I laughed at John's story as he described what his class did during their high school graduation ceremony. I shook my head at his antics before taking a drink. Supper was very good, it was rare that I got stuff like this. Ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies, bread, and more. My supper was usually bread and smoked meat. I hadn't been this full in a long time.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise as someone put a big plate of honey muffins on the table. Their sweet scent made my mouth water. Other than the ice cream this afternoon, the last time I had any sort of sweet or dessert was when I had been an Omega with the Black River Pack. By the time I got to the table with that pack, the desserts and good stuff had almost always been consumed.

Will had been watching me most of the meal and instantly noticed me eying up the plate of sticky sweet morsels that were out of my reach. With a chuckle, he reached over to snag one off of the pile and held it up to my mouth. I was a bit self-conscious of the four people watching in amusement as Will tried to handfeed me, but that didn't stop me from leaning forward to take a bite out of the treat.

The flavors exploded on my tongue, and I hummed in delight as I enjoyed my mouthful. I turned a bit red as I noticed that Will was watching me with an enrapt expression.

Samantha noticed the blush and chuckled before explaining, "That is the mate bond at its finest during the courting stage. Anything you show interest in, he will try to get for you. If it is food, you can practically be guaranteed that he will try to feed it to you himself. The mate bond itself will drive him to do it. It will be overly pronounced until the mate bond is completed. Oh, and don't be surprised if your mate gets jealous and overprotective at any given point in time."

To complete the mate bond, I would have to be marked and mated. I wasn’t ready for that yet, so I expected that the mate bond would get Will worked up over something at some point. Sam looked pointedly at John as she finished her little speech. John rolled his eyes, saying, "I wasn't that bad..."

Mark snorted in disagreement. "No, you were much worse. You growled at anyone who so much as glanced at her. You wouldn't even let me or Tim in the same room with her, even when you were sitting beside her."

John grumbled incoherently as he ate his own honey muffin. Will juggled the rest of the muffin so a corner stuck out towards me, and I leaned in for a second bite. It was just as good as the first.

I mumbled around my mouthful, "I am glad that Will doesn't seem to go overboard in the jealousy area."

I had seen quite a few men like that; they were insanely jealous and could barely tolerate watching their mate even shake hands with another guy as a greeting. I had felt the faint stirrings of jealousy when a few other women had walked close during the meal, and I knew the mate bond was responsible for it. It usually tended to affect males worse though.

Will looked sheepish as he confessed, "I will admit that I have had to bite my tongue a few times. I am quite grateful for all of the self-control lessons that Tony knocked into me in our training, though. They are getting a serious workout."

I grinned internally, oddly flattered that he would get jealous over me. The others snickered at his admission and slight sheepishness. He seemed relaxed enough at the moment as he sat beside me despite the fact that two unmated males were at the table and talking with me. I wasn’t entirely sure how I would have felt if Samantha wasn’t already paired up with John.

Will popped the last bit of the muffin into his mouth, which was fine by me since I was quite full at this point. I stretched and leaned back in my chair.

"I am stuffed,” I said. “Is the food always this good?"

Mark nodded. "Yep. You rarely get the same thing two days in a row since the cooks take turns."

I murmured, "I think I will have to get some lessons from them. This food was excellent."

I glanced over my shoulder at the approaching Luna. She was focused on Will and me as she headed our way. Will followed my gaze and grinned at the approaching Luna. He greeted her, "Emily, how is it going?"

"Good. We just have to figure out where your mate will sleep tonight, then my tasks will be complete for the evening."

Will and I turned a bit red at the topic, but it was a valid question. Most mates were unable to sleep if they were apart, even if the bond was only partially formed. Even if they succeeded in sleeping separately, it made both of them touchier and noticeably increased the protectiveness and jealousy in the male. Most mates took around two weeks to complete the mate bond, and they usually managed to share a room during that time as they got to know one another.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Will turned to me, still red. "Umm... I am hoping you won’t mind sleeping in my room. I won't push our relationship any faster than you are willing to go, but I know I wouldn't be able to sleep without you nearby."

I ducked my head shyly. "I usually sleep in wolf form. So, as long as you don't roll on me in your sleep, I don't see any problem in it."

I wasn't ready to complete the bond yet, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep without Will close by. Truth be told, I couldn't even remember the last time I had slept in human form. Even as an Omega, I had slept in wolf form under the low bed. Turned out to be a good thing too, since occasionally someone had peeked into my room during the night and had left when they saw the empty bed...

Will sighed in relief. "I don't think I could possibly roll on you or harm you."

Emily nodded happily. "Good, that makes my life easier. I will leave you to enjoy your evening then." She turned and left the room.

I looked up at Will. "What do you usually do in the evenings?"

He shrugged. "Evenings are more or less free time for everyone. I normally do some training, but I plan to skip that today in hopes that the mate bond will settle a bit overnight. I’m worried I might accidentally hurt someone today."

In a bizarre way, I was glad that the mate bond wasn't only messing with my head and mood. Samantha commented, "Take my advice and go somewhere quiet."

Will brightened at thought. "That sounds like a good idea to me."

I nodded; it worked for me as well. I wasn't used to being around so many people, and I looked forward to finding someplace quieter. We put our dishes in the dishwasher and went outside. We wandered into the forest and down a small trail with no one on it. The familiar smells and sounds of the forest relaxed me.

We hadn’t gone too far before we arrived at a small waterfall hidden among the trees. Will sat beneath a tree on the thick grass, and I sat beside him. I leaned against his side as he draped his arm over my shoulders. We watched the waterfall in silence as we simply enjoyed one another's company.

Our peace was shattered near sunset when a group of kids started playing a game that involved lots of yelling and shrieking not that far away. With a heavy sigh, Will stood up and pulled me to my feet. He commented, "It was nice while it lasted. It is almost sunset anyway, so we might as well head back."

We walked back, taking care to avoid the rambunctious kids. I covered my yawn with my free hand, since my other one was holding Will’s hand. It had been a long day for me since we had broken camp early this morning, not to mention everything that had happened today. I followed Will as he went up a couple flights of stairs and opened up a door. "This is my room, well, our room now."

I wandered in and looked around in curiosity. The walls were a dark brown and the decorations were limited to a few picture frames. It was clean and simple. "This is nice,” I said. “I was halfway scared to find sweaty practice clothes draped on a chair or stuffed into a closet."

He grinned at my teasing tone. "No, my practice clothing stays in the building by the training grounds. They get washed daily over there. I don't think I could endure the smell of them in here."

I grinned in response and hefted my backpack. "Mind if I grab a shower?"

He replied, "Go for it. The bathroom is two doors down the hallway. There are several bathrooms on every floor, so don't worry about hurrying." He grabbed a set of clothing from his dresser and followed me to the door. "I will be just down the hallway if you need anything."

I nodded and went to the nearby bathroom. The hot water in the shower was another luxury that I thoroughly enjoyed. It beat the cold water in the creek by a long shot. I dried off and brushed out my shoulder-length hair. I brushed my teeth and everything else since I was in here.

The soap and shampoo had mostly removed Will's scent from my skin. For the first time in a long time, my own scent was detectable. I knew from talking with other rogues that Will would have been able to pick up my obscured scent despite how I masked it. It was impossible to mask one's scent from one's mate even if they had never met.

I shook my head and headed back to Will's room. I somehow arrived before him, which shouldn't have happened since I had lingered in the warm shower. I put my backpack on a chair in the corner and sat on the bed before shifting into my wolf form.

I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed it earlier, but I could sense Will's presence downstairs with his Enforcer aura. He must have gone downstairs to shoo noisy people off to another location where they would not disturb those trying to sleep. An Enforcer's role mostly involved peace keeping things, like removing a potential cause of irritation before anyone even got upset. Of course, if a serious fight or attack ever occurred, they would be in the thick of it, but such things were much rarer than day-to-day squabbles.

A quick sniff of the bed told me which side he normally slept on. I curled up on the opposite pillow and wiggled under the blankets for added warmth, although my head still stuck out. It felt extremely strange to be getting ready to sleep without being in a tight spot. Sleep would be some time in coming like this. I tracked Will with my senses as he began to come back upstairs. He stopped down the hall in a room, probably a bathroom, before coming closer.

He entered the room quietly. The pj bottoms and loose top looked like they had never been worn before. He was probably wearing them to make me more comfortable. He scanned the room until he spotted my grey form half-hidden in the blankets. He turned off the lights and climbed into bed. He rolled over to face me and whispered, "Good night."

I stretched my head towards his and placed a small lick on his nose as a good night kiss. I yawned and curled up into a ball as I snuggled into the soft blankets. I was surprised when Will's scent and presence allowed me to drift off to sleep almost instantly.