I was completely torn.

Torn between wanting to feed and nurture my mate, and wanting to get back to claiming her as my own.

As I fried the French toast in butter, I couldn’t stop grinning. Fuck, but the sex had been great. I mean, sex was like pizza, even when it was bad, it was still pretty fucking good, but the act of claiming your mate just took sex to a whole nother level.

The bacon sizzled as I flipped it over, then moved to pour eggs into the ready skillet on the stove to scramble. Once everything was ready, I put it all together on one giant platter and took it to my square rustic table in the corner of the room, then went back to the kitchen to get the coffee and orange juice.

I was just placing syrup, hot sauce, and creamer on the table, when Natasha came strolling in wearing one of my t-shirts, her hair still wet from the shower. I growled as my gaze swept over her still free breasts, then down to where the hem of my shirt hit her mid-thigh. Even though it was about five sizes too big for her, she looked amazing.

Amazing enough to have me wanting to forget food and take her back to bed. But, at the sight of the food on the table, her eyes widened and her stomach growled, and I knew I’d have to be patient.

“Oh my God, do you always make that much food?” she asked as she crossed to the chair I was holding out for her.

“Yeah,” I said, looking at the spread and thinking it looked about right for the two of us. “I can put away a lot of food, and I live out here most of the time, away from the town and the rest of my clan, so I had to learn how to provide for myself. Believe me, it takes a lot of calories to keep my bear happy.”

“Wow,” Natasha exclaimed, the gingerly took one piece of French toast, a spoonful of scrambled eggs, and two pieces of bacon. “It all smells great.”

“Thanks,” I replied as I took the seat across from her and began loading my plate much more generously.

“Mmmm,” she moaned as she bit into a slice of bacon, causing me to pause, my fork of eggs suspended in air. Her eyes were closed and her face looked rapturous as she chewed, and my cock hardened in response to the sight and sound.

Averting my gaze to my fork, I began shoveling my food in as quickly as I possibly could, without looking like an uncivilized animal, and prayed Natasha would fill up fast. I needed to be inside of her the next time that noise came across her lips.

“So, ah…” I began, clearing my suddenly dry throat. “Tell me about yourself. I know Gilly and Brick are your siblings, and that you work at Howlers…”

Natasha gave a short laugh and replied, “Well, then you know just about everything…”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” I countered, catching her gaze and holding it.

She nodded slightly and slid a bite of French toast into her mouth. When she licked the fork afterward, I averted my gaze once more, as my cock got so hard that it became painful.

“Well, you know Gilly, so you know growing up we were all taught, repeatedly, that we were the lucky ones, the chosen, who would eventually grow up to marry an Alpha and help rule a pack. My parents took this blessing as they called it, very seriously. There were history lessons, lessons on entertaining and public speaking. They had us offer our services to babysit cubs, so that we would know how to handle it when the children shifted unintentionally. Brick would get to go off and play, to have fun, while Gilly and I were stuck with our lessons.”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a childhood,” I muttered, thinking of my own childhood, which was spent exploring the woods and playing with my friends in the clan.

“Oh, the three of us still made time to get in trouble, much to our mother’s disappointment,” Natasha said, smiling at the memory. “We were all very close growing up, maybe because our parents always pointed out how different we were from the other kids, like we were special or something. Except, we didn’t feel so much special as excluded, that is, until we met Max and Mateo.”

“Your brother left a few years ago?” I prodded, loving the sound of her voice, as I learned more about her.

Natasha frowned and nodded.

“After he came out, my parents disowned him and basically threw him out. He found his way, going off to college and making friends, but, I’ve never forgiven my parents for the way they treated him, and I really missed him while he was away.”

“We talked a bit at Mateo’s party, he seems like a really good guy.”

“He is,” Natasha said, smiling again, just like I’d hoped she would.

“And, Gilly? You two are close?” I asked.

“Yes, we’ve always been close, even more so since we’ve been working together at Howler’s. At least, I thought we were, although she never told me about her and Mateo over the years. Not until she and Max realized they were mates.”

Natasha frowned again, opened her mouth as if to speak, then shut it again.

“What?” I asked, wanting to know what she was thinking.

“I don’t know, it’s just, if the three of us were destined to be mated to Alpha’s, as we’ve always been told, why is everything changing now? Are the prophecies wrong, or are we not the actual chosen ones?”

“Well, as the Chief of my Clan, I’m the equivalent to the Alpha of a wolf pack, and we are mates,” I said, finally saying out loud what we’ve both know since the moment we’d met.

“And, Gilly?”

“It’s not uncommon for two Alpha’s to be born to a pack, and over time, depending on how their raised, one will grow to be the obvious leader, while the other slides into the Bravo position. It’s entirely possible that, if Max left and went to another pack, he would be an Alpha, although I don’t see that ever happening.”

“Really?” Natasha asked, her face full of wonder. “I’ve never heard that before. Wow, a lesson my parents didn’t teach.”

“And, Brick…”

“Brick?” Natasha cut in, confused.

“Yeah, Brick, as a gay man, it goes without saying that since he follows your bloodline, there’s a good chance that he is also fated to be with an Alpha.”