Greykin Mountain

| 56 | Mine

⥐ ⋞ ☽ ⋟ ⥐

Jackson gazed up at the stars as he lay in the snow beside Damon. He'd not long drowned in his feelings of utter content and sheer delight; now, he was much surer of how he felt about Damon, and all he wanted to do was tell him.

          Of course, there was that tiny part of him that still worried Damon might not feel exactly what he felt...but if he didn't, they wouldn't have just had sex, would they?

          And he couldn't stop thinking about it. He couldn't let the memory of that feeling go—the amazing, intoxicating feeling of the Alpha's assertive yet affectionate thrusts. But he couldn't let himself get carried away. If he didn't stop thinking about it, he'd wind up yearning for more.

          He took his eyes off the stars and glanced over at Damon, who was also gazing up at the sky. "Damon, I...I know that we haven't really known each other all that long, but..." he started, and as the Alpha turned his head and locked sights with him, his angst started raging inside him. "B-but...I think...that...I think I love you," he mumbled shyly, looking down at the snow. "A-and I know it's probably stupid, but—"

          "I love you, too," Damon replied.

          Relief immediately flooded through him, and as he stared into Damon's eyes again, his angst was quickly replaced with happiness.

          "I knew from the moment I saw you that you were mine; although it took me a little while to accept it, I always knew it was the truth. And I wasn't sure whether it frightened me or excited me. I'd been with Aysel so long; I grew to accept that it was my fate to be hers. Thinking about finding my true mate felt strange—it felt a little selfish, too. I promised my brother I'd take care of Aysel, but...I caught your scent that morning—I tried to fight it, but I gave in and hunted you down. And I'm glad I did."

          Jackson smiled as his heart fluttered in his chest. Damon loved him too; he couldn't find the words to describe how happy that made him. It made him feel curious, too.

          "So...we were supposed to find each other? Tokala told me a little about mates and stuff."

          Damon rolled onto his side. "We were," he confirmed.

          His smile grew wider—but as he remembered what Tokala had said, he frowned slightly. "What...do we do about it?"

          That was when a keen stare stole Damon's face. "Once a wolf walker finds their mate, they choose to either accept or reject them. If they accept each other, they mate and mark."

          His answer made Jackson feel a little flustered, but he tried to ignore it and fought off his shyness. "Well...we just...did the first part, right?"

          The Alpha laughed quietly and moved his face closer to Jackson's. "I suppose we did."

          "So...what do we do next?"

          A stern frown suddenly warped Damon's face. He sat up, and once Jackson sat up so that they were at eye level, the Alpha stared at him. "Are you sure you want this?"

          "Why wouldn't I be sure?" he asked strangely.

          "Because if we mark each other, it lasts forever. There's no going back. We will be bound to one another for eternity."

          That sounded like a heavy commitment—like marriage. But it was, sort of...wasn't it? He remembered Tokala telling him it was rather like human marriage, but evidently, divorce wasn't on the table if things didn't work out. Not that he was worried things wouldn't work out, though. What he felt for Damon was more powerful than anything he'd ever felt for anyone else. But the idea of an eternal bond did frighten him a little.