Sweet Words and Heavy Eyes

Octavia’s POV

“Really I just wish I had *someone.*” he whispered, his voice shaking with pain. My eyes moved away from the stars and moon above us, and I tilted my head over my shoulder towards his face. I watched as he got lost in thought, his bright emerald eyes blankly staring off into space. Sadness briefly washes over his expression, and with it my heart aches softly.

*’Mate feels… heavy and lonely.’* Lucia whimpers, ushering me to say something to him. *’Wait…Mate does have someone… he has **us**.’*

She was right.

He isn’t alone anymore, and neither are *we*.

The moon goddess had made us for *each other.* And because we had finally found one another, we would never spend another second battling life alone.

I brought my body around to face him, gently sliding my arms around his neck. Intently, I watched his eyes. Waiting for them to find mine once more. My fingers caress the hair on the back of his neck and I feel satisfied goosebumps spread on his skin.

As he realized my actions, his eyes gained back their confidence and glistened at mine under the moonlight. We sat silent for a few seconds, before I bit my lip nervously.

“Well now…. You have *me*.” I couldn’t help but smile, imagining all the moments we would share in the future together. Tears almost stung my eyes, but I fought to hold them down. I felt unsure if I was ready to expose such a raw side of myself to him yet, I swallowed. A smile stretched across his face, automatically causing me to grin harder in response.

“You’re right, and *you* have *me*.” He cupped my cheeks and snuggled our foreheads together. My heart galloped, and the feelings I had been burying deep inside myself all these years began to pour from my eyes. “And I *am never leaving.*”

Whatever came over me I couldn’t stop, everything about Leon was so enticing. His scent, his vibes, *his words*. The mate bond was incredible, and I wasn’t sure how to contain the things it began to bring out of me. *I didn’t even know I could feel this way about anything.*

I looked him in the eyes as the trails of tears from years of pain stained my cheeks, admiring his glittering green irises. I felt his breath on my lips, and I couldn’t wait for him to envelop me.

But instead he stops, as if holding something back.

“I..” he whispers, turning his face away from mine. “I can’t.”

“What… what do you mean you can’t?” My heart grew sore, jumping to the closest assumption. *’Does he not want me?’* I thought, a sharp pain taking over my chest.

“I think we need to wait… to u-um..” He clears his throat, and his cheeks look as if they could burst into flames. “You know.”

I breathe a sigh of relief, as I realize he's asking to wait to complete the mate process. *He's being so bashful about it too.*

“You're right.” I tuck my hair and bite my lip, a blush rushing to my cheeks. He was right, and I was totally embarrassed that I had gotten ahead of myself. “It would probably make an issue if I came home randomly, with a new scent and a mate mark.” I chuckle uncomfortably.

*’Mate is so respectful, and thoughtful!’* Lucia purrs in the back of my mind, making a chill run up my spine. She was right, and I had a hard time holding myself together because of how *sexy* it was.

A man that respected my feelings and needs? Yes, thank you! The moon goddess had me blessed all-around, not only was my mate *handsome as hell* but he was also so responsible and protective. I was going to have a very difficult time containing my lust for him.

After a few moments of silence, I look up at the stars again and lay back in the grass. Leon slides his jacket off, to reveal his large muscular arms. His white t-shirt hugged his tan skin perfectly in all the right places, his physique completely taking me off guard.

As he flexed I felt like a dog drooling over a bone. I watched him lay his jacket out over the grass and usher me towards him. One arm was bent over his head to support his neck, the other outstretched towards me.

“Come lay over here with me.” He smiles, tugging my hand towards him. I sat down and gently scooted closer to him snuggling my head into his chest, his heartbeat galloped so loud I could hear it over the gentle breeze.

My nostrils tingled from the breathtaking pine scent he was emitting, behind it I could ever so slightly smell his arousal. My heartbeat sped up, and my core grew hotter and excited at his scents. I took a deep breath in an attempt to bring my own arousal down, so we could enjoy this calm moment together.

As he moved his arms around to adjust our position I noticed he had multiple tattoos. Some hid under his sleeve, while others spread down to his elbow. One in particular stood out from the rest, separated from his half-sleeve, on his forearm was a small round bluish tattoo. I couldn’t see it too clearly from our position, so I brushed it off and sighed softly.

*’Looks like our mate is a bad boy… with Alpha aura.’* Lucia howls like a horny dog, laughing and making me feel jittery. *’I wonder which pack he is from…’*

I giggled softly at her silly remarks and questions, while Leon seemed to notice my little gesture all too easily.

“What is it, Octavia?” He smiled gently, looking down at me on his chest. My head slowly moved up and down a few times in unison with his chest as he softly breathed, before I answered him. My mind grew completely comatose from his heartbeat.

“Nothing, I’m just admiring the wolf the moon goddess chose for me.” I watched him intently, his eyes growing brighter at my words. I brushed my hand across his chest, wrapping it around to his side. “I never thought I would meet my destined mate, let alone even be able to be here like this with you.”

“Let’s just lay this way for a while.” I sigh softly as a relaxed feeling pulls me down, making my body feel heavier. I could sense his smile, the tension in his arm fading slowly under my neck.

“V-via?” He asked in almost a whisper, his hand fidgeting with my hair nervously. He seemed to be holding something back, or maybe just waiting for the right moment.

“Yes, Leon?” I respond with a flutter of my lashes, the heaviness taking over my eyelids. Slowly it was becoming harder and harder to hold them open to watch the stars above us.

“Is it too soon to say…. *I love you?*” His words shocked me a bit, I held my breath as I was taken aback. My heart seemed to freeze, yet melt at the same time.

“*I love you too.*” A smile kidnapped my lips, and I buried my face into his shirt. I drowned myself in his pine scent, I couldn’t stop the words from slipping past my tongue.

The silence grew after our sweet exchange, but it stayed comfortable and warm as I laid in his arms.

My mind drifted away lightly, listening to the beat of his heart and the sounds of the breeze in the leaves around us. Slowly but surely I drifted into a soft sleep, there in my mates arms, under the weeping willow tree.