Once the door closed behind Carlito and Dianne, Raul let out a tired sigh, scrubbing a hand through his hair.
Topaz turned from where she'd been gazing at the door, to observe at him, a tender expression on her face. "Are you tired?"
"Emotionally tired, yes. Between my son, and other things, I feel as if I've been on a rollercoaster ride the last few weeks," Raul answered.
"At least he's not mad anymore."
"True. How about you and I find our movie to watch? I have Netflix, although, I usually only watch it with Carlito. That means he always finds the movie," Raul said.
She grinned at him, "Which means, tonight you finally get to experience the joy of movie finding."
Raul chuckled as he stood up and stretched. Hearing her gasp lightly, he turned his head. He found her staring at his stomach and looked down. His shirt had come up when he'd reached for the sky. Lowering his arms, he watched her glance away, then clear her throat.
"All right, Topaz, let's find a movie," Raul said. Then, moving over to sit next to her on the couch, he grabbed the remote and they began the hunt for something to watch.
After much scrolling, the two of them finally found a movie they could agree on and begin to watch it. The evening started with plenty of room between them, but as if drawn by a magnetic force, Raul and Topaz slowly moved toward each other. It wasn't long before Raul's arm was behind her, and her head was on his chest.
They never saw the end of the movie because they fell asleep snuggled into each other.
#
"Oh, look Carlito" a girl whispered. "Aren't they cute?"
Raul blinked his eyes open to stare at Carlito and Dianne who were standing in the middle of the living room. He cleared his throat, as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Time?"
"A little after eleven," Carlito answered. "Did you watch a movie?"
"We started watching it and I'm pretty sure I watched more than she did," Raul told him. Then he yawned before rubbing his burning eyes again.
"You should go put her to bed, Dad. Topaz did say she has to work tomorrow," Carlito said.
Raul looked down at the woman snuggled in his arms, breathing in her sweet peppermint scent. "I know."
Carlito huffed, causing Raul to look up at him as Dianne giggled.
Carlito had a pouty expression on his face as he stared down at Topaz. Letting out a long breath, he said, "You stare at her the way I remember you staring at Mama. She really is your mate, isn't she?"
"Yes," Raul agreed, "she is."
"I talked to the Alpha, and he told me what he'd told you," Carlito admitted.
Raul raised his eyebrows. "Did you think I had lied to you?"
"No. I just... I guess I just didn't want to believe it was true. You weren't going to tell me though, why?" Carlito asked.
"I knew it would hurt you to hear it. I loved your mama, Carlito, but she isn't coming back. Fate has blessed me with another, giving both me and my wolf the will to live again. Please, don't begrudge me this happiness," Raul begged softly.
"I won't, not anymore," Carlito agreed, with regret in his voice. "You should take her to your room."
Raul shook his head. "She's human. She would be upset waking up next to me like that."
"No, she won't. Not if the way she's snuggled into you means anything," Dianne disagreed.
Raul looked down again. Topaz had her face buried in his chest; her hand fisted in his shirt. It was almost as if she feared him getting away while she slept.
"The bond is already so strong for me," Raul whispered. "I want to make her mine, but she's human. She has no clue what I am. I'm so scared she won't accept me, and if that happens, I really will be broken."
"I think she must feel the bond also, Mr. Desoto, I mean, look at her. If she didn't, she wouldn't have relaxed to the point of falling asleep on you," Dianne said. Then after humming a bit, she added, "For that matter, I don't think she would have agreed to come to stay with a virtual stranger as she did."
"Yeah, what was that about anyway, you never finished," Carlito said.
"The boyfriend is a feline shifter," Raul muttered softly, his mind already elsewhere.
Raul thought about it, it was true. They'd only gone out twice, and though they'd talked a lot, getting to know each other, they were still mostly strangers. Yet, he hadn't had to argue too much before she gave in and came home with him. She'd told them she was used to the fighting, so it wasn't fear that had her going home with him. No, he believed she could feel the bond too, even if she didn't know what it was.
"I believe you might be right Dianne, but even so, she'll sleep in the guest room tonight," Raul agreed as he put his thoughts of the mate bond aside. He stood up, picking Topaz up with ease, and carried her to her room.
As he left the room, he heard Carlito snicker, "Good luck sleeping tonight, Dad."
With a little shuffling, Raul managed to pull the covers on the bed back and lay Topaz down. At least he tried to, but when he went to straighten up, she held on to his shirt. Then, when he tried to pry her hands loose, she whimpered.
"Sweetheart, I need to take your shoes off," he whispered low in her ear. Then he backed up to watch her face.
Topaz's brows scrunched up, almost as if she were thinking about it. Finally, with a soft sigh, she let him go.
Moving down, Raul pulled her shoes, and socks, off. Then he pulled the covers up over her. As soon as he did this, she gave a slight whimper, reaching out. He shook his head and straightened up, watching her toss her head. With a frown, he realized she was as drawn by the soulmate bond as he was and even in sleep, it was strong. Her body was unknowingly calling out for his, and his wolf inside was growling for him to hold their mate.
"Tired of being alone. Alone no more, hold her," his wolf begged of him.
Raul shook his head. She was human, she wouldn't understand him crawling into bed with her. No, he couldn't, no matter how badly he wanted to. So, he turned to leave only to hear her whimper again.
"Raul..." Her soft voice calling him had him turning back. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared straight at him.
"Good night," he whispered.
She whimpered again, holding her arms out to him. "Don't leave, please."
Raul's shoulders sagged; he couldn't leave her now because she'd asked him to stay. He nodded and kicking off his shoes, and pulling off his socks, he walked around to the other side of the bed. By the time he'd pulled the covers back and slid in, she'd rolled over to face him.
Moving closer, she wrapped an arm around him and pushed her face into his chest. She gave a hum of happiness, and in moments she was once more asleep.
Raul lay for long minutes, torn between wanting to stay and knowing he shouldn't.
"Mate wants us here," his wolf argued. "We can't leave now; it will hurt her."
But she's human. How will we explain this to her?
"It isn't wrong, she asked us to stay. That makes it okay," his wolf growled.
Raul sighed, giving in, and closing his eyes. Breathing deeply of her peppermint scent, he slept.
#
Topaz awakened feeling warm, with the scent of manly musk close to her nose. In fact, she also felt the feeling of warm arms. Her eyes flew open, arms.
Looking upward she saw Raul, fast asleep, his head buried in the pillow next to hers. She swallowed hard, how had she ended up in bed with him? She glanced down and found them both completely clothed and sighed with relief.
Raul suddenly took a deep breath and she glanced up to find him watching her. "This isn't what it looks like. I didn't plan to be here, but you wouldn't let me leave then you asked me to stay, and I..."
Topaz lay her finger on his lips. "Hush, it's fine. We're both dressed so I'm not as concerned as I would have been otherwise. Besides, you're very warm."
Raul chuckled and moved to get up. "That's good to know. How about some breakfast?"
"Mm...sounds lovely. Do I have time for a shower?"
"You do. I'll be in the kitchen," he told her. Then he left the room.
#
Topaz walked into the kitchen after her shower feeling refreshed. The kitchen was filled with the wonderful scent of waffles and strawberries along with coffee.
Raul turned from the stove to point and say, "Left-hand cabinet holds the cups. Cream and sugar, if you want it, are in the canisters on the counter next to the pot."
Topaz nodded, and quickly made herself a cup, breathing deeply of it. "So, Carlito? Dianne?"
"Still asleep as far as I know, at least I haven't seen them," Raul said as he began placing a waffle on the plate. "Butter? Syrup?"
"Mm, both, but let me," she told him. Sitting down her cup, she moved over and began to put butter on the two waffles he'd made before he placed another on top of them. "How many do you plan to fix?"
Raul chuckled. "How many will you eat?"
"Um...maybe two?"
"I'll make you two, then I'll make at least six for Carlito and six for myself. I'm thinking Dianne will probably eat at least four," he told her. "I also fixed sausage and it's in the microwave."
Topaz stared at him. "When you said the two of you could eat..."
Raul shrugged as he took up the next two waffles and put more batter on the double grill. "Stick around and you'll see just how much I really can eat."
Topaz watched the play of muscle across his shoulders and sighed. "I'd really like to do that, Raul, even though it scares me slightly how much I want it."
Raul turned his head her way. "I'd like that too."
"Morning, Dad."
Topaz turned and watched as a still sleepy-eyed Carlito walked in.
"Morning, pup, grab a plate. I've almost got your waffles finished and the sausage is in the microwave," Raul said. "Is Dianne still here?"
"She is," Carlito told him as he grabbed a plate and opened the microwave door. Pulling out a plate with a pile of sausage on it, link, and patty. He began to put some on his plate before taking a seat at the table. "Her parents okayed it."
"Um, dumb question here," Topaz said, and the two men looked at her. "Why did you just call Carlito a pup?"
Both men froze, and Dianne chose that moment to walk in the door.
Dianne looked half asleep as she yawned and then crawled into Carlito's lap. "It's a wolf thing, Topaz. Most all of them call their kids pups, I'm not gonna call mine that though, cause even if we are half-wolf, it's still weird to me." Dianne then lay her head on Carlito's shoulder and after kissing his neck she told him, "Why didn't you get me up? The bed is so cold after you leave."
Topaz just stared at Dianne.
As if feeling it, Dianne looked up. "What?"
Carlito cleared his throat. "Dianne, she doesn't know and you just... blurted things out."
Dianne blinked owlishly at him, then turned to Raul.
Topaz turned to look his way too and found him shaking his head as he placed more waffles on another plate. Then turning, he placed it in front of Dianne.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Desoto..." Dianne whispered. "I was just half asleep and..."
"It's fine Dianne, it would have come out sometime. It's my fault anyway for calling him a pup, it's just habit." Turning to Topaz, Raul gave her a strained smile. "Let's eat, then we'll talk."
Topaz nodded, and taking ahold of her plate, she sat down at the table. She didn't know what to think about what Dianne had just said. A wolf thing, what does that even mean? They all look human. They are human, aren't they? Stupid, Topaz. Of course, they are because there is no such thing as wolf people or whatever they are pretending to be. It's just weird, but I'll wait for an explanation before jumping to conclusions.
The meal was eaten in silence and Topaz watched Carlito and Dianne feed each other with sweet looks on their faces.
When they were through, Carlito said, "Dad, Dianne, and I will clean up the kitchen if you want."
Raul nodded as he stood. "Topaz, would you like to talk now?"
She nodded.
"Then follow me," Raul told her.
Standing up, she nervously followed him into his bedroom. Pausing inside the doorway, she asked, "Why are we in here?"
Raul sighed, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he told her, "Soundproof room. I want to talk to you without Dianne and Carlito being able to hear what is said. I want to tell you some things and I don't want my son mad at me again."
"Oh," Topaz whispered. Then she gently closed the door to the room and making her way across the floor she sat down on the bed, her legs giving out. "Is it true, what Dianne said, about you being...um...half-wolf or something?"
Raul stood and watched Topaz nervously rub her hands over her thighs. He felt like she was taking this awfully well, at least she hadn't run for the door screaming... not yet anyway.
Walking over to the bed, he sat down next to her and sighed. "It is. Some call us werewolves, others call us shapeshifters."
"Were you...born that way?"
"I was. Some say it is a curse given because of wrongdoing, but no one truly knows how the first shapeshifter came into being," Raul explained.
"Was Carlito's mom one also?"
"She was. Most shifters meet their soulmates, their other half if you will, by the time they're eighteen. It is believed that the fates bless each of us with the perfect person who will complete us as no other ever could," he told her. "I met Carlito's mom, Lola when we were seventeen. When we turned eighteen, we knew we were soulmates. I loved that woman, with everything in me I loved her," he whispered, feeling sadness well up in him.
Topaz placed an arm around his shoulder, and he leaned into her, taking in her peppermint scent.
"She was a nurse and was working a lot of nights because they were short-staffed. A drugged-up addict walked in one night. He was already high on something, but he demanded drugs and pulled a gun when it wasn't given to him. I won't go into any details, just that three nurses, Lola included, ended up dead. The man also managed to injure two security officers."
"And the addict?" Topaz whispered the question.
"He was shot also but survived to do jail time," Raul answered. "My wolf was shattered. He felt her death and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. I barely made it through the funeral before I shifted forms and ran. I ran for days and when I stopped, I lay panting on the ground. All I could do was wait for death to come for me. My wolf was ready to join his mate in the afterlife, to be with her once more," he stopped to wipe a tear from his face.
Topaz held him tighter.
"Then suddenly we felt our pup. We could feel his grief and pain. My wolf realized that if we died, it would leave our young pup all alone in this world. Sure, someone would raise him, but they wouldn't be his parent. I vaguely remember my wolf struggling weakly to his feet, determined to get to his pup.
"When I found Carlito, I shifted and held him so tight. He cried, asking me why I'd left him alone. He cried that his mama was gone and never coming back. He cried Topaz, he cried because I'd left him alone with his grief when I should have been there. My wolf knew then that we had to live for our pup, our mate would have to wait."