Matias

Today was a big day. Osana, the doctor for the Scarlet Mountain Pack, was on her way down here with Tate and Kyle to give Chase an ultrasound to see if his theory on twins was correct.

Secretly, I was hoping he was right. What was better than one baby with my fated mate? Two.

Boy-boy. Girl-girl. Boy-girl. It didn’t matter to me. All that mattered was we were happy, and I was ready for a big family.

After what had happened with Buck, I was feeling more and more like a leader. I’d taken a chance and made a big decision that could have backfired, but it had paid off and I couldn’t help but feel like the others respected me more now.

I was walking with a new confidence and the camp no longer looked so ragged to me. Instead of a tiny little cluster of run down cabins, I saw a quaint wooded community, with people who cared for one another and worked with each other for the betterment of the pack.

Once I’d fixed up a few of the other cabins, Chase’s parents had come to visit. I’d met his father, George and his mother Jennifer. I’d been a little nervous when they pulled up in an SUV that probably cost more than the land this camp was built on, but when they spoke, I realized there was nothing to worry about.

“You must be Matias!” His dad said, a friendly grin on his face as we shook hands.

“You must be George,” I replied, moving my eyes to the woman beside him. “And you must be Jennifer. I see where Chase gets his beautiful hair!”

Jennifer had a gorgeous head of long golden locks that curled over her shoulders, and she’d obviously passed them onto Chase.

“Oh, you’re a charmer too!?” She laughed, looking flattered. “I can see why my son fell in love with you.”

I smiled and squeezed Chase’s hand and we’d shown them to their cabin. They were only staying for one night, just stopping in to see where their son was living now and to bring him some more clothes and things from home. They’d had dinner with us and left in the morning. It was great.

And now, as we sat outside on the porch of the dining hall, waiting for Osana to arrive, I couldn’t help but feel like our family was really coming together. Soon we’d have one, maybe two pups to care for, and Chase’s parents were close by and would be able to visit as often as they’d like. I was almost giddy with anticipation.

“You know, Matias,” Chase said from beside me. “It just occurred to me the other day that I never asked you about your family.”

“Well there’s not much to tell,” I told him with a sigh, thinking back to the cold days of my youth.

“I’d like to hear it,” he replied, scooting across the porch to face me. His pregnant body was so sweet and sexy looking. I loved everything about him.

“Well, it’s kind of a sad story to be honest,” I told him grimly. “I’m actually originally from Alaska.”

“Whoa, really!?”

“Yup. The cold, dark corner of America,” I chuckled.

“Colder than Maine?”

“You bet your ass,” I replied. “My parents never wanted me. I was a mistake. They were young. All they did was fight. They tried to make their relationship work, I’ll give them credit for that. But they were doomed from the beginning.”

“That’s sad,” Chase said, stroking my ankle.

“They also weren’t too happy I was gay,” I said with a frown. “My dad especially. So I got the Hell out of there as soon as I could.”

“Where did you go?”

“As far away as possible,” I told him. “Maine!”

“You couldn’t have picked Florida?” He laughed. Leaning forward, I stroked his hair, which I’d grown so fond of doing, and planted a sweet kiss on his forehead.

“But then I’d never have found you,” I told him.

“Yeah, but you would have found someone,” he replied. He was being coy, prodding me to get me to tell him just how much I loved him again.

“Yeah,” I nodded, pretending to fantasize as I looked up at the sky. “Probably would have had a blast with all those beach boys with their nice tan skin…”

“Hey!” He yelped, swatting my ankle with his hand.

“I’m kidding!” I laughed, my voice booming as I bent down and scooped him up into my arms. I kissed him and stared into his eyes. “I love you. You and no one else.”

“You mean it?” He asked, looking up at me with innocence and love.

“You know I do, dummy,” I replied, kissing him again.

I looked up as I heard the sound of a truck coming up the driveway and recognized Tate’s truck as it pulled in. I’d expected only Osana, but sure enough, Tate was driving. He parked and hopped out, followed by Seth,

“Matias!” He called out, looking like he’d spent a whole day in the workshop. “How are ya, old buddy?!”

“Tate!” I replied, getting up and setting Chase down beside me. “What are you doing here?”

He motioned for me to come over as Osana get out of the passenger side.

“Come here, I’ll show ya!”

“You gonna be okay for a minute?” I asked Chase as Osana stepped up beside us. No one on Earth had more red curly locks than Osana.

“Sure he will,” Osana chimed in. “I don’t bite. I’ll get him setup inside while you chat with Tate. Sound good?”

“Great,” I replied, walking over to the truck.

“Wow, look at that belly!” I heard Osana say admiringly from behind me as I shook hands with Tate.

“You’re gonna love this,” he told me.

“What do we got?” I asked him as he led me around the back of the truck. It was a pickup, and in the back, tied down with a couple of straps, was a beautiful wooden bench. “Whoa. Is that—”

“All for you,” he said with a proud smile. “I can’t have you sitting out there on the porch without a bench, can I? That would just be cruel!”

My heart warmed as I looked at the bench. It wasn’t pine – probably cherry from the looks of it – and was simple but elegant, with one long slab for the seat, and some simple circular slats that led to the back support. It had armrests and four thick legs joined together that looked incredibly strong.

“Tate,” I replied. “You are just too awesome.”