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After thanking everyone for coming, I added, “I apologize to my friends for moaning about not being mated when everyone else was.” Our friends laughed, and Jonah nodded.
“But maybe putting my complaints into the universe was what brought Brett and me together.” I raised my glass. “To people who complain and get what they deserve.” People clapped, I took Brett in my arms, and we clinked glasses.
“I deserve a mention too,” Edgar piped up. “If I hadn’t hurt myself, you wouldn’t have been at the hospital.”
“You’re a hundred percent correct. Another toast, everyone. To Edgar.”
“To Edgar,” they echoed.
Isabella and Andrew supervised the scavenger hunt, as it had been her idea, knowing how her kids needed lots of stimulation, while Brett and I sat in loungers and surveyed our friends and colleagues, celebrating our soon-to-be mating.
“Thank you for today. It’s so nice to meet your family,” Waylon said as he and his mate and kids were leaving. For a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. My family? Was he saying my mate was pregnant?
“I didn’t…” I gulped, “… didn’t… Brett didn’t tell me.”
Waylon’s eyes clouded in confusion, but my mate put a hand under my elbow. “Choccie is our darling boy, and life would be very different without him.”
Right, the little boy on my back. I nodded, not having the words to recover from the misunderstanding.
Awkward. My beast, the master of understatement.
After everyone had departed and many of them issued invitations to us for dinners, brunch, and weekends away, we surveyed the back garden and the mess.
“You take the food inside, and I’ll get garbage bags and scoop up all the trash.” The dishwasher wasn’t big enough to hold all the dirty dishes, and we’d have to run it multiple times.
“Remind me next time we have a group of people here not to have them here. Maybe a picnic in the park where everyone brings their own food.” Brett was putting away leftovers when I came in from dumping the garbage.
He paused, his hand on the fridge. “Have you forgotten something?”
I craned my neck and checked outside. “Don’t think so.” I yawned. “Can we rinse the rest of the dishes and wash them in the morning?”
“First, it’s only 5 p.m. Were you thinking of going to bed? And second, you have forgotten our furry son who’s in the carrier on your back.”
“Choccie, awww, our little boy.” He’d been petted and kissed and given too much food, most of which wasn’t suitable for puppies. I hoped his tummy wouldn’t react and we’d be up all night, racing him outside. Oh, the joys of being a dad.
“Your community is so welcoming, considering we’re not actually mated yet.”
We were, and it was because we’d all been alone for much of our lives, not having a pack or a den. And my mate had been alone too, though surrounded by shifters, but not shifters who accepted him for who he was.
“It’s the first time in my life I feel as though I belong.”
“If the sizzle didn’t accept you, I would have left. A place where you weren’t welcome, would be somewhere I wouldn’t want to be.”
Choccie scratched at the door, and I let him out. We both stood and stared at our little boy while he did his business and then sniffed around the outdoor table, probably hoping to pick up a bit of sausage.
“It might only be late afternoon, but I say we go to bed here. Don’t go home. Maybe we stay in bed for the night or just a nap.” I was pooped. Being sociable was exhausting.
“I like the way you think.”
But Choccie bounded into the house, a ball in his mouth, a hopeful expression on his little face. We looked at one another and got our coats. Our fur baby needed a walk.
Chapter 17
Brett
The gentle click of the front door closing felt louder today, somehow. I winced, my senses always heightened after another overnight shift at the hospital. The yuck of antiseptic still clung to me, and my unicorn was not having it. My muscles ached for the comfort of my mate and our bed. Waking him up by being loud was the last thing I wanted to do.
I toed off my shoes and padded across the floor, careful not to step too loudly, or worse, accidentally kick a piece of furniture and cry out in pain. I shed my scrubs and plopped them straight into the washer. I’d turn it on later, the wash cycle far too noisy.
