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When we came backto the apartment, Jennifer was home from school, and as we walked through the front door she jabbed a finger at me and shouted with a giant smile on her face, “I knew you had a thing forhim!”

We made dinner,and after eating we sat in the living room and explained the situation to her and Mom. Christophe was obviously unhappy about the whole thing, and I was upset too, especially because I understood how painful it must’ve been for him to turn his back on his parents, but I knew he realized he had to go back. If I had to stay in the shadows, then I could deal with that—even if he was forced to openly take a highborn mate. We were fated mates. Nothing could ever changethat.

Christophe stayedthe night at our apartment, and after I was sure that Jennifer and Mom had gone to bed, I turned the light off and locked my bedroom door. Our lips met, and our hands reached and explored in the darkness, tracing and finding each other’s excitement. I bit into my pillow, doing the best I could to muffle my cries as he thrust deep inside of me, our bodies heaving together, damp skin on skin as fingers intertwined and lips left desperate kisses. He didn’t tell me he was going to come this time, but I could hear it in his breathing and feel it in the way his cock swelled and filled me up, leaving me full of hiswarmth.

This washow we would have to do things. Always in the dark, two worlds alwaysseparate.

But at leastwe weretogether.

“Christophe,”I murmured into his ear as we lay in each other’s arms. It was the first time we’d been in bed together, and the first time we’d ever go to sleeptogether.

“Mason.”

“Trouble.”

“Hm?”

“IthinkI just might’ve fallen in love withyou.”

Iheardhim exhale a soft laugh, and he squeezed his arms tighter around me. “You have no idea how badly I’ve fallen in love withyou.”

* * *

Over the following months,Christophe quietly arranged a new house for me, Mom, and Jennifer. He’d wanted to get me my own place, and Mom and Jennifer their own home in a highborn neighborhood, but I refused and insisted on a “modest” upgrade. Modest to him, but to me it was luxury and already made me feel uncomfortable. Getting to know Christophe had helped me come to terms with my bias against highborn wealth, but I knew that he was an exception. I doubted if I’d ever be able to get used to that world. With financials taken care of by Christophe, our family was able to finally be free from the Blood Gulch Clan, and became unofficially sponsored by the Crescent Moons. None of it was on paper, but Christophe made sure we were taken care of. Even though we no longer had to worry about money, I didn’t feel good about relying on Christophe, and decided to enroll at a community academy to study leadership and law arts. Jennifer transferred into to a prestigious pre-academy, andexcelled.

His parents knew about me,but still refused to officially acknowledge our relationship. It was difficult sometimes to feel like I was a secret, but Christophe did everything he could to make me feel comfortable and not like our relationship was something shameful. Even his brothers did their best to welcome me, though I could feel that they were skeptical. Christophe and I did our best to create some kind of normalcy in our relationship, despite thesecrecy.

Two monthsafter we’d moved into our new house, Christophe arranged for me to bring Mom up north to Ursidcomb, the bear shifter town where his brother Vander and his mate Pell were living. The bears were extremely good healers, and Pell was apparently one of the bestaround.

Isat alonein the lobby of the clinic, staring up at a painting of a grizzly bear catching a salmon in a river. Ursidcomb was a small town surrounded by dense forest, and all the buildings were constructed of wood and smelled like fresh pine. It was probably the most soothing place I’d ever beento.

Mom was inside being examined.The front door opened, and I stood up when I recognizedVander.

“Good to meet you finally, Mason,”Vander said, shaking my hand. His belly was swollen withchild.

“You too, Vander,”I replied, and gestured to his pregnant stomach. “Congratulations. How much longer do youhave?”

He smiled.“Not much time, now. A month, at themost.”

“That’s great.I’m excited foryou.”

“Thanks,”he said. “Are you and Christophetrying…?”

My face went hot. “Uh, umm…”

“None of my business,”he said. “Sorry.”

“No,it’s alright. You know, we’ve never actually talked about it, but I don’t think there’s anything we really need to say. I know we both would love for it to happen. It’s justdifficult…”

He nodded.“I’m sorry you guys have to go through all that dog shit with my parents. It isn’t fair. They’restubborn.”

“Iunderstand,”I said. “It’s not like Christophe and I met under the best circumstances. I can’t expect them, or anyone, to understand what we have between us. I am who I am, and I did the things that I did. I’ve got to live withthat.”

“Idon’t know your background,”Vander said. “But I think that highborn, lowborn, wolf, bear—all of that is dog shit. All that matters is who you are inside. Your quality. Christophe may be a stuck up dick—nooffense—“

“He totally is.”

We both laughed.