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

Francine

Elias and I didn't wait very long for our ritual. Since we had already bitten each other and traded rings, the only thing left to do was to proclaim our commitment to the rest of the pack with my grandmother reciting the ritual prayers and drawing the symbols in oil upon our skin. Though Elias didn't have any extended family beyond those who had survived the raid on the original Bravecrest land, he appeared happy to welcome Nana into his arms. He did the same with my parents, and then welcomed them to stand with us in the new gardens that had been erected near my old apartment.

The alphas announced our bond. We were met with triumphant cheers, joyful banter, and congrats on every side. The gardens teemed with life renewed, and we were a great part of that cycle. I was happy that we could witness it too.

Since the backyard had been so unruly, Laurencia had suggested expanding the gardens, connecting the huge house to the rest of the neighborhood to be converted into a makeshift marketplace. The Bravecrests were highly supportive of such an endeavor, and I recommended to Blake that the school children should start a gardening club to help with it.

Within just a week, the garden was bursting with life-much like my love and affection for my new family. As Elias traced over the oil symbols on my chest, I felt the connection I had with him cement deep within my core, signaling an eternal flame to sprout where there used to be darkness.

This flame would never go out. Much like the famed philosopher's stone, the love inspired by my connection with my mate would fuel that flame forever. Nothing could get in our way. Even the silliest of fights couldn't break us apart. Our week together after we'd let out all our secrets had been free of fighting, so it was a great indication of what the future would bring. I had hope that we would survive any arguments that might crop up.

The celebration continued well into the evening until our packs left exhausted. Without so much life bustling around the garden, the darkness felt thicker and the moonlight brighter. Isaiah had taken Archie home, and my parents had retreated to my old apartment with Nana to rest for the evening.

Elias and I were left to ourselves. Which was good timing considering the way I felt after that wonderful ceremony.

I took his hand and held it close to my heart. "What are you thinking about?"

"Can't you tell?"

"You know I can't read your mind."

A wink accompanied his chuckle. "I thought you gained those powers when we got these symbols carved into us."

"Carved?" I snorted. "Elias Shaw, you know that was oil."

"Felt like Nana had knives for fingers."

I rolled my eyes. "She's got a heavy hand."

"She's a cat. She probably just doesn't like bears."

"Thankfully, you're not a smelly bear."

He slid his hand around the back of my neck, leaving his thumb over my trachea. "Are you telling me I smell bad, little Fran?"

"Never."

"You better not."

I smirked. "Or what?"

Desire dripped from the groan that vibrated his throat. He smothered my mouth with a hot kiss, driving away whatever playfulness had sprouted from the day's festivities. No longer did I feel like toying with my food. I wanted to eat. I wanted to fill myself with him. If I didn't do it soon, I would certainly lose my mind.

The moment he broke the kiss, I spilled my l**t. "I want you inside me."

He shuddered as he clutched my hips. "Do you mean that, little Fran?"

"I mean it," I said while cupping his face. "I'm ready."

Nothing could have been better than having my mate-my official husband so rightfully announced by our alphas-lift me into his arms and carry me to the darker part of the gardens hidden behind a wall of trees. Engulfed in shadows but just dim enough for shifter eyes to see, he laid me out on a bed of sweet-smelling grass, the earth soft and cool on the bare skin of my upper back.

Blades of grass tickled my neck as Elias hovered over me. Moonlight spilled over his shoulders and blanketed my vision, turning him into a shadow for a moment as he closed in on my lips. Everything about his touch was filled with tenderness. The ghosts of my past melted away, each singular embarrassing moment turning to dust in the wake of his delicate attention.

There wasn't anyone in the world who could replace Elias. Even when our bodies parted, I couldn't possibly picture my life unfolding with anyone except him. His hands swarmed my sides, warm palms cupping every curve and rising with each peak. He swept his thumbs over my breasts, and then slid his fingers under the halter straps of my dress, undoing the button with a slowness that made my slit ache.

Without a doubt, I wanted him inside me. I wanted to know his girth, to feel him swell between my slit, to feel the precise moment of his eruption. If his fingers and mouth were any indication of what he could do with his cock, I knew I was in danger of unwinding in ways that would likely change me forever.

So it would be-because I wanted him to take me.

Shudders echoed through my body while he exposed my breasts, drawing light circles with his thumbs over my nipples. A throbbing ache beat in tune with my heart right between my thighs, causing me to quiver in ways that resembled a chilling anticipation, the same one I had felt during my first exploration by myself.

Now I was with Elias, and I couldn't think of anyone better to take my virginity. He confidently pulled my dress down, showing off the lace panties I had chosen for him. As he swept his hand over my mound, I bucked into the motion, feeling the intensity of my arousal zap my chest and harden my nipples. A breeze blew in, coasting over my skin the same way his lips usually did when he was teasing me.

I shakily reached for his white shirt and pulled it off, the shivering fit growing to an intense spasm that froze me up. He rubbed my shoulders and upper arms, planting a firm kiss on my lips that silenced my anxiety. I hadn't realized my hang-ups until he kissed me, until he wiped them away like he would a smudge on a pane of glass.

When he drifted back an inch, he shimmied between my legs and stripped off his pants with his briefs. His c**k felt warm against my thigh. A bead of arousal slicked my skin, reminding me of his taste-and then my mouth was watering as I widened my legs and invited him closer. Read more at FindNovel.net

The shivering resumed, but it was so much more than anxiety this time. It was an overwhelming urge to be devoured. Signals bounced through my body in short zaps, drawing my hips into a slow roll that heightened my desire. Raw sensations shattered my core as I rubbed my sensitive slit against his stiff c**k. His groans shortened as he stole my lips again, grumbling some commands between kisses that were lost to the swell of my heartbeat in my ears.

He snaked his hand between us and positioned the head of his cock at my entrance, waiting a beat as I rested my hands on his shoulders. My chest and throat tightened as he sank into me. A slight pinch radiated my core, forcing my nails into his skin as I arched back. He soothed me with a kiss to my neck-to the place where he had marked me with a promise that I would always be his-and whispered that he would take his time.

More promises were made. And I believed every single one. I leaned into the gentle thrum of his words coaxing me to relax, softening with each syllable, giving myself over in ways that couldn't have possibly happened with anyone except my true mate. Elias was my true mate. His command prompted my response. As odd as it might have seemed to anyone outside of shifter traditions, it made sense to me-the primality of our connection didn't require logic. It only required feeling.

As he rose to take my lips softly, I realized he was fully submerged. He paused when I squeezed his shoulders. His gentle guidance resumed, and I fell into the vibrations of his words, arching my hips toward him for him to sink deeper, taking as much of him as I dared through the pressure growing in my center. Without any anxiety left to stop me, I rolled my hips, feeling every pleasure point he hit all at once, astonished by the way he held me firmly but gently at the same time.

My mouth widened with every gasp. I clutched his shoulders tightly, seeking to stimulate myself like he was a brand-new toy and totally helpless to stop the desire swelling inside me. Each encouragement he whispered felt like molten heat that drove my hips to buck harder. A renewed l**t propelled me to ride him, sliding easily now that I could handle him, and completely unabashed by the way my cheeks burned and my nipples tingled.

Everything felt so right.

He leaned back and propped himself on his hands, planting himself in place while peering down at where our bodies met. His resulting groan made me explode and I rode him until I couldn't ride anymore, until I was begging him to take over because I just wanted so much more. A few short seconds weren't enough. I wanted him to merge with me in ways that weren't physically possible.

Once his hips took over, I raised my knees to my chest and watched how the moonlight illuminated our bodies. He reared back and returned with focused pumps that blew my concentration apart. Within a few minutes of him taking over, I felt myself lock up, somehow managing to buck and freeze at the same time as I came all over again. My eyes disappeared as he thrust harder, smacking into me so hard that I slid over the soft grass with each pump.

And then, I felt him explode.

As his cock throbbed in short bursts inside me, I clung to his shoulders, smashing him close enough to hurt. We became one in that moment, a cluster of moaning bodies, a complete disappearance of the self in favor of a union that would persevere through the ages to come. He was my mate. He was my husband. He was everything to me-and so much more than that.

"I love you," I gasped while holding him tightly. "I'll always keep you close. I swear that to you now. I promise-I mean it, Elias."

He wheezed. "I love you too. Maybe just relinquish a little pressure, my little Fran."

I loosened my grip. "Sorry, babe."

Laughter broke from him in gasps and wheezing coughs as his muscular arms circled my body. "No, never be sorry for that. I love you too. I love how much you dig your nails into me. Keep doing it."

I pricked his shoulders. "Like this?"

He moaned while repeatedly stealing my lips, plunging his tongue possessively into my mouth and clearing away any of the wreckage left from our previous fights. Part of me didn't want to forget how much work it had taken to get here. We had spent long nights apart-and we had also spent early dawns talking each other's ears off.

"Thank you," I whispered while hiking one leg around him. I scooted him close, feeling his cock growing again between us. "You could have left me behind, but you didn't."

"Why would I leave you, Fran?"

The pressure that grew in my throat made me feel small. Dear gods, what was it about his voice that broke me apart? Was it the high of losing my virginity and gaining a husband in one night? Perhaps I was just tired from our celebration.

He gently rubbed my hip, easing my muscles and encouraging me to relax. "Get it out of your head, little girl. Daddy is here to stay."

I whimpered when he kissed the bite on my neck.

"I'm here to stay...forever."

The world could have been sucked into a black hole in that moment and I wouldn't have even cared. There wasn't anything else in my life that was more important than the man between my legs and the family we were creating by our coupling. Life beyond this moment would never be the same-and that was exactly what I wanted.

Because the years I had spent by myself, focusing hard on my independence and my success, had left me without the nourishment of a proper bond. Now that I had Elias, and now that I was sure Elias would never leave, those days were far behind me. My bed would never be cold. My heart would never be empty. My cup would overflow.

Any lingering doubts were dispersed by Elias returning to my slit, sweeping his growing erection through my mess while his hands wandered my body. Engorged with desire, I accepted him again, feeling the ease with which he slid into place like he had always belonged there. For the rest of our lives, he certainly would.

Moonlight glowed around us, haloing our bodies and the act of our union. Every kiss announced a new dawn. Each moan broadcast a fresh start that could be shared whenever we felt it was necessary. With our bodies entwined, we would never need to question the feelings of the other. We could just feel it.

And as I sank again into that blissful abyss of pleasure, I didn't have to wonder about the future or what my purpose would be. My only focus was being with Elias and cementing our family together as we had with our vows. Together, we could do anything, be anything, try anything. As long as we were honest and true to each other, we would never fade. Our flame was eternal-and so was our fated bond.

*****

THE END