Chapter 10: The Morning After the Knot
Kane held him there on the rug for a long time, their breathing syncing, the sweat cooling on their skin. The sheer, terrifying relief of being understood, of not being cast out, left Kane’s muscles liquid. He just breathed in the scent of Winter—cedar shavings, faint sweat, and now, undeniably, him.
It was Winter who eventually tensed, a small, almost imperceptible stiffening against Kane’s chest.
“Hey,” Kane murmured, his voice gravelly. “What’s wrong?”
Winter pulled back just enough to look at him. The warm blue eyes were wide, not with fear of Kane this time, but with a dawning, practical horror. He glanced down at his own abdomen, then back at Kane’s face. “Kane. The… the knot. What you said. About… filling me up. Knocking me up.” He swallowed. “That wasn’t just talk, was it? With a normal guy, it’d just be dirty talk. But with you… your biology…”
The realization landed between them, heavier than any confession.
“Oh,” Kane said softly. The possibility hadn’t even surfaced in the storm of his guilt. It was just a fact of his nature, one he’d never had to consider with another person. “Yeah. It’s… designed for that. The rut, the knot… it’s all for that.”
Winter’s face paled. “So I’m probably… I mean, the chances are…”
“High,” Kane finished, his grip on Winter’s shoulders becoming firm, grounding. “But listen to me. Look at me.” He waited until Winter’s flickering gaze steadied. “It’s going to be alright. Whatever happens, we figure it out. There are ways forward. All of them. I’ll support any one you choose.”
The words hung there. Winter searched his face, looking for the lie, the hesitation. He found only a grim, unwavering certainty.
“I want it,” Winter said, the words quiet but clear, like a stone dropped in a still pond. “I’m scared out of my mind, but I want it. I want to keep it.”
A shuddering breath left Kane. He cupped Winter’s jaw, his thumb stroking the cheekbone. “Then you’ll be an amazing dad. The kind who teaches a kid how to see the shape in a piece of wood before they even pick up a knife.”
“Will you?” Winter asked, the vulnerability stark. “Be there?”
Kane’s answer was immediate, leaving no room for air. “Every step. Every single one. I’m not going anywhere.” An idea, sudden and absolute, seized him. “Move in. Here. With me. Today. I don’t want you in that little cottage by the woods alone, not with… everything. Be here. Where I can… where we can be together.”
Winter blinked, then a slow, incredulous smile touched his lips. “You’re asking me to move in right after possibly knocking me up? That’s… efficient.”
“I’m claiming my mate,” Kane corrected, the low rumble back in his voice. “Properly. In the light.”
“Yeah,” Winter said, the smile widening. “Okay. I will.” He let out a soft, disbelieving laugh. “I guess with all the sex we were having before, a kid was bound to happen sooner or later. You’re just… very expedient.”
Kane leaned in, his beard brushing Winter’s skin as he spoke into his ear. “Even if you’re not pregnant right now, I’d be happy to try again. And again. I’ll breed you as often as you let me.” He pulled back, his brown eyes dark with a possessive heat that had nothing to do with the wolf. “And if you are pregnant? I’ll still breed my mate. That doesn’t stop.”
A rough chuckle escaped him at Winter’s startled expression.
That was all the invitation Winter needed. With a strength that surprised both of them, he shoved against Kane’s massive shoulders. Kane, off-balance and willing, let himself be toppled backwards onto the deep crimson silk of the bed. Winter straddled him, hands planted on his hairy chest.
“You know,” Winter said, his eyes gleaming. “When you were the wolf? He was very… vocal. Told me exactly how much he liked my ass. Couldn’t stop talking about it.”
Kane’s hands came up to grip Winter’s hips, his thumbs digging into the soft flesh. “It’s always driven me wild. From the first time I saw you bend over a workbench at the market. Nearly lost my damn mind.”
Winter smiled, a real, bright thing that crinkled the corners of his eyes. He leaned down and kissed him, slow and deep, before shifting back, guiding Kane’s thick cock to his other entrance. They moved together in a slick, knowing rhythm, the earlier desperation replaced by a deep, claiming certainty.
Kane held him close, one arm banded around Winter’s chest, the other hand splayed on his stomach as he rocked up into him. Their breathing mixed, the room filled with the sound of skin meeting skin, with Kane’s low groans and Winter’s sharp, pleasured gasps. It was different this time—not the frantic need of the rut, but a deliberate, passionate sealing of a promise.
After, they lay tangled, spent and sticky. The morning light around the curtains was bright now, painting the room in stripes of gold.
“Go home,” Kane murmured into Winter’s hair. “Grab your things. Your tools. Whatever you want. Come back. Today.”
Winter groaned. “I have no clothes to wear home, Kane. You shredded my shirt. My jeans are somewhere by the door, probably ripped.”
Kane was quiet for a moment. Then, with a slight, embarrassed gruffness, he said, “Check the far wardrobe. Bottom drawer.”
Winter lifted his head, staring at him. Slowly, he untangled himself and padded naked across the room. He opened the ornate wardrobe, found the drawer, and pulled it open. Inside were folded pairs of soft jeans, henleys, socks, and briefs, all in his size. The styles were simple, things he’d wear.
He looked back at Kane, who was propped on his elbows watching him, a faint flush on his cheeks.
“Just in case,” Kane said, by way of explanation. “In case you ever… needed to stay. Or needed something.”
Winter pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and a henley. He dressed quietly, the fabric soft and unfamiliar but perfectly fitting. He felt surrounded by Kane’s scent, even in these new clothes. It felt less like borrowing and more like being claimed, all over again.
He walked back to the bed, leaned over, and kissed Kane, hard. “I’ll be back by afternoon.”
Kane just nodded, his gaze intense. “I’ll be waiting.”
Winter left the bedroom, his footsteps echoing in the grand hall. He didn’t look back. He knew Kane was watching. From the bedroom window, Kane stood, a naked, towering silhouette against the light, his eyes tracking Winter’s figure until he disappeared down the long driveway into the embrace of the woods, heading home to pack up his life and bring it back to where it now belonged.