When I woke the second time the sun was shining brightly through the window. I groaned and nuzzled my face into the pillow I was pressed against. When it moved I jerked but grumbled too sleepy to care. The shaking that ensued caused me to move my head glaring at him.
"What are you laughing at?" I mumbled angrily.
"You." He kissed my forehead and laughed. I just grumbled some more nuzzling back into his neck.
"How can you be so happy in the morning?" I mumbled against his neck.
"I'm with you." I could practically feel the smirk on his face. "How can you be so grumpy?"
"I hate mornings."
"Really? I couldn't tell."
"I can feel you smirking and I don't like it," I said pressing further into his chest.
"Come on let's get up I have to take you over to the pack house this morning, mother's orders."
"Nooo...five more minutes." He started moving away and I groaned in protest.
"Come on Sleeping Beauty up and at 'em." His arms came around my waist picking me up off the bed. He started carrying me.
"Where are we going? And why am I not walking there?" I asked looking around sleepily.
"Because."
"Is not a reason or an explanation," I said in argument.
"It is right now."
"No, no it's not." I squirmed looking at him waking up now.
"So you'll wake up to argue with me?"
"No, I'm only awake cause you were my pillow and now you're up so I am too, Although not quite." I looked pointedly at my feet and then at him. He just smirked. "Your face is going to get stuck like that." I poked my tongue out at him.
"That's it." He growled playfully.
"What? What's it?" I asked concerned. He walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. "No, no no. Put me down right now."
"Okay," he dropped me in the shower and cold water sprayed down my back. I gasped jumping out of the shower and landing against him.
"That is not funny." I slapped his chest with the backside of my hand. I pulled the drenched tee shirt away from my body. "I don't have anything else to wear," I whined glaring at him.
"So don't wear anything."
"To meet your family? I should just go naked?" I shook my head exasperated. He reached under the sink and grabbed a towel which he handed to me. I took it wiping my wet face and drying my hair. Then I shimmied out of the pants I forgot to take off before falling asleep last night. They were drenched and would take hours to dry. I secured the towel around my waist and slid it up under the tee shirt securing it before taking the tee shirt off and throwing it on top of the jeans. I shivered from the cold air and the realization that the only protection I had was in the form of a towel which could easily be ripped from my body at any time. I snuck a peek at him through my lashes. He was staring at my towel clad form. I cleared my throat. "Clothes, please."
"I don't know I kind of like that on you." His eyes darkened which I was coming to realize was a sign of his lust.
"Yes well, I can't meet your family in a towel either." My sensibilities wouldn't allow it. He stepped towards me reaching for my waist. I sidestepped his grasp and made a run for the bedroom. He followed me as I ducked into the walk-in closet.
"What are you doing?"
"Finding clothes," I answered distracted looking at the men's clothing hanging. "Where do you keep your tee shirts?"
"On the shelf at the back why?" I went to the back and found a pile of black and grey tee shirts. Taking one of the dark grey ones I slipped it over the towel and looked down to see that it hung down to my mid-thigh. Shrugging I undid the towel and dropped it standing looking for something pants-wise to wear. His hands gripped my hips as I stood in the tee shirt.
"Stop that right now," I warned. "I need pants to wear to your parents' house." He moved so that my body was flush with his and I melted against him. "Seriously stop it, I need to find clothes."
"You're wearing clothes." His lips moved by my ear and down over my neck.
"Stop it," I said weakly tilting my head to give him greater access. He didn't stop instead kissing his way down to where my neck met my shoulder and nipping slightly. My breath stuttered as his tongue ran over my pulse point. Shivering I said, "don't...stop."
"Don't stop?" His lips pulled against my skin into a smile. I growled at him turning.
"That was don't and stop, not don't stop." He wrapped his arms around me.
"That sounds the same to me."
"It's not." He kissed my lips and then pulled back.
"Okay, let's go."
"Let's go?"
"To my parents' house?"
"But I don't have pants."
"We have to shift to get there so you don't need pants." He tapped me on the ass and I gasped.
"But I will need pants when we get there."
"And there will be pants there." He assured me walking out of the closet. I snorted remembering when we first met how his friends thought he was gay because I was his mate. "What?" He turned back to me.
"Nothing, it's nothing." I followed him out of the room and into the hallway going down the stairs. Instead of walking towards the door he walked into the kitchen. I followed and looked at him curiously as he started pulling out a pan. "What are you doing? I thought we were leaving." He came over and picked me up, setting me on the counter. I wiggled a bit adjusting the tee shirt so that it covered me.
"I'm making breakfast for us." He said matter of factly standing in between my thighs. I pulled at the edge of the tee shirt a bit uncomfortable being so exposed.
"But we're leaving for your parents?"
"After, I need food more than my sisters need to play dress up with my new mate." He leaned forward kissing my lips and when he pulled back I registered what the rest of that sentence was.
"Wait. Play dress up?"
"Yeah."
"So I'm going to meet your family and the first thing they're going to do is play dress up with me?"
"Well, yeah technically." He tried to kiss me but I turned my face putting a hand on his chest.
"How can you be so casual about this?"
"They do it to all of our mates, I'm just used to it by now." He gripped my chin turning my face back to him.
"Aren't you supposed to be making breakfast?" I asked changing the subject.
"Yeah." he patted my thigh and moved away pulling things out of the fridge. I moved to help but he turned and pinned me with a look.
"What?" I looked at him.
"Stay." He demanded. I wrinkled my nose.
"So I'm supposed to sit here while you cook? On the counter? Like this?" He raised a brow and nodded. I sighed but remained sitting semi-content to watch him from my position. He turned back to whatever he was making. As he worked I admired his form. Biting my lower lip I admired the smooth muscles of his back and down to his ass. He moved around the kitchen with practiced efficiency. "You've done this before."
"What?"
"Cooked."
"Yeah my mom taught all of us, it was important to her that we could be self-sufficient."
"That's so sweet." I smiled and he turned to look at me. "So how many siblings do you have, other than your twin of course?"
"Well there's Greyson, and then I have two younger brothers, Wyatt and Colton, and two baby sisters, Gwen and Coral."
"Wow, that's a big family." I bit my lip nervous to be the center of attention between all of his family members. "So this party? Who all is going to be there?"
"My family a few other pack members, close friends."
"So a small party?"
"Yeah, not that big. 50 to 100 people."
"What?" I exploded. "You just said close friends."
"Yeah, that constitutes close friends."
"In what world?" I asked exasperated.
"In my world Sweetheart." He turned around whisking eggs in a bowl. His attentive gaze swung to my face aptly reading the tension and anxiousness in it. "You'll be fine I'll be with you the whole time." He assured me with his words, even though I didn't feel contented by that I nodded. He turned back to the stove and continued what he was doing. After a few more minutes of watching him work and swinging my feet, he turned around with a singular plate of food, scrambled eggs piled so high and toast on the side with halved strawberries and green grapes. He held up one fork and I narrowed my eyes confused. He speared some eggs on the fork and held it up to my lips. I looked at the fork and then his eyes before opening my mouth and accepting the eggs. I chewed the bite while he took one of his own his eyes never leaving my mouth. The next bite he offered was a speared strawberry and grape. I took it scraping my teeth over the fork and pulling the sweet and cold berries off it. I chewed tasting the tartness of the grape-infused with the sweet taste of ripe strawberry. When I finished I licked my lips coating them with the berry flavor. He swallowed his own bite of food and leaned forward kissing me on the lips in a chaste kiss. I made a noise in surprise and my eyes widened for a moment before shuttering them closed and leaning into his lips. When he pulled away I shifted back on the counter and looked at him waiting. He picked up the fork and resumed alternating between feeding me and himself. There was still about half the food left on the plate when I stopped him from putting another bite of food near my face.
"No more please, I can't eat anything else," I stated leaning back on my hands. He huffed a laugh and shrugged continuing to eat until the plate was empty. Then he set it in the sink with the other dishes and held out his hand to me. I took it jumping off the counter and following him out of the house. Outside we went into the woods and shifted. The initial shift didn't bother me anymore and once I was in wolf form all was forgotten except the glorious feeling of stretching muscles and fresh air. I yipped and went to find my mate scenting him out among the forest scents. I found him a few feet away his wolf was the most stunning I'd ever seen. Every time I saw him it took my breath away even as a beast. The speckled dark grey with white coat was so unique that I couldn't look away. He growled lowly getting my attention and gestured with his massive head for me to follow him. I obliged coming up beside him and licking his muzzle before trotting a few paces ahead of him. He came up level with me and we moved in sync heading back to his parents' house. Halfway there I heard the sounds of other wolves and growled. Troy's ears pricked and his head lifted but he didn't growl. Three wolves grey and brown in varying shades. I stayed close to Troy curious of the new wolves and his lack of direct anger at them.
Once there we shifted back to our human forms and I anxiously waited for him before entering the house. I chewed on my lower lip and jumped when hands touched me.
"What's wrong?" He chuckled pulling me into him.
"I'm nervous, I don't want them to think I'm like my brother." He laughed again and I lightly slapped his chest. "What? It's a legitimate fear."
"I know, I just couldn't imagine them not loving you."
"Well, it is possible they're not predisposed to it like you were." I quipped and he huffed a laugh.
"Come on." He guided me towards the front door up the stairs keeping his arm wrapped around my waist. Just as he reached for the door, the knob twisted and the door was flung open.
"You're late." A younger woman chided by way of greeting. She threw me a wide smile and grabbed my arm pulling me into the house and away from my mate. I threw a look over my shoulder pleading with him to not leave me alone. He smirked and waved as his twin met him at the door followed by a couple of other males I presumed to be his brothers where they engaged in bro hugs all around and I was left to my own devices as the female continued to drag me down the hall. She led me into a room where other women were in various stages of getting ready. They all looked up as we entered and faces lit up in delight realizing who I was. I felt at a disadvantage and tried to smile politely as they fawned over me.
"Ladies, at least introduce yourselves to the poor thing she's practically shaking." An older woman with red hair pulled elegantly into a french twist walked into the room behind me. His mother. She seemed friendly enough as I watched her stride confidently up to me and stand before me not much taller than myself. "I'm your lovely mate's mother as I'm sure you've guessed or if he contained himself long enough he may have even told you." I flushed under her scrutinizing gaze and said,