Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
Daddy’s Innocent Mate Chapter 19

Elias

A safe life had never appealed to me in the past. Before the raid on our pack had destroyed everything we had ever known, my reckless antics had taken a calm family and turned it into a chaotic mess. Years had gone by while I engaged in the same behaviors, without a care in the world of how it affected anyone else.

Those desires faded with Francine. While I'd always cared about the safety of my kid, I never felt much compelled to take care of myself like I did him. Francine had changed that-she had molded me without forcing me to do anything. She was unlike any woman I'd ever met.

With the living room dimly lit with soft tea lights and music playing low in the background, I looked at Francine with a smile. "You're my mate."

She chortled. "What makes you say that? The bite?" She held up her hand. "The ring?"

"No, it's more than that. It's here." I rested my hand on her chest, feeling her swell with a breath, feeling the love blow out from the inhalation. "I can't explain it. I just know."

"I'm glad you're saying it now. You said it once, but..."

I nodded. "But I was afraid to repeat it. I wasn't even sure why I said it." I grinned. "But I know now that it's because it's true."

"I'm your mate."

I loved hearing those words come out of her mouth. Their resonance, their sureness was what propelled me to kiss her, to take her lips like I had dozens of times before. But those times couldn't have compared to this reclamation. She was mine, and I was hers. Nothing would ever change that fact.

She cupped my face. "I'm your mate, and that means I should be honest with you too."

I drifted back, keeping her close enough to kiss again. "I'm listening, little Fran."

"I, uh..." Her face scrunched up. "I should have told you when we were matched, but I've never had s*x, and I was afraid of telling you. I was scared you would laugh. I was worried you would leave because I'm clearly not experienced. I just-"

One finger over her lips stopped the tirade of her words. "I don't care about that, Fran. I just care about whether or not you'll stay with me."

She blinked. "You're not mad?"

I shook my head. "No, I can't be mad. I've kept shit from you too."

"Yeah, about that..."

I dropped my hand into my lap. "Geraldine and I were going to get back together. That's true. I should have never kept that from you."

"It made me feel like I was competing."

"I was holding out hope that she would come back."

She frowned. "Even though she died in the raid?"

My heart snapped. "What do you mean?"

"Yolanda told me about how she watched Geraldine die."

A tunnel of shadows crowded my vision. Though there had been a part of me that was aware that Geraldine had faded from this world, I hadn't witnessed her death. I'd only ever assumed she had fallen with the rest while hoping for her return with the survivors. But to hear that someone had seen her die was oddly comforting. It felt like I was a train that had been properly placed back on the tracks after sliding sideways for so long.

I hung my head as she stroked my cheek.

"Oh, Elias..." she whispered.

I felt her pain. But I pushed on. Honesty was important, just like my alpha had said. "I wanted Geraldine to come back for Archie, and for me. I didn't think I'd ever be worth anything to anyone ever again. But I didn't really know she was dead. I didn't..."I sighed. "I understand," she said. "I get it."

"Then I met you. And the past didn't seem as appealing. I realized I was holding on to things that weren't going to happen."

"I understand."

I nuzzled her cheek with my nose. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you those things sooner. I didn't think we would connect." "Until we did."

"And it blew me away."

Her smile lit up the room. She stroked my cheek with her thumb, following my cheekbone to my ear and then trailing over my earlobe. Goosebumps fluttered up wherever her fingers roamed. The gesture made me wonder if I had ever experienced such bliss from soft touch in the past.

My mental records indicated that this experience was unique. Francine was unique. Everything she gave me couldn't be recreated by any other hand or word. Only hers could influence me in such ways.

That was how I knew she was mine, and I was hers.

The patter of feet drew my attention. Archie padded toward us with a bashful expression, wearing his favorite motorcycle pajamas that he insisted on wearing just about every night now that he had access to a functioning bike. While he couldn't ride the bike without me, he loved being able to participate. I made a mental note to include him more in my mechanical adventures.

"Dad? Mom?" he said in a low voice. "Can I sit with you? I can't sleep."

Fran opened her arms, and Archie fell right into her. The sweetness of the moment inspired me to pull them both into my arms. Just like that day at the hospital.

I swore I would never hurt them again. That promise was sacred to me, and I knew that upholding it meant being transparent with them every step of the way. Maybe I couldn't entirely get rid of my adventurous spirit, but that wasn't what Francine wanted of me. She just wanted me to be careful.

Archie sighed while grabbing my hand. "Dad, I miss her."

I swallowed the knot in my throat. "I know, buddy."

"Would it help if you told me about her?" Francine asked.

I stared at her for a while, trying to see if I'd heard her correctly. "What did you say?"

"Well, I think it's about time you told me about that beautiful woman in the portrait," she joked lightly. "I think I'd like to hear about Archie's mother. Is that okay?"

I traded a curious look with my son. He seemed like he was trying to figure out how much he could say without hurting his stepmother. But Francine didn't harbor any resentment or ill will. I sensed that in her soul was a pure curiosity, one that wanted to know about our lives before the war.

A quick crack of my neck helped ease my nerves. "She was a, uh...wild woman. Like me."

"Right, you're a wild woman," Fran teased.

I shook my head. "You know what I mean. She liked bikes."

"Is that why you like bikes?"

"It's one reason. She liked helping me in the garage. She was sweet like you, and she wanted to know how things worked."

Archie sat up a bit. "She used to read me books all the time."

"Is that why you don't like reading time?"

My son looked guilty for a second. He rubbed his shoulder and nodded.

Fran rubbed his head. "That's alright. We can get to books when you're ready."

"You're so good to him," I praised. "I mean, a lot of people are good to my kid, but you have a way with him that no one else does."

"I can't say I understand what you two have gone through. I have both my parents and most of my friends here." She sighed. "But I can do my best to empathize. I don't want my misunderstanding to make anyone upset."

"I appreciate that."

She took my hand and squeezed it. "Tell me more."

Soon, Archie and I were telling Francine about our memories with Geraldine. I spared most of the painful details-like the points of tension in our relationship-and focused on the highlights. She was a great mother to Archie. And I knew Francine was already a great mother to Archie as well.

I saw it in the way she listened to every word he spoke, and I felt it in the way she spoke to him like he was just another adult in the room. She didn't use big words. She used language she knew he would understand, and she leveled with him about her feelings. That was something I'd always wanted for my kid, and I tried to do it often.

Except when I got it wrong. But Archie was spectacular. He saw me as a shifter dad who was capable of mistakes-and of making up for those mistakes.

A lot like how Francine saw me.

A lot like how Francine was looking at me now. Above the sound of our contented laughter and the soft music still encasing us in a comfortable bubble in the living room, I saw her affection and admiration. I felt her love. I sensed her fondness. With it came the delicious smell of peaches, a scent I knew I would adore for the rest of my life because it was a scent that heralded her presence.