Klepto POV

"How was your day?" I ask, trailing a slow finger gently over Ezra's chest as his breathing flows in and out of his lungs. The gusts of his exhales drift across my cheek making my fine peach hairs rise.

We're laying in bed together. It's late. He just got home a few minutes ago, and before I could greet him he'd stripped to his underwear and clambered into bed.

"Busy. Stressful." He replies. I watch his eyes close and then open again to look down at me with a small smile, he's trying to stay awake for me. I can tell he's exhausted. "How about yours?"

I pretend to think about it for a second before I answer.

"Stressful. Busy." I reply. He has the decency to snort, but his eyes flutter once again and I know he's fighting sleep to even talk to me.

I snuggle up closer to him and sigh.

"No, no, it's been pretty boring actually. I had to help prepare everything for tomorrow. Stacey is ecstatic." I explain softly, trying not to disrupt the peaceful bubble encompassing the whole room.

Ezra straightens a bit in bed, covers rustling as he adjusts his position.

"This ceremony is going to be bigger than the last one I suspect." He muses, eyes closed now with a wicked grin on full display. I snicker and nod against his neck. I kiss the skin where his throat and shoulder meet, right where I'll mark him tomorrow.

"I don't care. I use to care about stuff like that, but I don't mind a few more people witnessing just how much I love you." I admit, wrapping an arm tightly around my mate's muscle covered waist.

"Aww, aren't you a peach." He murmurs, and when I glance back up he's grinning at me, yellow eyes glowing in the dimess. I nod at him and lick my lips before I reply.

"Bet I taste as good as one too."

Ezra laughs, the action shaking me up and down against his body.

"Oh, there's no betting, I know that you taste as good as one, probably better." He bends his neck to kiss me. Our lips crush together for a moment, enjoying the quiet moment together before the madness that will go on tomorrow. It'll be quite the event.

After we pull away I shake my head.

"If Stacy only knew that we're sleeping in the same bed the night before our ceremony. She'd go crazy if she figured out we're breaking tradition. We can't see each other the day of the ceremony." My mate shrugs.

"So what? Who cares? We're gonna have a great day regardless of her superstitions." He pauses for a moment, rubbing my forearm up and down with his warm hand. "I mean, it didn't help us much last time, did it?"

The color red flashes behind my eyelids when I blink, and I wince. Blood. There had been so much blood shed that day, I prefer not to remember it. I always end up getting too caught up in the memories.

We lay there in silence for awhile. The two of us just enjoy each other's company and breath deeply. I try to stay in the moment, keeping a tight leash on my wandering thoughts.

Ezra finally shatters the ongoing quiet.

"How many do you think we'll have?" He asks in a whisper. I raise my eyebrows and shift so I can prop myself up on my elbows. His face smiles back at me through the dark.

His question confuses me.

"How many what exactly?"

"Pups. Obviously."

I go quiet. Oh, that. Of course we had to talk about this. Of course he would bring it up. Why am I caught so off guard by this?

"Well, not too many since we already have 2." He says, and I grin as I think of my precious baby brothers sleeping soundly down the hall.

"Yeah. We don't have to plan anything definite right now." I start drawing invisible designs on his naked chest with my fingertips again, mulling over the ideas pouring into my head like a river. "We can wait awhile to start trying, you know? We have plenty of time."

Ezra looks smug, lips quirking upwards.

"I would say. We have the rest of eternity, after all."

I blanche, suddenly overwhelmed by the idea of that many years passing us by. Will our bond be enough to keep us together for that long? One look over at my lycan mate and I know it will.

He's my everything. Though I can't exactly him that because it'll go straight to his already big head.

"So, any thoughts on names?" He asks, poking me in the ribs. I slap him away playfully. What a jerk!

"What names?"

He sighs, pretending to be exasperated by me.

"Baby names."

"Oh."

Again, I haven't given much thought to that at all. Maybe it's because we've been so caught up in everything. If our lives were normal maybe I would've considered all the possibilities that come with having a mate. I am not exactly used to having a normal life yet.

Being in Montana is great so far. It's just that each day is so uneventful and... almost peaceful compared to what I come from. I have to realize that this is what my life will be like now. Baby names are something that normal people thought about. It's time for me to be normal.

But that's just it, I'm not picky when it comes to things like that. I'm sure any name will do just fine when the time comes.

"I'll agree with anything you chose." I tell him, and then a mischievous look crosses his face and I regret the words immediately. He'll have a field day with that one.

"So, we'll have to name one of our pups Ezra Junior, of course." He says, and I try to hold back my laughter with a hand pressed to my mouth.

"Of course." I play along, letting out a few snickers that cannot be contained.

Ezra pulls me against his chest again, and I go tumbling down onto him in a fit of giggles. He laughs along too, and I can only hope and pray that our joking around doesn't wake up the boys.

The thought makes me slap a hand over his mouth and I start shushing him through my own laughing.

"The kids. Shhhh!" I explain, and he wriggles against me, trying to dislodge my grip on him.

He eventually pushes away my hand and grips my wrist tightly in his fingers, the sultry expression he wears as he focuses on me gives me the shivers.

"We're going to have to be a lot more quiet tomorrow night." I go pale at those words, knowing exactly what he's talking about. Damn him! Now the shivers are everywhere, climbing up every inch of my skin. I bet he can feel my hairs standing on end.

I don't reply for awhile, I'm too busy imagining what he's talking about. The dressed "S" word. I can't even think about what will happen tomorrow without getting sick to my stomach with nerves.

"Hey, are you okay?" I clutch the covers in my hands, clenching and unclenching my sweat slicked fingers. "Sweetheart, look at me."

I flutter my gaze up at him and I'm shocked at the gentleness staring back at me. His face is scrunched up in worry.

"I'm just joking. What's wrong?" He presses, all traces of humor gone from the atmosphere.

I really don't want to tell him, even though I know full well that confiding in him is the key to a healthy relationship. Pushing back all of my troubles and doubts, I start talking before I can second guess myself.

"I'm nervous, and scared. I don't... I don't know what it will be like, I don't know how to do it. That freaks me out. What if it's awful and we both hate it and we can't make it work and..."

Ezra cuts me off by pressing a finger to my lips and shifting in bed to look deep into my eyes. I try to pull back, now uncomfortable in my own skin as if each muscle in my body is too tight.

"It will be fine, sweetie. In fact, it will be more than fine. It will be amazing. That's how it's supposed to be, otherwise there wouldn't be so many people on this planet." His red eyebrows raise in sincerity, "And I love you. You love me. Shouldn't we both be excited to share something so intimate? We will figure it out together."

I know he's right. Deep down I know that I've known his wise words to be true the whole time, but I let my anxieties get away from me. They grew and grew until they made me hate the mere idea of sex.

He must think I'm such an idiot right now! Sometimes I really do hate myself.

Before I can apologize, my mate kisses me. Ezra's mouth pries at mine. His tongue brushes my tongue in a long sweep that jolts through me like I'm kissing a bolt of lightning.

After a few fleeting moments of kissing, he ends the connection of our lips with a sigh. The last words that my mate murmurs fade into the darkness as we fall asleep.

"Tomorrow will be one of the best days of our lives, you just wait."

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"You may now mark each other." The words are ones I've heard before. Just a short two weeks ago we stood exactly like this, hand in hand as we stare at each other on the altar.

This time is different because there will be no interceptions.

We've just finished our promises to each other, and now it is time for the next step. Just as Alpha Veiler told us. It's time for us to mark each other.

To stake our claims.

Ezra goes first. His sharp canines slice into my skin easily. My mate does not waste any time standing around staring at my neck. He learned his lesson last time, that's for sure.

His marking me doesn't hurt me. In fact, it feels nice. There's an explosion of pure euphoria under his bite that spreads from my shoulder down to my arm, through my ribs and into my heart. It continues to invade every ounce of my body even as he pulls away until I'm in seventh heaven.

Ezra licks the wound carefully. His warm tongue is wet against my skin, and I have to hide how grossed out I am by that.

Now it's my turn.

I try my hardest not to glance out at the audience we have, which is the whole entire pack. It's not a lot of people, and I'm not nervous about them watching us, but I tend to get distracted.

It would be so easy now to look over my shoulder at Tressandra standing at my side with Stacey, Savannah, and Miranda. I can picture myself looking behind my mate to see my little brothers standing there in their little suits. They'd been so excited when Ezra asked them to be his "best men".

Even though Reid is Ezra's best friend, he understood completely. He said he would be happy to stand behind them and keep them in check. And that's exactly what he's doing now.

Dear Moon Goddess! I'm getting distracted by just thinking of my distractions.

Knowing full well that I need to focus now more than ever, I bury away all possible distractions and zero in on Ezra's neck.

I lean forward as he pulls his shirt to the side to grant me access to the spot. My mouth opens tentatively and my teeth elongate and sharpen like little daggers. When I bite down, I hear him gasp. No doubt he's feeling the pure joy that I did mere seconds ago.

His tangy blood caresses my taste buds with a metallic twinge. I stay still for only a moment before I detach. Slipping away from his neck, I close the wound and lean back.

My body surges when an eruption of cheers explodes throughout the small crowd of onlookers, startling me. My newly marked mate wraps an arm around me and pulls me to him. Ezra dips me low to the ground, bending to give me a kiss.

It's official now. We're mated.

Mated. Wow, what a great feeling.

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If you're reading this, I love you:)