Chapter 18 — Questions

Sophia's POV:

After I slipped into my Little space, there was no coming back. I was just my Little self from now on. I played with Daddy in his wolf form. I jumped on his back, playing fight while he gently let me down again.

He loved nuzzling my neck. I also found out that pulling his tail was a big no-no since he growled at me whenever I did that. We played for about an hour or so until I got too exhausted to play anymore. That was when he said it was time to leave.

We got our picnic all packed up and ready to go. We left in a car instead of his motorcycle. He told me it was his, but he didn't like to drive it around. A bike was much easier.

I fell asleep on the ride back home. I didn't feel a thing when Daddy Victor carried me upstairs or when he tucked me into bed, taking my shoes off. He even gave me my teddy, Mr. Sparkle. When I woke up after my nap, I was in his bed, not mine. He was sitting right next to me and looking at me. It was creepy and sweet at the same time.

"Good morning, sweet girl," he said once he saw I was awake.

"Have a nice nap?" he asked, and I nodded. "Sophia, can you be Big for me for a minute?" he asked, and I nodded.

I sat up in bed and focused on being Big. It was a bit hard, but I did it. Victor smiled at me before he started talking.

"I don't want to force you to answer me, Sophia, but I need to know. My wolf needs an answer. Do you accept us as your mate?" he asked.

He did tell me the Goddess had made us for each other. I was his mate, but now, I didn't know what to say. A part of me said, "Yes," while another part of me was scared.

"Are mates like soulmates?" I asked.

"Yes, it's exactly the same thing. We are everything we need each other to be. We can never hurt each other and would never let anyone else hurt each other," he explained.

"And what if I'm scared?" I asked.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry that I'm forcing you to make a decision this fast, but when we find our mate, we go crazy until they accept us. I'm sorry. I shouldn't force you. You can think about it first, okay?" he assured me with a smile.

We moved out of the bed next. He told me to go do my homework. Mate or not, I was still his little girl. I moved to Kyle's room under the pretense of doing homework together. Kyle's room was messy. It was filled with posters and pictures and life—just like my brother.

We did our homework together, which ended up being Kyle copying my homework. Afterward, I had to ask him about the whole mate thing.

"Ah, I see. Well, like Vic said, when you find your mate, you go crazy until they accept you," he said.

"What does 'accepting' mean?" I asked.

"It's just you saying the words, 'I accept you as mine and me as yours,'" he said with a smirk. I knew Kyle enough now to know there was more to it. I raised a brow and waited.

"Well, those words just tie together your two wolf forms. You'll be able to communicate telepathically. Your bond will form. His possessive beast will finally rest 'cause you'll smell like your dominant," he explained.

"Huh?" I asked with an open mouth, making Kyle fall off his chair in a laughing fit. He must be messing with me.

"Hey, I'm serious! Just ask your mother," he said, offended. My mother?

"My mama?" I asked again, feeling slow today.

"Your mother is my father's mate, Sophia. It's obvious," he said, making me feel extra dumb now.

The quick wedding, moving to the other part of state with Frederick—of course they were mates. And here I was, wasting my time with Kyle.

I ran toward my mother, who was in the kitchen, busy making dinner with my stepdad.

"Hey, Dad, you mind if I steal Mom? Thanks. Love you," I said, dragging my mother by her hand along with me.

"What's up with you?" Mom asked once we were in my room.

"I know about the wolf thing. I know about mating, but I don't know what to say to Victor," I said in a hurry.

"He told you?" she asked, and I nodded yes. That was what I said.

"Well, you can say yes, and you two can start to bond, baby. The bond won't be completed until you two do the deed—which I don't expect my girl to do anytime soon," she said in her Mother voice, and I just nodded. "The bond, baby, is kind of scary, but believe me—no one will love you like your mate will. My father always told me about the love he shared with Mom. He was a human, but he was her mate. It's a rare thing for someone with no wolf form to have a wolf mate. Even after Mom left us, he still remembered their time together and how much they loved each other," Mom said in a sad voice. Okay, maybe being bonded wasn't that bad. "You won't believe me until you try it, Sophia. Trust your mother on this one, baby girl," she ended with a wink.

I thought I was going to do as my mother said, but before I could say anything else, she added, "And you just called Fred Dad. He's been jumping and screaming in my head. He's hooked now, baby. You'll have to keep doing it." She winked. I did call him Dad, didn't I?

After spending ten full minutes thinking, I decided to just let nature take its course. I ran toward Victor.

"I accept you as mine as me as yours," I said, and he broke into the biggest smile ever before engulfing me in a bear hug.