Chapter 204

Cedric POV

After dinner, I help my mother clean up the table and then ask Darren to come outside with me. "Listen," I say as we sit on the porch. "Is Mom hounding you about finding your mate?"

Darren shrugs, "Sometimes," he turns away from me to stare into the dark. "She was more worried about you," he says dismissively.

"She doesn't need to worry about me," I say. "Or you actually. She should let the Goddess decide when the right time will be."

"How did you know?" Darren asks. "About Connie, that she was the one?"

"Honestly, it was this strange feeling when I met her. I was actually speechless," I chuckle. "We just started spending time together, and it was like I couldn't stay away from her. Then they had the full moon run, and I asked her if she wanted to participate, to see if we were mates. She didn't really care about the run. She'd never done it before. Shit, she never even had a boyfriend before she met me," I admit. "But she agreed, and when I saw her in the moonlight, standing there, praying to the Goddess, it was like my heart exploded with light and love, and we both knew. It was incredible. She's incredible."

"Wow," Darren replied. "That's awesome. I should probably participate in one of those runs soon."

"You mean you haven't?" I asked.

"No. Mom was making me crazy with all that talk of mates and how broken you were when yours died. I didn't want to deal with it. But you make it sound incredible and worth the risk," he says. "I admit, I'm lonely. I was dating this girl from a pack in New Orleans, and she kept asking me to do the run, and I wouldn't. She stopped returning my calls. I heard she did the run, but her mate wasn't there, so maybe," he shrugs.

"How did it feel when you were around her?" I asked.

"Good," he replies. "She really is an excellent woman, and she was funny and smart."

"You should call her up and agree to do the run," I say. "What do you have to lose?"

"Nothing, I guess," He replies. "Listen, I'm happy for you. I look forward to meeting my niece or nephew. When can I come visit you in Georgia?"

"I will make you a deal," I reply. "You call that girl, you go participate in the run. Then you come visit me."

"It's a deal," he replies with a smirk. "Good night, big brother, I've got work in the morning. Drive carefully back to Connie." He stands and heads inside to bed. I follow shortly after, knowing that the sooner I fall asleep, the sooner I can be on the road back to her.

The next morning, I'm up before the sun rises. I have my Explorer loaded and ready to roll by the time the sky is pink in the East. My mother shuffles out to the porch in her robe and slippers, a to-go cup of coffee in hand for me. "I love you, Cedric," she says, tears in her eyes. "Don't wait so long to come see your mother again," she remarks.

I pull my mom in for a hug. "Come see us. You can, you know," I tell her. "The baby will be here in late March."

"You already know the due date," she gasps. I laugh.

"Connie is the pack doctor, remember. I wouldn't be surprised if she had the ultrasound on her stomach the second she realized she was pregnant. I gotta go, Mom," I pull back from her. "I will call you when I get there. You can even talk to Connie, make plans to come out. I think she'd love to meet you and Dad." We say one last goodbye, and I climb into my truck for the drive to Georgia. It's an eight-hour drive. I will have Connie back in my arms tonight.

It was nine hours when I pulled up to the gate to the packland. I stopped for gas, used the bathroom, and grabbed a quick bite at a fast-food place. Aside from that, I just drove. I was exhausted, but brimming with anticipation to see Connie. It had been three months. The guards approached my vehicle, and when I rolled down the window, they recognized me. "Cedric, I believe you're expected," one of them said with a grin. "Good to have you back." They let me through, and I hurried to Connie's home. I found her in the kitchen preparing dinner.

"You're here," she said, beaming. I picked her up and set her on the counter. She wrapped her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I breathed in her scent and then kissed her like a man drowning. A timer went off, and she pulled back with a smile. "I missed you. Dinner is going to burn if you don't let me down, though."

"Fuck dinner," I said, kissing her again. She kissed me back, but pulled back laughing.

"I'm hungry, Cedric, eating for two remember," she reminded me. How could I forget? I pulled back enough to peer at her stomach. It was still relatively flat, just a minor pooch that you would overlook if you weren't looking for it. I ran my hand over it and smiled, then helped her down from the counter. "I made pot roast and potatoes," she said. "I figured you would be hungry too after traveling."

"I am, " I said. "I'm hungry for you," I said, smacking her on her behind. She yelped and then laughed again. Her laugh sounded so pleasing to my ears, like coming home.

"Do you want to unload your truck while I finish dinner?" she asked. "I cleared out half the closet for you, and there is a new dresser in the room for you." She had planned for me, for us. I felt my heart swell with love for this woman. I kissed her on the cheek and went out to my truck to bring in my belongings. I emptied about half the Explorer before she called me in for dinner. The rest could wait till tomorrow as far as I was concerned. All I wanted to do was settle in and be with her.

We sat down and ate. I told her about the events of the past three months, my visit with my mother, and my brief trip here from Louisiana. She told me about our baby, about Shawna's baby's birth, and things that had been going on in the pack. After dinner, I helped her clean up the kitchen and then carried her upstairs to the bathroom. We undressed each other and showered together. Afterward, I lowered her to the bed and made love to her over and over. The first time was fast and intense, because I was starving for her and she for me. Then we made slow, passionate love. I kissed and licked every inch of her, my tongue lapping at her pussy until she came on my mouth. When I slid my cock inside her hot, wet sex, I almost came right there. I held myself still and relished in every inch of her being wrapped around every inch of me, then I thrust inside, slow and deliberate, until we were both a mess of sweat and tangled limbs. "I love you," I breathed into her ear as I came.

When we were both exhausted and satiated, I lay my head on her stomach and nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard the tiny heartbeat of our child in her belly. "Holy shit," I murmured.

"Do you hear the baby?" she asked. I nodded. "We can go tomorrow and do the ultrasound," she said. "I've been waiting for you to find out the sex. I didn't want to know until you were home," she said. When she said "home", I felt myself choke, and a tear trickled from my eye. I wasn't one to cry, but this woman was giving me everything I had ever wanted, and I couldn't hold it back. I leaned up on my forearm and kissed her gently.

"You're amazing," I told her. "The best gift the Goddess could have ever given me."

"So are you, Cedric," she replied. "I love you." My heart swelled. I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be. Everything that had happened, everything aligned perfectly to bring me to this moment in my life. I could not imagine anything better.