Chapter 38

Mates.

That's what they are now. Mates. Officially.

Erik kissed Cobie, his hands softly cradling the back of Cobie's head as their lips moved in sync. So engrossed they were in their kiss that they didn't notice the bright flash of green lighting. They pulled apart when it felt like the ground was shaking, both of them looking towards the sky when they hear the rumble of thunder.

The twinkling stars around them purses for a while, soft breeze petting their skin and something like a hum settling around them.

Erik looked away from the sky, his hand trailing down Cobie's neck as he got to the side his fangs had punctured. 

He looks at the mark and then at Cobie and thinks. My beautiful, beautiful mate.

Cobie's eyes go wide, one hand reaching up to hold onto the hand Erik had on his neck. 

He had heard Erik's voice clear as day in his head. Erik had called him his beautiful, beautiful mate. 

However before he could speak he noticed something on Erik's skin. He watched as the claiming bite mark he had left in Erik skin began to knit closely, the color of the skin around the bite mark dark as night. The crescent shaped bite marks had turned black and healed that way until all was left was what looked like black half-Moon tattoos. 

The same thing happened on Cobie's skin. Erik watched as it healed until all was left were two crescent moons inked into his skin. 

Thankfully, the swelling in Erik's knot began to go down until the Alpha was able to slip out of him carefully. Cobie shifts a little, he felt a bit empty. 

Erik grabbed some paper towels that he had packed and wiped Cobie's come off their bodies as well as his come which was dripping down Cobie's leg.

As he cleaned his mate, he kept thinking. Beautiful. He kept thinking about how strongly Cobie smelt like him and how happy that makes him. 

"I can hear you."

Erik tossed the tissue to the side and crawled next to Cobie who was staring at him with hooded eyes. 

"I didn't say anything."

"You called me beautiful three times and you're happy with how strongly I smell like you." Cobie replied, his voice soft. He raised his head up a little so he could stare directly at Erik's face. "The nudging feeling I had in my head is no longer there."

"You hear what I'm thinking now?"

"Yeah and I'm thinking you can hear mine too." Cobie answered. McStupid.

"You have got to stop calling me that." Erik pouts a little. Cobie shifts closer, slipping his legs between Erik's.

"It's what I called you in my head the first time I saw you."

"Well now you know my name is Erik."

"Do I though?" Cobie laughs, his fingers making patterns on his mates chest. "What do you think is going to happen now?"

"I honestly don't know. We'll have to wait and see."

The next time Cobie opens his eyes, he's in Erik's bed. He remembered being lifted but he wasn't sure when he was brought back here. 

There was a warm body pressed behind him and a strong hand on his waist. Cobie places his hand on it and stroking softly.

"Good morning, Precious." Erik hummed, pressing a kiss to Cobie's head.

"Morning."

He was feeling a dull pain around his hips and bum. They had gone another round after the small talk they head at the Golden cottage. This time it had been more needy and filled with love bites everywhere on their skin and lips bitten and swollen. 

"If you keep thinking about that, I'm going to flip us over and -"

"Nope! I need a couple painkillers and ice cream before we go again."

Erik chuckled. "Anything for you, baby."

They stay that way. Content in each other's arms as they talked about everything and anything until Cobie remembers something that had him pulling back a little so he could sit up.

"What is it?" Erik asked, concern loud and clear in his voice.

"I think Colson is Aetos' mate."

"What?" Erik placed his head on Cobie's lap and stared up at his mate. 

Cobie pushed his fingers into Erik's hair and began playing with it. "It was before Colson shot me. Colson has come out of the house and I remember Aetos calling him mate." 

"That kinda explains things a bit."

"What?" Cobie asked, a small frown on his face.

"Remember that meeting we had in my office with Pytor and Aetos?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I'm pretty sure Aetos got a hard on just looking at Colson. I smelt it a little before he ran out of the room." Erik said.

Cobie chuckled softly. 

"It's not going to be easy. My brother is stubborn and he already has his mind set on someone else."

"Who?"

"Can't say. I'll break the sibling's code." 

Erik laughed. "You two..."

"Do you think Aetos is good for him?" Cobie asked.

"Aetos is an amazing person and friend. For as long as I've known which has been a long while, he's never been with someone longer than a year. He keeps somethings to himself and is a bit quiet. I think Colson would be good for him and vice versa."

"If he so much as hurts my brother, I'm going to burn him alive since the sun seems to like him." 

"No stakes?"

"Nope. Either he burns or I shoot his brains out." Cobie said with a shrug. 

They talk for a little while before Cobie decides to get ready for the day. Erik had sat up and placed a kiss to the moon marks on Cobie's neck before letting his mate stand up. 

"I think you should shower with me. We'll save water and I'm sure Mother Nature would love us." Cobie said as he pulled his shirt off his head. 

Erik doesn't hesitate to stand up, his eyes drinking in the love bites he had left on his mate's skin. He could feel his wolf moving around him, snuffing his approval. By the time he got to the bathroom, Cobie was already naked and about to turn on the hot water.

Erik she's the rest of his clothing and got in behind Cobie, wrapping one hand around Cobie's waist and the other on the hand Cobie had on the shower.

Cobie bares his neck to his Alpha who trailed kisses down the smooth slope. Ever since the claiming marks, everything felt intense, every feeling they had for each other was heightened, every touch and every thought. 

Shower sex with Erik was soft, gentle and slow with Cobie pressed to the small handles of the glass doors as Erik took his time and made love to him. 

After their shower, Cobie pulled on one of Erik's jumper and a pair of sweatpants. 

"Do you think people would go around yelling mate now?" Cobie asked. 

"I don't think that's how it works." Erik replied as he grabbed the brush from the side table and tried to smoothen Cobie's hair. 

"What about married people? What if they find their mate?"

"Married people are mate, Precious. They give each other the bite, officially proclaiming themselves mates in front of the moon and the goddess." 

"What a-"

"Anything that happens, we'll take care of it. Okay?"

"Okay." Cobie agreed, leaning up to press a chaste kiss to Erik's mouth. 

"Let's go. I want to make you breakfast."

They walk out of the room and down the stairs, hand in hand. The house was quiet, too quiet for being nine in the morning. The kitchen was surprisingly empty too. Cobie takes a seat at the kitchen counter and Erik began to make breakfast. 

They smile and talk while Erik makes a lot of waffles. Cobie got up and grabbed the chocolate syrup and the mango drink from the fridge. 

Cobie pulled his plate with waffles, Erik grabbed the can of whipped cream and covered the top of the waffles with it before drizzling the chocolate syrup on it. 

"Thank you."

Erik winks in reply.

Just as Erik was about to take a bite of his own food, Gabriel walked into the kitchen. He had an awful set of bed hair and was still in his night gown.  He takes his seat beside Cobie and grabbed one of the extra waffles.

Cobie raised a brow at Erik who shrugged.

Gabriel swallowed before looking at the two of them with bright eyes. "So... you guys are mated now."

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"The thunder and what looked like straw descending from the sky clued every one in." Gabriel said and then took a bite of his waffle. "That and one of the Betas took a look at Vanessa yesterday and growled mate." 

Cobie grinned happily at that. 

"You sure they were actually m-"

"Yeah. The Beta's wolf almost tore through." Gabriel replied. He grabbed the bottle of chocolate syrup, tilted his head back and guzzled it.

"That's wonderful."

"I'm happy for them but can you stop doing that? There are spoons and plates everywhere." Erik snapped at Gabriel. 

"What about Se Ju and Randall?" Cobie asked. The what about you and Michel was silent but still hung heavily in the air.

"What about them?"

"So... they aren't mates?"

Gabriel shrugged. "As of right now, no."

Cobie couldn't help but pout. Erik reached across the table and placed his hand on Cobie's. It's going to be okay, Erik says mentally. His voice sounding loud, clear and soft in Cobie's head. 

Thank you, he responds.

Erik nods. 

"Ugh! You've started the talking to yourselves telepathic thing. As if you weren't already gross." Gabriel whined. 

"Gabby..."

"Do not call me that." Gabriel pouted. He takes another bite of his waffle. "I am happy for you guys and you, Cobie, are a great Luna. I love you both." Gabriel let's out a sob and ran out of the room, waffle in hand, before either Cobie or Erik could blink. 

Erik got up from his chair. "I'll go and talk him."

"I'll check up on Colson." 

Colson was on his bed, clad in a big blue onsie with bunny ears on the hood. Cobie giggles as he crawled onto the bed. 

"You're too happy." Colson whined, wiggling awag a bit.

"Shouldn't I be?"

"Of course you should be! You're practically married now to someone who is so strong and gorgeous and has your back." Colson moved closer to his brother and placed his head on Cobie's chest. "Meanwhile I have no one and might be in love with someone who is in love with another person."

"Colly..." Cobie starts. "You'll find someone. They might even be closer than you think." Cobie tries to hint but it falls flat on Colson's ears.

"Was it amazing at least?"

"It was..." Cobie paused as he tried to find the right word to describe yesterday. "breathtaking."

"Did you both know it was going to happen there? Did you pack lube or condoms? And-"

Cobie shook his head. "We didn't plan it. I helped him shift and it just spiraled from there. There was no lube but olive oil and no... condoms."

Cobie's eyes widened. 

Ah shit. 

"You didn't use protection? Are you on the pill?" Colson leaned back so he could look at his brother. 

Cobie shook his head. 

Colson snapped into action. He rolled over, grabbed his phone and shot Pa a quick text. He told the Beta to get three pregnancy tests on his way back from the beach. 

"Pa will get some tests."

"Where is he?"

"At the beach. He found his mate last night and almost shifted trying to get to her." 

Cobie's eyes widened in shock. Colson sat up and crossed his leg cross-cross-applesauce. 

"That was Pa?"

"Yeah. Some of the pack members came over and Michel was making burgers and then this dark skinned woman walked over to him. There was a flash and then what looked like stars and before we knew it Pa was growling the word mate."

Cobie smiled brightly. It hadn't even occurred to him that the Beta Gabriel mentioned might have been Pa.

"I'm happy for him."

"Well, I'm jealous of him."

Cobie snorts. "You'll find your mate. Just give it time."

"Fine." Colson replied. He pushed Cobie onto the bed nd rests his head on his brother's chest. They don't speak for a while and just let he silence wash over them. 

You okay? Erik asked, his voice pushing into Cobie's head.

Yeah. Just having a sibling cuddle. You? Cobie replied.

Same. Gabriel is a little down because he and Michel aren't mates, came Erik's reply.

Cobie winced. Yikes!

Tell him to wait a little while, he tells Erik. 

"What if you get knocked up?" Colson asked, pulling Cobie out of his head. 

The question jolted Cobie a bit. He hadn't really thought about kids. He knew nothing about raising kids beside what he had learnt while watching his mother. 

Did he want kids?

Did Erik want kids?

The answer, shockingly enough, was yes. He wants a little boy with big brown eyes like Erik's running around the house and maybe playing with Little Blue too. Cobie's heart almost turned into goo at the thought. 

"I'm taking your silence as a yes." Colson said. "I can imagine you with twins. You'll be a great father."

"Twins?"

Colson shrugged. "It depends on my mood. Sometimes you have twins, other times triplets."

Cobie barks out a laugh and playfully smacked his brother's arm. He could see Erik running after their son, laughing and lifting him onto his shoulder. He could also imagine Erik having tickle fights with their daughter.

Oh.

Oh. 

Fuck. He wanted everything with Erik and he was going to have everything with Erik. 

"It's going to be fine."

"I know." Cobie confides in his brother. "Everything is just clicking into place."

"That's great!"

"You know, there's waffles downstairs."

Colson gasped and sat up quickly. "Why didn't you tell me?!" He said with wide, dramatic eyes. Cobie shook his head as he watched his brother roll out of bed and shoved his legs into a pair of slides.

They talk about the new Avengers trailer on their way to the kitchen. When they get there, Erik and Aetos were talking about an event.

"What's going on?" Cobie asked as he walked closer to Erik who gives him a quick kiss.

"We were thinking of having an event that publicly announced you as the Luna of the pack." Aetos replied as he grabbed a plate and placed a tall stack of waffles on it. When he was done he hands it to Colson who gives him a small smile.

"Isn't that what the Elders are planning?"

"Yeah but the elders want it to be in three days." Erik replied. 

"I'm fine with it." Cobie replied with a grin. "We are spending the rest of our lives together. This just... seals it."

Erik moves closer to Cobie and pulled him in for a hug, his hands wrapped around Cobie's waist and his nose buried in Cobie's head. 

"I love you."

"I love you, peaches."

Cobie pulls away first and walked over to the fridge to grab the carton of juice for his brother. Michel walked into the kitchen just as he pulls it out. 

Colson lets out a sigh, his eyes set on Michel. 

Cobie pointedly takes the stool between Colson and Michel. He could practically feel waves of sadness coming off Colson. 

He hopes something would clear it up. He didn't like seeing Colson this sad and he had half the mind to gut Michel for it. 

"Long night?" Erik asked as he stared at his Head Beta.

"I couldn't sleep."

"Are you alright?" Colson asked, pointedly staring at his plate of waffles and whipped cream. Aetos remained quiet as he watched everyone in the room, his shoulders tense.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Michel replied, his fingers pushing through his curls.

Not one for awkward anything, Cobie grabbed the pack of strawberries in the fridge and made his way to the sun room. Thankfully, there was a comic book in there. 

He lay down on the sofa and read whilst popping berries into his mouth. He stay there for a while until he was interrupted by Pa walking into the room with a paper bag.

"Your brother said you might need this." He hand Cobie the bag. "I also got some birth control pills."

"Thank you." Cobie replied honestly. He gets up from the couch and pulled Pa in for a hug. When they pull apart, he says. "I heard you found your mate."

Pa blushed. A big smile overtook his face. "Yeah. She's beautiful and awesome. I feel a lot of things at once but my wolf knows she's the one we've been searching for, the one made for us."

"That's amazing."

Pa clamped a hand on Cobie shoulder. "It's all thanks to you. I could find her because of you and Erik and for that I'll be eternally grateful." 

"Pa..."

"Why don't you go and try those out? Make sure we are not in for any surprises." Pa said, the smile still present on his face. "Your brother thinks you're going to having twins."

Cobie laughs at that, shaking his head fondly. "He's crazy."

"We know and we love him that way."

It take a while but thankfully he wasn't pregnant. Erik walks into the room just as he dumps the tests into the trash. He takes one look at he bin and then at Cobie.

"Were they positive?" Erik asked.

Cobie shook his head. 

Erik crossed the room and took Cobie's hand in his. "I'm sorry about not using protection. I didn't think and I didn't ask if you were on the pill or if you were even a carrier." 

"It's okay, Erik. I should have told you. I stopped using the pill because it's been a while since I had been with anyone. Before you."

"Is there anything else I should know that I don't?" 

"I want kids." Cobie blurts out. "I think we should have had this conversation before. I want kids, Erik. Not right now but I do want them."

"What makes you think I don't want them?" Erik let go of Cobie's hand and cupped his cheeks. "I want everything with you. You are my love, my mate and in future, the father of my children."

"More than one?"

"Maybe a girl and a boy?" Erik chuckled, leaning to press a kiss to Cobie's forehead.

"Twins?" Cobie chuckled as he asked.

"Quadruplets even."

Erik's left hand trailed down Cobie's neck, pulling the jumper down a little so he could see the two marks he had left behind. He pressed a finger to it and Cobie surged closer.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Always."