Griffin panicked when he woke up to an empty bed. Flinging aside the covers he barely stopped long enough to throw on clothes before racing out of the cabin.
"Where is he?! Did he leave?!" He asked as he ran, trying to find traces of his mate.
[Calm down,] Kael chimed in. [His scent was still fresh, he hasn't been gone long. I'm guessing he just went for a run like he does every morning.]
"Yeah, but he never leaves before I'm up. What if us being mates freaked him out and he decided to leave?"
[Even if he did, he can't have gone far. We'll find him. But if he was trying to leave, listen to him. Don't just force him to come back, he'll only hate you if you do.]
"Fine."
Griffin spent half an hour combing through all the areas he knew Nathan normally went to on his runs.
"Where is he?" He asked desperately before yelling out louder, "Nate! It's time to eat! Where'd you go?"
He continued to trek through the underbrush before he heard a rustling followed by a voice, "I'm here."
Griffin spun around, seeing Nathan walking towards him.
"Thank the Goddess."
He closed the distance between them quickly and wrapped Nathan up in his arms.
"I was worried," he breathed. "Normally you wait for me to wake up before you go out. I almost thought you'd left."
Nathan squirmed in his hold. "I'm sorry. I was restless and Axel wanted to go for a run. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Come one, let's go have breakfast," Griffin said after a brief pause to take in his mate's scent.
**********
After the morning scare, Griffin wouldn't let Nathan out of his sight for the rest of the day. As they relaxed by the fireplace after dinner, Nathan sighed deeply as he watched the fire flicker in the hearth.
"Griffin?" He called out.
"Yes, Nate?" Griffin looked at him quizzically.
"Before I agree to being marked, can you tell me more about what it means to be mates?"
Griffin stared at him in stunned silence. "What do you want to know?"
Nathan turned his gaze to the dragon sitting across from him. "Anything. Everything. Whatever you can tell me."
Griffin studied him before speaking. "There's a hundred different things I can tell you about being mates, but the biggest is that we're there for each other. We're partners, allies, and confidantes. I'll be there for you no matter what happens."
Nathan looked in Griffin's eyes and saw nothing but a steady confidence and something softer that he couldn't name. "And I'll be there for you?" He asked quietly.
Griffin smiled, "Always."
Nathan startled slightly when Griffin suddenly stood up. He watched as the dragon leaned over him, hands on the chair's armrests, caging him in.
"How does that sound?" Griffin asked.
Nathan blushed slightly at the proximity as Griffin's scent washed over him. Leather, clove, and a slightly smoky undertone that seemed to wrap around his soul.
"That… sounds… good…" he managed to say.
Griffin nuzzled his neck for a brief moment before picking him up and moving back to his chair, Nathan now nestled securely in his lap.
"Good. And in the future when you're ready, we can go to the Moon Vale and ask the Goddess to bless us with pups."
Nathan felt like his face had burst into flames.
"PUPS?!"