Page 1 of Felix

Chapter One

“Are you sure you shouldn’t move that piano another few inches to the left?” Gavin asked from where he was lounging on the couch.

Felix jerked his attention toward the piano and stared at it, wondering if his brother was right.

Leah, who was standing in front of the refrigerator, hanging some of her artwork, giggled.

That’s when Felix realized Gavin was pulling his leg. He spun around to glare at his brother before shooting a narrow-eyed look at Leah next. The Little was lucky her Daddy, Elias, stepped between her and Felix, creating a barrier.

Elias was smirking, too, though. All three of them were making fun of Felix.

Felix set his hands on his hips. “I’m glad I can provide such humor to all of you.”

Gavin rose from the couch, laughing. “Brother, you make it so easy. You do realize you do not have to go to such lengths to impress your mate. She’s going to love you no matter what you do.”

Felix sighed. “Says a man who is thirty-three years old and will claim his mate before he’s thirty-four. I have to impress myLittle girl at the age of forty-five. She’s probably going to stop breathing when she realizes she’s fated to spend her life with a man more than twice her age.”

Leah stepped out from behind her Daddy. “I’ve told you a dozen times Khloe will not care about your age. She may be my sister, but she’s nothing like me. I know I haven’t seen her for a year, but trust me, she is lighter than me. Happy-go-lucky. Far more agreeable about this whole mating ritual than I ever was. She’s spent her entire life excited to meet you.”

Felix drew in a deep breath. “Yeah, well, she has no idea she’s fated to mate a man my age.”

The truth was Felix was nervous as fuck. When he’d found out at the age of twenty-five that a female wolf shifter had finally been born bearing the mark that matched his own, he’d been stunned. He’d given up hope that he would ever be mated. He’d assumed Fate had decided he would spend his life alone.

Twenty years was a long time to wait for her to turn of age. It had seemed like a lifetime, and in many ways, it had been. The last few years had seemed to drag along, especially as several of his peers had gone through the process and bonded with their mates.

Felix had started preparing his home a year ago. When he’d inadvertently discovered Leah was his mate’s sister, he’d used that to his advantage and grilled her for information.

He’d learned that Khloe liked to play the piano, that yellow was her favorite color, that she liked to listen to all kinds of music, and that she was an extremely sunny person who lived life by the glass-half-full philosophy.

She was going to run circles around him. He had no doubt. He figured he would be exhausted by the end of the first day. But he didn’t care. From the moment he’d been told of her birth, he’d felt like a weight had lifted off his chest. Fate hadn’t overlookedhim after all. She had a plan for him, and he wouldn’t take it for granted.

“She’s going to adore you,” Leah said softly.

Felix glanced toward the room he’d prepared for her, the nursery he’d painstakingly filled with things Leah assured him her sister would enjoy. He was lucky. Usually Alpha Protectors were not privy to so much information. They might ask for a few details or even watch their mates from afar, but they didn’t have their mate’s sister to help decorate.

“You’re certain she likes yellow? What if she’s changed her mind in the past year since you last saw her?”

Leah giggled. “She’s loved yellow since she was born. I’m positive she hasn’t changed her mind. Anything sunny and bright.”

Felix ran a hand over his head. No amount of preparation on his part could guarantee his Little mate would easily transition to her new life. Some Littles had an easier time than others. Some struggled initially.

Khloe had no idea what she would face when she arrived. That was the way of Alpha Protectors. Their mates were born and raised in the valley, protected until their twentieth birthday when they would be presented to their mate in a ceremonial ritual.

Female wolf shifters in the valley were raised to be submissive, as was the norm for the entire valley. However, life among the Alpha Protectors up in the mountains was a well-guarded secret. All females were caught off guard when they arrived.

Sure, Khloe would be expected to submit to Felix, but not in the way of her parents or any other examples she’d witnessed growing up. She would not cook and clean or service him in any way. Her life would be quite the opposite. He would cook and clean and serviceher.

Felix was prepared to teach her to submit to him at a far deeper level than she would be expecting, according to the ways of his people. He would coddle her and dote on her, but she would be taught to obey him in all ways.

The bond Felix would have with his mate would be stronger than any bond between mates in the valley. He intended to hone their connection by guiding her into a deeply regressed lifestyle—one in which he would see to her every need, including feeding her and diapering her so he could oversee every aspect of her life.

To say he was concerned was an understatement. He knew his dominant nature was stronger than that of his friends and peers. He hadn’t told any of them about his visions or his thoughts—not even his own parents, his brother, or his friends.

Felix knew he was different. He’d known it for most of his life. He’d even suspected the reason Fate hadn’t provided him with a mate had been a result of Her all-knowing prognostication. She knew he was wired differently, and he had to assume She had picked the exact perfect mate for him, one who would be able to submit to him on a deeper level than others.

Was it possible She’d made a mistake? Unlikely. She did not make mistakes. Which meant only one thing—Khloe was the perfect match for Felix’s overly dominant nature.

This didn’t mean Felix didn’t have doubts. He had many. He was deeply concerned about how his mate would react to her new surroundings and his overbearing tendencies. It might take her some time to succumb to his demands.