“Would… would you show him to me?”
Eric squeezed Ben’s hand, and Ben nodded. “If you will excuse me for a moment.”
She looked puzzled.
Ben actually managed a chuckle. “I have to get naked or I’ll shred my clothes. Because we’re the same size, the change in our shape will tear them. I did not think you’d want to see me naked now that I’m grown.”
“Ah,” she said, blushing. “That is true.”
Ben paused long enough to kiss Eric, then hurried into the half bathroom they had on that floor. He stripped quickly, then let his wolf take over. It felt… weird… to be in wolf form in that house. There was a minor moment of panic as he remembered that the last time had been one of those uncontrollable shifts. He pushed the thought off and left the bathroom.
When he stopped in front of Mamá, her eyes went wide. “You are huge!”
He held his breath, worried she’d still freak out. Instead, she reached out and ran her fingers over his head.
“Soft, like your papá’s. And… your fur… it is the color of your hair. Is it always like this?” she asked, looking up at Eric.
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m mostly black. Our alpha has auburn hair, and his wolf’s fur is dark red. The pack doctor is bright red. He stands out no matter where he is in the forest.”
She chuckled. “I imagine he would.” She looked back down at Ben. “You are a beautiful wolf, mijo.” She petted him.
Tell her thank you.
“He says to tell you thank you,” Eric said, smiling.
She raised her eyebrows. “You can talk?”
“They’re mates, Alicia, just like us.”
She glared at him. “I am still learning. Be patient.”
Papá looked chagrined. “I’m sorry, love.” He kissed her temple, and she looked mollified.
Reaching out, she touched Ben’s head again. “Thank you. Now… please go change before you get wolf hair all over my living room.”
Ben chuffed in amusement, making Eric grin. Then he took a chance, braced his front paw on the arm of the couch, and licked Mamá’s face.
She laughed, a beautiful sound to Ben’s ears. “Mijo! I prefer your kisses without slobber, now that you are grown!”
The warmth and happiness from that filled Ben. He was glad he couldn’t actually cry in that form or he was afraid he would right then. Instead, he chuffed again, then stepped back. Tell her I’ll be right back.
“He says he’ll be right back. He’s fast at shifting, so it won’t take long.”
Ben couldn’t help but feel good at the note of pride in Eric’s voice. He hurried into the bathroom, shifted, and redressed as quickly as he could.
“MIJO, YOU and Eric will be in your room,” Mamá said as they headed toward the front door. “I’m sorry, but you will have to make up the bed. I only finished washing a short while ago. Eric, come with me and I will get the linen.”
Eric followed her into the hallway as Ben and his papá went out to the car to collect the suitcases and gifts they’d brought. When Eric and Mamá stopped next to a wide closet, she turned to him. She swallowed, then took a breath.
“I was horrible to him when he was little, and to my shame, that did not get better. I… said things about his possible mate right before he left. I am sure he has told you, yes?”
“Yeah, he did,” Eric said, nodding.
“I want you to know, separately from what I tell Ben, that I am glad he has you. His papá and I are destined, but I did not truly understand what that means, how big that is, until recently. That Ben has found his, I am happy for you both. I do not care that you are a man. Knowing what I do of him now, accepting it, I am just happy to have you in our family.”
She stood up on her toes—Eric was amused to realize just how short she was—and wrapped her arms around him, like she had outside earlier. He hugged her back, still slightly bemused by the affection. When she stepped away, she opened the closet, then pulled a set of sheets and other linens from one shelf. As she handed them to him, she held his hand briefly.
“I hope you are not upset, but Alejandro told me what happened with your family. I do not understand how a mother could be like that.” She actually scowled. “For all my problems, my… faults, I would not be like that.” She shook her head. “I hope you will consider us your family now. I know that we can never replace what should be blood, but I want you to be comfortable… happy with us.”
Eric swallowed, his heart pounding. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak, but Ben must have noticed his nervousness.
Cariño?
I’m fine. Tell you in a minute.
Eric managed to focus on Mamá again. “I… I haven’t felt like they were my family for a long time. My parents never were very… parental, for lack of a better word. I spent a lot of time with Tanner’s family, but even so, as much as I liked Alpha Noah and Tanner’s mom, Carol… they were still his parents.” He blew out a breath. “I’d like that. Uh, to be part of this family.”
She smiled widely, and it warmed him. “I am happy to hear that, mijo.” She stood up on her toes again and kissed his cheek. “Now, we have work to do or you and Ben will be sleeping on the floor—and not in wolf form!” She walked away, muttering something in Spanish. Eric thought he heard something about a vacuum cleaner—she used the English words—and he chuckled.
Ben caught up to him as he was about to climb the stairs. “Cariño?”
Eric glanced up the steps, but she’d turned the corner. “She called me ‘mijo.’”
Ben blinked. “She did?”
“Yeah.” Eric nodded. “She said she wants them to be my family since mine are such dicks.”
“Uh….”
Eric laughed. “No, she didn’t use those words. But that was the basic idea.”
Ben grinned and shook his head. “I did not expect this acceptance but….”
“Let’s be glad for it. And help yo—Mamá before she yells at us.”
“Eric! Benjamin! Do not make me throw my sandal!”
Ben winced, and Eric raised his eyebrows. “It’s a habit she has from her own mamá. And, uh, we should go. She has a good arm.”
Eric laughed as they started up the stairs. “I’ll remember that.”
BEN FOUND Eric in the kitchen, staring at the coffee maker. He’d clearly only started it a short while before, as the carafe hadn’t filled much yet. Slipping his arms around Eric’s waist, Ben murmured, “Buenos días, cariño.”
Eric turned around to put his arms around Ben. “Buenos días.” He kissed Ben lightly, then pulled back. “I’ve got to learn more. Your poor parents—your mom especially—seems to be going a little nuts trying to remember to speak English.”
“I think she’s too happy to have me—us—here to be upset.” Ben shrugged a shoulder. “She’s just not used to speaking English as much. It is not a bad thing for her to practice, though.”
“Yeah. Well, when I learn more, I’ll have to practice.”
“I’ll help. Perhaps I’ll stop speaking English altogether.”
“Oh yeah, no communication. Great idea,” Eric said, chuckling.
Ben grinned. “You’ll simply have to learn fast.”
Eric rolled his eyes, then pulled Ben a little closer. When he kissed Ben this time, it was most definitely not light. Ben let himself get lost in it, let himself savor the closeness. He’d felt weird being home the night before, and thus, they hadn’t made love. That was a rare thing since they’d started bonding and even rarer now that they were mated. So he took advantage of their alone time, at least kissing and touching as much as he could. Eric’s arms tightened as Ben deepened the kiss even more, their shirtless chests pressed against each other.
“Ewww! Get a room!”
They broke apart, and Ben looked over to see his sister, Tina, standing in the doorway, wrinkling her nose. He could see the smile in her eyes, though, and knew she was just teasing. He’d sent her emails regularly while he and Eric had been work
ing things out, so she had known all about Eric and hadn’t even said a word about the fact that Eric was male.
“We have one. We’re just more interested in kissing here and grossing you out.”
She rolled her eyes but crossed the room, skirting the island. Ben let go of Eric to hug her, and she turned to Eric when they pulled back. “So. I hear you’re my new brother.”
Eric grinned. “Yeah, and I’ve never had a sister, so you’re in trouble while I figure it out.”
She laughed and looked over at Ben. “I like him.”
Ben grinned too. “When did you get in?”
“Late last night. Thank you, by the way,” she said, turning to Eric. “I’ve never flown before, and that trip would have taken forever otherwise.”
“I’m glad you could use the tea.”
Ben frowned. “Why so late?”
“The first flight was late, so I ended up missing my connection. Then that was delayed. I was just glad I got in before this morning.”
“I’m glad you’re here,” Ben said, hugging her again.
“Now that we all are,” Mamá said from the kitchen doorway, with a huge smile, “we can have Christmas!”
IT TOOK a little while to get coffee passed out and everyone settled, but finally they had seats in the living room around the tree. It was decorated the same as it always was, save a few new ornaments. Mamá liked to have at least one new one every year. Ben looked it over, trying to see if she’d put it on yet for this one.
When he found it, near the top in the front, he stopped breathing. He stood and crossed the room, not paying attention to anyone around him, his focus only on the tree and ornament. He reached out toward it but stopped just shy of touching it.
He couldn’t tell if it was crystal or cut glass or what, but the detail on it was incredible. The wolf was in a lying pose, with its head up. Even as small as it was, he could tell the eyes were open and the wolf’s expression alert. The tongue lolled, and it looked like it was smiling—as much as wolves could.
She couldn’t have made a bigger statement if she’d shouted it from the rooftop.
Ben turned to see his mamá standing next to him. She stared at him, as if waiting, but he had no idea how to put it in words.
Are you okay?
Ben glanced at Eric and nodded, then turned back to his mamá. “I… that is… amazing.” He swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled her against him. “Thank you.”
She returned the hug, sniffled, then pulled back. “It is my ornament. You cannot have it.”
Ben grinned and hugged her again. “I suppose I can live with that.”
With a laugh she returned to her seat. Ben sat next to Eric again, unable to keep the grin off his face.
Eric kissed him, but they both had to pay attention when Tina yelled, “Hey! Christmas, remember?”
BEN HAD a small stack of sweaters—including a hand-knitted one with a wolf on it from his mamá. She was trying so hard, and Ben had teared up—again—when he opened it. There were books and music and several sets of guitar strings and picks. Eric had a brand-new set of leather tools—from Mamá and Papá—a bunch of drawing materials from Tina, and a handknitted scarf that Ben figured his mamá had been knitting furiously since the day before last when they’d arrived.
There were only a few gifts left under the tree. Eric handed the box they had for Tina to her and grinned when she squealed over the Amazon, iTunes, and Best Buy gift cards.
“Oh, I’m going to have so much fun shopping!”
Ben’s gift to Eric, however, made him nervous. Eric still struggled some with his art, and Ben wanted to encourage it more but was afraid he’d push too far. Eric had seemed happy with the drawing materials and personal leather tools, though, so Ben had hopes he’d like the last gift as well.
He handed the box to Eric, then held his breath. Eric took his time opening the paper, and Ben was about to pass out from lack of oxygen by the time it was off. Eric’s face was priceless. He was so stunned, nothing came across their bond. He looked up at Ben, then back at the Wacom tablet. Ben had researched himself crazy to find the right one, and he guessed he’d succeeded.
“Tanner told me how important your art and leatherwork were to you before. I want you to know how important it is to me for you to keep working on it.”
Eric’s smile spread slowly, and he leaned in and kissed Ben. “I’ve looked at them a lot—or, well, did before I went wolf—but never could bring myself to buy one. This is perfect. I’ve got a few ways I can make this work for my stuff at the shop too.”
Ben’s heart slowed for the moment, and he let out a breath of relief. But then Eric picked up a box—a not small one, in fact—and handed it to Ben, who puzzled over it. “I do not remember this being in your bags.”
Eric grinned and looked over at Papá. “That’s because it wasn’t. Papá let me ship it ahead.”
Ben blinked at him, then looked at his papá, then back to Eric. “Oh. Uh….”
“Well. Open it.”
“Okay, okay.” Ben pulled at the corner of the paper, but unlike Eric, he had no problems tearing. A moment later he had a sealed shipping box. He glanced at Eric, who grinned, then rolled his eyes and took the pocketknife his papá was holding out. Finally, a few moments later, he had the box opened and pulled the item out.
A leather guitar case. Ben swallowed as he turned it over, his mouth dropping open. Two wolves—which Ben immediately recognized as theirs—lay together in a forest. Trees surrounded them, grass rose around their paws, and behind them, faintly, stood a woman he recognized immediately as Diana.
“Cariño! It is… when did you do this?”
Eric smiled. “I’ve been working on that for weeks at the shop. I had a few false starts, for one thing. And I had to go slow. On top of that, you came to visit my station quite a bit, so I had to hide it.”
Ben blushed. “I did not want to be apart.”
“I didn’t say I minded, but it did make it difficult to surprise you.”
Ben laughed. “I love it. Thank you!”
“You didn’t open it.”
Raising an eyebrow at Eric, Ben turned his attention to the zipper. When he had it all the way undone, he opened it to find a small wrapped box taped to the bottom of the nylon-lined case. He blinked at it, then up at Eric, then back to the box. He didn’t think for one minute it was guitar picks, even though it was the right size. With a shaky hand, he untaped it from the case and carefully put the case aside.
Eric actually took the box out of his hand. “Do you mind?”
Ben shook his head in something of a daze. “No, of course not.”
With a nod Eric quickly opened the box—it turned out the lid and bottom had been wrapped separately—and upended it to dump a velvet case into his palm.
Ben’s heart started pounding.
Eric opened the case and turned it to show two simple gold rings. He slid off the couch onto the floor… and onto one knee.
“Cariño?”
“Marry me, Ben.”
A squeak from across the room drew Ben’s attention, and he looked over to see his mamá’s hands over her mouth and tears streaming. Papá had an arm around her, grinning. Tina was actually bouncing at her seat by the tree, a big smile on her face as well.
Ben turned back, swallowed hard, and nodded. “Yes. I…. Yes!” He laughed a little giddily as Eric took Ben’s right hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. Ben took the box back and put the matching one on Eric’s finger, then lifted the hand and kissed the ring. “Thank you, cariño. I cannot begin—”
Eric cut him off by sitting up and catching his lips with a kiss. Ben cupped Eric’s face and returned it, but they broke apart when a throat cleared. Ben’s cheeks heated, but he turned to his mamá.
“So… when do I get grandch—” She paused to look at Papá, then turned back. “Grandpups?”
“Um….” Ben glanced at Eric, then back to his mamá. “I… we are not equipped to have
pups, Mamá. Even wolves cannot do that.”
She actually rolled her eyes. “Of course not, mijo. But I am sure, like there are for human couples, there are ways for wolves, no?”
Eric laughed. “Yes, there are. We haven’t talked about it, though.”
You do want them, though, cariño, don’t you?
Yeah, but that’s a decision we both make. I always wanted pups, but—
Then we will. I certainly have nothing against them.
I’m so glad. Eric grinned, but then his smile faded and he looked serious. One more thing, baby. Do you… are you happy with them now? Have you… have you forgiven Mamá?
Yes. I understand how hard it was for her. I was angry, but she’s trying, and I believe that’s what matters.
Eric grinned. “We will have to talk about it, but… probably.”
Mamá grinned. “Yes! Now… we have dinner to make,” she said as she and Papá stood.
“One more thing, Mamá, Papá,” Eric said, standing. He crossed the room and stood in front of them. “Would you….” He swallowed, then cleared his throat. “Would you mind if I took your name?”
Papá smiled widely. “We would love that.”
Mamá hugged him, then nearly ran out of the room, her sobs—happy ones—echoing behind her.
“Oh, Papá, the pack is throwing us a mating party next month. Would you and Mamá want to come up for it?”
Papá hesitated. “I was going to wait to talk to you later, but… your mamá does not like being so far away. How would you feel if we come talk to your alpha… and consider moving? Would they welcome us?”
Ben’s eyes went wide. “You would do that?”
“They’d love to have you, and we’d love to have you close,” Eric said.
Papá smiled. “Then we will be there and I will talk with your alpha then.”
“Ugh! That’s an even longer flight home!” Tina grumbled. She stuck her tongue out at them, then grinned. “I guess I can put up with it. Brothers,” she said, sighing, as she passed.
Is this real? Ben turned to Eric as Papá went ahead into the kitchen.
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