Desire for Love | Desire Series ~ 2

Chapter 25

Daniel POV

“Did you ever want to mark me as your mate?” Matthias asked as my heart beat faster.

Happiness, utter happiness fills my heart. Knowing that Matthias is willing to build a family with me makes me want to run wild and announce it to the world. Our relationship has only been improving but we never expressed our feelings to each other explicitly. Therefore, hearing him ask this question brings relief and happiness to my heart.

“Yes, of course.”

Matthias smiles before taking a deep breath. “Then, have you thought about me feeding on you?”

Surprised by his question, I could not answer him for a moment. I know I have been purposely pushing the question away and now it haunts me once again. I’m overjoyed that Matthias wants to be my mate, but it means I have to fully invest myself too. I can’t refuse him. It would be unfair. But I’m not ready.

“Look, I am not pressuring you. I only want you to know that when you’re ready to tell me, I’ll be here.”

“I’m sorry,” I sigh before cupping my face in my hands.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be waiting as long as it needs to.”

His tone was gentle and understanding, but it feels like he has slapped me. I can’t be indecisive anymore. I don’t even know why I hesitate so much. This is not like me.

“Don’t kill yourself over it. It’s alright. I know it is a hard decision,” Matthias adds after a moment of silence.

I stare at my mate. How long has it been since someone offered their shoulder to lean my head on? Since I became the Alpha, I had been the one to resolve everyone’s problem. Even my parents took a step back. I was their Alpha first and then their son.
“You have your pack, your family to worry about. I can understand why you hesitate. And I really hope, you won’t refuse me,” he adds shakily before taking a deep breath. “But…” Matthias stops as if hesitating to continue.

I gently grab his hand and intertwine our fingers together. I want him to express everything he has in his heart without worrying about my response. Sometimes, there are things that need to be said even if we don’t want to hear them.

As if he understands my thoughts, he nods. “Won’t it be helpful for your pack for you to be immortal? You could always be there for them.”

“I can’t stay the Alpha forever,” I state as a matter of fact. It was never done and will never be that way.

“Of course, you’ll pass on the role to your child, but you can counsel them when they need it.”

I ponder the idea, and judge that it sounds like a good one. There were multiple cases with a similar situation that happened in the past.

“If you agree, I’ll stay with you in the pack until your duties as an Alpha are completed,” my mate adds.

His statement surprised me. He is willing to compromise so many things, so we could be together. It never crossed my mind that he would want to live in the pack. It shows me how much I underestimated him. I think I know him, but each day, I learn something new. I truly am an idiot.

“Then… What about after?”

“I don’t know. We could enjoy our retirement and travel from time to time. Have fun and accompany each other?”

I nod with a smile. “It sounds nice.”

“I know,” Matthias leaned his head on my shoulder as we enjoy each other’s company while watching the children

I can only feel relief. I was only thinking about the negative side of the deal. I never thought about the positive points. Although it almost solves the problem, there is another one I need to tackle. This one will be trickier to handle since it involves his mother. I personally experienced her hatred for werewolves. It runs so deep that she will sacrifice her son instead of asking for help from us. Matthias doesn’t like to show it, but he cares a lot about his family. It must pain him to sever all ties from them. It can’t go on like this. But what can I do?

Soon, it is time to eat as the pack gathers in the dining room. As the Alpha, I get the first pick and since Matthias is my mate, he can serve himself just after me. When I don’t see him move, I take his plate and pick the best cuts of raw meat I can find before ordering someone to go cook it medium-rare.

“I could have eaten it like it was,” Matthias mumbles after snapping out of it. “I do like tartare.”

“You should have seen yourself. You were about to faint,” I answer as I stab a piece of meat with my claw before seeing the blood pool out from it.

“I don’t think it was cleaned properly either,” he covers his mouth with his hand before closing his eyes.

“A gut-shot here and there won’t kill anyone,” I grin as his face becomes even whiter than his usually pale skin.

“Stop.”

Soon enough, Matthias’ plate comes back along with a fork and knife. The red meat is now brown as a delicious odour of cooked venison filled the room. The hungry werewolves stirred in restlessness as some openly salivated with their tail wagging.

“Thank you,” my mate says with a relieved smile as I smile before popping the piece of meat in my mouth.

“You’re welcome.”

As my mate eats in silence, the Beta and I discuss pack affairs. I try to not dwell on those matters too long, but there are things I can’t push off. I wish I could take a few days off and spend more time with Matthias, but I don’t have the luxury to do so. When I see Leigh and Claudia trying to include him in their conversation, relief is the first thing I feel. If some higher-ranked members of my pack accept him, the others will gradually follow their lead. I could always order them to respect my mate and treat him as they would for me, but it is not healthy. There would be no sincerity or trust.

Maybe, if we stopped hiding our relationship with his mother, she would learn to accept that her son’s mate is a werewolf. Maybe if I could show her how sincere I am toward her son, her hate would slowly dissipate and learn to trust me.

“About your mother,” I start after moistening my dry lips.

“I don’t want to talk about her,” he grumbles before forcefully stabbing a piece of meat with his fork, which caused the plate to break.

“Maybe it’s time that we tell her.”