Chapter 36

"Baby."

Erik holds onto Cobie tightly. They were in the Alpha's room, under the thick duvet. Cobie's head was on Erik's chest, his arms around Erik's body. It's a bit past three in the afternoon and thankfully, the sky had cleared and the sun was shining bright.

"I'm here."

"You died." Cobie said, tightening his grip on Erik.

You died, Erik almost said. He had held Cobie and searched for his heartbeat. Erik pressed a kiss to Cobie's hair. He had lost Cobie for minutes. He had held Cobie's lifeless body in his arms.

"I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere." Erik promised.

Cobie shifts back a little and raised his head a little so he could look at Erik, his eyes gold. "I love you. I love you. I love you." Cobie whispered. "You are my everything and I never want to lose you again."

Erik slid his a hand down and intertwined their hands together and raised it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to Cobie's knuckles. "I am going to be by your side for as long as I live. You are my mate, my world, my love." His I never want to lose you was silent but still powerful.

"You shifted." Cobie stated, his voice a bit wobbly.

"You remember?"

"I remember seeing you change into this big black wolf with rainbow eyes." Cobie replied. "Kinda like my eyes."

"How? You didn't even have heartbeat and your eyes were pitch black." Erik said. "Do you remember saying anything?"

Cobie shook his head. He doesn't remember saying anything. All he remembered was watching Erik shift into this magnificent creature of the moon. His fur was pitch black and his eyes, breath-taking. He frowns when he realised Erik had also lost him.

Erik had also helped him get rid of someone who had caused his strife and suffering. Someone who had made his life a living hell. Someone who had divided his family.

"You lost me too."

Erik shook his head, he leaned down and pressed another kiss on Cobie's forehead. "I'm not focusing on that. I'm just happy you are alive, I'm happy to hear your heartbeat."

"I love you."

"We are going to be fine. From here on out, we are going to live happily without having to look over our shoulder." Erik said. "You, your brother and Pa can stay here as long as you want. You are one of us and Astir is your home."

"Obviously. You are never going to leave my sight for more than a couple of minutes." Cobie said, sitting up so he could clearly look at Erik properly. Erik sits up and leans against the headboard of the bed.

"As you wish."

"No. You can't go all The Princess Bride on me." Cobie playfully glared at his mate.

"Thy will be done." Erik grinned, one eyebrow raised.

Cobie playfully slaps Erik on the arm. He let out a loud scream which turned into laughter when Erik grabbed his hands and pulled him closer. The Alpha switched position, him on top and Cobie underneath him, letting out pearls of laughter as the Alpha tickled him to the point of tears. Erik stops for when he realised something.

This was the first time he had ever heard Cobie laugh this freely. Cobie's head was thrown back a bit, his eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth open. He looked so free and beautiful that it makes Erik's heart skip a beat. Unable to stop himself, Erik reached up and cupped Cobie's cheek, his thumb stroking his cheek softly. 

"I love you, Cobie." Erik whispered. 

"I know." Cobie replied, his voice just as soft. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Erik's neck. "I love you too, Alpha." 

Cobie closed the distance between them and kissed Erik as softly as he could. The kiss was brief and so soft but it sent tingles down his body and made his toes curl. They pull apart for a brief minute before Erik dove in again. Cobie let out a loud moan, his body arching into Erik's. The Alpha slid one of his hand down Cobie's waist to his leg. 

Thankfully they had gone to bed in just T-shirt and boxers. 

Kissing Erik had to be the absolute best thing in the world. Well, that and having him in his arms. Cobie lets out  ma sweet sigh as Erik slid his hand up the side of his thigh, the tips of his finger soft, his nails lightly scratching at the skin. 

Their tongues moved against each other, their heads turning in order to deepen the kiss. Erik pulls back a few minutes later, panting. His eyes were red and his mouth was swollen and Cobie was pretty sure his was too. 

"Will you hold me?" 

"Always." Erik replied. 

Cobie wakes up the next morning with his nose pressed against Erik's chest. He smacks his lips and moved closer, successfully slipping one leg between Erik's legs. 

"Are you awake?" Erik asked, his grip around Cobie tightening a little.

"No. I'm not and you shouldn't be too." 

Erik chuckled, Cobie's head bouncing a little. They had forgotten to close the curtains last night. The sun light was coming in through the windows. The entire house was quiet, even outside sounded quiet. 

"We're not moving today."

"We'll have to. The Elders are coming over." Erik whispered, bending his head down a bit so he could press a kiss to Cobie's head. 

"Why?" Cobie pouted. 

"They heard about me turning." Erik replied, his voice soft. He slipped his hand underneath Cobie's shirt and stroked his waist.

"Can we reschedule?"

"They're already old." Erik deadpan. Cobie laughed quietly, reaching up to playfully pinch Erik's waist. He rests his hand on Erik's abs, lightly stroking. 

"As long as we can cuddle for thirty more minutes." Cobie pressed a kiss to Erik's chest, his finger trailing up Erik's abs to his nipple.

"Don't start what you can't finish."

"We can totally finish."

"Your brother has walked past our door three times. I give him a few more minutes before he knocks." 

Cobie laughed, his body shaking with it. He pressed one last kiss to Erik's chest before rolling out of bed. Erik pushed himself back a bit until he was resting against the headboard. He watched as Cobie pads around the room in a large shirt that covered his boxers, his bed hair flying every which way.  Cobie looked beautiful. 

"Stop staring."

"You can't tell me what to do." Erik retorts with a shrug.

Cobie shakes his head at his Alpha. "You've got an extra toothbrush right?"

"Yeah, it's in the cabinet behind the mirror." Erik replied, scratching idly at his tummy. "You can use my brush, you know."

Cobie's expression contorts into one of disgust. "That's just nasty."

"I was just putting it out there."

"Well, take it back in." Cobie sticks out his tongue at Erik before marching into the bathroom. He finds a box of new toothbrushes and picks out a neon green one. He squeezed on the toothpaste and sticks the brush into his mouth before making his way out of the room. 

He marched to Erik's walk in closet, running his fingers through the array of clothes until he finds a lavender jumper and a pair of sweatpants that would fit if he folded the top. He had the urge to be completely immersed in everything Erik. Maybe it was because he had seen him die?

Erik on the other hand watched Cobie walk about, leaving behind his scent on everything. His cupcake and strawberry scent was still strong but since he spent half of the day and all night with him, Cobie also smelt like Erik. 

It gave Erik a sense of comfort. 

Tired of just sitting on the bed, Erik got up too. He quickly brushed his teeth just as Cobie pulled the shirt he was wearing off. Erik's eyes trailed own the lithe frame of his mate, majority of his brush rushing south. 

"Stop staring and let's shower." Cobie said. Erik tries to reply but the words weren't coming out. Cobie decides to take action. He stepped forward, his hands going to the hem of Erik's shirt. 

"C'mon." Cobie urges, a small pout on his lips. He steps even closer to Erik and then lifted his shirt up. Cobie threw the shirt behind him. He trails his hands up Erik's body and wraps them around his neck, pulling the Alpha down for a kiss. 

Erik's hands settled on Cobie's waist. He pulled his mate closer, one hand going up the curve of his spine as they kissed languidly. Cobie made these little sounds that made Erik's cock hard. 

Erik trails kisses down Cobie's neck, sucking, nipping and leaving behind large love bites. Every touch, every kiss, made Cobie's knees weak. 

"Erik..." Cobie moaned, his hands pushing through Erik's hair, gripping tightly at it. "Erik..." 

Erik pulls away from Cobie, his hand reaching up to press some of the lovebites in, causing Cobie to shiver. Erik's pupils were blown out with just a light ring of brown around the edge. He led Cobie to the bathroom and flipped on the shower, warm water cascading down their skin. 

The Alpha reached for the shower gel and began to lather Cobie's body. His hands moved slowly as if memorizing every pore and every curve. Maybe he was. 

No words were exchanged between them, just the heavy sound of their breathing, the pitter patter of water hitting the ground and Cobie's heartbeat.  He pulls Cobie towards him, his chest pressed to Cobie's back and soaped hand reaching for his mate's cock. 

Dressed in Erik's jumper, a new pair of boxers and sweatpants, Cobie made his way out of the room. As he walked down the stairs, the events of yesterday came to him. The one thing he remembered was Aetos yelling Mate. Aetos has called Colson his mate. 

Do vampires even have mates?

Cobie stood mid step when he feels something in his head. It felt like a nudge. Like something was trying to push its way into his head. It wasn't causing pain yet and since the Elders were coming, he would bring it up then.

He finds Randall and Blue in the kitchen. The little boy was on the counter, kicking his leg back and forth. 

"Cobie!" Blue screamed, his eyes bright with excitement.

Cobie immediately made his way to the little boy and pulled him into a tight hug. He hadn't even known he was concerned about the little boy until he had seen him and felt this huge relief wash over him.

"You're okay?"

"Yup." Blue replied, his little hands cupping Cobie's gave. "Uncle Py took us."

Cobie pressed kisses over every inch of Blue's face. He leaves Blue after a few more seconds and pulled Randall in for a hug.

"You're okay."

"A little shaken up but yeah. I'm okay." Randall replied once they pull apart. He looks at Cobie, his eyes combing every inch of the vet. "You are okay."

"Yeah..."

"It's just... Yesterday you -"

"I died." Cobie said softly. His words shook Randall a bit. The chubby man takes a seat on one of the chairs and pushed his hand through his hair. "I'm sorry." Cobie adds, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"It's not your fault. You fought for us. You brought Erik back."

"Pretty sure that wasn't my hand work."

"It sure looked like it." Aetos said as he walked into the kitchen. The vampire made his way to the fridge, giving Blue a high five as he goes, and pulls out the liter of milk. 

Cobie frowns a little. Was it truly him that brought Erik back?

"How's Gabriel and Se Ju?"

"Se Ju and other doctors are attending to the injured. Gabriel is asleep in Michel's room." Pytor replied as he walked into the kitchen, appearing from nowhere. 

Cobie watched as Pytor as poured himself a glass of milk. It looked so weird. Two vampires drinking milk. It messed with Cobie's mind. 

"Has anyone seen Colson or Pa?"

"Pa is still sleeping and your brother is in the sun room." Randall said as he got up from where he was sitting. He grabs a plate of sandwiches from the oven and slid it over to Cobie. Cobie tells him thank you before tearing into the food. Aetos passed him a bottle of water.

Cobie eats, small talk flowing around the room. He kept staring at Aetos, calculating his every word and also asking what the fuck the vampire meant when he called Colson mate? 

After eating, he excused himself. True to Randall's words, he finds Colson in the sun room. His brother was looking out the window, the sun casting a soft glow on his face. 

"Colly..." 

Colson sounds around and quickly got up. He pulled Cobie in for a tight hug, his arms around his brother's neck. Cobie held his little brother close. The twin don't even realize they had started crying until Colson sniffed. 

"Never do that again!" Colson cried, smacking his brother on the back.

"I promise." Cobie replied, holding onto Colson tighter. 

The brothers stay wrapped up in each other's arms until they heard a knock on the door. Colson pulls away first, his hands reaching up to wipe his tears with the sleeve of his shirt. 

"The Elders are here." Aetos said, his eyes firmly trained on Cobie. He was fighting the urge to stare at Colson. He didn't want to look like a creep. Aetos gives them time to get ready.

"Are you okay?"

"Better now."

"Let's go and meet the Elders. They might be rude, just think of them as old people being old people." Cobie tells his brother. Colson chuckles but nods nevertheless. 

Cobie and Colson walk side by side. As they walked, Cobie wondered if Colson remembers Aetos calling him mate and why he wasn't saying anything. Sometimes it's easy to read his brother, other times it's a struggle.

The Elders were seated in the sitting room, all of them dressed in different shades of grey and white. They all stop talking to Erik when the twins walk in.

"We heard you had a twin but we didn't believe it." One of the Elders said. 

"Yeah. This is my brother Colson."

The Elders look at Colson with small smiles on their faces. "One of the sun." One of them whispers. 

Cobie frowns. He doesn't remember one of the sun written in the prophecy. Damn it! Is there another prophecy somewhere?

"We came here because of what happened yesterday." One of the Elders said.

"We felt a sharp pain in our chest.  You died. You both died." Another Elder spoke up. 

Erik holds a hand out to Cobie who takes it and seats beside him. Cobie places their intertwined hands on his lap while Colson sat on the arm rest beside Cobie.

"Erik..." Cobie starts. "Erik died first."

Erik's grip on Cobie's hand tightened. 

"Cobie died afterward."

It was Cobie's turn to squeeze Erik's hand.

"I was passed out and the wolves were stuck in this trance like state so I'm sure none of us really knew what happened besides the vampire." Colson replied, gesturing towards Aetos who was standing near the door.

"When Cobie died. Erik's body began to move. He went on his knees, head bent forward and then in the blink of an eye fur burst through and covered him whole. Cobie got up a few seconds after but he didn't have a heart beat and his entire eyes were black. He spoke a few words and then Erik ripped Abbadon apart. The end." Aetos drawled, scratching at the side of his neck. 

"The prophecy has been fulfilled."

"It still doesn't sound right."

The Elders spoke amongst themselves.

"What do you mean it doesn't sound right?" Erik asked, a light frown on his face.

"Have you both mated?"

"Mate's in what sense?" Cobie asked, one brow raised.

"Knotted and bitten." Another Elder replied.

Cobie's cheek flushed a bright pink and so did his eyes. Cobie moves a little closer to Erik while Colson laughed.

"We haven't bitten each other."

"Can you think about it? Maybe it happened suddenly? Are you having any weird feelings at all?"

"There's this weird feeling in my head, like something is trying to nudge in."

The Elders nod. "Are you sure you haven't bitten the other?" 

Cobie looks at Erik who also looked at him. They for sure haven't knotted, they hadn't really bitten the other during sex and that time when Erik was having his rut.

Fuck.

Does that count?

"There was the time Erik was on his heat and he bit me here." Cobie said, pointing at his shoulder. There was a mark there because he had healed it with water. "And there was the time when I bit him while we were...you know."

The Elders were quiet. 

Oh goddess. 

"That doesn't count, does it?" Colson asked.

The Elders remained quiet.

"The nudging in your head, is Erik's thoughts. They're trying to fight their way into your head." One of the Elders said.

Cobie goes still. 

"When two people mate, they become one. They can communicate telepathically between each other. Your thoughts, your emotions, your mood." Another Elder spike up.

"Are you trying to tell us we are mates?"

"Yes. I think that's why you both were able to be revived. You both are halves of a prophecy. You are mates, perfectly made for each other. You are both mated. All that's left is the knotting and remarking."

Cobie looks at Erik. "We are mated."

Erik smiled brightly at Cobie. He raised their hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to it. "We are mated. You are my mate. You are the Luna of the SilverMoon pack. You are mine now and forever."