Page 84 of Destined Paranormals: Volume One

I knew I couldn’t dwell on the past, so I closed my eyes and did my best to shut down my own overthinking brain and tried to fall asleep. I had a feeling that tomorrow would bring new and interesting things to our lives. I hoped to be ready for whatever it was we would be facing—together.

Chapter 10

Oscar

Iwas warm. And there was an arm wrapped around my waist and a very warm body behind me. Monroe. I grinned at the thought of my mate being behind me. I waited a moment and felt absolutely no panic. Nothing. I glanced around the bedroom, and although the windows had blinds on them, they weren’t closed, and I could tell it was early morning. We’d slept all night, and I realized that for the first time in a very long time, I felt refreshed and actually rested.

“Do you always wake up and think about how well you did or didn’t sleep the night before?” Monroe asked, his voice still very sleepy.

“Only on the morning after I was claimed by my mate and I finally feel like I got enough sleep.”

Monroe’s arm tightened around me seconds before his lips touched my shoulder. “You should always get enough sleep. Sadly, I will say that once Mae is with us, our sleep will most likely be interrupted.”

I grinned. “Mae. And then when we have our own, we won’t be sleeping through the night for a while.” I rolled to my back, Monroe’s arm letting go enough so I could move positions and I could look at my mate. I grinned at him when he opened his eyes a bit. “Good morning, handsome.”

Monroe’s grin grew. “Morning. How are you feeling? You’re not sore, are you?”

I shook my head. We, of course, claimed each other and then dozed off. We woke twice more in the night and had a repeat of earlier activities, and I would highly recommend each of them. Monroe might have been a virgin yesterday morning, but he no longer was, and he really knew how to move his hips. And he was incredibly talented with his hands.

“I’m feeling amazing, actually.” My stomach growled just then, and we both chuckled.

“Sounds like you need to be fed.” Monroe kissed my shoulder again, then rolled to his own back.

“I should probably empty my bladder first, but yeah, maybe we could go find something to eat?”

“We can. I will make whatever you wish.”

“You don’t have to,” I told him. “I can cook.” I sat up, and when I tossed the covers aside, I actually shivered a bit at the drastic difference between the warmth under the covers and the air in the room. Hmm, we would probably need to adjust the thermostat because Monroe was a fae, as were Mason and Maelie. They would need it to be warmer in the house than I would. Same as Joseph and Hailey. We all had our wolf halves to help keep us warmer.

I hurried to the bathroom, and when I was relieving my bladder, Monroe knocked on the door. “When you’re finished, I’ll fix breakfast.”

I looked over my shoulder and could see just part of my mate standing just outside the bathroom door. “Why are you standing out there? Do you not need to go?” I asked, seconds before flushing the toilet.

“I do, but I didn’t wish to intrude.”

I closed my eyes to keep from rolling them. “We’re mated. I would say that within a week’s time, there will be absolutely zero shyness or uncertainty left between us,” I told him. “Come on in. I’m not shy, but if you are, I hope you get over it soon,” I added.

Monroe came into the bathroom, and I watched as he hesitated behind me where I was washing my hands.

“I’m not shy. I’m…trying. It’s all new.”

I nodded. “Yes, it is. We’ve been thrown together, and we have very little time to make us work before we have to go back to being parents. It’s going to be crazy and hectic, but we’ll figure it out.”

Monroe flushed and then went to the other sink, and he, too, washed his hands. “What did you mean when you mentioned about within a week’s time.”

“Oh. That I’m most likely going to go into heat, and, well, that’s going to leave absolutely no room for either of us to be shy about anything. There is nothing even remotely fun about heats. They’re messy, intense, and without a mate, they’re really not enjoyable. You’re my mate, my alpha, essentially. I hope that you’ll take care of me during it?”

Monroe moved closer to me, and I felt a whisper move along my body and then the light weight of clothing. I glanced down and saw that I was wearing sweatpants and a shirt now. Monroe was wearing much the same, and his finger touched under my chin to raise my face to meet his.

“Of course I’ll take care of you during your heat. And any other time. Always. When you’re pregnant and are craving something, I’ll provide that for you. If you happen to get sick, I’ll take care of you during that. I’m here for everything, my mate. All of the good and the not so good.”

I smiled again and really wanted to fire my stomach because just as Monroe was leaning down to give me a kiss, my stomach growled quite loudly. Instead of my kiss, my mate stood, and I felt my protesting stomach doing flip-flops. Where we had just been standing in our bathroom, we were now down in the kitchen.

“What would you like?” Monroe asked as he moved over to the refrigerator. “There’s eggs, of course. There is bread for toast, fruit, some…” Monroe pulled out a container and held it out.

“Yogurt. It’s good with the fruit. Would you like me to make breakfast?”

Monroe shook his head.