Page 2 of Felix
He turned to face Elias as his friend picked uphisLittle girl and propped her on his hip, holding her against him with one hand under her bottom and one against her back. Felix watched as Leah leaned her head against her Daddy’s shoulder and hugged him around his neck.
Leah and Elias had started off on strange rocky ground. They had both spent their lives bucking the system, frustrated by the tradition of arranged matings. Nevertheless, the two of them had come around quickly, and they lived a lifestyle very similar to all the other recently mated couples.
Jezebel, Suzette, Olivia, and Leah. All four Littles led similar lives. They obeyed the many safety rules their Daddies imposed. They wore the tiny dresses and youthful panties common among the Alpha Protectors. Felix knew they submitted to their Daddies on a deeper level alone in their homes. Perhaps they practiced a deeper regression a few hours a day or even a week.
None of them lived as deeply regressed as Felix intended to guide his own mate. And this scared the hell out of him.
Gavin gave his brother a pat on the shoulder. “You’ve gone above and beyond preparing for your mate. She will be the happiest Little girl in the mountains. We’ll get out of your hair so you can rest up before her arrival tomorrow.”
Elias chuckled. “Trust me, Felix. Rest today. Lord knows you won’t get much sleep in the coming days and weeks. New Littles are a handful.” He patted Leah’s bottom. “Heck, even a year later, they can still be a handful.”
Leah rolled her eyes. “Daddy…”
His body shook from his continued laughter, but his words were all in good humor. He adored Leah, and he hugged her closer and kissed her soundly.
Felix’s heart beat faster. By this time tomorrow, his mate would be here in her new home, in his arms. She might be kicking and screaming, but she would be his.
Chapter Two
Khloe stood in front of the long mirror in her parents’ bedroom and stared at her ceremonial dress. She didn’t have a mirror like this in her own bedroom or bathroom. Vanity was frowned upon in her community. Modesty was touted.
Khloe had followed the strict modest norms of society her entire life. She’d worn the boring khaki dresses every day until today. Her mating day. Today she was finally wearing a pretty white-and-gold dress. It was still ridiculously modest, but at least it wasn’t brown.
She smiled at herself. “Do you think he will like it?”
Her mother was sitting on the floor behind her, fiddling with the hem in the back. “I’m certain he will love it, my child.”
“Do you think I’ll get to see Leah when I get there?”
Her mother rose. “I don’t know, honey. I’m not sure how far apart the homes in the mountains are. Nor do I know what their customs are. I would assume you would eventually see your sister, but I can’t say for sure.”
Khloe sighed. “I hope she’s happy.” Khloe had worried about Leah for the past year since her sister’s own mating ceremony. To say Leah had been reluctant to endure this custom of being claimed by an Alpha Protector would be an understatement.Khloe could only hope the match had been perfect, and Leah was happily mated.
Khloe’s mother pulled her in for a hug. “I’m going to miss you so much. It will be very quiet around here without you either chattering or playing the piano.”
Khloe hugged her mother back. She knew her parents were going to be lonely. It was very rare for more than one daughter in a family or even a generation to be born with the mark of an Alpha Protector. Not only were both Leah and Khloe born with a mark, but they were the only two children her parents had.
It wasn’t as if they would never see them again. Khloe or Leah could come down into the valley occasionally and visit, but it wouldn’t be frequent, and they had not seen Leah since her mating last year.
Khloe’s mind was racing. “Do you think he’ll have a piano?”
Her mother smiled. “I don’t know, honey. He probably has no idea you enjoy music. Maybe he’ll get one when he finds out, or maybe you’ll focus on your singing.”
Khloe sighed. “What if he hates my singing?” she murmured.
“No one could hate your singing.”
Khloe rolled her eyes. “Plenty of people do not appreciate my personality.”
Her mother straightened the front of her dress unnecessarily. “Your mate will. I’m certain of it.”
The truth was her mother couldn’t be certain of anything. Nobody in the valley was privy to the norms among the Alpha Protectors. All they knew was that a superior group of wolf shifters lived in the mountains surrounding the valley. They served the citizens of the valley by protecting them against any would-be predators or outside forces.
The Alpha Protectors were larger than any of the shifters in the valley, and they were born with a mark on their left wrist thateventually would match up with a female born in the valley with the same mark on her right wrist.
Apparently the mark was very powerful. Therefore, Alpha Protectors avoided coming into the valley until their mate came of age. It was extremely frowned upon for mates to meet before their mating ceremony, which was held on the female’s twentieth birthday. Accidentally or deliberately encountering each other before that could prove catastrophic, since according to lore, it would be difficult to resist the pull toward each other after the encounter.
“I don’t feel like I’ve sufficiently prepared you for what to expect after the ceremony,” Khloe’s mother whispered as she brushed imaginary lint off the sleeve of the dress.