[Carmen]As spring grew closer, I was starting to prepare myself for Austin and Gemma leaving our house. I knew it had to happen some time and I did miss having the whole house to ourselves, but they really felt so much like family that I knew I would miss them. Of course, Gemma promised that she and Austin would be regulars at our weekend barbeques. Rock had really showed me how warm and caring he could be while they were living with us, as well. I found myself more and more eager to start a family with him. There were times I was tempted to take off the charm and let my heat take the lead. I wouldn’t, though. Following our plan was what would be best for everyone. We weren’t ready yet for a baby. The company was getting a lot of new business, there was something dangerous living in the area, and Rock’s mother had wandered off again. I really wanted her to be around when we would finally make our announcement. I think it was just the fact that Echo called while we were at Forrest’s coming-of-age to tell us she was pregnant, then Ashley called not even two days later to tell us she was pregnant. I was counting on Gemma’s plan to wait until Austin was settled to keep me from being the only one who wasn’t either pregnant or trying to get pregnant. Even Pyla and Forrest had baby fever. We had them, Elbio, and Kaya over for dinner. They were talking about trying for a baby as soon as Pyla had her coming of age. Thankfully, Elbio stepped in and convinced them to wait until he found out if his girlfriend was his true mate. He said he would need the support of his friends and he wouldn’t get as much if Forrest was trying to knock up his mate. I didn’t think that would work, but it did. Even Pyla seemed to understand the importance of Forrest being there for Elbio. Rock and I would be getting closer to our wedding day by Kaya’s coming-of-age, but he would still have time for Elbio if he needed it. The wedding was also on my mind. I had found the perfect dress and was keeping it at my mother’s house. Everything was coming together easily, but it just made the absence of my father even more glaringly obvious. I wanted him to be there for this important moment in my life, but I knew that was impossible. Rhett told me that he couldn’t track my father because of how much the darkness in the area had grown. I was afraid he had fallen for the promises of that supernatural community. Whispers were starting to circulate because the followers were becoming more vocal and popping up everywhere. We all knew they were actively recruiting people to go against the goddess. After the way my father talked about her to Trent, I knew there was a chance he had joined them hoping to get their god to undo my mating with Rock. It always got me down when I remembered the missing part of my family. My father already missed almost all of Beth’s pregnancy. He was going to miss his grandchildren being born if he didn’t pull himself together soon. I just wished he could see how happy everyone was. Maybe that would change his mind. “You look deep in thought,” Rock said as he came into the office and kissed me on top of my head. “There’s a lot to think about,” I replied. “Is any of that the dirty things I’m going to do to you when we get home?” I laughed. “Not as much as it should be.” “I guess we’ll have to change that,” he purred and turned my chair to face him. I felt a heat rising in my chest, and my cheeks flushed with desire. Rock had always been able to do that to me, with just a word or a touch. It was a power he wielded over me, and I loved every second of it.“Is there something specific you have in mind?” I asked with a coy smile.Rock chuckled wickedly, his hand sliding under my skirt and rubbing my inner thigh. “Let’s just say it involves a lot of moaning and screaming my name.”“Sounds like fun. I’m going to the restroom before we leave. Did you still want to go out to dinner tonight, or did you want to head straight home?” “Dinner first, you need your energy for everything I plan on doing to you tonight,” he replied. He helped me up and I headed to the restroom. I needed to get my father off my mind so I could focus entirely on Rock. It was really awkward to be trying to do things with my mate and having my dad pop into my head. As I washed my hands, I took a deep breath and shook my head. I needed to focus on the present and on Rock. He was the love of my life and the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I couldn’t let the absence of my father ruin that.I headed back to the office, but stopped when I heard Rock talking to someone. I didn’t smell Forrest or Viola in the lobby, so I assumed it was them. I pushed my magic out to see if the door was open, and it was only open a crack. It was one of those unique opportunities to see what my mate was like when I wasn’t around. Quietly, I snuck close to the door and listened. They were mostly chatting about their plans for the weekend. It seemed pretty typical. “You’re looking more worn out than normal,” Forrest said. “So are you. What, can’t keep up with your softie mate?” Rock laughed. Forrest chuckled. “You did try to warn me about how much hornier softies are. I thought a couple of nights in a row would be enough to wear her out, but she just wants more. Pyla wants it every night. Not that I don’t appreciate the practice. I really need to stop disbelieving you when you tell me shit about having a soft mate.” “I could have told you both that. Rocks for brains males always think they understand. Trolls never really understand the softer species,” Viola added. “It’s not just about sex for them, though, it’s about intimacy. They would get almost as much pleasure cuddling with you and talking about your hopes and dreams. You guys don’t always have to fuck your mates in order to make them happy, but you just don’t understand what else to do with yourselves.” “Hey, I’m new to this. I’ve only been mated for a couple weeks,” Forrest growled. “I just really like having sex with my mate. Plus, we don’t always have sex. Carmen and I spend time doing a lot of other things, but everyone knows werewolves are really sexual beings. Once they come of age, it’s all they want to do because of breeding urges, animal urges, and hormones.” I crossed my arms. He wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t exactly sound complimentary when he said it. It wasn’t all I wanted to do, but I couldn’t deny that a large part of my day was filled with thinking of all the delicious things Rock and I did in our bedroom. I looked forward to when we could be together again like that. It wasn’t everything I thought of. I liked thinking of our future and the time when we would have children. We talked about it a lot. Rock was a planner and I knew that from the beginning. He was careful and considered everything before deciding on a course of action. “Lizard people aren’t like that, from what I’ve heard, but I think the combination of troll and lizard in Pyla has made her something else entirely. Her coming-of-age is soon. I imagine some of this will stop being as frequent when we have kids to consider,” Forrest said. “I can imagine that. Right now, there’s no consequence. Pyla’s just trying to cram all the sex she could have been getting over the years into each day leading up to her birthday. I think she’ll slow down after that,” Viola said. “Carmen is also making up for something. Probably all the time she lost that she could have had with only you, Rock. It was three years that she could have had you before you came of age.” “That’s true. I wish I could have found her earlier, too. Carmen changed my life. She’s my everything,” Rock told them quietly. “I hope I find that when I find my true mate. We should finish closing up for the weekend. I’m sure Carmen will be back soon,” Viola replied. They stopped talking and I could hear them moving around the room. It was time to stop hiding out. I heard all of their secret fae talk. I opened the door and went into the office. At my desk, I shut down my computer and got everything locked up to go home. Viola was right. A lot of my eagerness with Rock was because I missed out on so much time with my mate while I was trapped in the pack lands and thinking my second chance, if I had one, would be a wolf. “What’s this?” Viola said from across the room. “What?” Rock asked. “I found his half under the filing cabinet. I think it fell out of the mail or something. It’s addressed to you, Rock.” Rock crossed the room and I could hear him take the thing from her. I picked up my purse and headed to where they were standing. “Huh. I was wondering why I hadn’t gotten an invitation yet. I’ll go make the call right now.” “What is it?” I asked. “Annual dinner for people in the city who are in the construction business. We use it to network, mingle, meet the competition, stuff like that. This will be the first year when I’ll have a plus one. It’s formal, so I’m looking forward to showing you off,” Rock replied. I smiled at him, feeling my heart swell with happiness. “I can’t wait to go with you. It sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun.” Rock pulled me into his arms, planting a gentle kiss on my forehead. “I’m glad you’re excited. It’s going to be a great night.” I leaned into him, feeling his warmth and the steady beat of his heart. It was moments like these that made me feel truly content. It wasn’t just about the sex, as Viola had pointed out earlier. It was about the connection we shared, the intimacy we had built together. Forrest cleared his throat, I knew he was eager to get home to his mate. We pulled away from each other and everyone finished their closing tasks while Rock called in his RSVP for the banquet. We headed out to the parking lot and Rock helped me into the truck. A lot of our lives together had come down to repetition. Things that we did regularly and that we could count on. Forrest checked the windows and doors in every room in the building. Viola took out the trash. Rock locked up important documents and prepared the deposits, if we had them. Before, I never would have thought that my life would be so simple and so comfortable, but I knew now how amazing that was. It made life without sight even easier. There were things I could count on every day. “What are you smiling about over there?” Rock asked as we drove to the restaurant where we would have dinner. “Thinking about how nice my life is now and how much I love it. When is that party?” “In three weeks at the Grand Hotel. Will you need a dress for it?” “Yes, I don’t really have anything formal. It’s funny to think of a bunch of construction guys in suits and stuff,” I giggled. “Yeah, I think it’s mostly to appease the wives. It gives them something to get all fancy about and get paraded around in public. I think you’ll put them all to shame, though. Maybe you and Gemma can go dress shopping this weekend, so you have it all figured out. We can even book a room in the hotel if you want and have a special night...” he suggested. “Mmm. That sounds like a lot of fun. Let’s plan for that.” “I’ll get us the best room in the hotel. Are you ready for dinner?” I hadn’t even realized we’d stopped until he turned off the truck. I smiled at him and held out my hand. Rock took my hand and kissed it gently. “I’m more than ready.”