Chapter 5

I didn't tell Morgan about meeting my mate yet. I wanted to keep the information to myself for just a while longer, like my own little treasure. And really, it was news best given in person. I knew that the entire pride would all be happy for me, but they might also have questions I wasn't ready to answer. Questions like, "Where are we going to live?" and "Are you sure you can trust him?"

The where would I live was stressful, true. But having them question the worthiness of my mate… I wasn't ready for that one. I wasn't sure I'd ever be. And what was worse was that they were a thousand percent justified in any feelings they harbored like that. I hadn't been lying when I said that they weren't anti-Beckett. They weren't. But that didn't mean they weren't super protective of me, and those two things didn't quite mesh.

Would they hold it against Beckett for investigating Silas the way that he had? As far as I knew, they didn't. We'd talked about him on a few occasions right after it happened. Of course, I didn't know he was my mate then. None of us did.

Could there already be bad blood between my mate and my pride? I hated to think that could be the case, but at the time, Beckett had a lot of things to say about Silas. And while forgiving was great and all, forgetting wasn't really possible. I didn't even know exact details, but I knew Morgan hadn't been happy with how the investigation into Nathan's attack had begun. In the end, Silas had been proven innocent and released into Asilo's care. But it hadn't been a smooth process. And from everything I'd heard, it was also an unfair process from start until end.

While I waited for Beckett to return from meeting Armand, I scrolled through the notifications on my phone. There was nothing significant, so I pulled up my pictures. I didn't have many photos of me and Benjamin, but the few I had, I wanted to share with Beckett. He might want to see some images of his brother—or maybe he didn't. Their relationship had been a strange one thanks to their parents. But I could see the love he had for his brother when I'd accidentally called him by his name.

There was no faking that. His brother meant a lot to him. I looked at these pictures as snippets of time that I was lucky enough to share with Benjamin. He might easily look at it as snippets of time he missed with him.

The sorrow I had seen on his face wasn't that of a man who had fully processed his emotions on the matter. It was raw, painful, and the way he quickly boxed it up and hid it away spoke volumes. My heart ached for him.

Beckett came back a moment later, and I couldn't read his face.

"Everything alright?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Armand is heading out for a trip and wanted to speak with me before he left. I'm officially taking over your investigation, and I'll be returning with you to Asilo tomorrow. If that's okay with you."

"Perfect," I said.

"Did you let Morgan know?"

I hesitated. I wasn't going to lie to my mate, but also, I wasn't really wanting to tell him my decision to not let Morgan know until we arrived. It wasn't at all about me being ashamed of him, but given the circumstances, that was the conclusion I'd have probably jumped to.

Beckett smiled at me. "Do you think we should let him know that we are mates before I arrive?" he asked.

"He knows we are coming. But I don't know about the rest." I grabbed the back of my neck. "I think everything will be fine. I just didn't feel like having that conversation just yet. I thought I might wait until I talked with you. And also, finding a mate is amazing news. Over the phone—that's a bit uncomfortable." Sure, there was an added layer because of his connection to my pride in the past. But still…

Beckett came closer to me. He reached out his hand, and I took it in mine. He squeezed. "Whatever you're comfortable with is fine with me," he said, smiling. He just stared at me for a moment.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm just so happy to have found you. I never thought... My only goal for the past six years has been to atone for my brother's death. To bring Easton to justice. I also wanted to find information about you. I'm so happy to see that you're alright," Beckett said. I wasn't sure why he thought he was responsible, but then again, grief was weird. There were many times I thought I was too.

"I wish that he was here," I replied. More than anything.

Benjamin would've been so happy to see me mated with his brother. He didn't hold a single ounce of animosity about them growing up apart. He saw it as being the problem of the grown-ups. Seeing me with his brother… he'd have smiled so big.

"I wish he were here, too," Beckett said, pulling me into his arms and holding me close. His strong arms enveloped me in the tightest hug ever. I'd never felt so safe. I let out a rumble that sounded too close to a purr.

"He was a really great friend and an amazing person. I loved the way he smiled. But also, when he got frustrated..." I began, but then Beckett's laugh rumbled through his chest, and I couldn't help but return it.

"Yeah, when he got frustrated. Look out. He went from zero to sixty pretty quickly," Beckett said.

"He did." At the time I hated that for him, but what I would do to witness it one more time.

"Thank you for being there for him. That really meant a lot," Beckett said.

He looked down at me, his eyes shining. We were so close together that I felt every inhale and exhale. I went up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. A peaceful calm settled around me while I was in his arms and his lips on mine. The kiss was slow and tentative, almost chaste. And over all too quickly.

Beckett lifted his lips off mine after a moment, then nuzzled his nose into my neck, letting out a satisfied rumble.

"You smell so good, mate," he said.

"Pretty sure nature designed it that way," I teased.

"I'm pretty sure you were designed by the goddess herself just for me. Everything about you is perfect for me."

Not perfect. Perfect for him, which was a million times better in my book. It told me that he felt like he was the winner in this mating, and given I felt the same about him, it was exactly as it should be. Still, his choice of words amused me.

I snorted out a laugh. "You say that now, but wait till you find out that I don't know how to use a hamper and I never match my socks." What was the point in doing an extra chore for something that I put on my feet and then covered with shoes. It didn't matter if they were wrinkled, or even the same color. All that mattered was that they were clean, and I did do that part.

He kissed me quickly. "Inconsequential. All those things. Ever since I learned about the work that Asilo does, I have been in awe of it. I've spent my time studying you all, and you're amazing. I know all about your Asilo pack specifically, since I was assigned to you. The work you all do is amazing. Important."

"Your work is important too," I said.

"Not like yours. Anybody can crack skulls and put people in jail. You guys rebuild lives. Give people a purpose to live."

I smiled. "They find the purpose themselves. We just guide them along."

"You're a counselor, right?" he asked. "I've read about all of you but didn't memorize every detail."

"Yes." I nodded. "I went to a human school for a few years to learn about healing the mind after trauma. And I've been designing some shifter-specific workshops so that other packs like Asilo can learn from what we've done."

"That's amazing," he said.

"Thank you," I replied. "I couldn't do it without the rest of my pride, though."

And there were days I wondered if I was the right man for the job. Morgan said that if we were too confident it was a sign we weren't ready for the task. Maybe I took that a little too much to heart sometimes. But it was better than going in cocky and thinking I knew how to fix the world. At least that was the message I took away from our conversation.

"I can't wait to hear all about it. Come on. I'll take you to your room," he said.

I stopped in my tracks, not letting him pull me along. "My room?" I'd assumed I was staying with him. He was my mate. Wasn't that how things worked?

"Well, whatever room you're staying in. You're staying the night here, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "I assumed that I would stay with you… In your room."

Beckett's brow lifted. "If that is what you prefer," he said. "I'll be a gentleman, of course."

I laughed. "I'd prefer it if you weren't."

His eyes darkened with desire. "You want...?"

"I want..." I said. This time when I pressed my lips to his, I put all my desire into it. There would be no question. I was not leaving Steelwick territory unmated.

We kissed and kissed until my knees began to buckle and I was out of breath. Still, I clung to him. This was where I was meant to be—here in his arms.

"Take me to bed, alpha mine."

He let out a groan. "We have an errand first."

What kind of an errand could we possibly have that was more important than getting naked with him?

"What?"

"Armand asked me to see the twins about ordering food to bring back to Asilo." He let out a rich laugh. "If I'm coming back having mated their pride member, he says I need sweets."

"I'd argue that there are no more omega dowries and how that is such an outdated notion," I nipped at his bottom lip, "if it weren't such an amazing idea."

There was something about the baked goods from the twins that made them better than just sweets. Sure, some of them had medicinal type qualities, like the cookies that helped with morning sickness or the recovery muffins. But most of it was just baked goods made with love. And still, they held a quality about them—a specialness I couldn't quite place. They were like a hug, only better.

"If we run, we can be back at your room in five minutes." I nibbled on his bottom lip a second time. "Unless you want to help them bake everything up first."

He let out a groan. He was as hard and needy as I was. This errand wasn't one we were going to dawdle on. And really, had it been pretty much anything else, it would've been moved over to the-do-later pile. But the twins would need time to bake everything up, and if I were to guess, neither Beckett nor I were going to want to leave his room until absolutely necessary.

We dashed to the bakery, both of us running top speed. Ralf was quite amused that we were back. He said he figured we'd be occupied all day. And we soon would be.

"Don't bother giving me a specific order, just tell me how many people will be eating and we'll hook you up."

I could've kissed him, but I had something else in mind for my lips, and it required my sexy mate, no clothes, and a bit of privacy.