"You look beautiful today," I say when I see Gold in the kitchen, drinking an orange juice. Her wary, stunning eyes meet mine, and I have to remind myself to not stare like an idiot. I move my eyes to her yellow dress that is tight in the middle and shows off her long, golden legs that I desperately want wrapped around me.
"Thanks. Am I overdressed?" she asks, thankfully distracting me as I make myself move to the fridge.
"Not at all. I have some jobs that need doing, and I have to wear boots for them, that’s why I’m dressed like this," I explain as I pull out a bottle of water and look back at Gold. She tucks a little stray piece of her gold, curly hair behind her ear as she watches me, a small smile on her lips.
"Okay," she replies. I’m so happy she is here, even if it wasn’t her first choice to come here. I knew she could be the perfect mate when I saw her at the party last year.
"Are you ready to go then? The earlier the better," I ask, holding a hand out for her as she jumps off the island and links her hand with mine. I don’t say a word, but I internally feel excited that Gold took my hand. It's a sign she is trying to trust me.
"See you later," the rogue says from his spot on the sofa, drinking a cup of coffee like he has always lived here. Cain sent us a text to explain that the rogue broke out the room, that they had a fight, but that Cain thinks he can be trusted. Cain also read his file, with the rogue's permission, and explained that the rogue only did what any of us would have done. I notice the way Gold looks at him, and I know we are stuck with him. I guess I will have to get to know the wolf if he has been able to earn a look like that from Gold already.
"We are going to a pack gathering tonight to celebrate a baby that was born last week. There will be food, music, dancing, and lots of beer. Do you want to come? Both of you?" I ask, and Gold gives me a slightly surprised look as she glances between me and the rogue.
"It would be an honour," the rogue says, nodding in respect at me. Gold smiles up at me when I look at her.
"I can't wait to go. Thank you," she says, and I know she is thanking me for more than the invite as I lead her out of the house. I walk Gold over to my Land Rover parked behind the house, opening the door for her to get in before I hop into the driver's seat.
"It isn't a long drive, only about ten minutes. The entire place is on pack lands, to keep it private from the humans," I explain to her, and she nods, looking entirely confused, but curious about where I am taking her. We drive in pretty comfortable silence for the ten minutes until we pull up at our work. I watch as she takes in the sign on the entrance and the ten paddocks full of animals that surround the building.
"The Bearlay Animal Rescue?" she asks.
"One of the biggest rescue places in Ireland. We take in any animal that needs a little love and care, and then find them a home. Or they stay permanently if they have been through too much to be rehomed. We have every animal from seals to bats," I tell her, and she smiles widely.
"I'm so excited to help you today. This is amazing," she exclaims, undoing her seatbelt and opening her door to get out as I do the same. I lock the car as Gold comes to my side, taking my hand once again, and I link our fingers as we walk in.
"Hey Cal! I've been waiting for you!" Gerry says, stepping out from behind the counter and coming over to me. She pulls me into a hug, which is odd as she never does that. I try not to cough at the amount of perfume she has on today, or her blonde hair which smells overwhelmingly of hairspray. Gerry is a very young bear, only thirty or forty, and she is spoilt by most of the pack.
"Jerry, this is Gold," I introduce them, and Gerry folds her arms, smiling at Gold.
"Nice to meet you. What are you doing here?" she asks.
"Gold is our mate," I answer, and Gerry clears her throat, looking Gold up and down, before walking back to her desk. Weird.
"We had a young female fox handed to us last night. The fox is pregnant and hurt, but she won't let the vet, or any of us, go near her. The vet knows how good you are with the animals, so he wants you to try and talk to her instead of the vet knocking her out," Gerry explains.
"Which room?"
"12C," Gerry says. "You might want to stay here, Gold, you look like you might pass out at the sight of all that blood."
"I'm sure my mate will catch me if I do," Gold replies, an overly sweet smile on her lips as she presses closer to me. I catch the light, possessive growl that slips from her lips. Gerry quickly looks down, showing submission as I wrap my arm around Gold's shoulders and lead her down the corridor.
"My mate, huh?" I ask.
"Sorry, I just-" she mumbles.
"Don't be sorry. We might not be officially mated, but I am your mate," I assure her as we get to the room we were looking for.
"I think I like you, Callum," she says, more to herself than me, but I still take it as I open the door and let her in the room.
"Mr Bearlay, it is good to see you again," the vet says as I come into the room. I haven’t met this vet more than once or twice, as we have two vets that the pack usually deals with. He is an older human, who appears to live with several animals and no other humans, judging by his scent. His grey hair is longer and tied back, and he has a white vet coat on.
"Call me Callum. This is my partner, Gold," I introduce her, and she shakes the human’s hand as I walk over and look into the holding pen. It is lined with straw, and there is a yellow blanket and a bowl of water in one corner. I glance around and finally see the poor fox. She is shivering in the far corner, half her body hidden in the shadows, and blood is covering the straw on the ground near her.
"I believe she is in labour by the sounds. I am worried about putting her to sleep, but if she hasn’t calmed down soon, I will have to. She is very thin, and I worry the drugs could put her into a coma, or worse kill her. I know you have a no kill policy here, but this poor animal would have been put down anywhere else,"
"That is why people bring animals to us, they know we fight for their lives. We treasure every animal as if they were a human," I tell the man. I open the pen door, closing it behind me as the vet and Gold lean on the edge, watching me. Gold looks worried, but she puts on a brave face as I walk slowly over to the fox. I start humming the old song my mum used to sing to me as a kid, knowing its soothing melody might calm the fox more than my deep voice. The fox growls slightly as I get near, its dark eyes staring at me fearfully as I see the two cubs she has already birthed. They aren’t moving, and I know I need to get them to the vet, if the fox will let me.
"I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, but I promise I only want to help you. We are the same, you know it, and so do I. Us animals need to help each other, right?" I speak quietly, going down to my knees and moving closer carefully. I reach a hand out, holding it in the air for her to sniff and make her own decision if she wants to trust me. I bow my head slightly at her, showing her I don’t want to dominate her, only help. I've learnt over the years that it is important every hurt animal doesn't become more scared when it scents you are a natural alpha.
"I need to look at them, and see if they are okay. Let me help you," I soothe her and reach for the babies. The fox doesn’t stop me as I pick the babies up and carefully stand, holding them in my arms and rushing over to the vet. He takes them both off me, and he disappears over to a counter in the room with Gold following. I go back to the fox, sitting on the ground next to her and after a few seconds, she lets me put my hand on her back.
"They’re alive!" I hear Gold exclaim in relief, and I take a deep breath. Thank god. Gold carries one of the babies back over to the pen, with the vet carrying the other. They carefully place them with the mother again, and Gold moves back as the fox licks her pups. I see Gold wiping tears away, watching me with a look I think is admiration. The vet checks the fox over while I sit speaking quietly, soothing the fox. After a while, the vet nods his head, and so we leave the pen.
"I will come and see you soon, I promise, little fox," I tell her. I don't know if the fox can understand me, but I like to think the animals and us shifters have more of a connection to each other than humans do. I've met so many animals, cared for them, and sometimes I really think they can understand every word we tell them.
"I think she will be okay. It looks like a dog got hold of her and bit her a few times, that's why there is so much blood. She is also extremely malnourished, but with some good food and water, she will make a solid recovery. I will come back and check on her in a week. Do call me if she doesn't drink or eat, and I can set up a IV," the vet explains as he washes his hands. Gold and I wash our hands next and walk out the room. I shake hands with the vet before he leaves. I turn to ask what Gold would like to see next when she suddenly leans up and kisses me. I groan when she wraps her legs around my waist, and her small hands go into my hair as I grab her hips and deepen the kiss. I swing us around, pushing her back against the wall as my tongue explores her mouth. I groan again as her hand slides down my chest, undoing the button on my jeans as we continue to kiss. I pull her off the wall, walking down the corridor and opening the door to an empty exam room. I walk her inside, slamming the door closed behind us and pushing her against it as she pulls my hard cock out of my jeans. Her hand doesn’t quite fit all the way around it, but that doesn’t stop her from stroking me until I feel like I’m inches away from losing all control. I drag my hand up her thigh, finding the side of her underwear and ripping it off with one tug. I growl as I cup her soaking wet core and slowly slide a finger inside of her. She moans against my lips as I relish in how damn tight she feels.
"I don’t want to play, I want you. Claim your mate, Callum. I can’t wait," she whispers against my lips.
"My mate never needs to ask," I tell her and slam my lips onto hers. I pull my hand away and grab her hips, driving deep inside of her with one long thrust. She moans loudly, meeting my every thrust as she holds onto my shoulders and gently bites my lip.
"I'm so close," she cries out, and I kiss down her neck, finding the spot that makes her tighten around my cock and call out my name. I bite down on her shoulder and pound into her one more time as I finish. I feel her teeth dig into my neck as I come, and the mating bond slams into our minds. The emotions rocket from her into me, the love, the worry, and mostly the happiness. She is happy. We are both breathing heavily as she lets go, and I rest my forehead against hers.
"Mate," I whisper reverently, and she chuckles, licking my blood off her lip. I glance at where I bit her and notice it bleeding a little, but it should heal quickly.
"You don't regret this, do you? I know it happened fast, but I just knew when I saw you with the fox, how you acted, who you are. I want you as my mate, and you make me happy, even after the short amount of time we have known each other," Gold asks me, rambling.
"I will never regret this. We aren’t human, our animals knew we were perfect for each other. Humans can take years, but we have both been around long enough to know what we want and what is good for us by now," I tell her, and she kisses me lightly in return.
"One problem," she says around a smile.
"What?" I ask.
"I don’t have any underwear now, after you ripped them," she chuckles.
"I don't see that as a problem," I grin as I reply, making her laugh.