AARYN

After that incredible start to the morning, Aaryn and Elreth both dozed off again.

Aaryn was jerked back to consciousness by an adrenalin rush that accompanied the moment his mind screamed at him that he hadn't seen his mother the day before, and he was supposed to be leaving for three days.

And he had to tell Elreth they were leaving too.

He groaned and rolled away from the warmth of his mate, onto his back, rubbing his stinging eyes. Thank goodness there would be no complicated responsibilities today. His brain was a fog, and his body yearned for sleep. And Elreth. Not necessarily in that order.

Holy shit, had she really woken up and let him…

He shook his head, smiling, thanking the Creator for her and the life they were about to build. Then she sighed and rolled over, her hair falling into her face.

"Good morning, again," she said with a grin.

He'd never seen her so puffy and messy. It was adorable. He pushed up on one elbow to lean over her and comb her hair off her face, then leaned in to kiss her full, swollen lips again. "Good morning, again."

"I'm hungry," she said. "But I don't want to go to the market."

"We'll have to, I'm afraid," he said reluctantly—he wasn't excited about their little bubble being popped by other people either. "You have to show yourself, they need to scent us and know the mating bond is complete. And I have to go see if my mom's okay."

She put a hand to his chest, not smiling anymore. "Are you okay? Can I come with you? Or do you think it would be better if…"

"No, no, I think you should come," he reassured her, loving that she was humble enough to even ask the question. "She'll want to see you, and she'll celebrate the bond too. And… I just hope she's okay and not hating herself too much. She gets kinda funny when she's promised something, then isn't strong enough to do it. I remember that from… anyway, I just want to make sure she's okay and tell her not to worry about it."

Elreth nodded, then they both sighed. "I guess we better do this," she said. "At least I don't have any meetings today. Do you? We could come back here after breakfast and just… relax?" she grinned wickedly and Aaryn almost kissed her again. But that wasn't going to get them out of this cave, so he shook his head.

"Actually, I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?" Elreth grinned. She loved surprises. She was like a little kid when she knew someone was going to give her a gift. She pushed up her elbows. "What is it?"

"Do you want to know now, or after breakfast?"

"Now," she said, without hesitation, as he'd known she would.

He chuckled. "Well, there was one other human tradition I wanted to try and… it's the one thing your mom said she felt like she missed from her Rite…. Has she ever talked to you about something called a honeymoon?"

Elreth frowned. "No. What's that?"

"Well, I guess in the human world when two people mate—marry—they go on a trip together, away from everyone they know, just for a few days. To spend time alone. I know you can't do a week like she said, but I talked to Huncer and Lhern. Everyone's okay with you being gone for a couple days, as long as they know where we are and the Guards can come for you if there's a problem."

"Seriously?" she gasped. "You did that?"

"I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to—"

"Mind?! Aaryn, you are so sweet to me, so thoughtful… I don't even know what to say!" she threw her arms around his neck, heedless of her nakedness, and kissed him. Then kissed him again. "Thank you," she said when she finally pulled back. "That's… that's just really special. And I can't believe you arranged it with the elders!"

"I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to plan this thing then have someone stand in the way," he said, glad that she was excited. "So, do you want to pack now, or after the meal? I think we should go eat, and you can announce that we'll be gone. Then we can go see my mom, then we can leave—unless you want to pack then go. We're going west, so we'll be out this way."

"No! Let's pack now so we're ready. We can leave our bags on the trail and then leave straight from the City. I can't wait! Where are we going?"

"It's not fancy, El," he warned her. "It's set up for males who are hunting or fishing. I think maybe they took some drinking trips out there. I'm not sure. All I know is, your dad grins every time he talks about it, and he told me not to mention it to Behryn when he comes back."

Elreth's face fell and she sighed. "I wish Uncle Behryn could have been there last night."

Aaryn nodded. "Me too. And I'm sure if he could have, he would have wanted to, as well."

They were both quiet for a minute, but Elreth shook her head and pushed up to sit. "Nope, we aren't going to get sad this morning. Today we're celebrating. All the problems and people we can deal with later. Let's do this!"

She leapt out of bed and Aaryn had to smile. She was so excited, she didn't even get coy about being naked, just pushed out of the furs and ran to the closet to pull out a bag and started asking questions about where they'd be and what they'd do, so she knew which clothes to bring.

He watched her stuff the bag full, her breasts dangling, and shook his head, still in disbelief that she was his. Truly his.

Thank you, he prayed. I don't deserve her. But I will love her until my last breath.