11. Chapter 11

In the morning after my family visited, I felt light, happy, content, perhaps for the first time in all my one thousand years. Though we had never known that we were going to get mates someday, that didn't change the fact that we were all just a little restless to be by ourselves in this forest for that amount of time. We had made the best of it, but it had been lonely. And in the back of our minds, we had always hoped for something more—something better.

And something better came. For the first time in my life, I had everything I could ever want wrapped up in my arms. My life was complete—I was whole.

It was just before sunrise, and we needed to get moving if I was going to show Walker one of my favorite parts of the forest on time.

"Walker," I whispered.

He mumbled in his sleep, his eyes not opening.

"Did you still want to go see the sunrise with me this morning? We can try it another day if you wish to rest," I said. I snuggled closer. I assumed my mate wished to sleep longer.

"No, no, I'm awake." He sat right up as if he hadn't just been fighting to stay asleep. "I want to go. I do. I'm just not a morning person." That's when I noticed his eyes still hadn't opened, even though he was sitting.

"Your personality is sunshine personified. It makes sense that you would do your best in the middle of the day when the sun is high in the sky and you can soak up its rays and energy and turn them into your own brilliant light." I kissed his cheeks one by one as I spoke the words.

His eyes flew open. "That's the most beautiful thing anyone's ever said to me."

"It is the truth," I said.

He grinned. "Let's go."

We made quick work of getting dressed and brushing our teeth. Walker was a bit tired, so he hopped on my back when we began our trek. I liked having my mate close, so it did not bother me to have him astride my back.

I walked through the forest to the spot I knew would have the best view. It had been my favorite since the first time I witnessed the sun rising in the horizon there. Climbing the hill didn't take long. Unlike when I walked from my home to those of my brothers all those years, I had worn down quite the path that the steep hill practically had steps for me to follow.

I would have to tell my brothers about this place. I couldn't keep everything to myself anymore, and I didn't want to. I doubted they knew about it, and it was time to remedy that. Perhaps they had their own special locations in the forest that only they knew about, and they had shared those with their mates. Probably not. Unlike me, they tended to be far less private about… everything.

Once we reached the top, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Walker laid the blanket we'd brought down on the ground while I shifted to my human form. I settled onto the soft fabric and my mate snuggled in, sitting between my legs. I wrapped him in my arms, and he covered our laps with an additional blanket, making us a snuggly cocoon.

"This is really nice," he said, and he leaned his head on my shoulder. "I'm glad I got out of bed."

"I am too. This is one of my favorite places," I said. "For years I've wanted to share a sunrise with someone, and I couldn't think of another person I'd rather spend it with than you."

Walker let out a contented sigh and a feeling of such happiness radiated through me I was sure tears were going to fall at any moment. The world felt brighter, happier with my mate by my side. No longer did I dread the long, lonely days. With Walker, I'd never be lonely.

I'd always thought I was content before, but now that I knew what was missing and I knew what true happiness was? I never wanted to go back. While this used to be one of, if not my favorite place, I had a new one now… being by my mate's side. Having both at once… it was more magical than anything my mother could've conjured up back in her day.

I tried not to think about her too much. It was difficult to know that you were created out of such evil. But also… she was my mother, and without her, I wouldn't be here enjoying this special moment with my mate.

It wasn't possible to be any happier than this.

As the full sun came into view, the sky lit up with an array of purple and pink hues, and the morning dew that caked the ground evaporated in the morning heat. I wasn't an artist, like my mate, but if I were, I'd try to capture this beauty on a canvas.

Walker took a deep breath and let the heat of the sun wash over his face. I kissed his cheek.

That was when I sensed it.

A light shift in his scent. A hint of an additional heartbeat. It wasn't the two of us alone on this mountaintop. There was a third.

My eyes flew open. "Walker?"

"Yes?" He was still soaking in the sun's rays. His skin was warming with the sun, and I felt the power of it soaking into me as well.

I laid a hand over his stomach. "Are you feeling all right? Any… nausea? Fatigue?"

His brow furrowed. "I'm fine. Why do you—" He whirled around so that we were facing one another. His gaze searched my face. "Am I… Do you sense something?"

I nodded. "You are with my child. Our child."

Recognition hit, and his face transformed from confusion to absolute joy. He wrapped his arms around my neck, and the two of us tumbled to the ground with him landing on top of me.

"We're going to have a baby! That's so amazing!" he shouted. "A baby!"

I held him tight. This time I let the tears come. "It is, mate. It truly is." I kissed him.

He was at the advantage, since he was fully clothed while I had been in my centaur form, so I was naked after shifting. I was still growing used to having a second form. Kissing my mate, being near him in any capacity had caused my cock to harden, and I knew he could feel it pressing against his middle.

Our kiss deepened, and my mate's hand trailed down my torso until he met the head of my cock. His fingers danced around the head, lightly touching, teasing. I hissed in surprise.

Walker smiled against my lips. "Let me take care of you, Apollo."

"Anything you want, mate." I nuzzled into his neck, kissing the soft skin there. The taste of him was on my lips, and I never wanted it to wash away.

Walker sat up so that he as straddling my upper thighs. My cock stood long and proud. He undid his pants and pulled his own hard cock out and began to stroke. I reached out a hand to touch him, but he shot me a look that told me to stop.

"Mine," he said, and he positioned himself so that he could grip both of us in one hand. Then he began to move his hand, up and down our lengths. Our two cocks sliding together in a delicious friction that drew a moan from my chest.

His hand worked us in unison, our precum combining to form a slick that eased the way. The heady scent of our arousal filled the air while the early-morning sun shone down on our bodies. The rays of sunshine illuminated him as he hovered over me. He was the sunlight of my world.

"You're so fucking gorgeous, Walker. Your hands are perfection." It was true. There was a strength in his grip that surprised me, the way his hands could move us together in such a way.

"Tricks of the trade, my love." He laughed and closed his mouth over mine for a kiss.

It didn't take long for his ministrations to draw my release from my body. My hips bucked, and he met my thrust with a grind of his own. Our bodies come together in an explosive orgasm, our cum mixing between us as we kissed.

Finally, he fell against me, his body covering mine, and the rise and fall of our breaths fell into sync.

"There's a river around here, right? We may need to wash off."

I kissed his temple. "We'll find one, mate." After I held him tightly just a little bit longer.

"Thank you for waking me up. This was the perfect place."

"For sex?"

"That too." He blushed. "But I meant to find out that we were going to be dads."

Dads. Gods, I loved the sound of that.