Chapter 8

Bastian

I"ve never been one to lounge in bed, but if this is what I will wake up to every morning, I can see the merits of never leaving our room.

Theo"s beautiful body is sprawled like a starfish across our mattress . . . diagonally. I have no idea when he did that, but our blankets are also lying in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed. I gently drag my fingers along the thin, soft skin covering his ribs, tracing every rise and valley, memorizing every detail. His soft snores only make him more adorable, and my lion starts to chuff softly, almost mimicking his sounds.

We have to get ready to meet with the pride enforcers and betas soon. I"ve been up for about half an hour, making plans all via text as to not disturb Theo; he had a long day—and night—for so many reasons, and not just the fun kind. I feel another rush of rage at someone threatening my mate and have to clamp my lips together to prevent the growl fighting to escape from my mouth.

To comfort both my lion and myself, I gather our mate from his weird position and arrange him against me as the little spoon. I give in to the urge to nuzzle into his neck and thoroughly inspect his mate mark with my tongue. Theo wakes slowly, thrusting his hips back into me to rub against my erection. I continue to lick every part of his neck and nibble where I can reach, sliding my hand down to his hips to help leverage him against me. His moan is still sleepy and relaxed, and I find I love the idea of him slowly waking up to an orgasm. I wrap a hand over his straining cock and start to lazily stroke him, not speeding up or increasing my grip as he whimpers for more.

My hips move of their own accord, sliding my cock into his crease where it catches on his rim with every thrust. My precum makes our skin glide together with no friction, and I thank God that as a shifter I"ve always produced more natural lubrication than a human would.

Theo leans harder into me, panting sweetly and straining toward an orgasm just out of reach. I nip at his ear and encourage him; last night he seemed to be wholeheartedly enthusiastic about my dirty talk.

"Morning, my precious mate. Are you going to come for me? You"re so sexy all mussed and sleepy. Once you give me what I want, we can go have breakfast, but I need you to come first. I want to lick every drop from my hand and share it with you. Do you want that, mate?"

That"s all it takes for Theo to cry out, arching against me and giving over to the orgasm his body has been desperate for. I continue to stroke him softly to prolong his pleasure as I chase my own. It only takes a few more thrusts into the valley between his muscular cheeks before my own seed sprays over his lower back and ass, barbs pulsing in regret that they have no home to release into.

I make good on my promise to clean his spend from my hand, not leaving a trace behind. Savoring his taste, I use my now-clean hand to turn his face to me and capture his mouth with my own. He moans into my mouth at first contact and proceeds to lick every reachable inch of the inside, making me harden once again. I fear Theo will cause me to walk around with a permanent hard-on, but I am prepared to invest in something to help not scar the kids of the pride if necessary.

--

Cole claps loudly to get the assembled shifters' attention, trying to get the group to focus while they settle with their breakfast of donuts and muffins along our long wooden table. It's a tight squeeze, with the twenty bodies of my ranking members vying for the sixteen seats left available, each wanting to be closest to where I sit with Theo happily perched on my lap and munching on his breakfast of peanut butter wheat toast, turkey bacon, and eggs. He didn't want to put anyone out by having them make him a special meal, but didn't want to risk being overloaded with sugar so early in the morning, so he made it himself as people trickled in.

"There are seats at the bar, or you can stand. We need to start or there won't be enough time before the rest of the pride gathers." Cole looks as ragged as he sounds, dark circles smudged under his eyes, and scruff trying to become a full tawny beard before our eyes.

I let out a whistle to help things along, startling Theo. He blushes as I whisper an apology near his ear and gently kiss behind it, making him shiver.

Grey snickers at the lust he must smell rolling off of us, forcing me to shoot him a glare. He rolls his eyes but nods, knowing my human mate might not appreciate the ribbing from the group about our sex life quite yet.

I clear my throat, noticing that Cole has gotten everyone's attention and they are waiting for me to address them. "As some of you may have heard, last night I met my mate. We are fully bonded—" Applause and shouts of congratulations make continuing impossible, so I lift my hand and nod in thanks. "Theo and I are very happy, and I have every faith he will be an amazing alpha mate for our little pride of misfits. That being said, since he is human, there have been reports of unrest, and some have even implied that I will be challenged as alpha because of our bond. There has also been a hit taken out on Theo's life." My statement is met with cries of outrage and promises of violence toward the culprits.

I smile. I knew my officers and enforcers would have my back, but I flick my eyes to meet Cole's, knowing he will be watching for any emotions outside of the predictable. His face gives nothing away, and it causes a frisson of worry that I may not have the solid team I think I do.

Pushing those thoughts away, I motion to where Wes is leaning against the wall like he hasn't a care in the world. "Due to the threat, I asked Theo to choose his beta last night. I don't believe that his decision would be different even with years of time to think about it, and I cannot think of a better fit for the role. Wes Walker accepted the position in the wee hours this morning, and I want to take a second to congratulate him."

Wes is pulled into rough hugs and back slaps, all congratulating him on his new position. I see a few enforcers' shoulders relax and realize people had picked up that there was going to be a command change, and some had to have been worried about their current positions and who they would be reporting to. Wes is nearly universally liked, so no one is voicing concern at an enforcer being chosen instead of a beta.

The group turns almost as one as Theo pushes his plate away and pulls his phone out to check his levels. The logo from the app covers his screen while it"s loading, and while we don"t naturally have a need to know, the commercials everywhere for the reader means there are quite a few people at the table who know what it means. I can"t tell if he"s oblivious to the stares of the gathered pride members or if he noticed but is choosing to ignore it.

"Alpha, is that . . . but I thought you mated?" Ryker speaks up. I can tell his question is one of confusion and not derision; he"s also young, so I forgive him for voicing his concerns like this instead of asking me privately.

My mate freezes in my lap, obviously gearing up to defend himself, but I caress his back and simply address the crowd. "Yes. And yes. Theo has type one diabetes, and based on what his levels have been like since we"ve mated, we are assuming that the rapid healing a shifter gifts their mate isn"t enough to control it. Cole will be sending out info to help everyone understand what to look for."

Theo grumbles, making my chest bounce in an effort to hold back my laughter as Wes chimes in. "Your alpha mate is a grown-ass man and has been dealing with this since he was very young. I doubt you will ever have to use the information Cole will send you, but if the unthinkable happens, we all need to be versed in what to do. None of this is hard, and if he hadn"t given himself away like he did, I doubt you would have noticed for years. I have a feeling he was only blatant today because he wanted to see everyone"s reaction . . . in case they aligned with those who think he should die because of it."

Looks of horror cover the pride members' faces, and warmth spreads through me at how readily they are to bring Theo into the fold. Ryker"s eyes flash with an emotion I can"t put my finger on. Nothing negative, but I make a note to talk to him later to figure it out.