Colten woke, he felt more than rested.
He felt refreshed, he'd likely go as far as saying new but Abigail was responsible for that.
She wasn't there though, he knew that. She had gotten up earlier or at least he'd felt her do so while he had still slept, feeling no threat anymore.
He rolled on his back, wanting to seek her out and blinked his eyes open to the soft sun filtering in the bedroom. He couldn't recall any time recollection of the night. It had all meshed together into some form of elongated bliss and he accepted that as an answer.
He stood, the smell of bacon and eggs and all things breakfast related filled his senses along with the distant smell of a luna. His luna.
Quick into his jeans and shirt, he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen.
His eyes first fell on Grayson, who sat at the table facing him.
“Morning, man.” Grayson greeted a smile on his face but Colten wasn't too receptive of it as he knew why Grayson was smirking like he was.
He paused as Grayson pointed across the kitchen and continued his obvious point of conversation, “The Luna's are making breakfast.”
He followed the direction of Grayson, to where Abigail and Chloe stood at the counters making breakfast.
“Morning, Colten!” Chloe smiled at him.
“Good morning.” He nodded and walked towards them, “Breakfast?”
Abigail turned to him, her face bright and happy. A perfect sight, in his opinion.
He stopped at her side and looked over her shoulder to where she fried eggs.
“Will eggs satisfy, Alpha?” Her voice was a soft and hit him in all the right and wrong places.
He smiled and kissed her, “No more alpha.”
She giggled and looked back to her eggs, lifting them from the gas burner as Chloe took over the pan.
“I'll dish it up.”
“Oh.” Abigail smiled at her in surprise and let the girl take over.
Colten put his hands on her small waist after Chloe departed. He kissed her cheek, his fingers tightening on her ever so slight till she showed signs of him affecting her.
“I should feed the horses.” He thought aloud.
“I already did it, sorry.” Her cheeks flushed.
He smiled and their eyes met, “You fed the horses?”
“Yeah.” She nodded, “They looked hungry.”
“They're not that hungry.” He kidded, leaning into his mate again as she smiled.
He kissed her cheek, about to advance to her mouth as Chloe broke it all up.
“Mike! Get your ass off the couch!” She hollered.
Colten winced and glanced at the luna.
Grayson was laughing though as the sounds of Mike's obvious protesting was heard.
“You'd think he'd want breakfast.” Chloe pointed out.
“More for me.” Grayson smiled.
She rolled her eyes and brought him a plate of food, “Grayson, your helping is already double the portion of a normal being.” She hissed and it made Abigail giggle.
Grayson examined the portion of food, lifting an eyebrow as he did, “Well, you can have it then cause based on these portions, I need triple.”
She huffed, “Why would I need all that food, Grayson?”
He sighed, pausing and looking her over, “For our baby in you?”
“Oh my gosh, really!” Abigail burst, turning from Colten as she did.
Chloe stopped though and stared at her mate, “What?”
“Really?” Abigail asked again, almost like she was a bit taken aback by it but Colten could see her wanting for a baby even more present. She was a hungry Luna, just not for food like she should have been.
Grayson grunted, “Yeah, I think so...”
“I was right?” Chloe breathed with a shocked expression.
“How do you know?” Abigail asked him.
Grayson glanced at her, “I can smell a hormone change.”
Chloe then squealed and moved towards Grayson quickly, wrapping her short arms around his neck.
“Little.” He protested.
She giggled and pressed her nose to his cheek, “I love you.”
Abigail watched, smiling, “Awe.”
Colten watched as Grayson pried his mate off him.
“Calm down.”
“Why didn't you tell me sooner!” Chloe burst.
“What's going on?” Mike walked into the kitchen, rubbing his face of sleep.
Chloe jumped, beaming, “Mike, I'm pregnant!”
Mike stopped and dropped his hands, he looked at Grayson with a slight smirk, “Oh really? Alpha says so?”
“Yeah.” Grayson admitted, “I do, as of this morning when I woke up next to a very intense smelling luna.”
Chloe giggled, “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!”
Mike laughed, “Gray-gray, you're gonna be a daddy.”
“Okay, come on.” Grayson sighed.
Colten walked over to Abigail and put a hand on her back, “It's not that bad, Grayson, you'll live.”
“Maybe.” Grayson looked over to Chloe as she skipped back over to stove.
Abigail smiled at Colten, “That's your best advice, Colt? He'll live.”
He became amused with her teasing and wrapped his arms around her. She giggled and tried to free herself as his mouth dropped to her mark. Taking every chance he was given to touch her.
She blushed and kissed his cheek, her mouth pressed to ear, “I want to be pregnant too.”
“I'll see what I can do.” He whispered back.
She smiled at him, a soft giggle escaping her.
Mike sat to the table then, shaking his head, “I don't want a mate. You're all so touchy.”
Abigail then stumbled away but Colten caught her, pulling her back into his chest.
Grayson smiled at his beta, “You're just jealous you have no one to touch you.”
Mike stared at him, “Oh, funny-alpha.”
Grayson laughed and so did Colten as he sat with Abigail's aid. She ran her hands over his shoulders and squeezed just firmly enough to make him want to skip breakfast and have her instead.
“Whatever.” Mike then reached out and dragged the plate breakfast over to him.
Grayson stared at him, “That was mine.”
“You said it wasn't enough.” Chloe reminded him.
Grayson grumbled as his luna brought over yet another plate of food and tried again. This time is was loaded with eggs, bacon and other morsels.
“See, Grayson,” Colten smiled at him, “All you have to do is make her happy and you get to be happy.”
“Yes, thank you, Colten!” Chloe agreed, “And giving me babies makes me happy.”
“Baby.” Grayson corrected and started to eat.
Colten sat back in the chair and was then presented with a similar meal from Abigail. She lied it out for him.
“That's a lot of food, Abi.” Colten took it all in.
“I thought you'd want as much as Grayson.” She answered, a bit confused.
Mike chuckled, “No, Grayson is what you call a neanderthal, Abigail. As you'll notice, he's already ate half of the food.”
She giggled as Colten ran his hand up her lean bare thigh, feeling his way up under the dress she wore. He didn't know where she'd gotten it but it was a tad short.
Grayson paused his food inhaling, “First you take my food, then you insult me. Is there any reason to prolong your life right now?”
Mike smiled, “You have more food now, alpha, all is well, all is well.”
“Death is also well.” Grayson commented and continued to eat.
Abigail scooted away to get her food and it was good too, because Colten's hand was getting antsy on his mate. He'd almost gotten up between her legs and that would not have had a good outcome.
Chloe sat down beside Grayson and started to eat, “Colten, I thought of a name for the baby horse.”
Colten looked to her suddenly, he'd almost forgot he'd had a baby horse and then his actual existence flooded back, “Shoot.” He encouraged her.
“Charm, because that baby has got to be your good luck charm.” She explained.
Colten thought that through, that foal really had been the start of the story of how he'd gotten Abigail, “Yeah, I like that.”
“I do to.” Abigail sat to the table, “It's sweet.”
Colten smiled and turned towards her, “Just like all my fillies.”
She blushed her blushed as they then went back to eating their breakfasts.
***
Colten stared at the filly in the stall with Honey, the horse was happy with her life like he was in that moment with his. Though he had never imagined this being the end and for that he was weary still, protective and he always would be.
“What are you doing?” Abigail walked in the barn door slowly.
He looked to her and smiled, “Watching the baby.”
She stepped up next to him and leaned into the stall door too, “She's a Charm, Chloe got it right.”
He stayed quiet and enjoyed the moment with his mate but she seemed off and he sensed that.
“What's wrong?” He finally got it out.
She smiled and looked to him, “What?”
“You seem a bit off.” He commented and parted from the stall door. Walking across the room, he decided to prepare some night feed for the horses in the way of grain.
She turned to him and watched, “I'm not.”
“Yeah.” He grunted, looking through his buckets.
“I was thinking of my parents.”
There it was. He turned to her and nodded, “Yep.”
She giggled, dropping her chin, “Colten.”
“I'm listening.” He picked up two rubber pales and shovelled about the grain.
“I want to go see them.”
He knew she'd want to go see them, he had prepared himself for that. Prepared himself for the real thought of having to leave her in their care for a few hours possibly while she got it all out.
“It's okay, Abi, you can go.”
She swallowed, “I want you to come too.” She breathed, looking uncomfortable to request that from him.
He paused what he was doing with the grain and looked up to her, “Oh, well.”
“Please.” She moved across the isle towards him, “They won't hate you. Not once I tell them you proposed and all. They can't.”
He swallowed and stood from where he'd been bent down, “Baby, I don't... I don't think the whole I am responsible for turning your daughter into a werewolf thing is gonna go over to well, ya' know?”
She nodded and stopped in front of him, “We won't tell them any of that.”
He sighed and looked her, “Charlie know's, Abi.”
She stared at him and blinked, “What?”
“Charlie knows what I am.” He tried again for her.
She creased her brow and stared up at him funny, “N-no, he doesn’t.”
“Yeah, he really does, baby.” He winced from his nerves catching.
“But...”
He swallowed as he processed, “I'm not saying I won't go over there with you, Abi but... he knows and I have this feeling he's going to flip...”
“We wont tell him about me. Not yet at least.” She begged the proposition.
He looked down at his luna and saw her wanting of her parent's approval badly. He thought it through and sighed, “Okay.” Whatever would happen, he would deal with it and now that his mate was a guarantee, well Mister and Misses Redding weren't too much to be concerned about, if they weren't going to play nice.
She smiled and wrung her arms around his neck, “Oh, thank you, Colten.”
He wrapped his arms around her and brought her in close, “I want you to have them in your life, Abi. Don't think I don't and don't think it'll bug me if you want to go see them, just know they might not ever really like me as their son-in-law.”
She parted from him and her blue eyes fixed on him, “But you’re perfect.”
He smiled and didn't say anything. He could say the same for her but that was easy to do. Calling him perfect was a far stretch, however.
“You are.” She breathed.
He dropped his lips to her cheek, “Well, if you say so, Abigail, then it's got to be true.”
She smiled, “You better not be making fun.”
“I'm not.” He smiled back, “You're gold, no lies from your pretty little mouth.” He kissed her softly as she giggled. Their eyes met and they paused in that moment.
“Chloe is very happy is seems.” Abigail said softly.
He smiled, “Those luna hormones are killer.”
“Yeah, they seem to be killing Grayson.”
Colten laughed, “He'll live, like I said at breakfast.”
Abigail pressed herself into his chest and fell quiet again.
His grip held firm as he felt his mate beginning to need support.
Her eyes welled, “I'll always treat her like my own, Colten.”
He became confused and his chin dropped slightly, “What?”
“Ella.” She brushed her tears away, “I will. I promise.”
“Oh,” He stared at her but this is why he knew he was lucky, he was far too lucky when it came to her, in fact.
She became a bit of a mess, “I wish I'd met Savannah more... I can hardly picture her. I didn't see her much the past few years.”
“She bounced around a lot... it's okay.” He breathed.
“And she died having Ella?” Abigail was slowly getting it back together.
Colten swallowed, “Yeah.”
“Is it harder to have children like this?”
He winced because he was going to tell her how his sister had died, that she deserved to know, “Her mate had her bound and chained in a less than liveable situation in Alaska. Chloe is responsible for Ella being alive. She saved her.”
Abigail's eyes widened, “What? Who would do that?”
“A man that is as twisted as the ones that took you, possibly even a bit more.” He felt his anger sprouting the longer the conversation went on but still he kept it together.
She nodded, “Grayson's brother?”
“Yes.” Colten's voice began to lose strength, “We destroyed him for it.”
“Oh my.” She stared at him, “That is awful, Colten.”
His eyes flashed to her and he became fixated on the disruption his mate was becoming subjected to.
“It's okay, it's done.” He pulled her into him again and kissed her forehead.
“I mean it, she will be mine. I'll be her mother. I'll love her forever.” Abigail's words warmed him and it was the only good thing, it seemed that had come from Savannah's death.
He held for a few minutes till her anxiety lessened, “Are you alright now?”
She nodded and stepped back, “I'm usually better than this, sorry.”
He looked her over, “You're a Luna now, Abigail. You have a high mother instinct, so you make sure we secure children and a heightened compassion for others, so you can feel for the pack and be there for them. You're going to deal with these overloads a bit but they settle down, over time.”
“Oh.” She said softly, nodding, “But you forgot one.”
“I did?”
She came in close to him again, “I feel a very strong pull to you. I will do anything for you.”
He smiled, “I didn't mention the undying love for the Alpha, didn't want to come off too full of myself.”
She giggled and he kissed her, taking her in closer.
“I love you.” He said against her lips, and continued to kiss her.
His hands worked the fabric of the short dress up her thighs and she prickled with goosebumps for him.
“Mm.” She parted their mouths, “Do you think I'm pregnant?”
“I can't tell right now.” He ran his hand over her bottom and pulled on her white delicates.
She blushed, “How does Grayson know?”
“Know's his mate's smell well, once it's off, especially with a hormone like that involved, a male will take note.”
“So.” She wrinkled her nose, pausing his advances on her, “My smell is gonna change?”
“It's the only way to tell, other than a growing belly. No tests in this world for us, Abi.”
She accepted the answers and walked out of his arms.
He grumbled, “Where are you goin'...”
She spun on her heel to him, “Back of the barn, Alpha. In the hay. Come.”
He smiled and started to walk towards her, “But after this we gotta take a break, go see your parent's or something.”
“Okay.” She smiled sweetly at him, “You can't fault me though. It's my instinct.”
He chuckled and kissed her, walking her backwards down the isle, “Remember, you need to plan our wedding.”
She smiled and crushed her mouth to his, drawing back only slightly, “Mmm... Make me yours again, Mr. Turner.”
“Yes, ma'am.” He groaned, taking her down on a bale of hay as he agreed to her request.