Page 3 of Felix
“Mom… You’ve had twenty years to teach me whatever I need to know, and I was in the room when you spoke to Leah about consummation.” Khloe shuddered. She preferred not to think about what would be expected of her tonight. She could only hope her mate was kind about it and cared about her feelings.
Her mother swallowed. “I’m not sure I really gave Leah enough information either. I probably should have prepared you girls better. I guess I just assumed your mates would fill in the holes like your father did with me.”
Khloe giggled. “The holes…”
Her mother gasped. “Khloe,” she admonished.
Khloe shrugged. “I’m not the one who said my mate would fill in the holes.Youare.”
Her mother’s face turned red. “Stop it. Don’t be so vulgar.”
Khloe continued to giggle. Maybe it was a coping mechanism. She definitely wasn’t usually so crude, but it was funny. The only thing she really understood about sex was that men had an organ between their legs, and they put it inside their mates to get them pregnant.
Maybe her mate wouldn’t want to impregnate her immediately and therefore wouldn’t insist on spilling his seed into her. But Khloe knew that was wishful thinking. The reality was she couldn’t shift until after her mate claimed her fully. If she couldn’t shift, everyone would know they had not consummated their union.
Khloe took a deep breath and shook thoughts of spreading her legs for her mate out of her mind. She couldn’t let herself get worked up over that aspect of things. She would deal with whatever was required of her later. Right now, she needed to get to the government center where she would be presented to her mate in the ceremonial room.
It was customary for the woman to arrive first and be waiting for her mate on her knees in the middle of the round room with her parents behind her. She certainly didn’t want to start off their relationship by being late.
“We should go.”
“Yes. Your father is waiting downstairs.” Her mother pulled her in for another long hug. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
Chapter Three
Felix barely heard a word his father spoke during the claiming ceremony. It didn’t matter. He’d known what his father intended to say. The ceremony was short and to the point. “I do.” “I do.” “And now you’re mated for life.”
All of Felix’s attention was on his Little mate the entire time. He hardly acknowledged either of her parents. He spent the entire time trying to read his mate from where she kneeled in front of him with her head bowed.
The Little pixie remained mostly still, but he suspected it was a challenge for her. She kept her hands clasped behind her back as was the custom, but she swayed a bit in both directions, and he was glad when they reached the part of the ceremony where he was supposed to set his palm on top of her head.
He hoped his touch steadied her somewhat, and he was still in that position when both sets of parents left the round ceremonial room. The two of them were finally alone.
Felix slid his hand around to cup her cheek. “They’re gone, Little one. You can stand now.”
Khloe rose to her feet, but she was trembling. He set his palms on her biceps to keep her from tipping to the side. She still had her hands behind her back, which made it difficult for her tokeep her balance. It was surprising she’d been able to rise in that position.
“You may release your hands, Khloe.” He liked the way her name rolled off his tongue. He’d said it many times in the past year since he’d accidentally discovered her identity from her sister, Leah. He secretly liked that he’d known her name.
Leah’s mate, Elias, certainly hadn’t known hers. He’d been stubborn and hadn’t inquired about her at all before meeting her. Felix hadn’t chosen that path. He’d known several things about his Little mate even before he’d met her sister, but since then, he’d grilled Leah often to make sure he knew as much about Khloe as possible. Hopefully she would be pleased with his interest. He wished to impress her and make her transition as painless as possible.
As it was, she was in for a rude awakening. All new mates born with the mark of an Alpha Protector were blindsided when they arrived on the mountain. There was no way to avoid it. Life in the valley was not the same as life with the Alpha Protectors.
Khloe released the grip she had behind her back and let her hands come to the front where she began to fidget them together. Dainty hands that matched the rest of her. She was tiny. Not really any tinier than any other mate he knew, but having his own Little mate in front of him was not the same as seeing someone else’s.
He picked up her trembling hands with both of his and lifted them to his lips, smiling when she slowly tipped her head back to meet his gaze. He kissed her knuckles as he stared into her pretty brown eyes. “Hello.” It seemed like a funny thing to say, but after all, this was their first meeting.
She licked her full lips. “Hello,” she whispered.
He rubbed her knuckles over his lips, inhaling her intoxicating scent. “You are stunning, Little one.” It seemedprudent to compliment her; besides it was true. She took his breath away.
Felix finally lowered her hands. He continued to hold one while he lifted his other to ease his fingers through her hair. He wasn’t surprised by how long it was—past her bottom—because that was the custom among marked girls in the valley. They kept their hair long. He suspected she had never cut hers.
What was shocking was the color. “I never asked your sister what you looked like. I just assumed you would have red hair like hers. Your hair is like spun gold.” It was brown, but it caught every facet of the light and showed many shades of brown.
Khloe’s breath hitched, and her eyes popped wide. “You know my sister?”