The Alpha and the Fox

Chapter Thirty-Two (Damion's P.O.V.)

     Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. My wolf was on edge the week of his birthday waiting for his heat to kick in, but it never came. All the days seemed to blur together while I spent time with my Love. He has made amazing progress coming out of his shell. He still goes into little space, but it is less frequent and more controlled. He has met many of the pack members and even made friends with a few of them. I was able to get him a cell phone of his own to be able to get ahold of me, his parents, or his friends whenever he wants to. He's taken to calling Maria and Henry mom and dad which I think has been the highlight of their lives. Maria teared up the first time he said it. He got spooked thinking he had upset her, but smiled a megawatt smile when she assured him they were happy tears.

We enrolled Ryan in online classes to catch him up on all the education he had missed. He caught on very quickly and has been thriving ever since. He's even begun talking much more. Some days he relies on sign language when he doesn't feel like talking but those days have become few and far between.

"Babe!" Ryan yelled from downstairs. "If you don't hurry we're going to be late."

"I'm coming!" I yelled back. I chuckled as I tied the laces of my boots and went downstairs to meet my impatient love. "We still have fifteen minutes before we have to leave, Baby. Calm down."

"I just don't want to be late." He whined, taking my hand and trying to drag me out to the car.

"Baby, the house is not going to suddenly disappear." I chuckle.

"I know that but we're finally getting to see the house. The house we designed and built for us to live in. Together." He says, still pulling me out the door.

I scoop him up into my arms and plant my lips on his. "Breathe, Baby. We're going to see our new home for the first time. I'm just as excited as you but you have to calm down or you're going to end up hurting yourself."

He takes a couple deep breaths while nodding. We both know he's a clutz as is, being excited and running around only makes it worse.

We load up into the car and drive to our new home. Of course, it is still on pack lands so I will be able to take care of the pack and patrol the pack grounds. My beautiful baby has become so much more confident. He even started helping out around the pack. He told me he wanted a job but he really doesn't need the money since I have plenty. I think he was just looking for something to do and a way to be helpful. So he's been doing random tasks like gardening, babysitting, and cooking as he pleases.

We made it to the house, only about a fifteen-minute drive from Maria and Henry's. Ryan was way too generous in saying that 'we' designed it. He designed almost all of it. He did ask for my input here and there, but I am proud to say almost all of it was him. He really has a knack for designing and decorating. He asked if he could design the inside of the house as well and of course I said yes, but he had to make sure that the inside was exactly the way he wanted it before he could pick paint colors and furniture. It had been amazing watching him get so excited over the house and the different ideas he had for decorating it. Now the house was finished, fully furnished, and painted to my Love's wishes.

We parked the car in the garage and went inside to check out the finished product. Ryan had designed everything on his computer. He had even stressed over the color of the toilet handle. Once he had everything situated we showed it to the pack members that had volunteered to build the house and they made it happen. Now we would be seeing it in person for the first time, rather than through his computer screen.

We entered the room and Ryan gasped. It was exactly how he had envisioned it, but that wasn't the best part. Henry, Maria, and my parents were in the kitchen waiting for us. They had huge smiles on their faces and 'Welcome Home' balloons tied to all the chairs.

"Welcome to your new home, Ryan." Henry said while bending down and opening his arms. Ryan didn't hesitate to run into them, giggling as he was hauled up into Henry's arms and hugged tightly.

"Thank you guys so much! This is amazing." Ryan replied.

"No, what's amazing is this house! You designed this Ryan, we followed your plans to make this. None of us would have even thought to make something as amazing as this." My dad said, scooping Ryan from Henry and hugging him as well.

"I know you're all grown up and moving into your new house with your mate," Maria started, "but that doesn't mean we won't be here in a heartbeat if you need us. You better visit us all the time mister."

Ryan giggled and my dad set him down so he could go hug Maria. "We will mom. I'll see you guys all the time. We can have dinner together whenever, and it's not like I work."

Maria nodded, hugging him tighter. My dad came and hugged me, leaning down to whisper in my ear, "You did good son, I'm proud of you." I tightened my grip on him for a moment, whispering a thank you before letting go.

"Alright let's get out of their hair, I'm sure the boys would like to 'enjoy' their new house." My mom said, grabbing my dad's hand and beginning to lead him out of the house.

Ryan flushed bright red at my mom's implications. I chuckled and noticed Henry staring at me. "I'd like to talk to Damion before we leave, Baby why don't you show Ryan the backyard."

Maria rolled her eyes but did as he asked, opening the sliding door in the kitchen and taking Ryan outside.

"I don't care if you guys are mates, if you hurt him, I will hurt you. I hate that he's growing up this quickly and I hate that he's going to be having," Henry paused as if he couldn't bring himself to say the word 'sex'. "Regardless, don't hurt him."

"I would never hurt him. He is the love of my life and the only one for me. If Ryan decides that's what he wants to do I will happily oblige but I'm not pushing him in any way. If he decides he never wants that, then it'll never happen. The ball is in his court. He knows that. I would appreciate you having at least a little faith in me. " I responded.

He sighed softly, "I do have faith in you. You're good for him, and have been since the beginning." He paused and took a deep breath. "If anyone had to be his mate, I'm glad it's you."

He opened the backdoor and not a moment later Maria and Ryan came back in. Henry hugged Ryan tightly again before he and Maria left hand in hand. Then we were alone. Just us, in our new home.

Ryan lifted his arms and I picked him up, hugging him tightly to me. "What would you like to do now, my love? Movies? Dinner?" I asked softly. He shook his head before responding and his response nearly knocked me on my ass.

"I want you to mate me in our new home."