The Mating Game - Chapter 6：5.

The door swung open then and I sat still, looking down towards my hands before I let my eyes meet his. His crystal blue orbs never left mine as I traced his face, memorizing every detail. His short brown hair matched the scruff that covered his jaw, making him look more rugged, more masculine, making me feel safer. His jaw was defined, his cheekbones high, his lips plump and moist, tantalizing me, begging me for a taste. The corners of his eyes hinted at the ghosts of laugh lines, matching the corners of his full lips. I noticed the movement as he held a hand out for me, and I took it, marveling at the current flowing easily between us as I slid out of the truck.

“Welcome home darling.” He said softly and I smiled, releasing his hand and heading towards the steps that lead to the front door. I reached for the handle, turning it slowly as I realized it was unlocked. I turned back to him then before opening the door.

“You don’t lock up when you leave?”

“Not unless I feel the need to.” He said matter of factly and I shrugged, pushing the door open and smiling at the inside.

I was in the living room, the deep brown leather couch facing the fire place, where a giant television was situated on top of the mantle. I rolled my eyes then and headed towards the kitchen. It was small, the pantry filled to the top with food, the fridge packed full of fruit and meat. The bar was rustic looking, with saddle seat barstools tucked underneath it, the little dining room complete with a tiny, round breakfast table, the chair backs high and carved with elaboration and care. It was beautiful. It was perfect. I was smiling like a mad woman as I dashed up the stairs to the bedrooms. The first was small, a little double bed and dresser set with a little closet and walk in bath room, the walls a deep blue, the bed set a lighter ocean blue, hints of tan and white running through it. I ran across the hall then to Colt’s bedroom and smiled. It was exactly how I’d pictured it to be. The giant log bed frame was situated in the room, taking up most of the space. The walls were a deep green, the bed set looked like the woods, rich browns and greens adorning the fabric. The closet was huge, one side full of clothes, the other bare. I walked through the closet and into the attached bathroom and did a happy dance. There was a giant whirlpool tub in the middle of the room, two sinks on opposite sides, his and hers. There was a huge shower with one of those built in raining features with jets all over the walls and a temperature control. I hadn’t pictured Colt as the kind of man that would want to pamper himself.

I felt strong arms wrap around me, his breath hot against my neck. “Do you like it? If you hate it we can build something else.”

I turned in his arms, wrapping my arms around his chest. “I love it.” I breathed into him.

I stood there in his arms, marveling at how safe I felt. I knew he wouldn’t let any harm come to me, I could feel it down to my core. This was the man I was destined to spend the rest of eternity with, and I was grateful the goddess of the moon had given him to me. I fought the overwhelming urge in me to compare Colt to Ty, swallowing it down and pushing it to the back of my mind. Colt was my mate. Ty was my friend. That was all. This was a black and white situation I told myself.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited for you.” Colt breathed into my hair, almost as if he was letting his relief wash over us.

“How long?” I pulled back, looking up at him with curiosity evident in my eyes.

“Most wolves find their mates within their 18th year, unless they’re in the same pack, then they’ve usually seen the signs before then, and if not, they’ve almost always found them by their 20th, when the bonds finally reveal themselves, and the pull becomes evident. I’m 23. I had begun to lose hope that I would ever find you.” His grip on me automatically tightened, as if he were afraid I would disappear from his embrace any instant.

“Well I’m sorry that I’ve kept you waiting for so long.” I spoke softly into his chest.

He tilted my chin up so he was looking into my eyes, seeming to devour my soul as he searched them.

“It was worth the wait.” He breathed honestly and I felt the pitter patter of butterflies as they assaulted my stomach, the overwhelming blush spreading rapidly across the delicate flesh of my cheeks. His fingertips traced my cheekbones as they grew feverous underneath his touch, the pad of his thumb brushing lightly against my lips had me on edge, waiting for him to duck down to my level, to press his full, moist lips against my own. I knew what was coming next, what would happen in the moments ahead. This was my only chance to reject or accept Colton Lithe as my mate for all of eternity. After this moment, I would be his forever, unless I chose not to be.

“Do you, India Collins, accept me, Colton Lithe, as your destined mate. Do you accept our bond for the rest of eternity?” He spoke softly between us, panic swimming beneath the surface of his blue orbs. He thought I might reject him, it was evident in his eyes. He was fearful, he didn’t want to lose me. The most powerful Alpha in North America was standing before me with fear and uncertainty, two things he was obviously not very accustomed to.

I reeled over the idea in my head, over and over, spiraling in my own thoughts. If I accepted Colt, he would be mine, he would love and protect me like a mate should, for the rest of our lives. We would grow old together, run our pack together, have children together that would one day take our place as rightful leader.

If I chose to reject him, I would leave his pack without it’s rightful Luna. I would be crawling back to a pack that could choose to reject me for embarrassing them in such a manner. I would be crawling back to a man who had been by my side for the last 20 years of my life, but who could leave me in a moments notice without any regrets if he found his mate. I would risk being unmated for the rest of my life, thrown out of my pack and forced to live as a rogue for as long as I could survive, or until a pack took me in out of pity and forced me into an Omega position.

But I had my answer before he’d even finished the question…

I locked eyes with him, taking in a cleansing breath as I faced him, my hands interlacing with his on their own accord. “I, India Collins, accept you, Colton Lithe as my destined mate. I accept our bond for the rest of eternity.”

I watched as a smile spread across his full lips, the corner of his eyes crinkling in happiness. Colton should not be allowed to smile, because the effects were lethal. My heart raced in my chest, missing a few important beats, blood pulsed behind my ears, my thoughts and attention solely on Colton. He cupped my cheeks in his hands delicately, as if I were made of glass and he might break me, and he slowly bent down towards me, his lips inches from mine.

My breathing grew erratic as need pulsed through my veins, the want for him blinding me as I stretched up onto my tip toes, wrapping my arms around his neck and bringing his lips down the rest of the way onto mine. I had never been so forward in my life, but all I could think about was kissing Colton.

I pulled his full lips down onto mine and gasped at the burst of energy that flowed through us, sealing our bond forever. He smiled against my lips and I grew eager then, pulling him impossibly closer to me as his lips began moving against mine in sync, a dance forming between us as each struggled to gain the dominant hand. I bit down onto his bottom lip softly, begging for him to deepen the kiss. I needed him, a hunger shooting through me that I’d never before felt in my life. I had been kissed before, but I had never been kissed like this. He deepened our kiss then, our tongues discovering each other, the taste of him overwhelming my senses, each of us memorizing the others lips. I never wanted to stop kissing Colton. He bit down on my lip lightly and against every ounce of self control I had I moaned softly, earning a deep rumble from Colton as he growled in response. I didn’t think a growl could turn me on, but I was dead wrong.

He pulled away then, too soon, and looked down at me, the hint of a smile playing on his lips.

“I’m gonna let you into the pack now, but I’ll hide your link from them until you’re introduced properly. It’s overwhelming having so many new wolves in your head at once. I’ll teach you how to block it all though, don’t worry.”

I nodded, wrapping my arms around his chest and screwing my eyes shut tight, knowing the pain I would feel as Colton broke through my old pack bonds, and replaced them all with his. It was as if he were slicing through live wires in my head and putting up new ones as he went.

“Are you ready?” He asked, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into a little bubble of warmth as the overwhelming sense of security surrounded me. I nodded against him, my hold on his back tightening as I braced myself for the pain.

It came quickly, the lines that bound me to my old pack began to snap and tear inside my mind, breaking off and shattering completely, only to be replaced by a new line, a new tie to a new member of a new pack. I whimpered in Colton’s arms and the process sped up, the ties being ripped through with a blinding speed. It was over moments later, a cloud forming around my tie to Colton, blocking everyone else out but him. I shook against his chest in exhaustion, my mind spent at the energy it had used to break the bonds and create more than it had held before. My knees began wobbling as I felt Colt’s arm scoop underneath them, cradling me to his chest as he headed into the bedroom, depositing me onto the giant bed. He pulled the covers back and slid me underneath them, turning and beginning to head out of the room.

I panicked, not wanting to be alone.

“Please stay.” I whimpered weakly, cursing myself for acting like a damsel in distress, but the truth was I needed him. He was the only somewhat familiar thing in this place, and if he left, I would feel alienated.

He nodded then, coming to the other side of the bed and sliding in beside me. I scooted until I was next to him, our shoulders brushing as I felt the surge of safety flow through me.

I would be safe. Colton was here. My mind began to cloud then, pulling me towards the edge of sleep. I barely registered I was being moved, the pillow beneath me growing firmer, as my lids finally fell closed and my breathing evened out, and I fell into the darkness that swallowed me, welcoming the rest I knew I needed.