Twenty years had passed, yet the way Nathan looked at hadn't changed a single bit. If anything, the gray dusting at his temples only made him look more like the formidable Alpha he was, and the warmth in his green eyes had only deepened with ti.
I was sitting by the window of our private sunroom, watching the sunrise over the territory, when I felt those familiar, heavy footsteps.
"Happy anniversary, my love."
I turned to see him standing in the doorway. In his hands was a massive bouquet of wild lilies and white roses—the sa flowers from our wedding day. He walked over, the floorboards creaking under his weight, and set the flowers on the table before pulling into his arms.
"Twenty years, Hailee," he whispered, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "And I still wake up wondering how I got so lucky."
I laughed softly, leaning back into his solid chest. "I should be the one saying that. Look at everything we've built."
We stood there for a mont, talking about the boys—how Oscar was preparing to take over as Alpha.
"Do you know," he said softly, "that after all this ti, you still undo ?"
I looked at him, my eyes warm, steady, full of love. "Good," I said. "I'd be disappointed if I didn't."
"The house is empty for the next few hours," Nathan murmured, his hands sliding down from my waist to the small of my back, pulling flush against him. "The boys are out on border patrol."
"Is that so?" I teased, reaching up to thread my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.
He didn't answer with words. He picked up, my legs instinctively hooking around his waist just as they had two decades ago. He carried toward our bed, his movents purposeful and filled with a raw, enduring hunger.
He laid down, his hands imdiately finding the hem of my silk robe. "I told you on our wedding night that I'd spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you," he growled, his voice dropping to that low, gravelly tone that still made my blood turn to liquid fire. "I'm nowhere near finished."
He stripped with a rugged efficiency, his body still powerful and scarred from years of protecting us. When he moved over , the friction of his skin against mine felt like coming ho. He took his ti, his mouth revisiting every inch of my skin with a slow, agonizing reverence. He knew exactly where I was most sensitive, his tongue and teeth marking the pulse at my throat until I was arching beneath him.
He parted my legs, his hands large and calloused as they gripped my thighs. He didn't rush. He watched my face as he used his fingers to slick the entrance, his touch raw and demanding. I was already shaking, my body humming with a desperate need to feel the weight of him inside .
"Nathan, please," I gasped, my fingers digging into his shoulders.
He rose up, his eyes flashing with that familiar golden Alpha light. "Look at , Hailee. Tell who you belong to."
"You," I sobbed out, my head tossing back. "Always you."
He entered in one slow, deep thrust that forced a ragged cry from my lungs. The sensation was visceral—raw, full, and overwhelming. Even after twenty years, the sheer size and heat of him felt like a revelation. He stayed still for a mont, his muscles rippling under his skin as he fought for control, his forehead resting against mine.
"You're still so tight for ," he groaned, his jaw clenching.
Then he began to move. It wasn't the tentative rhythm of our youth; it was the practiced, powerful drive of a man who knew his woman completely. Each thrust was heavy and deep, the sound of our bodies colliding echoing in the quiet room. The friction was intense, a raw heat building in the pit of my stomach that threatened to consu .
I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him down so I could feel the sweat on his skin. We moved in perfect, frantic harmony, the mate bond pulsing between us like a physical heartbeat. I could feel his heart hamring against my ribs, a wild, primal rhythm that pushed closer and closer to the edge.
The pleasure was a storm, dark and thick. When the climax finally hit, it was a violent release that left breathless, my internal muscles clenching him desperately as I scread his na. Nathan let out a guttural roar, his body tensing into a cord of solid muscle as he followed over, marking his claim on all over again.
He collapsed onto , his breath coming in heavy, jagged heaves. He didn't pull away, instead tucking his head into my shoulder, his lips grazing the mark on my neck.
"Twenty years," he panted, his voice a raw whisper. "And I'd do it all again for a single second of this."
The room remained heavy with the scent of sex and lilies, the silence only broken by our synchronized breathing. Nathan didn't move for a long ti; he liked the weight of our bodies joined, the physical reminder that after two decades, we were still the center of each other's universe.
He eventually shifted, rolling onto his side but pulling tightly against him so my back was pressed to his chest. His large hand sprawled across my stomach, his fingers tracing the faint, silver stretch marks—the beautiful scars from carrying his sons. He kissed the back of my neck, his stubble grazing the sensitive skin.
"We should probably get up," I whispered, though I made no move to leave the warmth of the sheets. "Our sons will be back from patrol soon. They'll expect their Alpha and Luna to be functional."
Nathan chuckled, a deep vibration that I felt through my entire spine. "Let them wait. They're grown n now. They can handle a few extra minutes of border duty while their father admires his wife."
He turned in his arms so I was facing him. The morning light was stronger now, highlighting the fine lines around his eyes—lines I knew ca from twenty years of laughing with . He reached out, his thumb brushing over my lower lip, which was slightly swollen from his kisses.
"You're thinking about them, aren't you?" he asked softly, his intuition as sharp as ever.
"I'm thinking about how fast it went," I admitted, resting my hand over his heart. "It feels like only yesterday Peter was walking down the aisle and Oliver was a little boy running up to with a surprise. Now Oscar is ready to lead."
Nathan's expression softened, a rare look of pure peace crossing his rugged features. "We gave us a ho, Hailee. I spent years looking for a reason to stay in one place. You were the reason."
He leaned in, giving a slow, lingering kiss that tasted of contentnt and deep-rooted love. Just as he pulled away, the distant sound of a howl echoed through the valley—the signal that the patrol was returning.
"Duty calls," I sighed, finally sitting up and reaching for my silk robe.
Nathan sat up too, watching with a smoldering look that told our "anniversary celebrations" were far from over. "Tonight," he promised, his voice low and commanding. "No pack business. No kids. Just us."
I smiled, tying the belt of my robe as I looked at the man who had been my safe place for twenty years. "It's a date, Alpha."
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