Word Count: 5705

Celie woke up to a pounding head, throbbing shoulder, and warm chest under her cheek. She decided to ignore the head and shoulder pain and focus on the warm chest. She smiled a little and tilted her head up to find Eden staring down at her with soft eyes.

"Morning," Celie mumbled, this grimaced as pain shot through her temples.

"How are you feeling, my love?" Eden asked softly, kissing her forehead.

"Like there are dwarves mining for gold in my head," Celie said, then chuckled at his confused expression. "I'll have to explain that one later, not sure I have enough brain power to focus on a coherent story right now."

"How does your shoulder feel?" Eden asked.

"Throbbing like crazy, but better today than yesterday," Celie said. "The skin feels tight, so I'm sure I need a shower and more of that ointment that Harper puts on the stitches."

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Eden asked. "I can try to get you something to eat and bring it up here, but I've not yet learned to operate the machinery in the kitchen to cook anything to eat."

Celie couldn't help but chuckle at that and she sat up with a grunt.

"That's ok, Harper will cook breakfast," Celie said. "I'm pretty sure she'll feel sorry for me enough to cook for the next few days."

"Can we talk?" Eden asked seriously, causing Celie to turn to him nervously.

"If I said something super offensive when I was drunk I really apologize and I promise I won't drink that much again anytime soon," Celie immediately responded.

"You said nothing offensive," Eden smiled. "At least not to me. I'm pretty sure Tene is offended by you telling him he was boring and had no personality though."

"Oh, great," Celie mumbled. "That happens to be true though, at least from what I remember of interacting with him. The dude sat there all night and never laughed or talked at all, even when I tried to talk to him he was like a weird statue or something."

"I agree with you, siren warriors are often very reticent though, since we spend the majority of our lives alone," Eden chuckled. "But that is not what I wanted to speak to you about."

"Okay," Celie took a deep breath and braced herself. She didn't know what Eden was going to say, she just prayed it wasn't a rejection.

"I want you to mark me," Eden said.

"What?" Celie gaped at him for a second.

"I had a very enlightening discussion with Sira last night after you passed out," Eden said, and Celie groaned.

Celie demanded.

Sira responded calmly.

Celie asked.

Sira replied.

Celie practically screeched.

Sira asked.

"What all did she say?" Celie asked, when she didn't get anymore information out of Sira.

"She explained wolf mating and her feelings on the matter," Eden said. "I agree with her and I want us to mate officially."

"What were her feelings on the matter?" Celie asked.

"You don't know?" Eden's face was a mask of confusion.

"We're two different spirits, she has her own feelings and doesn't always share with me. She seems to be being especially cryptic at the moment, so if you could just enlighten me, that would be great," Celie sighed and rubbed her aching forehead.

"She said she has fully accepted me as her mate, and that from her point of view there is no reason to wait because that is not how wolves behave. She said once a wolf accepts their mate, they commit for life and it is not in their nature to ever change their minds or forsake their mate. Whether that mate is chosen by the moon or by the wolf, once it's decided it should be completed," Eden told her. "She thinks putting it off is an indication of indecision on my part and makes her feel I do not truly accept or want her as my mate. I don't want her to feel that way, I do accept her, and you. I do love her, and you. Fully, and completely, with all my heart. I don't feel the need or see any reason to wait because I know that I will not change my mind either."

Celie's eyes filled with tears and she bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop herself from crying.

"Okay," Celie said simply after a few minutes fighting back her emotions.

Eden's smile was brilliant, and he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"But can we wait until my shoulder is healed? Because if we're going to be bumping and humping I want to have full range of motion and use of my arm." Celie chuckled at Eden's confused expression. "Bumping and humping is a euphemism for having sex."

"Oh," Eden's eyes widened, then he grinned and bounced his eyebrows. "OH!"

Celie started laughing, then pressed her palm against her forehead and groaned when pain shot through her head.

"I think I need to eat something and drink a ton of water so my head will quit hurting," Celie said, sliding off the bed. "And I need to brush my teeth because I swear something fuzzy started growing on them overnight, ugh. I can't believe you kissed me like this."

**

"Good morning," Harper said cheerfully as Celie shuffled into the kitchen.

"Don't shout at me," Celie grouched, squinting her eyes at the bright kitchen. "Please make me something to eat? I need something more than cereal and I'm not capable of cooking for myself right now."

Matt sat a full glass of orange juice in front of Celie with a grin and pulled a skillet out from under the cabinet.

"We fully intended to make you breakfast, we were just waiting for you to wake up," Harper said, then her expression turned serious. "How's the shoulder? Mind if I take a look while Mattie cooks?"

"It's throbbing, feels tight, and sore, but not nearly as bad as yesterday," Celie answered, and Harper nodded.

"It doesn't feel hot or feverish?" Harper asked.

"No, just tight and sore," Celie answered as Harper began to carefully remove the bandages.

"I'm going to clean and sanitize the stitches but leave the bandages off today unless you feel like you need them," Harper said. "I'll put some ointment on them to keep them moist, but I want them to get air while they're healing. You still need to wear the sling through, I don't want any pulling or stress on the skin or muscle tissue."

"Whatever you say, doc," Celie hissed as the last bandage snagged on one of the stitches.

The bell for the gate pinged and Matt checked the monitor before pressing the button and Eden went to open the front door. A few seconds later Jenny entered the kitchen and immediately shrieked.

"Oh my god, Celie!" Jenny said, rushing over. "What happened to you? Are you ok? Oh my god, your shoulder!"

Celie winced and placed a palm over her forehead.

"Please don't screech so loud, Jenny, I have a really bad hangover," Celie said with a sigh. "What happened to me is that some of Cole's friends attacked us yesterday and nearly ripped my arm off right before they killed Sana."

Jenny gasped and pressed both hands to her mouth as tears began streaming from her eyes.

"No, no, oh no," Jenny cried. "How could this happen? How could he do this?"

"Jenny, why don't you go visit with Levi for a little while?" Harper said. "I need to finish cleaning Celie's shoulder and she needs to eat breakfast and rest. Eva is in the tank with him, you can hop in there and spend some time with him and we'll see you in a little while, okay?"

Eden placed his hand on Jenny's shoulder and began to lead her from the room, but she turned back and ran to Celie. She clearly wanted to hug her but was afraid to touch her, so she simply pressed her cheek to Celie's hair.

"I'm so sorry, Celie, I'm so sorry he did this to you," Jenny whispered as she pulled away.

"It's alright, Jenny, I'm okay, I swear," Celie gave her a gentle smile. "I'm tougher than I look, I'll be right as rain in no time at all, don't you worry about me. I've got the world's greatest doctor here looking after me, and I have the best boyfriend anyone could ask for, so I'm better off than most people. Just give Levi a hug for me, okay? I won't be able to get in the tank with him for a few days until my shoulder heals up a bit."

"I will," Jenny sniffled, then let Eden lead her back to the tank room.

"Boyfriend?" Harper asked, when Jenny and Eden had left the room.

"Well, I couldn't really say mate, now could I?" Celie said. "I'm going to mark and mate him when I'm all healed up."

"You are?" Harper stared at Celie wide eyed, and Matt hurried over so he wouldn't miss any of the conversation.

"Yes, I am," Celie chuckled. "Apparently Eden and Sira had a long conversation after I passed out last night, where Sira informed him that wolves don't wait to mate, and she wants to claim him."

"You're kidding!" Matt said, grinning like crazy.

"Nope," Celie rolled her eyes, then smiled sweetly. "Sira told him she fully accepted him and wanted to mate him, and that waiting was making her feel like he wasn't sure about being her mate and it made her doubt he was serious about being committed to her. Which really freaked him out because he's one hundred percent sure he wants us as his mate. He told me he wants me to mark him because he never wants her to doubt him or be insecure about his love for her... and me"

"Oh my god, Celie!" Harper said, her voice hitching. "That is so sweet!"

"Wow," Matt laughed. "Maybe you should just let Sira take over, seems like she just puts shit out there and makes everything really clear."

"Maybe, I should," Celie snorted. "But she seems to only do that when I'm blind drunk and passed out because she never said any of that shit to me, only to him when I was out of it."

"That might actually be a good thing, Cel," Harper said. "That means she actually has fully accepted him, if she'll talk to him so honestly like that, and doing it while you're passed out is like how she would communicate with him if he were another wolf spirit. Maybe you should do that more often, don't develop a drinking problem, but every once in a while, create a situation where she can talk freely to him without you being in the middle."

"Yeah, but I hate that she feels she can't say things in front of me like that," Celie said sadly. "I think maybe need to spend more time with her and focus on her more. I love Sira so much, she's my heart, I hate thinking she feels like she can't say things to me or be close to me. I just wonder what I did that made her think I wouldn't listen to her thoughts and feelings."

Sira's soft voice spoke up in her mind.

Celie told her, but tears were slowly filling her eyes.

Celie felt a rush of love and comfort flow through her.

Matt and Harper exchanged a small smile at Celie's blank look, knowing she was having a heart to heart with her wolf.

"What did Sira say?" Harper asked, smiling softly at Celie.

"She said she just wanted to talk to her mate, and she was worried that I'd be too shy to just outright tell him what she thought, and that maybe she would be able to explain a wolf's perspective easier than I would." Celie said. "And she loves me too."

"Of course she does Cel," Matt said, kissing her head as he placed a plate of bacon and eggs in front of her. "Just like everyone else, it's impossible not to love you, you're like the sun."

Then the tears did slide from her eyes, and she sniffed a bit before dashing them away.

"I love you guys too," Celie said, picking up her fork.

"Oh my goddess!" Lorelai gasped as she entered the kitchen and caught sight of Celie's injury that Harper was still carefully cleaning. "Celie I had no idea you were hurt so badly! You acted as though you felt fine last night, you should have been resting!"

"I'm tougher than I look," Celie said, smiling. "And I wasn't going to be a pooper at my own pack party!"

Lorelai came around the island to look for a plate when Celie gasped and stared at her wide eyed, causing Harper to stare and her mouth drop open in shock.

"Oh my god!" Celie jumped up, even though Harper tried to keep her in her seat. She ran around the island and grabbed Lorelai and squeezed her tightly, then went up on her toes to get a good look at the mark on her neck. "You're mated! Boy, you guys sure didn't waste any time!"

"My wolf is much more dominant than most," Lorelai laughed at their reactions. "She's definitely far more dominant than Porter's that's for sure, she basically tossed him on the bed and marked him the second the bedroom door closed."

"I think she may be the Alpha and I may be the Luna in this relationship," Porter laughed as he entered the kitchen, wearing only his jeans and no shirt. He wasn't taking any chances on someone not seeing his new mating mark. He eased up behind Lorelai and slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her hair. The smile on his face was one of absolute bliss.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwww," Harper and Celie cooed together, both of them with tears of happiness in their eyes.

"My little Porter is all grown up!" Celie sniffed as Harper led her back to the chair to finish cleaning her wounds.

Eden came back into the kitchen and saw the tears on Celie's cheeks and immediately went to her.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain? What can I do?" Eden said, gently wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. "What is it, my love? Please don't cry."

"Nothing," Celie sniffed. "I'm just so happy! This is like the best day ever! Look at Porter and Lorelai, they are fully mated and marked! My little boy is all grown up!"

Eden looked over at Porter who was still standing behind Lorelai with his arms around her waist as she prepared two plates of food for them.

"Well now," Eden grinned. "Congratulations! This makes me very happy as well, it seems as though more celebrations may be in order."

"Yes!" Celie said, raising her good arm to cheer only to grimace when pain shot through her head. "Ugh...Maybe later though, when my hangover wears off."

"Yeah, but that needs to happen pretty quick, because the wolf delegation will be here around four o'clock, so you've only got about two hours to get yourself together. So finish up your breakfast, drink all that juice and a big glass of water and get a shower. That will make you feel a lot better, and with your werewolf healing, you should be fine except for your injuries in a little while." Harper said. "Let me know when you're ready to take that shower, I'll hop in there with you and wash your hair and help you get cleaned up."

"Great, hey Lorelai, want to jump in the shower with us, seems like it's going to be a girl's group event," Celie rolled her eyes, embarrassed that she needed help showering and wanting to make a joke out of it.

"Pass!" Lorelai chuckled.

"I'd pass too if I could, ugh, I hate needing help with anything, especially a shower," Celie moped.

"I'll get in there and help you if you don't want to shower with a girl," Eden offered with a grin.

"I'm going to veto that idea," Harper shut down that line of thought quickly. "I'm afraid you will get up to some strenuous activity in there. Celie you seriously need to rest that arm and shoulder for at least another day or two. I let you slide on it last night because the initiation was a big deal, but I don't want a single stitch to get torn and I don't want any more scarring than necessary. This wound is a lot more serious than you're making it out to be Cel, your muscles and tissues were torn right down to the bone. You really, really need to take care of it for the next couple of days. Werewolf healing or not, if you tear those muscles apart while they're still healing it could be bad enough that you actually lose some mobility in the arm."

"Okay, Okay," Celie said, feeling a little guilty for blowing Harper off when she was just trying to take care of her. "I hear you Harp, and I know I need to listen to you more. I promise I'll take it easy until you give me the green light to use my arm again."

"Good," Harper sighed, glad that Celie was finally acknowledging the seriousness of the situation. "Now finish eating, your breakfast is already getting cold, and you need to get some nutrients back in your system and get rehydrated after all that drinking."

"Okay, Mom," Celie smiled and took a huge bite of eggs.

They all ate their breakfast quietly for a few minutes before Lorelai spoke.

"So, can I see a siren today?" She asked. "I've been dying to see one of you in your marine form ever since you told me what you are."

Eden and Matt started chuckling.

"Of course you can, you can even see a triton baby if you're interested," Matt said.

"Wait, what?" Lorelai stopped and stared at them.

"That's right, you haven't heard the whole story yet, we'll probably go over the whole thing when the wolves get here with Elder Isaac, but in a nutshell, a teenage girl found a triton male hurt and dragged him up to her uncle's pool and took care of him," Porter said. "She basically domesticated him, which is what got the ball rolling on this whole thing. They ended up actually mating last year and she gave birth to a hybrid triton baby and didn't know how to take care of it. She found out about us from him, because he's been attacking us, and she brought the baby here for help because she didn't know how to care for him, and he was dying."

"She's in the aquarium visiting him now," Celie said. "She got here a little while ago, Eva is in the tank with the baby, so you can go in there and see them both now if you want. Porter can take you back, he gets in there and plays with the baby all the time."

"You like playing with babies?" Lorelai glanced at Porter with a smile.

"I love babies, I love kids, I play with the pack kids all the time," Porter said with a grin and a shrug.

"He's a big kid himself, so he fits right in," Celie laughed as she finished cleaning her plate and started working on her big glass of water. "Well, let's go get in the shower Harper, might as well get this over with as quickly as possible."

**