Three Months Later

Three months had passed by for Nicolai in the blink of an eye. He had been welcomed by the tiger clan with hesitant open arms, the members looking towards their elders for reassurance on the matter. The thought of a lion becoming their new king was something that did not sit well with them due to them being in the dark regarding their current ‘Alpha’. Their reassurance had come in the form of Aston walking up next to the lion and grabbing his hand as an act of affection in front of them. They had been shocked by Aston’s openness with his new mate; they had assumed that he would have had to be arranged to marry a person of the same species. It had seemed that fate had made its own decision on the matter. 

Nicolai knew that he would not have been very welcomed by the other tigers of the clan, but they had allowed him acceptance into their compound. Moving his pride into the compound had been an event due to the mixing of both species, which had been unheard of. The clashing of lions and tigers had been interesting, the solidarity of the striped felines witnessing the togetherness of his pride seeing the subtle differences in their customs. His sisters had fun with the experience, the youngest of his sisters bringing the tigers out of their comfort zones with her personality, winning them over instantly. His other sisters became close with the elders and the guards of the clan, they themselves becoming a part of their ranks.  

Despite all of the happenings around the compound, the only thing that clouded Nicolai’s mind was the progression of his and Aston’s relationship. There had been none. They shared the same bed, they had shared many kisses, but they were never able to fully consummate their mating to its fullest extent. It was not that Nicolai had not wanted too, because he did, they just never got past the confines of their clothes. Nicolai remembered the first time that Aston had halted their intimacy when it had become overwhelming, he had assumed that he had done something that his mate did not want, but the tiger had reassured him that that was not the issue. After the fifth time of Aston’s subtle rejections, the itch to take things further became harder and harder to ignore, making sure to respect the boundaries of his mate. 

Why would his mate reject him?

Did he not feel the bond the same way?

Was there something wrong with him?

The sound of wood crackling from the heat of their fire snapped him out of his thoughts, blinking his eyes and he was welcomed to the sight of his sisters mingling amongst themselves. 

Adria looked at him with prying eyes, “It’s good to see you join the land of the living little brother.”

He looked at his older sister with a shocked expression, “Hmm?”

“She means you’ve been staring at the fire for the past 30 minutes Nicolai” Emerysn spoke out gaining her brother’s attention, “I didn’t think you were interested in that kind of wood.” 

Nicolai gazed at her with a blank expression deciding whether or not he would respond to the subtle joke, the gears in his head turning as he contemplated it. His inner voice wondering if he should talk to his sister’s about his current troubles with his hazel eyed mate. His sisters had always been his confidants, they were all he had in this life besides his mate; his only family. His eyes adjusted, taking in their surroundings seeing the other campfires surrounded by the others of the clan, his mate and the elders mixed in with the inhabitants of the compound around them. 

“Girls, can I ask ya’ll something?” His eyes roamed around to make sure that what he wanted to talk about would not be heard by unwanted ears.

“You know you can ask us anything, Nico” Jordyn spoke up looking up from the campfire, her blue eyes sparkling from the dancing of the flames. 

“Is it normal for mates to go almost 4 months without consummating their bond?” he whispered, averting his eyes. 

 “What do you mean?” Amelia asked, raising her brow.

Nicolai’s face flushed a deep red, the fact that he might have to explain his question to his younger sister setting in, maybe he should have been clearer. 

“Nicolai, you’re joking, tell me you're joking?” Emersyn spoke up, leaning forward to emphasize the intention of her question. 

The others looked at their fellow sister before focusing on Nicolai, their brother starting to squirm underneath their accusatory looks, feeling as if he should have kept his mouth shut. He continued to look at the ground, contemplating on whether he should answer Emersyn and confront the gaze of his sisters; this was going to be an uncomfortable conversation; he just knew it. Gaining an ounce of strength, knowing that the very sources of his weakness sat surrounding him, his eyes finally looked up from the dirt. He looked at his sisters seeing an array of emotions ranging from disbelief to concern, the weight of their gazes slightly causing him to want to flee from the situation and his question. 

“I’m not joking, Emersyn” He had hoped that his words came out with some form of structure to them, “Aston and I are not bonded yet.”

The looks of disbelief intensified as all of his sisters became invested in the question he had presented to them, their protectiveness becoming evident to them. Nicolai looked at them with a firm gaze, reaffirming his statement to the lionesses of his pride, his sisters, knowing what impact the statement held. 

“What did you do to him?” Eliza’s voice came out aggressively, “and don’t lie to us little brother.”

“What makes you think I did something?” his body feeling as if it had been hit with a cold splash of disbelief. 

“Well, most mates by now have already done the deed. Did you push something that he wasn’t ready for? Were you forceful about mating him, and it scared him?” Eliza grilled, her cold green eyes burning into him. 

The area around the campfire became very still at that moment, how could she have accused him of possibly assaulting his mate? What in the world had caused her to believe that of Nicolai? His disbelief turned to anger, his power slowly starting to seep out from his pores, his sisters tensing at the sensations of his power slowly starting to prickle their skin. They had angered their alpha, their brother, but the eldest sisters knew that his question had bore an unknown weight that had made them unsure. Nicolai had never felt so scrutinized by his sisters, the very fact that they believed he would have been capable of hurting his mate.

“I would never hurt Aston, never!” He growled through his teeth, his sisters flinched at the power infused words, “The fact you think that of me pisses me off!”

“Well then what is the reason, Nicolai?” Adira questioned, treading lightly with her question. 

Nicolai’s anger fizzled out instantly at the question only to be replaced with a sense of sadness, in reality he didn’t know why Aston had yet to pursue an intimate relationship with him. 

Was there something wrong with Aston? 

Was his mate not attracted to him even through the bond? 

Had he done something to make Aston doubt him? 

These thoughts had plagued him for the past three months, with every passing moment becoming more and more pressing on his mental health, he had thought to address Aston about it, but his mate had also become his new weakness. His love for the tiger had grown over the few months of being with him, every piece of Aston's soul becoming so beautiful to him the more he uncovered it. The way he approached problems, the way he wrinkled his nose where he thought Ephraim wasn’t looking, and even the way he was completely himself when it was just them and Rhea. Aston had imprinted himself into Nicolai’s heart in such a short time, making him feel head over heels for the hazel eyed man.

“I don’t know..” Nicolai whispered, his demeanor changing drastically, the power surrounding their campfire dissipating instantly.

The lionesses released a breath that they didn’t know they had been holding, Nicolai feeling relieved, himself, that they knew that he would never harm Aston. 

“If it's not that, then tell us what's got you feeling so conflicted” Jordyn spoke out, reading her older brother like an open book.

Nicolai released a large huff of air, “Every time we become intimate he stops before we go any further. Any time I try to initiate anything he stops my hand and asks if we can just keep it above the clothes. He's not mean about it, but I feel like there's something holding him back, like he's scared or maybe something else is preventing him from going that step further with me.”

“Or maybe someone?” Emersyn stated, her words causing the anxiety that Nicolai already had about the problem to worsen.

“Aston wouldn’t cheat on me, would he?” Nicolai fumbled, not being able to conceive the notion, “The way that he looks at me and acts towards me tells me differently. I mean our intimacy is the only problem that we have, even though we haven’t addressed it.”

“Why haven’t you brought it up to him, little brother?” Emersyn’s dark brown eyes burning holes into him.

“I wanted to respect his privacy, that maybe it was something personal that didn’t concern me. I’m trying to be considerate towards my mate, our relationship is still pretty new and I didn’t want to push him.” he replied making sure to address all of them. 

“That’s nice, if you lived in a world where you could read his mind” Adria’s words cut in, her words sinking into Nicolai little by little, “As a couple you need to address real problems so that y'all can move past them or figure out the source. Sometimes being upfront with your partner is not supposed to be meant as an attack, but being honest about your feelings is normal, for both of you.”

Nicolai looked at the ground once more, his thoughts racing as he wondered what had caused him to become like this, to feel so scared to just talk to Aston. This was his first real relationship, sure there had been others in an attempt to see if they were his true mate, but none of them ever made him feel the way Aston did. He felt complete with the tiger, so whole that he knew that he could face anything that came his way as long as his mate was by his side. This was still very new to him, the feeling of still getting butterflies every time he woke up in the morning and gazing upon the perfection that was Aston, who was already watching him sleep. 

Love was a big four letter word, a word that scared yet excited him, a word that could only describe his feelings for the man he could wake up next to for the rest of his life. A small smile adorned his face as he stared at the ground, knowing that he needed to push those fears away, to quit letting them control his life.

“You’re right,” his eyes raising up to meet the worried glances of his sisters, “Me and him need to be able to get past this if we are going to run this clan together. I really need to nip this in the ass honestly.”

His sisters smiled as he started to sound more like himself, the previous fearful Nicolai vanishing before their very eyes only to be replaced with the man who was their alpha. 

“What’s up you beautiful goddesses?” a voice called out from behind him, Nicolai knew that voice anywhere. 

Rhea appeared from beside him, the lionesses welcoming her with smiles and happiness at her arrival, something that they didn’t do for just anyone. A pair of arms slid down his shoulders, his body instantly recognizing the touch of his mate.

“Hey” Aston’s breath brushing against his ear causing electricity to run throughout his body.

“Hey yourself” Nicolai replied, smiling into the embrace as he turned to look into the hazel gaze that still took his breath away. 

“What are you guys up to?”

“We were just talking”

“Sounds like fun” Aston chuckled, bringing his lips down to Nicolai’s for a small kiss. 

The kiss spread warmth into Nicolai’s body calming him instantly, his worries draining into the back of his mind as he stared into Aston’s eyes. The girls before them staring with blank expressions, seeing that their discussion from earlier seemed trivial, the couple before them seeming to put any negative thoughts about their brother’s situation into limbo.

‘Just what we thought… Whipped’ they all spoke into the mind link receiving a glare from their brother in return. 

“Hey Nicolai” Nicolai turned to look at his mate once more, “Me and Rhea were heading back with the others, I was wondering if you wanted to go back to the room with me?”

Nicolai looked at his mate who awaited his answer, out of the corner of his eye noticing that his sisters were looking at him with judgemental looks, knowing that he needed to address his problems.  He knew that this moment would be the best time to talk to his mate about what he needed to get off his chest, his eyes looking past the tiger and noticing the patch of grass a few yards away. He needed to do it now.

“Actually, do you want to go lay with me in the grass for a bit?” His eyes refocusing on the hazel orbs before him, “There's stuff I want to talk to you about.”

Aston looked at him with concern, before looking at Rhea seeing that she looked indifferent, the lion before him awaiting his answer. Nicolai watched a small smile grace the face of his mate, his heart fluttering at the sight, a sight that had him trying to mentally fortify his determination. 

“Of course,” Aston answered, before breathing an internal sigh of relief.

“Just for a little bit longer, then we can head back and crash and get comfortable” Nicolai reassured his mate. 

Aston chuckled, nodding his head in agreement, both of them turning to say bye to their company, noticing that they were already to walk away. The backs of his sister reaffirming his determination to get to the bottom of his worries, hoping that talking to Aston would clear his mind of his fears. Taking his mate’s hand into his, he led him away from the campfires and towards the patch of grass that was illuminated by the light of the moon. 

‘Good luck little brother’ Adria’s voice whispered through the mindlink, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips.