My Pet Mate

Chapter 14

*Annabelle's POV*

"I love you, mate."

I was so thrown off and surprised by those words that I didn't see the kiss coming. Suddenly, Cade's lips were on mine. The kiss itself was a surprise too. I figured that, him being the more animalistic side, Cade's kisses would be rough and passionate, but his lips were incredibly gentle. As if all his emotions were being conveyed in the short kiss. It felt magical, the sparks started slowly spreading through my body and the gentleness of the kiss made me feel all warm inside.

When he broke the kiss he had his eyes closed, and I knew that Adam would be back if he opened them again.

"I love you, mate." Those words were echoing through my mind. Already? Isn't that going a bit fast?

I mean, he was talking about having kids with me.

"Hey" I heard Adam's voice again as he opened his eyes.

"H-hey" I stuttered, mentally scolding myself for it.

Adam chuckled, "Sorry, Cade is a bit much at times."

I shook my head, "It's fine. I-it's just a bit fast paced."

Adam sighed, "For Cade, there is no barrier. He's an animal. As soon as he saw you he knew you were his mate. No questions asked, no answers needed. He started loving you the moment we met and won't stop loving you until the day we die. You could probably stab us in the heart and Cade could still forgive you. That's the power of the mate bond." He explained.

"Oh... um..." I was figuring out what to say to him. He just proclaimed his love for us and I didn't say anything back.

Adam seemingly read my mind and chuckled, "Don't worry about it. You don't have to say anything back. Like I said, Cade is an animal, for him there is no barrier. For humans it's much more difficult. I don't think I could say it yet either. Those three words."

"But aren't you the same person in a way?" I asked.

Adam nodded, "Yes, but for me the barrier of humanity gets in the way. From the moment we saw you I knew you would be the one, which sounds crazy by itself. But the mate bond doesn't automatically make me love you, only my wolf side. If I had to describe my feelings for you right now I'd probably say that I'm falling in love with you, but I'm not there yet."

I blushed, he's so certain of everything it's kind of scary.

"But, keep in mind that we've known you are our mate for two weeks already. You have just found out. For us the mating process is clear. Don't feel pressured into saying anything just because we are further along. Take your time, we'll wait for as long as it takes." Adam reassured me.

I smiled, trying to get rid of the blush that was still very apparent on my face, "O-ok. Thank you for being so patient with me."

Adam smiled, "No, thank you for being so accepting. Any other female would have probably run for the hills when someone starts talking about having kids with them before even taking them out on a date first."

I giggled, "It was tempting, but I decided that I'd give you a chance."

"Good," Adam pulled me close, "Thank you."

---

The next morning, I left with the house with my 'dog' on the leash. Once we reached the forest Adam shifted and put on clothes and we headed into town for a shopping session. We decided that Adam probably needed a good pair of pants and shoes and Adam wanted to get a haircut as well. Apparently he used to have short hair before he started living in the forest.