"What?" My own voice sounding strange to even my ears. What did he just say? My mate looked flustered for a moment, nervously fidgeting with the pages of the book that was still in his large, callused hands.

"I'm no good. Can't talk right. Can't read. Grandfather tried to teach, but-" Callan heaving in a breath, "not good for pretty omega."

My jaw dropped further at his words, then I got furious.

"Now you listen here Callan!" My voice rising, pointing my finger at him. Callan's eye got large, freezing in place.

"The moment I saw you I knew you were my mate. My mate," I thumped my hand against my chest, baring my teeth.

"Only I get to decide if I reject you and I refuse to reject you! The Goddess chose you for me and I am glad. You have already been gentle with me. I know you could probably smell the scents of betas and alphas on me. I know you probably think I'm dirty," my voice hitching, making my mate's brows furrow.

"Not dirty," Callan said, shaking his head. I gave a bitter laugh, shaking my head in turn with tears in my eyes.

"You have every right to reject me instead! Other people, men and women, have touched me when I didn't want them to. When I ran, they were going to take everything from me. I wanted to save every part of myself for my mate, but other's hands have touched me first. They hurt me so much," I sobbed, no longer able to hold in the tears I had buried deeply since the day I presented, "all I wanted was my mate. To leave that place. Then I find you and you want me to reject you? No!"

Callan's arms suddenly wrapped around me, pulling us back onto the couch. I curled into his lap, feeling his fingers brush away my tears.

"Do not cry. I am sorry. Don't care if touched by others. Didn't want, right? Mine now. My mate?" Callan's voice asking at the end. All I could do was nod, burying myself into his warmth. Into the safety that he brought me. I felt his cheek rub against my dark waves, his large hands rubbing my back.

"I'm your mate and you are my mate, okay?" I whispered, feeling him nod against my head. I felt relief sweep through my being, letting the tears I had held in for years, continue to fall down my cheeks. I don't know when it happened, just that I had ended up lying on top of my mate on the couch. I sniffled a bit, seeing the fire dim amongst the logs. I didn't care though, my mate a heater by himself. Snuggling a bit more against his chest, I fell asleep with the feeling of his fingers combing through my hair.

☆

After a few days of awkwardly shuffling around each other, I followed my mate out of the house. He turned to look at me, cocking his head.

"Where are you going?" I asked. I knew that he wasn't a part of a pack, not smelling other wolves around.

"Hunt," my mate said making me run closer to him.

"Will you teach me?" I asked. My mate looked at me bewildered for a moment, slowly pointing to himself.

"Yes, you," I laughed, Callan blinking quickly.

"I, I never teach anyone before," Callan whispered.

"Well I know you're good at it since there has been meat in the food you have been giving me. I wasn't allowed to learn in the pack I was from," I pleaded, clasping my hands up to my mouth and trying to give him my best doe eyes. Callan still looked unsure but nodded.

I flushed darkly, my eyes becoming hooded seeing him remove his pants. I gulped dryly, unable to drag my gaze away. My mate was gorgeous, his member no doubt able to satisfy anyone. I suddenly heard a rumble from his chest, my eyes snapping up to see a smile on his face. I looked away quickly, realizing he could scent my arousal. With several snapping bones and a shake of fur, I looked back to see a massive wolf. He was nearly my height on all fours, most alphas only reaching up to my chest. I reached out my hand, stroking at his ear. My fingers couldn't help but gently glide along the scars over his right eye.

The large wolf's muzzle nudged at my hand, pressing his head against my chest. I laughed at the action, divesting myself of my shirt and pants. My nose caught the whiff of musky arousal from my mate, shyly fluttering my eyelashes over my shoulder at him. My mate didn't look away from me and I knew that we were going to be there all day if I didn't shift. I shifted quickly into my wolf, my head only coming up to the bottom of his chest.

Though my mate's fur was dark as night, my own fur color was a dark chocolate brown. I had a streak of white on my underbelly, the white fur signifying I was an omega. My mate's eyes flashed gold, my breath leaving me in a woosh. I had never seen an alpha's eye that color! The darkness of the gold seemed to pulse out dominant waves, unable to stop myself from baring my neck.

I remained still as the alpha nuzzled my neck, licking me there. I shuttered pleasantly, unable to stop the aroused pheromones from leaving me. A pleasant deep rumble left the dark beast, both of us seeming to shake our heads to get our senses back. The black wolf nudged his head towards the forest and I happily followed after him.

His legs were long and I had to lightly jog to keep up with his pace. My mate froze making me do the same. I saw him crouch down until he was nearly flat to floor. I sidled up quietly next to him seeing a rabbit in front of us. I held my breath, watching my mate. He slowly rolled his shoulders, lifting his hind legs slightly, ready to push off of them. A wind brushed into my face as I smelled the scent of the rabbit. His eyes followed the rabbit and just as it turned its head away from our direction, my mate lunged. Within a second the rabbit was dead. I could only gape at how fast my mate was. I didn't even have time to blink!

My mate held it within his maw, continuing his trek through the woods. One rabbit was definitely not enough for both of us. It couldn't have been five minutes until my mate was crouching again. He nudged his head at me, indicating I should try. Nodding, I crouched down like he did, raised up my back legs to help me spring forward. The wind brushed up behind me, the rabbit's head looking directly at me before darting away. I whined, looking at my mate to see what I had done wrong.

The large wolf nudged my cheek, lifting his head up as wind brushed through his fur, looking down at me again. It suddenly clicked! I needed to be down wind from my pray so it wouldn't smell me. I wagged my tail, quickly darting off into the woods. I knew my mate was right behind me, spotting a tuft of gray fur. I repeated the same motions as before, my ears twitching at other sounds in the woods. The wind brushed into my face. At the last moment when the rabbit turned to munch on a different leaf, I lunged. I bit down hard, the creature dead instantly. I raced back to my mate who met me halfway, bouncing all around him in my excitement. We both had dropped our rabbits as I jumped on him playfully, both of us rolling around in the dirt. I ended up halfway on top of him with his back on the ground. I gently licked underneath his chin, feeling his chest rumble into my own.

Nuzzling against his chest, I quickly got off of him and collected my prize. Two rabbits was still not enough.

By the time we got back we had five rabbits and a pheasant. Two of the rabbits my own, making me very pleased at my first try. My mate was large enough that if a bird was on the ground, it would not have enough speed to get into the air before my mate could catch it. He was truly an impressive hunter.

Callan showed me the shed where game was kept, telling me about the skinning knives and the fur he collected. He said his Grandfather said that you could make the fur into clothes, but my mate didn't know how. He kept the furs anyway since he didn't want to throw them away. They were in a large pile in the corner, perfectly cleaned.

I watched my mate cut up the rabbit, skillfully removing most of the meat. We headed back inside, my mate putting the meat into a large pot to start cooking. I told him I was going to shower quickly.

I let the warm water wash over me as I removed the grime from our outing. Touching my fingers to my lips, I realized I was smiling. I flushed at the realization, but I was so happy! So happy to have learned something I had always wanted to, and from my mate no less. He was gentle and kind. We had even played briefly like pups! Something in my heart was filling or aching, I couldn't tell. I quickly shook my head of my thoughts, purring into his towel for a moment as I dried off, then redressing to go help in the kitchen.

I decided to help by cutting the potatoes and carrots that were in the small vegetable garden by the house. Callan went to go wash up too, making me think his Grandfather made sure he was bathed before eating. I let a giggle leave me at the thought. Callan had hurried back, a flush rising on my cheeks at his damp hair still having drops of water cling to a few of the pieces. Our arms kept brushing against each other in the small space as we worked. I quickly realized that we would be having stew a lot, that seeming like the only food my mate knew how to make except for potatoes and onions for breakfast. Sometimes he'd cook small bits of meat with it.

"Thank you for teaching me how to hunt, Callan. I think I'll get better the more I practice," I said as we both sat down to eat dinner. Callan had lit the candles at the table, my more romantic side swelling at the action.

"Did good for first time. I was bad when first started with Grandfather," Callan said. He seemed to be getting more comfortable with speaking to me, making my heart flutter in my chest. Sometimes he'd only give me one word answers or even just grunts. Progress was progress.

"Really? With the way you were today I would never think you were bad at it," I smiled, my mate flushing. The flush itself was a darker red making me want to press my fingers against the color to feel the warmth behind it. He was definitely not used to compliments. I was determined to compliment him every day, just because it would make him flush or smile. His smile itself was endearing. He had whitish teeth that were fairly straight, probably lucky enough to not need straightening. I think he was nervous about smiling at me. Either because he didn't like his smile or he seldom did it. It was well worth it to get him to smile and I always meant every compliment. We both finished our stews quickly, normally only having enough for breakfast or lunch the next day.

We had gotten into a routine where we would sit in front of the fireplace and lean against each other. I normally fell asleep before he did, my mate lifting me to bed, taking the couch for himself. At first I didn't understand why, realizing that my mate had likely never been intimate with anyone. His only affection was from his Grandfather I assumed.

I decided to break up our routine, wanting to try something. Callan was already on the couch, seeming to wait for me. A little sigh of happiness wanted to leave me at the sight. He watched me curiously as I looked at the huge array of books. I read over the titles, trying to find one that wasn't too difficult. At the bottom of the bookcase, held down by many other books, was one that was thin and white. It was a children's book! I wondered what it was doing there, not seeing any other children's books. I'd have to do a more thorough search later.

"Omega?" Callan called. I noticed that he only called me Theo twice, not that I minded since I loved when he called me omega. I was his after all. He said my name in serious situations, like when I had gotten too close to the sharp axe and when I had accidently slipped outside. Callan had promptly picked me up and fluttered around me for a solid hour before I could shoo him away; my sweet mate so worried.

I happily climbed onto the couch so I was sitting on one side, opposite of my mate who did not look happy I was so far. I beckoned him closer to me, shyly opening my legs as I tugged him between them so his back was resting against my chest. My mate let me place him where I wanted him, the dark head of hair tilting back to look at me with a confused amber eye.

"You taught me to hunt today. So I thought I would teach you how to read," I said gently. Callan sat up in surprise, looking at me with such hope it made warmth spread all the way to my fingers.

"You read?" Callan asked, looking at the book in my hands with excitement and then back up to me. I nodded with a smile, tugging him so his back was against my chest again. I brought my arms around his muscled back, showing him the book.

"I'll have to look through the rest of the books later, but this one seemed pretty easy. Once you can read it, we can find another one until all the books are read," I said. Callan nodded, his large fingers tracing the letters on the covers.

"Did your Grandfather teach you letters?" I asked.

"Taught letters and numbers but hard to teach to read," Callan said. I furrowed my brow.

"These are all of his books right? If he taught you letters than he should have taught you to read," I started to say angrily. Callan reached back to stroke my cheek, calming me down.

"Grandfather could not see," Callan said, pointing to his own eye. I made a soft oh, snuggling up behind him, whispering a quiet sorry.

"Want to try to read the title?"

Callan was clumsy, mouthing the letters as best as he could so he could mush them together to become words.

"T-The Hun-gry M-Moose?"

"Mouse. The U next to the O makes an ow sound," I said. Callan nodded. I knew there would be a twinkle in his eye. Callan was trying very hard and making a good first attempt. He used his finger as he read a word. When he said something wrong I'd gently stop him. When he got it right I couldn't help but smile into his hair. We got about halfway through the book, both of us feeling tired; though my mate stubbornly wanted to continue.

"We'll read more tomorrow, Callan," I smiled, Callan having turned so he was laying partially on top of me.

"Promise?" He asked in the sweetest timber. I smiled with a nod, gently brushing some wayward strands of hair behind his ear. I wondered if he'd let me cut his hair so it was at least straight? The warmth of his body had my body singing with joy, the sparks tingling me all over. I knew Callan was feeling the same thing. I brushed my fingers gently against his lips, seeing his eyelids drop half mast.

My body was moving before my mind could comprehend my actions, leaning forward to press my lips to his. Callan quickly pulled away, his amber eye wide. Sparks and need coursed through my veins at the kiss alone. I would have been hurt at my mate pulling away from me, but Callan slowly leaned towards me. Our lips brushed against each other, sparks shooting down my spine. My belly feeling warmth and my heart longing for him to kiss me.

As if he could read my mind, he pressed his lips to mine. I moaned out happily, weaving my fingers through his hair. I parted my lips slightly, continuing our gentle kissing as Callan copied my movements. Before I knew it, I was fully underneath my mate, his lips plundering mine. My head was growing fuzzy, my hips bucking up underneath Callan's. My groin deliciously rubbed against his, both of us gasping as our lips separated.

Callan's amber eye was blown wide with lust, my own eyes matching his.

"Have you kissed anyone before?" I asked softly, catching my breath. Callan shook his head no, his thumb gliding along my kiss-swollen bottom lip.

"Only see other wolves when Grandfather taught me about pack."

I nibbled my bottom lip worriedly, stroking my mate's thick arms, loving the feel of his skin against mine. I could feel his muscles twitching below my fingertips.

"Do you know what mating is?" I asked shyly, seeing him nod. I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Don't know how. Want to make mate happy," Callan said, furrowing his brow.

"We'll work our way up to it. How does that sound? Like how we started with kissing today."

Callan nodded happily, lifting me up from the couch easily to bring me to the bedroom.

"Kiss omega all the time?" Callan asked. I flushed, smiling with red cheeks, nodding.

"Whenever you want," I breathed, sighing happily when he pressed his lips back against mine, my arms still wrapped around his neck. Callan moved slowly away from me and our lovely kissing, making me pout.

"Callan, why don't you stay in the bed with me? We won't mate right now," I asked.

"I'm big. Bed is small. Squish omega," Callan said making me laugh. I reached my arms up to him.

"You won't squish me and you keep me really warm. Stay?" I asked sweetly, brushing my lips against his. Callan sighed, sliding into the bed with me. Indeed there was hardly any of the bed left, but you didn't have to twist my arm for my body to tangle with my mate's. I yawned widely, nuzzling against my mate's chest. His arms circled around me, my body nearly humming in contentment. Yes, this was perfect.

☆

Apparently giving the go ahead meant kisses at every available moment causing me to be a right mess. At breakfast Callan kissed me while the potatoes were cooking, nearly burning the meat that he had added to it. We kissed before he went to chop wood outside, while I decided to find another children's book or something equally as easy to read. I only lasted about fifteen minutes before my need to kiss my mate took over.

I wasn't the only one. The second my mate set his axe down once seeing me coming over, I pressed myself against his gleaming muscular body, wrapping my arms around his back. I couldn't even touch my fingers together my mate was so large. Callan promptly laid me on the ground as we kissed until we were breathless, both of our groins rubbing dangerously together that my head started to spin. My hair was a disheveled mess, panting at the dark gold eye that exuded dominance from my mate. The cool breeze helped us detangle from our hot, magnetic bodies. Callan ushered me back inside so he could finish chopping wood and so I wouldn't be cold.

We'd have to go hunting again since we were running out of meat. The vegetables could last a week in the fridge, but I wondered if my mate had ever gone hungry in winter when nothing could grow. When game was hard to come by. The thought made me sad. I was shaken from my thoughts when my mate went to go make stew again. I'd need to find rosemary or thyme or something out in the woods since my mate was probably never introduced to spices. Spices were life changing. After dinner we got into our positions on the couch and continued to read. I couldn't help but nuzzle against my alpha, feeling content with the fact that I could help him. In Callan's own way, he had been helping me too. Made me feel wanted and treasured. That I was special. I've never had lust and love share company before.

After we read, Callan seemed to pounce on me for more kisses, making me laugh. I was not one to complain either. Kissing in front of a burning fireplace that wrapped us in warmth was melting me from the inside. I wrapped my legs around his waist, moaning happily at his kisses making me feel drunk. Callan pulled away, his amber eye seeming to eerily glow with a mix from the firelight.

"Callan, can I ask you something?"