Midnight River Shorts

Samuel and Andrew

Set 30 years before 'The Human and Their Mates' and 'When You Least Expect It.'

Andrew's POV

Age 23

"Andrew, hurry up! We need to go!" My mom calls from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" I call back to her.

I still don't see why we have to go to this stupid thing. I whine to my Wolf, Lyle.

Because Dad's best friend is the new Beta. He replies.

That still doesn't explain why I need to go. I huff, as I close my bedroom door. I don't know why I need to go to the stupid Midnight River Pack.

Can you just relax? Lyle sighs.

Fine. I roll my eyes at him. "I'm ready, Mom."

"Good, Sweetheart." Mom kisses my cheek. "Let's get going. Your Dad is waiting in the car." She chuckles. "He keeps going on about how long it's been since he's seen Casper."

"Well, we can go now." I say, walking to the door.

"Alright, Honey." She chuckles, walking behind me.

Our life in Fallen Crystals is decent. My parents aren't super high up in the Pack, but we're fairly well off.

"Andrew!" Dad cheers as Mom and I get into the car.

"Hey, Dad." I chuckle. "Why do we have to go again?"

"Because Casper and his Alpha invited us to attend the gathering, even if we aren't high ranking wolves.." He said, as we pulled out of the driveway and began our trip.

The trip was only a few hours, and I slept most of the way. I wake up when I feel the car parking. "Are we here?" I ask drowsily.

"Yes, Andrew." Dad chuckles. "You slept for a while."

"I was tired." I groan, getting out of the car.

"Paulie!" A man cheers as he approaches my dad.

"Hey, Cassie!" Dad hugs him. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has!" Casper replies with a laugh. "Andrew, Donna, good to see you!"

"Hi, Mr. Sterling." I shake his hand. "It's good to see you too."

"How's your life been, Cas?" Dad asks, as we follow him out to the meeting area.

"Oh good." He chuckles. "Sammy just got back to the Pack a little while ago. No luck finding his Mate out in the world, yet. Carter's enjoying having him home again."

"I'm glad." Dda chuckles. "Andrew just got back too."

"Maybe they'll have some luck soon." Casper chuckles.

We sit at our table, eating the food laid out for us. I kept smelling sea salt, but didn't pay attention to it much. Soon enough, Alpha Jenkins of Midnight River gets up to give his speech.

"Thank you all for joining us tonight! And a special welcome to our visitors from Fallen Crystals! It's great to see you!" We all cheer at his words. "Now, tonight is something special I wanted to share with all of you." He looks out over his Pack. "I know you've all been wondering who would be my successor, especially since we adopted Shay. But I'm happy to announce-"

He's cut off by his Beta standing abruptly.

"Yes, Samuel? Do you need something?" Alpha Jenkins looks at his Beta.

"Alpha... My Mate." Samuel choked out.

I looked at him when he spoke, his voice sounding like honey. And I stood up.

That's him! Lyle cheers. Our Mate!

It... It can't be. The Beta of Midnight River? I gape at him.

"Well, folks! We have another reason to celebrate!" Alpha Jenkins chuckles. "Three cheers for our new Mate pair!"

The crowd cheers for us, while we meet each other by the doors.

"Go ahead and get acquainted, boys!" Alpha Jenkins cheers. "The rest of us will celebrate the fact that you've met, and that our Luna Ida, is pregnant!"

The crowd cheers loudly.

"Let's go talk somewhere." Samuel says softly.

"Okay." I reply, following him out of the gathering hall.

Samuel's POV

Age 24

I can feel the heat emanating from the man walking behind me. I can smell the lavender scent wafting through the air as we walk through the Pack House to my apartment. I open the door and let him in to sit on the couch. I watch him as he sits gingerly on the couch.

"Do you want water or anything?" I ask, grabbing a soda from my fridge.

"Maybe crack a window?" He rasps. "All I can smell is you, and it's a little distracting."

"Oh, sorry." I rub the back of my neck. "I can light a candle and open the windows. I didn't even think about it." I murmur as I walk around, opening the windows I can. I grab some scented candles that I was gifted a while ago and light them, setting them on the coffee table. "Does that help?"

"Yeah." He relaxes slightly. "Thank you."

"No problem, Buttercup." I smile as I sit down.

"Buttercup?" He asks.

"Well, I've been smelling lavender all night. And I'm pretty sure that's not your name." I chuckle, smiling at him.

"Well, it's not 'Buttercup' either." He glares at me.

"Well, you already know my name is Samuel." I smile. "What's your name, Gorgeous?"

"Another nickname." He laughs. "My actual name is Andrew. Andrew Cornelius Bartanian."

"Cute name." I grin. "Well I, Samuel Jonas Sterling, accept you, Andrew Cornelius Bartanian as my Mate."

"Really?" He gasps.

"Really." I smile.

"Well, then..." He takes a deep breath. "I, Andrew Cornelius Bartanian, accept you, Samuel Jonas Sterling, as my Mate."

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from letting loose the moan as I feel the Bond snap into place. Him on the other hand... I hear a small moan escape his lips.

"Can I kiss you, Andrew?" I ask, leaning toward him.

"Yes." He whispers. "Please."

I close the gap between us and press my lips against his. His hands fly around my neck. My hands go to his waist and pull him as close to me as I can manage. When we break away for a breath, he grins at me.

"Thank you, Poppy." He chuckles.

"What? Why 'Poppy?'" I look at him, playfully gasping.

"Well, if I have to be 'Buttercup,' you can be 'Poppy.'" He grins. "Don't tell me you don't like it?" He pouts.

"I love it, Buttercup." I grin. I peck his lips. "We'll be flowers together."

"I'd love that." He grins. "We'll need to get the paperwork started for a Pack transfer. And then..." He hums. "I want a house, Poppy. We're going to have lots of kids."

"Oh yeah?" I raise my eyebrow at him. "How many kids?"

"Well... Twins run my family. So, we'll probably have a few sets." He murmurs.

"That's fine." I chuckle. "We'll have a big family. I'm an only child. I've always wanted a big family."

"Awesome." He grins, leaning into me. "This is going to be awesome."

"Indeed it is, Buttercup." I smile, kissing him softly.