Chapter Ten

Stone wondered if a person's head could explode from too much information.

Probably not.

Lifting up a hand, Stone requested, "Okay. Please, stop."

The man who'd been introduced as the alpha's mate, Lark, fell silent, a worried look creasing his cute blond features.

"Thank you," Stone murmured, issuing a sigh of relief. After glancing at those filling the study—Congo and Zion had joined them at one point, as well as Jared's lover, partner, mate, whatever, Kajika—he did his best to ignore the variety of concerned expressions. Forcing his tone to come out even, Stone claimed, "I can only process one thing at a time right now, and the existence of shifters isn't it." When Valentine squeezed his hand and opened his mouth, he quickly cut in, "We'll talk about your claim about us being mates later. I promise. I just"—he pointed at his summons papers spread out on the coffee table—"I need to deal with this daughter situation first. Can we? Please?"

Stone would forever deny the slightest hint of begging in his tone.

Yep. I'm a little overwhelmed.

"Sure, Stone." An understanding smile curved Valentine's full lips as he squeezed Stone's hand. "I understand." After a glance around, he smiled at Stone again. "This is a lot. I know it is. Our time will come later."

Nodding, Stone found himself silently agreeing. After everything he'd heard, he knew he wouldn't just be able to walk away. Not to mention, when Stone had been in the restaurant and worried about Valentine leaving him, his chest had felt as if it was impossible to breathe.

At least the bear I hit with my semi is fine.

That had been a hell of a shock—Valentine had been that bear. He hadn't wanted to believe it until Kajika had transformed into a wolf right there in the study. Only Valentine's hands on him, holding him and soothing him, had kept Stone from losing his shit.

"Okay, so, this claim that I have a daughter." Stone focused on Jared. "When I first walked in, you said you had information on that. On this Melissa person?"

Jared nodded once, his voice turning serious. "Melissa Smithson lives in Denver," he told him. "She's what's known as a military groupie. Maybe it's a Daddy thing. Her father's a general." Grimacing, Jared explained, "If you went to a club in Denver with your tags on"—he pointed to the dog tags Stone pretty much always still wore—"then Melissa would've been all over you." Arching a brow, he added, "And her friends call her Missy."

The image of a sultry brunette entered Stone's mind, and he grimaced. "Oh, god." He rubbed a hand over his face.

"Remember her now?" Jared asked with a wry smile.

"Yeah," Stone admitted. "That had to have been..." He shook his head slowly, racking his brain for a timeframe.

"Around eighteen months ago," Jared supplied for him. "She gave birth to a girl, Laticia, which she's calling Letty." Turning around his laptop, he pointed. "Social media posts."

Stone found his gaze riveted on the screen. There in Melissa's arms was a baby with a pink headband around her brow. The chubby, red-faced infant looked about ready to let out a wail, but Stone still found her enchanting.

The little girl also had his vivid blue eyes. An eye color he'd shared with his mother.

"Damn," Valentine whispered from next to him. "She's adorable." Then, to Stone's shock, his lover looked at Jared and asked, "How do we get custody?"

Stone snapped his focus away from the picture to Valentine. "What?"

Seeing the slight pink that managed to stain his lover's dark skin and how he hunched his shoulders and ducked his head, Stone felt his heart squeeze for a new reason.

Damn. How could I not love this guy? Fast sure, but sometimes that happens... even with the human half...

Or so he'd been told.

"You want to get custody of my daughter?"

Valentine shrugged one shoulder, looking shy. "I've always wanted kids."

While Stone had thought about it a time or two, it'd been before his mother passed that he'd given it any serious thought. For some reason, however, the thought of raising a child with Valentine held a lot of appeal. Turning his attention back to the babe on the screen, Letty, and seeing his mother's blue eyes staring back at him, there was no way that Stone couldn't at least try.

"Is there a chance of that?" Stone asked slowly, focusing back on Jared. The tech guy seemed to be the one in the know. "For us to get custody?"

"Are you sure you want that?" Valentine murmured, leaning close. "I don't want you to try to do something just because of me."

It was Stone's turn to squeeze Valentine's hand to reassure him. "You see those pretty blue eyes on that little baby?" he asked. Once his big black lover nodded, Stone shared, "Those are my mother's eyes. If we don't adopt her, how are we supposed to tell her about her grandmother Iris and her great-grandmother Sarah?"

Stone's heart rate sped up just at the idea of sharing stories of his mother and grandmother with his daughter. Both women had been strong, fierce, and loving. They'd given him unconditional love and the drive to succeed.

"I'd sure love to share them with little Letty," Stone admitted with a warm smile. "I think trying to get custody is a fantastic idea."

Valentine grinned back, his expression somehow full of relief and anticipation all at the same time.

"I think there's definitely a chance," Jared chimed in. When Stone focused on the man, his expression turned just a little malicious. "Her general father is the one who used his military channels to figure out who the girl's father is. I'm pretty sure searching private medical files is illegal." Chuckling darkly, Jared continued, "And he's also buried records of some rather unsavory activities his daughter's been involved in. I think we can sway a court judge to rule in a loving, stable gay couple's favor."

"There's something more to your animosity," Stone guessed, reading the man's expression. "What's going on?" He was a little afraid to ask what kind of unsavory activities Melissa might have been involved in, but he had to ask. "Is Letty healthy?"

Jared seemed to understand perfectly, and he nodded quickly. "Yeah. Although I don't like the general because he's a bigoted asshole who gets his kids out of taking responsibility for their shit, he kept her clean during her pregnancy." With a grimace, Jared went on to say, "Right now, Letty lives with her grandfather, so at least she's safe. It also puts another hole in Melissa's suit to get child support."

Nodding slowly, Stone thought about how quickly his life was about to change, and not just because of the paranormal aspect. Raising a child was expensive and time-consuming. He would need to remodel or expand, and that would cost money.

Wait, that's not the only thing that costs money.

"I can't afford an attorney," Stone blurted out, worry filling him. As soon as Valentine opened his mouth, he guessed what the man was about to offer. "And you're not paying for it, damn it."

"Neither of ye is paying for it," Declan stated, his accented voice cutting into the conversation. Stone bet there was a story about how the Irish-born wolf shifter had ended up in the states, but Stone would probably never have the courage to ask. Declan pinned a tight smile on Stone and told him, "Ye're in the paranormal world now, Stone. Ye live here in me territory with yer shifter mate." His gray-eyed gaze swept over Valentine before refocusing on Stone. "That means what effects ye is pack business. Ye're being sued. The pack will help handle it." Lifting a hand to stall Stone's reply when he opened his mouth, not that Stone knew what he was going to say, the black wolf alpha told him, "I've already put in a call to our pack lawyer, Clancy. Ye'll meet him in a day or two after he consults with Jared. In the meantime, I think ye should focus on sorting out yer bond. We'll touch base with ye about yer lawsuit when we have more information or need more of the same from ye."

For some reason, Stone felt as if his problem had just been taken over, and he'd been dismissed.

Considering Valentine was rising to his feet, saying, "Thank you, Alpha Declan. We appreciate it," Stone figured he was right. Valentine gripped his upper arm and squeezed, urging Stone to his feet. "Come on, handsome. Let's go somewhere private to talk."

Stone knew what conversation was coming next, and he nodded as he rose. "Can we head to my place?" he asked, needing the comfort of familiarity.

"Yeah." Valentine offered him a reassuring smile. "Let's get out of here." With an eyebrow waggle, he added, "We still have that chocolate lava cake to enjoy. I changed it a to go order when we left so suddenly."

Even though Stone wasn't certain he could manage to eat the tasty treat anytime soon, he still chuckled and nodded.

"I'll talk to you before too long, Val," Congo called behind them. After Valentine had issued a confirmation, Stone heard Congo say, "I suppose you know that I'd like to petition that most of my sleuth stay on the outskirts of your territory, Alpha Declan."

Stone missed the wolf shifter's response as they headed out the front door. A moment later, they were back on their motorcycles and driving to his cabin. Occasionally, Stone glanced Valentine's way, taking in his pensive expression.

The need to set his lover at ease urged Stone to drive a little bit faster.

*

Once they reached Stone's cabin, he opened his small garage and wheeled his motorcycle inside. He peered over his shoulder and spotted Valentine standing awkwardly beside his own bike. Taking in the usually confident man's bearing, Stone bit back a smile at how cute he looked.

Not something I should ever call him. I know.

"Park your motorcycle inside," Stone encouraged, indicating the empty space beside his own. "It's supposed to rain tonight."

Valentine gaped at him for a second before he started hurrying forward, and Stone knew his lover had gotten the message. Stone didn't have to work the next day, and he didn't plan for the other man to leave. They had plenty to talk about, and he still wanted to implement his plan of exploring his lover's big body while naked.

As Stone had driven home, he'd realized that the fact that Valentine was a bear shifter hadn't changed anything in Stone's mind. Why would it? He loved the guy, even if he knew he wouldn't be able to express himself for some time.

I am a guy, after all.

Once Stone had led the way into his cabin, he headed to the kitchen and grabbed them both bottles of water. He saw the way Valentine stood near the counter, watching him intently. Stone saw the hunger in his lover's eyes, and a fissure of arousal surged through his body. His blood flowed south, and his dick plumped behind the fly of his jeans, just as it always did.

Yeah, I can totally get used to this.

Valentine's nostrils flared, telling Stone that the man had scented his arousal. That was something else that would take some getting used to. Shifters could smell certain things, from lies to arousal to anger to fear and everything in between.

Enough thinking of that.

"So." Stone smiled and swept what he hoped was a hungry look over Valentine. "I think we should go to my bedroom, get naked, and you should bite me."

Never in a million years would Stone think he would utter such words, but there it was. He knew that was part of bonding, and he wanted that with Valentine. He wanted Valentine to know that Stone was all in.

"If I do that, there's no going back, Stone."

Smirking upon hearing Valentine's warning, Stone countered, "There's already no going back, Val." He grinned and shrugged. "You're mine. I'm yours." Stone sauntered past a surprised-looking Valentine and headed toward his bedroom door. "The bite is just a formality."

"Not to a shifter," Valentine countered, stalking after him. "It's an imperative."

"Then you better come do it, Val," Stone taunted, backing into his bedroom. Giving his lover a lascivious once-over, he pulled his undershirt and flannel over his head and dropped them onto the floor. "You want to... right here." Stone tipped his chin up and to the side, exaggerating the tendon of his neck enticingly.

Valentine growled and groaned all in one sound. "Fuck, Stone."

By the time Valentine had whipped his polo shirt awkwardly over his head—slightly hindered by the cast—and dropped it to the floor, Stone was naked and on the bed. He had his legs slightly apart in as brazen a move as he could muster, and his hands were crossed behind his head. Even as nerves skittered through him, eagerness caused his prick to bob at his groin.

The whine that escaped Valentine was pretty damn gratifying, ramping up Stone's need. He watched his lover shove off his boots, socks, and jeans. The fact that Valentine didn't bother with underwear made a lot more sense to him now.

As Valentine rested one knee on the bed, he asked, "Are you sure?"

Knowing he needed to be honest, Stone admitted, "I'm still not ready for fucking, but yes, I want your bite." He offered his lover a reassuring smile and told him, "I'm sure we'll get there, but I know you need to bite to help your bear settle, and I'm more than happy to give you both that."

Valentine nodded as he prowled forward. "Consider this, my mate," he stated softly as he drew closer. "A female shifter will give her human mate a claiming bite, but she can't very well spill semen into him."

The odd comment derailed Stone's thoughts, and he tried to process whatever Valentine was trying to tell him. "Uh, what are you trying to say?"

"A human male would go down on a female, ingesting her natural lubricant." Valentine's cheeks darkened just a smidge, betraying his embarrassment at discussing such things. "It takes a little longer for the bond to take place, but it does happen."

What Valentine was explaining clicked, and Stone grinned. "So, you bite me, and I drink your semen," he verbalized his understanding. "It'll take longer, but it'll happen while I'm wrapping my brain around the idea of anal sex."

Valentine nodded once, his expression turning feral as he eyed Stone's neck. "Yessss," he hissed.

"I'm all in," Stone declared, tipping his head back.

His lover pounced, and Stone gasped as he watched the bear shifter's canines lengthen. As his shifter sank those large teeth into his neck, Stone had just an instant to second-guess himself—those teeth looked huge, after all.

Then the pleasure crashed through him as Valentine suckled at his neck, drinking Stone's blood.

No, not pleasure.

Bliss.

Ecstasy.

Heaven.

As Stone rode wave after wave of indescribable sensations, he cried Val's name as one thought reverberated through his brain.

Oh, yeah. This was a perfect idea.

Change was coming, but Stone could handle anything because Valentine would be right beside him.