That night, Christopher walked into the house exhausted from his work but excited to see if she stayed.

"Quinn? Are you here?"

I don't sense her here, he thought to himself. He sighed, disappointed that his mate wasn't here with him... where she belonged. He threw himself on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe it was too soon. I don't know what I was thinking.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door that made his ears perk up. He opened it to see a bashful Quinn with a small bag of her things. A great smile crept along his face.

"I hope you don't mind if I stay the night? I brought you some food from dinner tonight. I didn't see you at the pack house and I wanted to make sure you ate."

Christopher took the bags from her hands and placed them beside the door. He then swooped Quinn up in his arms and planted a fat kiss on her lips.

"Im so glad you came back."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know... I just didn't see you here and I got worried."

"Well I'm here now."

"You are here now," he said with a smile that would not go away.

"You can put me down."

"Oh, right. Sorry!" He said setting her on the floor.

"Now, I'm going to get dinner warmed up. Go get a shower. It'll be ready when your done."

"Okay babe," he said and made his way up to his bathroom to and into the shower.

When he came back down he noticed the table was set and two plates of food were placed on the table. Quinn walked in holding a couple of drinks. She placed one next to his plate and sat down with hers.

"Oh hey!" She said when she saw him. "Come sit before your food gets cold."

A sense of contentment washed over the beta. He thought he'd never get here with her and yet, here they were sharing their first dinner together in their home.

"You haven't said much since you came downstairs, is ever okay?"

"Yeah," Christopher said reaching out and touching her hand. "Everything is perfect. I'm so happy you're here."

"Me too." Quinn said with a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me a for a sec, I have to go get something from the kitchen."

He watched her as she disappeared into the other room and walked out with two dessert plates and two mugs of coffee. On the plate sat her homemade brownies and a single scoop of ice cream.

"Wow, I get dessert to?"

"Of course." She laughed. "I made this just for you. The pack didn't even get any tonight."

"Oh yeah?" He said with a cocked eyebrow.

"Yeah. I hope you like it."

They talked over dessert and coffee just enjoying being in each other's company.

"So, where will I be sleeping?"

"With me of course"

"I don't think I'm ready for that Chris."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry. I was just so excited about the whole thing, it didn't occur to me that you wouldn't be comfortable with it."

"It's okay, really. I want to be excited about it too. I shouldn't be scared to sleep next to my mate. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I understand completely. I wasn't thinking."

"How about I just go home tonight? I can come have dinner with you, but I'll sleep there."

"Don't be silly!" said Christopher. "Sleep in my bed tonight. I'll sleep on couch and tomorrow I'll get the guest room ready for you. You can sleep in there on the nights that you want to stay over."

"I don't want to kick you out of your own bed!"

"You're not kicking me out of my bed. I want you stay her with me. And if that means I have to sleep in the couch for one night, That's fine. Please, stay."

"Okay, I'll stay."

"Great!" he said getting up from his seat. He grabbed the dishes from the table and placed them in the sink. They washed them together before he took her up to his room and showed her around.

When he left, Quinn collapsed into the overstuffed comforter. She breathed in his scent; it was everywhere. It made her dizzy and excited her all at the same time. She closed her eyes, trying to focus on her sense and get them under control.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. She took deep breaths until she drifted off to sleep.

Christopher made himself a bed on the L-shaped couch. It was comfortable, enough. He couldn't wait until she was comfortable enough to share a bed with him. Until then, he was satisfied to have her home.

A few months had gone by since Quinn and Christopher agreed to give their bond an honest try. Quinn went back almost every night after that. It got to the point that they decided it was best if she moved in.

"Quinn! I've got all of your stuff in the back of the truck, are you ready?"

"Coming!" She said rushing down the stairs and tripping over the last two steps.

Christopher rushed over and caught her before she hit the floor. "You have to be more careful."

"I know." She said looking down with embarrassment.

Christopher put his hand on her belly and lowered his head to meet her gaze. "We can't let anything happen to this little one. Or to you. Okay?"

"Alright alright, I promise I'll be more careful."

"Okay. Now, come on. Everyone is waiting for us at our house to help us move your stuff in."

They slept in separate rooms for a while until one night, Quinn got the courage to change that. Christopher was dead asleep when Quinn quietly opened the door and tip-toed over to his bed.

She lifted the large fluffy blanket and tried to slip in without disturbing him. She sighed in relief thinking she was successful. As she rolled over to get comfortable, she felt an arm snake around her waist and pull her in.

"What a nice surprise.."

She could hear the smile in his voice when he whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry babe, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"Don't be sorry. I've been waiting for this moment since I found out you were mine."

Quinn rolled over to face him. She pushed his hair out of his face and he pulled her into a passionate kiss.

"Thank you." Quinn said against his lips.

"For what?"

"For being patient with me.. for doing things at my pace. You have no idea how much it's meant to me."

"I'd do anything for you babe. I love you."

"I love you too, Chris."

She rolled over and he pulled her tightly into him. Together, they fell asleep and experienced the best sleep they've ever had.

*********************************************

She was now five months pregnant and ready to pop. In that time, Alivia and Sara announced that they were also pregnant with their first child. The pack's top three wolves would all be having children around the same time.

Quinn and Alivia were having little girls and Sara was having a boy. There was a sense of exuberance throughout as preparations were made to welcome the pups to the pack. Everyone happily pitched in however they could. The pack never felt as harmonious as it did in that time.

Christopher and Quinn had not yet completed the mating process. She wasn't ready to give herself up to him in that way just yet. Christopher kept his promise and proved himself to her. So, she had decided already that she would allow him to mark her sometimes after her daughter's birth. Quinn wanted to sure that he could handle a baby, especially since it wasn't his biological baby. While there was absolutely no doubt in Christopher's mind, Quinn had to be sure.