Ever Cynical

Chapter 46- The Bear's Decision

Erik POV

It was a seven-hour flight with one stop in Calgary from Winnipeg to Seattle. Well, SeaTac airport. Jacob had given me the details of where the Celtic Moon pack was located, and I was on my way in a rented SUV. It was three hours' drive from the airport, GPS said. Washington State was a nice place, though I was sure as with anywhere, there was good and bad. On my way through Seattle I got to experience some insane traffic slowdowns, but I wasn't planning to spend much time in the city, thankfully. I may have flown in from Winnipeg, but our pack lived far outside the city, much like Celtic Moon.

Driving up I-5 wasn't especially picturesque, but I was more focused on not breaking any traffic laws as I rushed as legally as I could to my destination. I had two suitcases, a laptop and a knapsack. It was like I'd known my life at Artic Sun was limited; I knew I was going to leave at some point. I shivered for probably the hundredth time thinking of my mates and their voices. My bear was restless, but not as bad as he had been before we heard them. Now he was just urgent to get to them, but calmer because we had a direction. Once I was off the main highway and onto smaller roads taking me closer to Mt. Baker, my excitement mounted.

I had not forgotten Anais' hesitation. I knew she was worried, instinctively, but I also knew there was nothing that would make me reject her. In my particular pack, we always waited for our mates. Maybe she was worried I'd be upset that she'd already mated Kieran? I wasn't, because he was our mate too. She hadn't known I existed yet. I didn't know how long they'd been together, but I was happy for them. I definitely had my work cut out for me, though.

Somehow, I had to fit into a relationship that already existed which there wasn't exactly a guide for.

I arrived at the pack gates at six AM. The guards were gruff, and when they first caught my scent, clearly careful and a little bit defensive. I was not offended. I'm not sure my mates expected me to arrive fourteen hours after speaking to me. I waited while one made a call. I heard him say alpha and I tremor ran up my spine. I was so close to actually meeting them. The guard then grinned, relaxing, and waved me through when the other opened the gate. After another forty minutes of driving through the pack lands, I came up to the pack area. Damn it was nice. Our pack was nice, but this one was just a little more... organized?

It was clear they'd worked hard to build a welcoming and private pack area. It already felt like home. Familiar. That unsettled feeling I'd had for years finally stopped.

Then I saw them.

A tall, devastatingly handsome man with a blonde man bun, and a shorter but by no means petite, remarkably gorgeous woman with long black hair. Waiting for me, of course. Looks like everyone else was still asleep. Kieran wore black and green plaid flannel PJ pants and a fitted black tee shirt, while Anais wore black and gray plaid shorts and an oversize black hoodie. I frowned a little because the shorts were short. I mean, barely there short. It wasn't that I didn't like what I saw, it was that anyone could see it. Kieran wore some black slides while Anais had on... were those pink bunny slippers?

I took a deep breath before I got out. It was clear that Kieran was fine with Anais wearing whatever, probably because he was already secure in their connection. If he hadn't made a stink about the shorts, I shouldn't either. Sometimes it was hard to be an alpha, because that streak of dominance was no joke. Rationally, I knew I was being silly, but emotionally, the possessive side was screaming.

Just get out already, I want to meet them and their wolves, Therus, my Kodiak, growled, impatient to meet and scent them. And to mate them, he chortled lasciviously.

Fine, grouchy butt. I growled right back.

Anais looked like she could pass out while Kieran just grinned widely. I was surprised that of the two, my male mate seemed ready to add me in, while our female counterpart was anxious. I couldn't help but grin back. Damn, I was lucky. I climbed out, and their scents hit me immediately. I walked over, trying my best to act calm. I shook Kieran's hand, feeling sparks dance up my arm as his refreshing scent curled around me. I blushed and turned my attention to Anais, taking her hand and bringing it to my lips. I noticed her legs snap together as her summery scent hit me with a smack of arousal. Holy s**t.

We always hear about the mate-bond, how strong it is, how wonderful, but I don't think a single account has ever accurately depicted the electrifying and intense s****l attraction coupled with an innate, bone deep sense of home and belonging. I don't think even that expression is quite adequate. I was nervous, but I already knew what I wanted from the moment I'd heard their voices.

"Why don't we go to my office first, we can get your stuff later. We need to get Anais' anxiety out of the way before anything else." Kieran winked, followed by a light smack from Anais as she glared at him.

"You know my concerns are legitimate, mon coeur. Stop acting like it's nothing." She growled. Watching them made me feel oddly content as I trailed after them to the alpha's office.

Kieran sat behind his desk, while Anais took one of the chairs in front of it, wringing her hands, arousal still thick in the air. I sat in the other chair, crossing my legs to hopefully disguise my massive arousal. Therus laughed in my head at my predicament. Kieran just grinned again, making me think he knew how all of this was going to play out, and was not worried a bit.

"Okay, so, I will start. Anais has some concerns, but I think you are not really going to care about any of them, Erik. Well, you will care, but not in the way she is assuming. Do you have any questions for us before we dive into the complex equation that is our alluring mate?" He asked me, quirking a brow. Ah, so he was a bit playful, my alpha wolf.

"I was wondering, actually, how long you have been mated? I'm being added into something you already cherish, so I'd like to know how much history you guys have. It will help me see how much work I have ahead blending in with you two." I hoped I sounded mature and not petulant, because I wasn't. If they'd been together for a long time, they would already have established boundaries and routines. I needed that information to determine the best approach.

"Ah, well, we met about two weeks ago, and just mated a few days ago with the full moon. So in terms of time, we're still newly mated." Kieran said, winking. Whoa. My c**k twitched in response. I was relieved to hear that things between them were still relatively new. We could all learn together in that case.

"Do you mind if I ask..." I trailed off. Not everyone waited, and these guys were Immortals. It was likely that they had lived for a long time, just like me. While I had waited because of my pack culture, it wasn't always the same for others.

"Did we wait?" He supplied. I nodded. "We did. Had we known you were our mate as well, I can assure you we'd have waited for you to join us." He said, and I grinned. Kieran was so different from what I'd heard about alpha wolves. He wasn't territorial with me over our mate, which was surprising. "And if your next question is whether or not we mind having another mate, or whether we want you or not, don't worry; we do want you. Anais just insists you know everything before making a decision about accepting us." He said, sounding a little exasperated. From the look he tossed her way, he didn't think whatever issues they faced were that much of a problem. My cheeks flushed at his assertion that they wanted me. Anais nodded, and her scent just seemed to get stronger. "Mo shíorghrá, he isn't going to be able to listen to anything you have to say if you don't stop putting out so many pheremones." He giggled.

Well, damn. Anais glared at him as another burst of arousal bled into the air around her.

"Kier, can you please not giggle until I've said my piece. You know it makes me turned on like crazy." She huffed. He winked, showing that, indeed, he did. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, Erik. So the thing is, I'm old. Like, reallllly old," she said. "And I have people after me as a breeder, out to destroy our pack, and steal my offspring."

"She forgot to mention she's been tortured and should have died several times but lived anyway." Kieran piped up. My eyebrows shot to my hairline.

"How old is really old?" I asked. I didn't really care, but it was clear she was worried.

"Nine hundred twenty-four." She cringed. Wow. That was pretty damn old, but I didn't see why that mattered. We were practically ageless anyway. You could tell if someone was your elder mostly by their aura, but otherwise not.

"Okay. Tell me more about your threats then." I said, casually indicating age was not an issue. Anais raised her brows in surprise, but Kieran just kept on grinning. I was a warrior, after all, and a damn good one. Put me in the position of defending my mates and I'd make the aggressor regret they'd ever been born.

"Well, Ludolf and Donato are searching for me or my offspring, to what end we're not entirely sure yet, though both intended to force me into physical relations... we're still trying to figure it all out, but at the very least Dark Witches are also among our enemies. Ludolf is trying to take down our pack because Kieran is the one people are going to want to take over as alpha king. He's been trying to keep him from mating for about one hundred fifty years."

A growl tore from my throat. Interfering with the mate bond was intolerable. And... did she just indicate that two men of power wanted to... r**e her? What the actual f**k?

"What she is saying, Erik." Kieran said as he laid a calming hand on my arm. "Is that our mateship will not be easy with so many outside forces trying to disrupt it. If you are fine with that, because I already know her age doesn't phase you, then we are ready to welcome you to this mateship. Anais just wanted you to know what we are up against." I reached out and touched Anais' thigh, looking into her sky-blue eyes.

"There is nothing on this earth that could tear me away from you, or Kieran." I said, my voice thick with emotion and desire.