Page 12 of Swipe Right on the Alpha (Fur Real Love #1)

Back at the cabin, Aiden sat at the kitchen island while Theo prepared coffee with surprising domesticity given his still slightly pointed ears and elongated canines.

“So,” Aiden said when the silence became unbearable. “Werewolves are real.”

Theo snorted, sliding a mug across the counter. “Among other things, yes. Welcome to the supernatural world, Aiden. It’s been here all along, just hidden in plain sight.”

“Other things? Like what the app mentioned—vampires, witches?”

“LunaLove,” Theo groaned. “I still can’t believe you downloaded it accidentally. It’s supposed to have verification protocols to prevent humans from accessing it unless invited by a supernatural being.”

“It asked some weird questions,” Aiden recalled. “I thought it was just quirky branding.”

“It’s legitimate supernatural matchmaking,” Theo explained, leaning against the counter. “Created by a coven of witches for cross-species dating. Highly effective, as you and Dylan are proving.”

Aiden took a long sip of coffee, buying time to organize his thoughts. “So when Dylan and I matched with 99.8% compatibility…”

“The highest I’ve ever seen,” Theo confirmed. “It means you’re legitimate mates in the werewolf sense. Fated partners. Which is why those assholes showed up claiming territorial rights. Unmated humans with mate potential are rare and valuable.”

“I’m feeling very objectified right now,” Aiden muttered.

“Not an object—a prize,” Theo corrected. “Though Dylan would kill me for putting it that way. He’s been trying to figure out how to tell you for weeks. He was terrified you’d run screaming.”

“I’m still processing the ‘not running screaming’ part,” Aiden admitted. “So all the weird stuff—the full moon restlessness, the enhanced senses, the territorial behavior—”

“All wolf traits,” Theo confirmed. “We’re not the Hollywood version. We don’t transform only during the full moon, though our wolves are strongest then. We can shift at will, partially or fully. We age slower than humans, heal faster, and yes, silver actually does hurt like a bitch.”

“And the pack is…?”

“Family, but more. A bonded group under an alpha’s protection and leadership. Dylan inherited the position when his father died five years ago. He’s responsible for everyone in Silverwood territory—about thirty wolves total, though you’ve only met the inner circle.”

Aiden’s head was spinning with information. “And I’m supposedly his mate? Like, werewolf married?”

Theo’s expression grew more serious. “Potential mate. The bond isn’t completed yet. That’s a whole process involving—” he hesitated. “Well, certain intimate aspects I’ll let Dylan explain. But it’s significant. Werewolves mate for life.”

The weight of that statement hung in the air between them. Aiden struggled to reconcile the mythology suddenly made real with the man he’d been dating—the Dylan who cooked him breakfast, who listened attentively to his stories, who held him with such care afterward.

“He’s still the same person,” Theo said quietly, as if reading Aiden’s thoughts. “Just with some extra… features.”

Before Aiden could respond, the front door opened and Dylan entered—fully human now, though his movements carried the same intense energy Aiden had observed in his transformed state.

He stopped just inside the doorway, eyes finding Aiden’s with an expression of such vulnerability it made Aiden’s chest ache.

“They’re gone,” Dylan said, still not moving closer. “For now.”

Theo looked between them and quietly excused himself. “I’ll check the perimeter,” he said, slipping past Dylan and out the door.

For a long moment after Theo’s departure, neither of them spoke. Dylan remained by the door as if uncertain of his welcome, while Aiden stayed perched on the bar stool, fingers wrapped around his coffee mug.

“So,” Aiden finally broke the silence. “Werewolf.”

Dylan nodded once, tension visible in every line of his body. “Yes.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?”

“Tomorrow,” Dylan said immediately. “I had it all planned. Dinner, careful explanation, demonstration if you wanted. Not… whatever this was.”

“A territory dispute over me, apparently,” Aiden said, unable to keep a hint of disbelief from his voice. “Theo explained some of it.”

Dylan took a cautious step forward, then another when Aiden didn’t flinch away. “Are you afraid of me now?”

The question held such raw fear that Aiden found himself moving before he could overthink it, sliding off the stool and crossing the room until he stood directly in front of Dylan.

“Should I be?” he asked quietly.

“No,” Dylan answered immediately, his hands flexing at his sides as if he was physically restraining himself from reaching out. “Never. I would never hurt you, Aiden.”

“Then no, I’m not afraid of you,” Aiden said, surprising himself with the truth of it. “Shocked? Absolutely. Confused? Definitely. But afraid of you specifically? No.”

Something like hope flickered in Dylan’s eyes. “You’re taking this… better than I expected.”

“Oh, I’m definitely having an internal freak-out,” Aiden assured him with a shaky laugh. “But external calm has always been my specialty. Also, I’ve been suspecting something weird for weeks. Werewolf wasn’t actually my first guess, but it makes a disturbing amount of sense in retrospect.”

“What was your first guess?” Dylan asked, a hint of his usual dry humor returning.

“Cult member or some kind of wilderness survivalist with sensory training,” Aiden admitted. “Werewolf seemed too outlandish until I actually read the LunaLove app description.”

Dylan winced. “That app has a lot to answer for.”

“It brought us together,” Aiden pointed out. “Though apparently it was supposed to prevent clueless humans like me from downloading it in the first place.”

“I’m glad it failed,” Dylan said softly.

The simple sincerity in those words created a warm flutter in Aiden’s chest despite the surreal circumstances. Hesitantly, he reached out, placing his hand on Dylan’s chest above his heart. The steady, slightly-too-fast rhythm beneath his palm was reassuring in its familiarity.

“So,” Aiden said, striving for lightness, “when were you planning to bring up the whole ‘mates for life’ thing? First date seemed a bit early, but waiting a month might be considered burying the lede.”

Dylan’s hand came up to cover Aiden’s where it rested on his chest. “I was hoping you might be open to the concept by the time I explained everything. Though I’d planned to frame it as ‘serious relationship with supernatural elements’ rather than ‘eternal soul bond’ right off the bat.”

Despite everything, Aiden found himself laughing. “Smart approach. The eternal soul bond conversation is at least a third-date topic.”

Dylan’s other hand finally, tentatively, came up to touch Aiden’s face, thumb brushing his cheekbone with gentle reverence. “You’re really not running away.”

“Not yet,” Aiden agreed. “Though I reserve the right to freak out properly later. I have about a thousand questions.”

“Anything,” Dylan promised. “I’ll tell you everything now.”

“Show me,” Aiden requested suddenly. “The transformation. I want to see it happen… voluntarily, not because of some werewolf territory dispute.”

Dylan hesitated, uncertainty crossing his features. “Are you sure? It can be… disconcerting the first time you see it deliberately.”

“I need to understand what I’m dealing with here,” Aiden explained. “All of it.”

After a moment’s consideration, Dylan nodded. He stepped back, creating space between them, and began unbuttoning his shirt. “It’s easier with fewer clothes,” he explained at Aiden’s questioning look. “Less restrictive.”

As Dylan stripped down to his boxers, Aiden was struck by the familiarity of the body revealed—the same one he’d explored with hands and mouth, the same one that had held him through the night. Whatever else Dylan might be, this part of him Aiden knew intimately.

“Ready?” Dylan asked, standing barefoot on the hardwood floor.

Aiden nodded, not entirely trusting his voice.

The transformation began subtly—a slight elongation of Dylan’s features, his eyes taking on that amber glow Aiden had glimpsed in the forest. Then it accelerated, bones shifting beneath skin in a way that should have been horrifying but was instead strangely beautiful in its fluid efficiency.

Dylan’s face extended partially into a muzzle, though still recognizably his own.

His ears pointed, body hair thickened without becoming a full pelt, and his hands developed claws where nails had been.

The entire process took perhaps thirty seconds, and when it was complete, Dylan stood before him in what Aiden now understood was a partial shift—neither fully human nor fully wolf, but something in between that combined elements of both.

“This is what you saw in the clearing,” Dylan said, his voice deeper and rougher but still unmistakably his. “I can go further, become more wolf, or less, closer to human. Full wolf form is also possible, but takes more energy.”

Aiden approached slowly, eyes taking in every detail of the transformation. Up close, the changes were even more fascinating—the subtle alterations to familiar features, the way Dylan’s musculature seemed even more defined, the slight elongation of his canine teeth visible when he spoke.

“Can I…?” Aiden asked, hand lifting uncertainly.

Dylan nodded, remaining perfectly still as Aiden’s fingers gently touched his transformed face.

The texture was different—skin slightly rougher, the partial muzzle covered in fine, soft hair.

His eyes were the most striking change, the amber color now luminous with elongated pupils that contracted slightly at Aiden’s touch.

“Does it hurt? The shifting?” Aiden asked, fingers trailing down to Dylan’s shoulder where the tribal tattoo seemed somehow more integrated with his altered form.

“Not anymore,” Dylan answered. “When we’re young, learning to control it, yes. But now it’s as natural as breathing.”

Aiden’s exploration continued, curiosity overcoming hesitation as he traced the changes in Dylan’s form. When his fingers brushed against the pointed ear, Dylan made a sound low in his throat—a rumbling that Aiden recognized from their intimate moments.

“Sensitive?” Aiden asked, a hint of his usual playfulness returning despite the surreal circumstances.

“Very,” Dylan admitted, eyes darkening slightly. “All senses are heightened in this form. Touch especially.”

The information registered with implications Aiden wasn’t quite ready to explore. He stepped back slightly, trying to process everything he’d learned.

“This is why you’ve been so careful with me,” he realized aloud. “Why you always hold back during sex. You were afraid of shifting accidentally.”

Dylan nodded, looking somewhat abashed despite his intimidating appearance. “It happens sometimes, with strong emotion. I’ve been… very careful.”

“And the mate thing? Theo mentioned it’s ‘a process involving intimate aspects.’” Aiden made air quotes around the phrase.

Dylan’s transformation began to recede, features shifting back toward human as if the conversation required a more familiar face. Within moments, he stood fully human again, though still clad only in boxers.

“It’s a bond,” he explained, reaching for his discarded clothing. “Physical and metaphysical. For werewolves, it’s permanent—a lifelong connection. The final stage involves… a claiming during intimacy, usually during the full moon when our wolves are strongest.”

“Claiming,” Aiden repeated. “That sounds vaguely medieval.”

A hint of color touched Dylan’s cheeks as he pulled his shirt back on.

“It’s a bite, actually. Not to break skin necessarily, but a marking that my wolf recognizes as completion of the bond.

After that, we’d be connected in ways that are difficult to explain to humans.

Emotional awareness of each other, some physical benefits for you like extended lifespan, accelerated healing. ”

“And those other werewolves tonight—they were here because…?”

Dylan’s expression darkened. “Unmated humans with true mate potential are rare. The old laws protected humans during the courting period, but some packs are pushing for changes that would allow… competition for potential mates. It’s barbaric and most of us oppose it, but Conrad’s pack has been testing boundaries. ”

Aiden absorbed this information, trying to make sense of the supernatural politics suddenly relevant to his life. “So I’m what—a prize to be claimed?”

“No,” Dylan said sharply, moving closer.

“You’re my mate. My choice. And I’m yours.

It has to be mutual—willing on both sides—or the bond won’t form properly.

” His expression softened. “I was never going to rush you into anything, Aiden. I wanted you to know everything first, to choose with full understanding.”

The sincerity in Dylan’s voice was unmistakable. Despite the overwhelming strangeness of the situation, Aiden found himself touched by Dylan’s concern for his agency.

“I need time,” he said finally. “To process all this. It’s a lot to take in.”

Dylan nodded, though disappointment flickered briefly across his features. “Of course. I can take you back to the city—”

“I didn’t say I wanted to leave,” Aiden interrupted. “Just… time to think. Maybe explanations without territorial disputes interrupting.”

Hope returned to Dylan’s expression. “You want to stay?”

“I came all this way for answers,” Aiden pointed out with a small smile. “Might as well get the full supernatural education package while I’m here.”

Dylan’s answering smile was blindingly genuine. “I can do that.”