Page 78 of Wolves Always Bite

Iswallowed hard.

“Doyou remember when we talked about fated mates the other day?”

Inodded.

“Well, it turns out, you’re mine.Iwanted to tell you when we were alone.Iwanted it to be romantic and…”Heshook his head. “Ishould have told you as soon as you woke up.Ihad a million opportunities to tell you today.Imessed up.Butthere is no mistaking that you are mine andI’myours.”

Isnapped my head up to look at his face. “But…I’mhuman.”

“Butyou aren’t fully human.Notanymore.”

“Becauseof that magic?Thatseventh son of a seventh son thing?”Iasked quietly. “BecauseIdon’t think that counts.I’mthe same asIwas before.I’mnot convincedIeven have magic.”

“Youabsolutely do have magic and it changes everything.But, even if it didn’t,Iwouldn’t let you go now.”

Iblinked rapidly, feeling my eyes burn again.

“Therearen’t many ways for humans to tap into magic.Infact, until todayIwould have said it was impossible, butIwould have been wrong, because that’s what you’ve done.”Adrianstared straight into my eyes. “Theway it was explained to me is that being with me made your magic develop.Youbeing the seventh son of a seventh son made your magic possible, but it might have stayed dormant if we hadn’t met.”

“Idon’t understand.”

“You’remy fated mate,Jeremy.Myone and only.”

“But…Buthow…?Areyou sure?”

“Yes,I’msure.Teagueconfirmed it.Apparently, he can see connections like the one we share.Youare my mate.Isuspected there was more to my feelings for you from the very beginning, butIcouldn’t make sense of it.”

“Mates…”Irolled the word over my tongue. “Isthis because of the biting?Yousaid there was an energy exchange when it happened, right?Andwe’ve definitely done that a lot.”Let’sjust sayImight have developed a bit of a kink thatAdrianwas happy to go along with.

"Nobodymentioned that, but… uh… maybe?”Adrianmumbled and his cheeks darkened. “Theyjust said as we spend more time together, our bond will strengthen.Teaguesays he can already see the difference in you.Then, when theEternalMagicdecides we are ready, we’ll be blessed with an unbreakable bond.Ourlives will be joined, but only if we want it to happen.”

“LikeAshandDillon?”Iasked.

“Exactlylike that.Whenthe bond is complete, our life expectancies will merge.We’lllive the rest of our lives together.”

“Iwon’t die before you?”Myheart was pounding.Wasthis real?Ithrew my arms around him and held him tight. “Iknew magic would find a way to help us.Ijust knew it.”

“Iwas alone for a long time,”Adriansaid. “Inever searched for my mate becauseIwas too busy trying to survive.Butnow…Iwouldn’t want to survive without you.Iknow this probably sounds too soon to you, but you are the only person for me, for the rest of my life.Iwill never want another.Gagegave me a family and a purpose, but you…Jeremy…Youshowed me how to love, and that is everything.”

“OhmyGod, are you trying to make me cry again?”Isniffled and blinked my eyes to clear away the tears. “Youshould co-write my stories with me.”

Hehuffed out a laugh.Istared into his eyes for a long moment asIcupped the side of his face.Icouldn’t believe he was actually mine.Mylover.Mymate.Mine.Foreverand ever.

“Ican’t believeI’veonly known you such a short time,”Isaid finally. “Itfeels likeI’vealways known you.Youfit with me.Iwas so scared this would end andIdidn’t know whatIwould do if that happened.I…”Isucked in a shaky breath. “Yousee me.Inever realized how muchIneeded that until you came into my life.I’vealways been so and so’s brother or the youngest one or the one who wouldn’t stop talking or the one with the crazy ideas…ButIfeel like you actually see me.Andmaybe my other relationships didn’t stand a chance because it would never have worked with anyone but you.”Istared into his eyes.Myheart was racing. “BecauseIhave fallen completely in love with you.Youare patient and protective and strong and loving and honorable and so damn sexy.Everythingabout you brings me joy andIwant to do that for you too.Iwant to make you smile and laugh and blush at my crazy questions and lose control when you’re in bed with me.Iwant to give you everything because you do that for me.”

Adriankissed me.Whenthe kiss ended, my heart was singing.Wewere mates.I’dnever been so happy in my life.

“Sowhat does this mean exactly?”Imentally flipped through everything thatI’dlearned since meetingAdrian. “Doesthis meanI’mgoing with you and your team from now on?Imean,I’dthought about following you and your team around like a groupie becauseIcouldn’t deal with the idea of never seeing you again.ButClawieandIaren’t suited for living in a tent.Iknow that.Sowhat do we do?Yousaid you move around a lot.”

“Beforewe talk about all that,Ineed to ask:Areyou sure you want to be with me?Justbecause we’re mates doesn’t mean we have to stay together.Youstill have a choice,Jeremy.Youcan still go back to living like a human and forget supes exist.Youcould find some nice human guy…”Thelonger he spoke, the more growly his words became and the harder he dug his fingers into me.

“Fuckthat,”Isnarled asIwrapped my arms around him. “Youaren’t getting rid of me.”

“ThankMagic,” he said against my neck. “Idon’t thinkIcould let you go.I’dend up stalking you and killing anyone who tried to get close to you.”

“That’dbe weird, becauseI’dbe stalking you too.”

Adrianlaughed and held me tight.