The days flew by in the blink of an eye. Spring pranced by with light rain showers and colorful flowers. Summer's blistering heat gave Ethan more reason to stay underground in the soothing arms of his mate. Then fall came with brisk winds whipping Snow Pines into a frenzy as they prepared to host the celebration of their alpha's bond.
Ethan stared at the ceiling of his childhood bedroom, now Damien's. On a nippy autumn dawn like this almost six years ago, he had woken up in the same manner: early, restless, too excited to sleep because he was heading to camp. There, he met two rascals who became his best friends and betas.
And he also met his mate for the first time.
Today, he would formally announce his bond to the world and get a blessing. His nerves, however, refused to settle down.
Shadow whined sleepily and curled deeper into his side. The bed was a tight fit, but she refused to lay by her brothers. He stroked a hand over her warm fur. She nudged him with her head and went back to sleep.
Similar to that morning many years ago, an air mattress was beside his bed - technically, it was his brother's bed now. Damien lay sprawled out on the floor, snoring under a blanket of fur. Alaska's bushy tail draped over his face. Ghost half lay on his chest, and Cody's gray wolf stretched awkwardly across his belly.
How they could doze in that position astonished Ethan.
However, the scene triggered a sense of deja vu. If he squinted his eyes, he could almost imagine it was the morning before camp. But the illusion did not hold for long. There were just too many changes.
His older poster of the hockey player was gone, replaced by Damien's favorite basketball star. The bedsheets and curtains were brighter compared to the dark patterns Ethan had favored. And the clothes in the closet had more fashion flair than the perpetual sweatshirts and hoodies he had worn.
Finally giving up on any more shuteye, Ethan rolled out of bed, nudging the white she-wolf awake.
"Shhh, it's ok. Go back to sleep," he whispered, gently petting her until she tucked her head into her curved body.
Then he eyed the mass of sleeping bodies on the air mattress. For a brief moment, he was sorely tempted to pounce on his brothers and wallop them with a pillow like he used to. These two had given him so much stress even as they got older. The alpha finally understood why Zyga nagged so often.
But the moment passed, and Ethan's heart filled with gladness that Cody and Damien could sleep peacefully after all they had been through. However, the stench of a room packed with wolves and sweaty teenagers caused his nose to wrinkle.
He walked over to the window, released the latch, and pushed it up.
There, on the roof of the porch, was a dark wolf sprawled under the dawn sky.
"What are you doing, Brent? You might slip and fall."
The wolf cracked one unbothered eye open. "Making sure you didn't sneak off to see your mate. You've already cost me five hundred."
"No one told you to gamble with Louie," Ethan sniped over the pack channel. He felt little sympathy for his friend's loss. The Lycan tradition of keeping the mates separated until the ceremony was outdated, and he hated being away from Jan.
"It's not about money, big guy. It's about our prestige. I said you're the famed Dragonlord, the alpha of alphas. You could totally hold it in for a few days. Now that little vampire is strutting around, smug as fuck because you didn't last a day."
"Well, I stayed in last night." And it had nearly killed him to do so, he thought, pouting. He would be glad when this day was finally over, and he had his mate in his arms. "Come in before you fall off the roof."
YOU ARE READING
Blooded Mate
Fantasy[[MATURE CONTENT]] Pack, family, mate. Loyalty, respect, honor. These are the words that form the foundation of the wolf society. At six years old, Ethan had to choose between his Alpha title and his survival on the night of his father's death. As a...
