a bond has to be enough. It just has to be.

Silver tilts my chin up to look into my eyes. “When?”

I swallow hard. “Now. If you’re ready.”

He presses a soft kiss to my lips. “I’ve been ready to make you mine for a long time.”

It’s surreal to watch him sit up and take his clothes off, knowing what will come next. As much as I fantasized about being his mate, I never dared to dream about this moment. It was too big—too unrealistic. I never believed Silver would willingly commit to me in such a permanent, deep way. He was the magic boy from a book—my escape from reality. He was never my future or my fate.

Not until now.

His body shrinks, his hands transforming to black paws, his face elongating to the snout I remember so fondly. The moment I see his furry body and bushy tail, I recognize something I probably should have figured out long ago. He’s already mine. Not his human form, but this side of him.

We cuddled so many times in our animal forms. Did he accidentally put his paws on my wolf chest? He must have.

That must be why he was never able to move on—why I was never able to love Daryll the way I should have. We were already tied together, we just didn’t know it.

He scurries across the bed and nuzzles my hand. I run my fingers along the fur of his back. It’s deeply satisfying to touch the man I now know I was always meant to be with. When I was younger I couldn’t see what Fate was trying to tell me. I was too caught up in wolf shifter tradition and what was expected of me to see the pull of my connection to Silver for what it was.

I guess happinessissomething you have seize—something you have to be brave enough to claim. If you just do what you’re told and never fight for what you want, you can’t blame Fate for the misery that follows.

Silver stands up on his back haunches and holds up his two front paws. Truth be told, it’s a little cute. I grasp each of his paws and guide them to my bare chest. The moment they make contact, it’s like being struck by lightning—or being struck by Fate. The joy is so sweet—so pure. It’s Silver’s love incarnate, and I’m sure the pups can feel it, too. They do happy little somersaults in my belly. Silver notices them kicking and puts his paw just above my belly button. A second rush of euphoria overcomes me. It’s like he's claiming them, too. Not just legally, but in Fate’s eyes.

I hold his paw to my belly, accepting the claim with all my heart. Tears roll down my cheeks as I stare into his black raccoon eyes. Now we are family—the thing I wanted more than anything in the world. And I never have to say goodbye to him again.

His body expands back into his human form, his fur flattening to smooth skin, and his paws growing to gentle hands. He still presses his right hand to my belly, maintaining the connection between us. I feel the same pull to his human form that I did to his raccoon. We belong to each other in every way now.

Silver leans in until his forehead touches mine. “Can I make love to you?”

“Please.”

I run my fingers down his chest, marveling that this is the body of my mate. Not my boyfriend, not the man I desperately wish I could be with, but my mate. He gives me a sloppy kiss, sucking on the bottom of my lip and hooking his hand behind my head to pull me closer. It feels natural and easy to kiss him like this, like my lips were created just for him. The kiss turns my body to fire, a desperate yearning blooming between my legs. He slides his hand underneath my baby bump to where I’m already hard for him.

“You’re mine now,” he whispers.

“And you’re mine.” I can’t believe I get to say that out loud—that it’s real.

He sucks on my neck as he strokes me. He remembers the exact amount of pressure that I like, and his hand twists when he reaches my tip. I forgot how much that used to drive me crazy. The scent of my slick becomes thick in the air.

“Fuck, baby. You smell so good.” He nuzzles the crook of my neck. My skin is so sensitive there, I take in a sharp breath. He keeps stroking my cock with that maddening twist.

“Silver,” I whimper.

“I want to worship your body like I should have done the moment you returned to me.” He kisses my shoulder, my clavicle, my nipple. “Do you have any idea how excited I am to raise pups with you?”

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