Mated To An Enemy

Myka's eyes widened.

"Our… future?" he whispered.

Peter nodded.

"Okay," Myka said with a gentle nod. "Let's talk…."

They moved to the couch, each taking a seat. Peter looked up at Myka. He was taking slow deep breaths and clenching his jaw. He seemed nervous.

"I'm not planning to tell you to leave," Peter said.

Myka looked up with furrowed brows and a confused expression.

"What? Why would you say that?" Myka quickly asked.

"I'm not trying to push you away or test you. That's not what this is about." Peter clarified. "You looked worried. I thought that's what you were afraid of."

Myka let out a soft chuckle. He moved closer to Peter on the couch and touched his cheek.

"I'm never letting you push me away again," he whispered. "I thought I made that clear."

Peter smiled, leaning into Myka's warm hand.

"Then what are you nervous about?" he asked.

Myka sat up straight. He pulled his hand away and took a cleansing breath.

"You said we are going to talk about our future," he said. "I'm worried we might have different visions of what that looks like."

Peter smiled.

"I think," he began, "our visions might not be as different as you imagine."

Myka looked at Peter. There was a nervous hope in his eyes.

"I think I know what you want, Myka," Peter continued. "I think I know how you want our future to… grow."

Myka swallowed anxiously as he listened.

"But, before we talk about that," Peter said. "We need to talk about the two of us."

"What do you mean?" Myka asked.

"We just found each other again," Peter replied with a sigh. "And with all that has happened, we haven't had much time to explore what that means. What being together looks like."

Myka watched Peter carefully as he spoke. There was a concern in his words, a fear in his voice.

"There are things we haven't talked about, haven't decided," Peter continued. "The war thrust us together in a highly emotional time. We don't even know if how we feel about each other translates to the mundane every day of our lives."

Myka tilted his head, observing Peter carefully. He was nervous. His heart was beating harder, and his breathing was slightly up. There was a blush creeping over his neck and ears.

"You don't want to be a pack wolf, and I won't leave Winter," Peter continued. "Because of the war, you have stayed, but now… I don't want you to stay just for me. I don't want you to wake up and regret not returning to your nomad ways or feel like I forced you to end your journey."

Peter licked his lips and swallowed.

"I know that you love me," he said, looking up and locking eyes with Myka. "I love you, too."

Myka smiled warmly. Hearing the words from Peter was rare, and every time was like the first. Every part of Myka wanted to pull Peter into his arms and shower him with affection until he couldn't take any more.

But Myka knew that Peter was trying to say something, to vocalize a concern or desire. It was not the time to let his cravings get the better of him.

"We have given each other our marks. We are bonded. There is no going back," Peter whispered, looking down toward his knees. "But I don't want to be a chain around your throat."

'So that's what it was,' Myka thought to himself.

Myka moved closer to Peter on the couch. He touched Peter's chin, lifting it to look him in the eyes.

"We are mated. We are bound. But you are not a chain. You are a choice that I make every single day," Myka whispered with a gentle smile. "You're right. The idea of being a pack wolf still does not appeal to me, but I don't have a foot out the door either."

Myka tilted his head, his smile never fading from his lips.

"I have been running for a long time," Myka continued. "I never wanted to stay still because I was afraid of what or who might find me if I did. But Spring is gone now. Gorn is gone, and the experiments are gone."

Myka leaned toward Peter, who swallowed and took a soft breath as their faces got close.

"But since the day you left me, no matter what direction I was going, I was always running back to you," Myka's warm breath danced on Peter's lips. "Now that I'm here, that we are here… I have nowhere left to run."

Peter let out a shaky breath. Would this man always be able to stir him up like this? A few words and a look, and Peter was aching to touch and be touched by him.

"Peter?" Myka whispered.

"Huh?" Was all that Peter could manage to say.

"Are we still talking?" Myka whispered, his lips brushing against Peter's with each word.

Peter licked his lips. His tongue grazed Myka's lips at the same time. The taste of him made the ache in his body more painful, but Peter pushed his hand against Myka's chest. He swallowed and took a deep breath as the space grew between them.

"Always cheating…." Peter sighed as he tried to calm his mind.

Myka grinned.

"I'm happy to have any and every conversation with you," he said. "But I will never not want to touch and taste you. I can't help it."

"I was trying to have a serious conversation with you, Myka," Peter huffed. "If we are trying to have a life together, it can't just be about sex."

"I know," Myka replied. "But I thought I made myself clear. I am not going anywhere. Not because I feel like I have to stay or that you are making me… I am staying because you are here. If you decide to go to Summer, I will go there."

Myka sat up straight, he didn't lean forward or try to touch Peter, but he held his gaze in a way that made Peter feel like he was being held in his arms.

"I am no longer a nomad," Myka said. "I have made my journey and found its natural end. I found my home. That's you."

Peter's chest felt tight, and his jaw clenched as he heard Myka's words.

"Are you sure you won't regret it?" he asked quietly.

"The only thing I regret," Myka replied without hesitation, "is not realizing all of this five years ago."