Chapter Eleven

Kolton figured Simon probably thought he was the laziest hound in existence. Yes, he’d stayed snuggled on Simon’s lap for most of the afternoon. Listening to Simon’s confident tones, organizing a funeral company to collect poor Warner’s body, and planning for a private burial was settling to Kolton’s hound. It was as if the hound understood that Simon would care for them and could take care of pesky details that Kolton didn’t have a clue how to approach. Kolton was truly grateful.

But as the afternoon wore on, and Simon seemed happy to amuse himself with his phone and one hand resting on Kolton’s hair while Kolton “slept”, Kolton was having a silent crisis. They ordered takeout for dinner and had an early night, but even as Simon slept this time, worn out (Kolton hoped) by Kolton’s loving on his sexy body, Kolton still couldn’t stop his brain from running amuck.

His issue, the way he saw it, was that there was nothing wrong with Simon. Not in a physical aspect – although his mate was stunning. No, the issue was that the man seriously had his life put together in a solid and responsible way.

The way he dealt with Warner’s funeral, ordered dinner, even during their sexy times, Simon never seemed to put a foot wrong. He seemed to know exactly what to say no matter what rubbish fell out of Kolton’s mouth. He chuckled at Kolton’s attempts at humor. He didn’t snap and smack Kolton’s hand when Kolton took the last kebab from the container like Kolton’s packmates were prone to doing.

All the other mates needed saving in some way. Kolton was genuinely fretting as he thought about his pack mates and their mates. We had to pull Jason out from under a blown up house when he was attacked by weasel shifters. Cyril got attacked by another hellhound and hexes were involved. Kolton had to stop and think about that one. He was fairly sure Java had mentioned hexes, but even if hexes weren’t involved, Java still had to save his mate.

Then there was Beau and Blue. Blue had been living on the streets and was wrapped up in a carpet and hanging from the ceiling when Beau found and saved him. And then there was Ollie. On first impressions, Ollie, who was Cain’s mate, didn’t have a bad life. He had a house. While he was kinda stuck following Cain around like a shadow due to some kind of weird tie Ollie had with Cain before they claimed each other, they didn’t have too many problems until Ollie got captured by his wicked father and needed saving. Lord Hades got involved in that one.

And then there was the wendigo incident – that was how Faron described it, and that wasn’t often. If Faron had his way no one would mention it again. But the whole pack had come together to send the wendigo back to the Underworld where it belonged, to save Patrick, leaving Faron and Patrick to forge their new life together.

Snuggled up against Simon’s solid shoulder, Kolton accepted the very real truth that he’d been attracted to Warner because the young man needed him. In Kolton’s head, and he understood that wasn’t the most stable indicator either, Warner’s illness was something Kolton was going to somehow magically overcome, and they’d be mates, together forever.

Instead, the Fates gave me Simon. Kolton wasn’t unhappy about it. In twenty-four hours, Simon had shown he was protective, intelligent, responsible, caring, and so damn sexy. Traits any person would be thrilled to have in a mate. But as Kolton stared at the ceiling he had to wonder, if Simon was so perfect, when he definitely wasn’t, and Simon didn’t need saving… Then how am I going to prove my worth to him as a mate?

Simon stirred, peering over his shoulder. “Don’t you think you should talk to me about what’s bothering you? I’ve always believed that mates help each other.”

Busted. But that had to be a good thing, right?

“Please tell me you have an enemy somewhere.” Kolton sat up and clicked on the lamp on the nightstand, suddenly glad Simon was awake enough to talk to. “Who or what can I save you from?”

“Babe, you do realize” - Simon blinked a few times and then glanced at the digital clock on the dresser - “it’s two thirty in the morning. Have you been awake all this time?”

“I’ve tried sleeping. It’s not working. I’m worried about our mating.” Kolton hoped the urgency of his words would help Simon realize he was serious.

Simon sat up, running a hand through his hair as he yawned. “We’ve only been mates five minutes. What’s all this about me having enemies and you needing to save me from something? That’s not a prerequisite for being a mate. A lot of paranormals find their mates and there’s no saving required.”

“It’s what happens with hellhounds.” Kolton quickly filled Simon in on the hellhounds and their mates so far. “See? In every case the hellhound proved his worth to his mate by saving them from something or someone.”

“Have you asked the mates about this theory of yours?”

Kolton frowned. “Why would I do that?”

“Babe, I know that when you first zapped into my house you explained about how hellhounds are useless at dating and courting and things like that. I do understand that. But you’re claiming, without evidence, that the reason why your packmates’ matings are working is because the hellhound concerned came in and saved the day.”

“Yes.” Kolton nodded and then added, “They are all very happy with each other. I can always tell when I visit them. They have happy vibes in their houses, well, except for the wendigo incident, but that wasn’t anything Faron did, that was Patrick’s brother, and we all saved him then, although Faron did the important bit.”

“Did you ever think that your packmates were happy with their mates, and their mates were happy with them for other reasons? Didn’t you mention Faron and Patrick are in Australia now? Maybe Patrick adores his mate because Faron takes him places, so he can explore the world.”

“That could be possible. They traveled all over the place before they settled on Australia.” Kolton thought about it and then said, “Raoul and Jason travel as well. But no, no, that can’t be it. Cain and Ollie don’t go anywhere. They just stay at home with their little girl in Scotland, and Beau and Blue don’t travel much at all because of their little boy. They just stay at home, and we visit them.”

“Babe.” Kolton loved it when Simon cupped his chin with his capable hands. “Did it ever cross your mind that your packmates and their mates just love each other because that’s what fated mates do.”

“Love each other?”

“Yes. That’s probably why you can feel the happy vibe in their homes.”

Now Kolton was just confused. He knew about love, in that it was a word he’d heard used to describe all sorts of reasons for some behaviors that didn’t make sense. Songs were written about it, people died for it, other people claimed they would never love again, and none of that made sense to Kolton. As far as he was concerned, no one could see love, touch love, or buy love. It was just a feeling. He thought he’d felt love for people in the past, like Warner for example, but apparently that wasn’t love at all. It was his hound being protective and caring. But if that wasn’t love…then what was?

“How do people fall in love with each other?” he whispered. “If I can’t save you from something or someone, then what do I have to do so you’ll love me?”

“Kolton, babe, come on, turn the light off and lie down.” Simon pressed gently on his shoulders and Kolton quickly flicked off the light and snuggled down against Simon’s chest as the man lay back down.

“There isn’t a list,” Simon said quietly. “No one ever devised a list of tasks a person had to do so someone else would love them. If you think about it, a list like that would be useless. What’s important to one person might not mean anything to another person at all because we’re all unique. Love is what happens when two, or more, but in our case when two people spend time together, get to know each other, care about each other, and protect each other. We’ll create common goals, work on building a life together.”

“That does sound nice.” It was easy to relax when Simon was holding him.

“What you need to remember is that paranormals always love their fated mates, and that feeling happens very quickly as well. The Fates deemed us perfect for each other, so those feelings will come, probably when you’re not even thinking about it.”

That sounded a bit too airy fairy for Kolton’s liking. He needed to know that Simon would never leave him. That he’d always be Kolton’s person.

“Touch that fetching necklace of yours,” Simon said, and it was as if he’d read Kolton’s mind. “That symbol is all the permanence you need. It will never tarnish, never come off, never break. Just like our mating. You just have to trust in it and me.”

“I trust you,” Kolton said quickly. “I totally trust you with everything.” He sighed as he closed his eyes. “Are you sure I can’t save you from some evil person or horrible situation?”

“I can’t think of anything right now, but if something comes up, then you’ll be the one I turn to. Does that work for you?”

Kolton wasn’t going to lie to his mate. “I guess it will have to do,” he said with a sigh. “It would be so much easier if there was a list of things you wanted me to do or a handy evil person I could vanquish for you.”

“All you have to do is trust in me, trust your hound, and those feelings will come.”

I can. I will. But how long will that take?