The Other Part of Me
Chapter 10

Braden

When Braden finally came down to search for Cassie, he followed her scent and found her in the mansion's den talking to Bridgette. They were sitting on the red tufted French sofa in the back of the room and away from all the activity of other pack members. Both women looked as if they had been lifelong friends.

He began walking towards them but stopped when he noticed Molly was asleep in her embrace, and two other pack pups were sitting at her feet. His heart contracted. Bridgette was right, it seemed she was a natural with children.

He knew now he would be a father. He didn't know how many pups Moon Goddess would bless them with, but he felt a sense of relief knowing he'd have the chance to extend both of their lineages.

Cassie should have been with them all along. She was a true born Bloodstone Pack member. The daughter of their Moon Goddess-given, Alpha. She had returned to her true home. She belonged there.

And she was his.

"Cassie," he whispered not wanting to wake Molly. "I'm sorry about the delay, are you ready to go upstairs?"

She looked up at him and nodded. She carefully handed Bridgette her offspring and walked to him. "Is everything okay?" She asked.

He shook his head. "Nothing important."

He noticed she was studying his face. "Are you sure?"

He cleared his mind before she was able to link with his thoughts. "Our sleeping area is on the second floor," he reached for her hand and led her upstairs.

"There's so much to remember," Cassie whispered, "I'm getting that feeling of being stuck in a hospital with endless corridors that seem to lead nowhere."

He laughed. "I knew it was a good idea to leave the maze for another day." They continued to ascend the marble staircase. "Your things have been taken to our rooms. You can unpack and place your things where you see fit. We'll share a closet for now, but I'll have a larger one built in time." Once they reached the top, he felt her delicate fingers on his arms.

"Um, I have... questions about," she paused. He saw her cheeks color in a bright pink shade. "Sleeping arrangements," she all but whispered as she leaned her lips closer to his ears.

He pulled her towards their rooms. "It's probably best to show you."

He passed his bedroom door and continued down the hall to the next door.

"Are- are we expected to have sex tonight?" She blurted out. "Will someone check the bedsheets in the morning to see if I was pure?" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm twenty-seven, Braden. I haven't been *pure* in years."

He refrained from openly laughing at her. "Oh, then that might be a problem," he assumed a pensive look and paced slowly around her. "If we don't have virgin blood to offer to Moon Goddess at midnight, she will smite the whole pack. We may have to appeal to her good nature by sacrificing a newborn babe." He looked at her. "Too bad we don't have any newborns in the pack. We're doomed."

She gasped.

"We're not a cult, Cassie. None of that matters."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

He nodded. "We haven't been a cult in over... three decades, I think."

She rolled her eyes at him. "But are we expected to have sex tonight?"

He began walking once more. They approached her door a few feet away from his. He opened the door, quickly scanning the room. He had asked for this room to be cleared out and for a dresser, a nightstand and a bed to be brought in. His request was fulfilled although he recognized this room would likely stay in this fashion for little time. As soon as they were fully mated, she would move into the master bedroom with him and this room, which was recently he once used as an office, would become her closet.

He held the door open for her. Once inside, he closed the door behind them and led her to the antique-style brass bed.

They sat facing each other.

"If you want to share yourself with me beginning tonight, I would not object." He took her hand in his and stared into her bright green eyes. "I won't force you to do anything you're not comfortable with."

She nodded. "So if I'm not ready for that now?"

He shrugged. "Now that we've met and the mate-bond has come to life, you'll be in estrus within a few days."

"In estrus?" she repeated. "What is that?"

"In heat," he put simply. When she flinched, he felt he needed to delve further into the explanation. "With our kind, when it comes time to procreate, we abide by the nature of the wolf. You'll be in heat for me, we'll copulate, and with Moon Goddess' blessing, you'll bear my pups."

"Pups?" She uttered the word in a high pitch. "Like with baby wolf-characteristics?"

"No," he laughed.

She released his hand, he noticed her body stiffen. "Do we have to reproduce every time I'm in heat, or can pups be prevented?"

He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes on her. He sensed her extreme reluctance to think of offspring at this time. "We can wait until you're ready," he answered softly. "However, given we are at advanced age for our kind, I would hope we have pups sooner versus later."

She cast her gaze downwards. At that moment, Braden felt a wall come up between them. He didn't think she'd bear the ability to shut him out through their mind link, but she managed to figure it out. She stood and walked towards the windows. "I noticed a few of the females were giving you... longing stares." She crossed her arms and faced him. "Why didn't you settle down with one of them?" He locked his eyes on hers. Slowly he stood up and walked towards her.

By no means had he ever been a saint, but where relationships were concerned, he always made it clear any pack members he bedded that their trysts could not evolve beyond that which was physical.

He owed so much to Moon Goddess and he was not willing to interfere with a mate-bond for the sake of his own satisfaction. Even when he found himself unmated at thirty, way beyond the time their kind replace their mates, he still was not willing to cause the rupture of a mate-bond between his lovers and their truly intended.

As he grew older, he realized it was best to satisfy his urges outside of the pack as it was an easier break. Now, as he looked into his mate's beautiful face, he knew she was the one he would have chosen, even if the choice had been his all along.

As he reached her side, he stroked her cheek with the back of his index finger. "I've been waiting for you all this time."

She leaned into his touch. Her lips parted, sending him a warm invitation.

His lips descended on hers gently. He had planned for just a taste, but when she opened her mouth and welcomed him in, he knew he couldn't stop with just the peck he had intended to deliver; when she wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him deeper into her mouth, his body was quick to catch fire for her.

He folded his lips over hers with pressure, mating their tongues each time he moved in to feel her. The small gasps she released every time she inhaled only served to make him want her more.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. He wanted to lift her by the ass, wrap her legs around his hips and fuck her mercilessly against the wall, but he felt her begin to pull away.

"Braden, wait," she uttered his name breathlessly as she pressed her hands against his chest. "Would Eva and Andrei have the ability to procreate?"

He tried to control his breath. He pressed his forehead against hers wondering how she had been able to slip out of their moment of passion just as quickly as she had fallen into it. "I need a moment," he said with his eyes closed. He didn't want to stop, he wanted to feel her from the inside and he wanted to worship every inch of her body with his mouth.

It gave him little pleasure when he noticed her breath was as shallow as his.

Braden wrapped his arms around her, pressing his cheek against hers. He closed his eyes to take in the feeling of holding his mate. "Eva and Andrei will only copulate during heat as is the way of the wolf, but you and I abide by human ways. We can also do it for pleasure."

She slowly pulled away from him. "I'm sorry, but I'm realizing I'm more tired than I thought," she created distance between them as he stared at her, he was sure desire was still evident in his eyes. She walked to where her suitcase lay on the floor and pulled a small plastic pouch full of toiletries from one of the outside compartments. "Where is the bathroom?"

Braden ran his hand through his hair and pointed to a door in the room. "If you walk through here," he pulled the door opened and motioned for her to walk in, "this is our en suite, feel free to go through the cabinets to familiarize yourself with what we have and what you'll need." He pointed to a door at the other end of the bathroom. "My bedroom is through that door. If you need anything throughout the night, walk right in."

"Thank you," she smiled shyly. "Good night, Braden."

He laughed internally. 'Soon,' he thought, and he couldn't wait.