Chapter 45 PRE-MATING GIFTS
Adam's POV
The last few days felt lighter. Not perfect. Not magically healed. But lighter, like someone had cracked open a window in a room that had been suffocating me for years.
Kael told the pack that I wasn’t cursed.
He said it clearly. Loudly. Like a declaration of food after famine.
He stood in front of them with that calm Alpha posture: back straight, shoulders relaxed, voice steady… and told them the marks weren’t demonic, weren’t a threat, weren’t some sign of disaster waiting to happen. He had the physician there with him, nodding along, explaining things in careful words that didn’t make me sound like a ticking bomb.
For once, people listened.
Not everyone believed it. I could still feel the doubt. Still catch the looks. Still hear the whispers when they thought Kael wasn’t nearby.
But the fear wasn’t as severe anymore.
And inside me… something loosened.
The nightmares stopped.
I didn’t wake up screaming anymore. I didn’t wake up convinced my skin was going to split open or that something monstrous was clawing its way out of me. Instead, my head filled with different thoughts. Softer ones. Dangerous ones in their own way.
Like Kael’s hands on me.
Like his voice when he says my name.
Like the idea of him marking me.
Which was… terrifying. And comforting. And confusing. And somehow exciting all at once.
Kael had been hovering lately. Not in a suffocating way. More like… attentive. Checking if I’d eaten. Asking how I slept. Brushing his fingers against mine whenever he walked past. Kissing my forehead like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And every time I tried to brush it off, he’d smile at me and say, “Make a wish.”
At first, I thought he was joking.
Then I realized he was serious.
Apparently, before marking, an Alpha gives his mate gifts. Big ones. Important ones. Proof that he can provide, protect, and build a future.
Kael listed them off casually one evening like he was talking about groceries.
A house. Land. Businesses. Jewelry. Power. Security.
I stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
“I don’t want any of that,” I told him.
He frowned like I’d just insulted his ancestors.
“It’s tradition.”
“I don’t care,” I said. “Having you is more than enough.”
That only made him more stubborn.
He kept insisting I had to want something. That it wasn’t right otherwise. That it mattered to him; not the pack, not the council, not the rules. Him.
The physician found it amusing. She kept telling him to hurry up and mate already like we were dragging our feet over a dinner reservation instead of a life-altering bond.
So when Kael blindfolded me and guided me down the hallway toward our room, my heart was already racing.
“Kael,” I muttered, gripping his wrist. “If this is another speech about land ownership—”
“Patience,” he said softly.
The door opened.
He led me inside, careful and steady, like I might get hurt if he moved too fast. Then he stopped behind me and untied the blindfold.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
My breath caught so hard it felt like my lungs forgot how to work.
The room looked… unreal.
Dim candlelight glowed from every corner, warm and soft. The air smelled faintly sweet, calming. And right there, taking up almost the entire wall, was a massive portrait.
Of me.
Not a vague version. Not an idealized one. Me.
The curve of my mouth. The shape of my eyes and the actual colour of my eyes. Even the faint marks that sometimes lingered under my skin were there, painted like something precious instead of terrifying.
I walked toward it without realizing I was moving.
My fingers trembled as I reached out, hovering just above the canvas.
“You… did this?” I whispered.
Kael’s voice came from behind me. Quiet. Proud. Almost shy.
“I painted it.”
I turned slowly.
“You did this in just a few days?”
He shrugged like it was nothing. “I couldn’t sleep.”
My chest hurts.
I noticed the jewelry then: laid out carefully on a table nearby. Rings. Bracelets. Chains. All different styles, different metals, different stones. Like he’d been trying to cover every possible version of me I might want to be.
“What are all these?” I asked, even though I already knew.
“Pre-mating gifts,” he said. “The painting too.”
My face felt hot.
I've never imagined someone doing anything like this for me. Ever. Not even close. My imagination clearly hasn't done this man any justice.
I laughed a little, breathless, and before I could stop myself, I crossed the room and hugged him hard. Pressed my face into his chest like that was the safest place in the world.
“You’re ridiculous, this is too much.” I mumbled.
He kissed the side of my neck, slow and warm. “Not enough. My mate deserves more.”
My heart did something stupid in my chest.
I pulled back just enough to look at him. “So… when is the marking?”
His eyes darkened, just a little.
“Not yet.”
I groaned. “You’re kidding.”
He smiled, that soft dangerous smile that made my stomach flip. “First, I’m taking you to the best restaurant in town.”
I stared at him.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I shook my head, laughing. “You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re rambling, relax back and enjoy tonight. I want you to remember it very clearly.” he said fondly.
I was rambling. I knew I was. My thoughts were all over the place; bouncing from the painting to the candles to the idea of his teeth against my skin to the absurd fact that I was happy.
I'm actually happy.
It scared me how much I wanted this. How easily I slipped into imagining a future that didn’t end in pain or loss or running away.
I leaned into him again, smiling so hard my cheeks hurt.
Maybe this was reckless.
Maybe it was too fast.
Maybe I was falling headfirst into something I didn’t fully understand.
But for the first time in my life, it didn’t feel like the ground was going to disappear beneath me.
And when Kael wrapped his arms around me, warm and steady, all I could think was:
If this is a mistake… it’s the one I want to make.