---Nathan's POV---

A yawn escaped my lips as I rubbed tiredly over my face, frowning against the sunlight pouring into my room. Memories of last night flashed through my mind, waking me up instantly as I grinned to myself and slowly turned around, gathering a still sleeping Alec in my arms.

He cuddled closer and threw a leg over my hips, wriggling around before he settled down with a contented sigh. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, silently cursing the gods above for giving me such a tempting mate. After last night, he probably was still very sore and I wasn't one to push my mate beyond his limits.

"Hmm." I buried my face in his hair, inhaling Alec's tantalizing scent deeply and nearly moaned aloud. My lycan purred deeply in my chest, enjoying the fact that my scent was tightly interwoven with his. Now everyone would know that Alec was mine, my True and Destined mate.

I glanced down as Alec rubbed his head over my chest before his face was tucked away in my neck, his breath fluttering over my throat and I was stunned as a low rumbling sound echoed through the room. A frown formed on my face before I relaxed again when I realized what I was hearing.

"Mrrrrrh..."

Alec's purr rumbled through my chest, growing in intensity when he inhaled deeply and smiled in his sleep. My jaws ached from the grin that was threatening to split my face in half. It felt oddly satisfying to know I am the reason Alec is purring.

Shuffling back slightly, I brushed Alec's hair out of his face and smiled when his nose twitched due to the ticklish sensation before he settled again. Maybe I should let him rest some more...

My decision was made for me when I heard a barely there knock on my front door, which made me roll my eyes as I gently removed myself out of Alec's hold, smiling when he flopped down eagle spread in the middle of our bed.

Hmmmm, ours.... I could get used to that.

The knocking downstairs turned persistent and I scowled slightly as I jumped in a pair of shorts and made my way downstairs, nearly yanking the door open in my haste to see who was bothering me in my private time with my mate.

Drake stood in the doorway with a grin on his face and skipped inside before I could stop him. The vampire made his way towards the living room and perched himself on one of the seats close to the kitchen, as if he knew I was going to make breakfast for Alec.

He gave me an obvious smile over his shoulder as he tapped his forehead. "Duh, I was heading this way to tell you I informed the cover and delivered your 'warning'. Since I sensed you were about to cook, I decided to just join in. Scrambled eggs?"

I glared at the obnoxious and childish vampire before sighing loudly, knowing that I wouldn't get him out of my house easily. At least not without shifting and scaring him to death. Drake shot his own glare towards me as if silently warning me not to proceed with those ideas.

Eventually I just sighed as I started at his breakfast. "Not a word." I warned when I noticed him sniffing the air while looking up the stairs with a sly grin. Drake smirked but quickly changed his expression to an angelic one as he leaned his head on his folded arms, leaning on the counter as he did.

"So..." Drake started as I whisked his eggs and rolled my eyes slightly, already knowing where this conversation was going. "Alec's your true mate huh?" He chuckled when I shoved his plate towards him with a tad too much force; he had to catch the plate before it flew off the counter.

"Okay, okay, I'll back off. I'm just surprised that's all. Through my entire existence, I'd never imagine that wolves and felines could co-exist, let alone become each other's mate!"

Oh...well, I never thought about that but it didn't bother me at all. I mean, I first saw Alec's feline form when I was a Lycan, and it was safe to say that the mutt didn't mind one bit. I heard him give a mental snort as his emotions flared up a bit, being called a mutt before he calmed down surprisingly fast.

Judging by his purrs, his mind was still at what happened last night. A low chuckle formed in my throat and I shook my head, glancing up at Drake. He was currently too busy with shoveling his mouth full with pieces of scrambled egg and buttered slices of bread.

Thinking about it for a second, I let my thoughts wander towards Alec's, gently poking at his conscious to see if he was awake. I smiled as he was still deeply asleep and his dreams were more basic, animalistic so he probably shifted to his Cheetah.

I remembered Drake's words as I pushed myself off the counter and went to pluck my grey sweater of the couch. "So why are you really here Drake?" I asked in a serious tone, inhaling deeply when I saw the vampire staring at me pleadingly with an empty plate in his hand.

You little...

Snatching it from his hands, I started on a heavy breakfast for all of us as Drake smiled warmly and relaxed in his seat, casually leaning his arm over the back of barstool beside him.

"Well, there has been some chatter in the coven and knowing you and your eh...lovely nature, I thought I came here and gave a little heads up." I frowned at him while the scent of sizzling bacon and eggs filled the kitchen, the low hum of the hood above my head drowned out by the hisses of the bacon and the whisking of the pancake batter.

Drake fidgeted slightly under the silence until he pouted and looked out the window for a second, probably contemplating whether or not he should tell me about the rumors in his coven or not.

"Just spit it out Drake!" I growled when the silence started to grow too heavy and my Lycan started scratching underneath my skin, wanting answers. So help me if this is about Alec-

"It's about Alec." Drake quickly raised his hands in surrender as the fork in my hand folded in half.

Of-fucking-course it has to be about my newly found mate!

Bending the fork straight again, I stabbed at the bacon before filling Drake's plate as well as one of my own. Alec would get a freshly backed batch, as soon as I got Drake kicked out of the house, after he gave me his information.

"What about him?"

Drake winched slightly at the growling underneath my sentence but I couldn't care; I barely mated with Alec, the bond still settling down but already the coven had something to say about it!

"Uhm, probably not what you think..." he started, nervously blowing on his food as he eyed me warily. "But some of the coven thought Alec was a Choice Mate and well...they're eh...thinking they might...stand a chance?"

I inhaled deeply to prevent myself from throwing the bowl of batter through the room, silently reminding myself that it was for Alec and he would be very hungry once he woke up. Drake held his breath as I closed my eyes and counted in my head.

When I finally didn't feel the need to let my Lycan hunt those stupid vampires anymore, I opened my eyes and settled them on Drake's cowering form. He knew as well as I do that vampires were superior in speed and equals in strength, I on the other hand have endurance, not to mention a very pissed off and bloodthirsty Lycan ready to defend its mate.

"I want their names so I can have a nice conversation with them." I snarled out, feeling my nails partially shift and turn into claws before I took a deep breath and forced my Lycan back. "Alec will be with me so I don't accidently kill them but right now, I'm going to wake my mate before I decide to let my Lycan have free reigns."

Drake's head bobbed up and down in a blur, quietly munching on his food and stuffing his face while I grabbed the tray with Alec's food and went upstairs. His scent was already calming my beast, as light as it was and with every step closer to him, I couldn't help but feel the love for my mate grow stronger and stronger.

As well as my Lycan's possessiveness...okay, our possessiveness. Because that was one thing I agreed on with my inner beast; no-one was going to even look at Alec, let alone touch him. Flashes of claws, flashing teeth and the need to bite their hands off rushed through my mind, making me shake my head to forget the annoying thoughts of my beast.

Not now! Alec needs to eat and we need to calm down.

I heard a low purr coming from the bedroom, which was instantly answered with a purr of my own. "Maybe he can help us calm down..." My Lycan suggested with several lustful thoughts and memories of last night flashed through my head.

Hmmm, now there's a thought...

---Alec's POV---

I woke up to a mixture of sensations. On one hand I was purring softly, enjoying the dull aches and throbs in my body as I remembered why exactly I ached in such a delicious way. My tail swished through the air as I snuggled in the covers and rolled over on my back, completely content and relaxed.

Never knew you could do it like that...or that I could be so flexible...

Mrrr...but damn, Nathan sure had endurance! I inhaled deeply and purred louder when I caught a whiff of his scent, which was growing stronger with each footstep I heard coming my way.

I yawned and managed to peek an eye open just when Nathan nudged the door open, his eyes instantly settling on my form. He smiled and chuckled under his breath as I sniffed a few times and licked my lips.

Yum.... OH, and he brought breakfast too! I wanted to get up, I really do but at the moment I was quite content to just laze on the spot. Nathan shook his head playfully as he noticed I didn't move yet but it was his fault I couldn't move too much.

Not that I'm complaining.

"Morning love." He murmured as he sat down beside me, the bed dipping under his muscled frame as I rolled closer to him, nuzzling his bare back. "Good morning." I replied with a soft yawn slipping from my lips as I nuzzled closer to his body.

"What are you doing?" He laughed after a while as I rubbed my cheek against his back and hand. If I could smirk in this form, I would right now while I cheekily informed him, "Marking my territory..." I sniffed again and purred, smelling my pheromones on his skin.

Nathan's smiled widened as he laughed out loud, though I could see the Lycan enjoying the fact that I was staking my claim on him. Man, he had his turn all night, so I figured I could place my scent on his too.

But the way he changed while laughing did things to me; how his whole face lid up, the skin around his eyes wrinkled the tiniest bit and how those muscles clenched with each roar of laughter.

Eventually he settled down and tabbed the wooden tray beside him. "I made you some breakfast, there's more downstairs but it's better if you shift back to eat. Aren't you hungry?" He asked, a hint of worry in those warm depths that made my heart flutter. Instead of focusing on the overwhelming emotions he caused in me, I decided to tease him.

Nuzzling his arm beside me, I licked it a few times from elbow to the tip of his fingers, purring deeply before glancing up and blinked lazily. "Starving actually." Nathan's eyes darkened considerably before he sighed and shook his head, petting my fur for a moment.

"You are driving me crazy Alec. Its best if you just eat your food before I take you again. You need to rest." He stated almost desperately, a growl lining the last of his words and I nodded before shifting behind him, smiling warmly as he looked away.

"Got any clothes first?"

I laughed as Nathan nearly jolted from the bed, like someone had pricked him with a needle and dashed towards the closet, throwing me one of his shirts and a pair of boxers. The fabric smelled fresh and musky, probably because it was Nathan's but this time my stomach grumbled loudly, interrupting my naughty thoughts.

The smell of eggs, bacon and pancakes greeted me as Nathan placed the tray gently in my lap and sat across me, smiling as I took deep breaths and nearly inhaled my food. "Hmmm, this is good." I moaned around the mouthful before gesturing with my fork. "Want some?"

Nathan shook his head, slightly dazed it seemed but I ignored him for the moment as I poured a delicious amount of syrup on the pancakes and devoured them, licking my lips when I finished everything.

"Uhmmm, Nathan? Are you okay?" I murmured teasingly, tilting my head as he shook his own before jumping off the bed. "I'm fine. But if we're staying here any longer, you're going to end up crippled."

Huh? I thought about it for a second before I grinned broadly, knowing that I had quite an effect on my big and strong Lycan mate. I chuckled teasingly but winched when I went to get up.

"Hey!"

Nathan had pulled me up in his arms as if I was a damsel in distress and proceeded to carry me downstairs too. Okay, my muscles were sore and stiff but I wasn't crippled. As soon as we got down the stairs, I realized we weren't exactly alone as the scent of a vampire flowed through the room.

"Not a word Drake!" Nathan snapped as he gently settled me down on the bar stool beside the kitchen and started to clean the kitchen while the vampire beside me eyed me curiously before chuckling as Nathan came over to steal a kiss from my pouting lips.

"Man, the kitty sure has claws huh? What are those, marks of punishment? Maybe the guys from the coven have a chance after all." Drake jested as he had a clear visual of Nathan's bare back, or more likely, the scratch marks on him. Nathan's lips curled up in a growl but I beat him to it as I rubbed my head against his side and glanced over at the vampire.

"Well, that's what it looks like when a man knows what he's doing.  And trust me, I'm never gonna let a man like that go." I said, winking at Nathan while Drake's face became almost comical to look at.

Nathan's laughter roared through the room while I hummed under my breath, smiling when he placed a cup of coffee under my nose. "Well, what a good way to get to know Nathan's friends." I thought to myself as I glanced at the stunned vampire, wondering how his other friends were going to react.