The past couple months had seen several changes for the young wolf. Having built up the strength in his human form, Nathan had begun learning everything Griffin was able to teach him, from reading and writing to cooking and building.
Over the last two weeks though, Griffin had noticed that Nathan's wolf eyes had started changing color. Shifting from their original bright blue to a warm hazel. His human eyes on the other hand, were still a mauve pink, the bright blue ring darkening into an almost black navy.
[He's reaching maturity,] Kael said. [Give it another month and you might have found your mate.]
"Again with the mate thing. Whether he's my mate or not I don't care. I'm happy with him and more than willing to spend my life with him."
Griffin looked over at the wolf laying in the sun. Nathan'd been keeping him company while he chopped wood but the warm sun had eventually sent him to sleep.
Griffin spent an hour chopping while trying to not wake the sleeping wolf. Suddenly, his head shot up and locked eyes on Griffin.
Stunned by the sudden move, Griffin froze before a heavenly scent reached him. Rich cedarwood mixed warm, sweet orange.
[Mate,] Kael breathed.
Griffin dropped the axe and quickly made his way to Nathan as he shifted back.
"Mate," they whispered at the same time.
Time seemed to stand still as they stared at each other before Griffin lunged at Nathan, scooping him up and holding him close to his chest, one arm around his torso, the other under his ass. Shoving his nose into Nathan's neck he deeply breathed in his scent while Nathan did the same.
"Mate," Nathan whimpered.
"Mate," Griffin confirmed.
They stayed in that position for a long time before Griffin noticed the sun had disappeared. He made his way back to the cabin, ignoring the wood and axe that were still laying around.
Kael was overjoyed, [I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I told you he was our mate!]
Griffin chuckled at him, "Yes you did. And I couldn't be happier that you were right." He paused, "But now what?"
[What do you mean?]
"What am I supposed to do? Should I mark him? Should we just keep going like we have been?"
[Talk to him. See what he wants. Maybe he wants you to mark him now, maybe he wants to wait. I hope he doesn't.]
Griffin walked silently as he brought them into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed before finally pulling Nathan gently back so they could look each other in the eye. And froze when he saw tears in his mauve eyes.
"Nathan? Baby, what's wrong?"
Nathan sniffled before talking. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just happy. Axel told me we could find our mate after maturing and I'm happy for two reasons. One, we finally reached maturity. And two, our mate is you."
Griffin felt a grin stretch across his face as he pressed their foreheads together.
"Kael actually told me months ago that you might be our mate. I'm glad he was right," he sighed. "Will you let me mark you tonight? Or do you want some time to get used to the idea first?"
Nathan's attention turned inward as he consulted his wolf. "Axel advised that we wait a little bit. Just a few days."
Griffin nuzzled against Nathan's hair. "Alright. We'll wait a few days."