~30~

Kieran woke up first, immediately reaching out for his mate. He didn't have to search long because Bryan was curled up against his side, sunlight splashing against a far wall.

He spent a good deal of time just staring at his mate's face. Although he saw it everyday, it somehow wasn't enough.

It had been a month since Bryan dragged him off to a therapist to knock some sense into his head and even better, a month since they were mated.

He had worried at first that living with Bryan would soon get tiring or irksome but he had been worrying over nothing.

Because it felt like it was just a couple days ago they got mated and at the same time it felt like forever.

He wanted to do something special for Bryan today but he didn't know what, it was a Saturday so they didn't have to go down to the Pack House.

Bryan had long moved in with him but he still tagged along to the Pack House with Bryan everyday, nothing really changing between them.

Kieran reluctantly pulled himself off the bed, stealing one more tender look at Bryan.

In a way, they both had only each other. Bryan's mom had taken an impromptu vacation, he had only even found out days later.

Bryan hadn't minded, according to him, he liked that his mom was living for herself now.

His older sister too had disappeared after she was released from jail, he had gone to pick her up only to be told that she had long gone. He didn't hear from her again.

Neither did his mom.

Cleaning up quickly, Kieran got started on breakfast, knowing that the aroma would bring Bryan to him.

It happened everyday so he wasn't surprised when Bryan's fluffy auburn hair peeked into the kitchen not too long after, the soft tapping of his footsteps against the tiles as he made his way over.

"Morning, Kie." Bryan mumbled, burying his face in Kieran's back.

Kieran didn't hold back his smile, preparing coffee. "Sleep well, baby?"

"Mhm, I woke up to your cooking too, even better." His voice came out muffled. 

Kieran didn't have to be at the Pack House but he had an appointment with Sela so he would be going out anyway.

He made no mention of the fact that it was their monthly anniversary because he wanted to surprise Bryan, he also figured that his sweet mate didn't realize what day it was, even better.

After breakfast, Kieran got ready to leave, clinging to Bryan even though he was the one leaving.

Bryan was busy on his laptop, letting Kieran squeeze behind him on the couch that he had gotten comfortable on.

He was long used to a clingy Kieran, it helped him concentrate even but he wasn't about to forget Kieran's appointment,

"It's almost time to pay a visit to Sela." Bryan reminded him, leaning back against Kieran who was acting as a cushion.

His pout was almost audible. "Are you sure you won't come with me?" Kieran whined even though that was the last thing he wanted, he didn't want Bryan catching a whiff of his plans.

Luckily, Bryan had a lot of workload to tackle so he already expected his response.

"I promise I'll come with next time, now get going, say hi to Sela for me." He shooed him off, pressing a loud smack onto his tousled blond hair.

Kieran jumped away at this, instinctively trying to smooth down his hair.

Bryan just laughed at this, throwing his head back with the force of it. It was a habit of Kieran that he had noticed.

It didn't matter if his hair was a bird's nest, the moment he tried to ruffle it, he was leaping out of reach.

Bryan could tell that it was pure reflex because sometimes he forgot while they cuddled.

It was good though because now Kieran was on his way out, which was the perfect case scenario.

He had plans for their first anniversary and he needed his mate out of the house to get started on them.

He had been worried that Kieran would remember and he would n't be able to go ahead with his plans because Kieran had a really good memory.

So it was a bit surprising when his mate said nothing about it this morning, he would take it though.

His mom was back in Pine Creek and he had invited her over for lunch, he wanted Kieran to meet his mom properly for their first monthly anniversary.

And he had to cook lunch!

As soon as Kieran was out of the house he jumped up from the couch and shut his laptop, hurrying to the front windows to make sure his boyfriend was long gone.

He didn't doubt his cooking abilities but he wanted it to turn out really good.

~*~

Kieran drove down to his therapist's office, they were making good progress each week that they even now had a couple sessions weekly and every time, Bryan always tagged along but not today.

Chloe was behind her counter as usual, perking up when she caught sight of him.

"Hi, Kie…" She stood on her tiptoes to look behind him. "Where's Bryan?" She asked with hints of underlying panic in her tone.

Kieran bit back a smile. "I didn't break up with my boyfriend, Chloe." He said bluntly to her. "Is Sela ready for me?"

Chloe's bright smile returned to her chubby face. "Of course, say hi to Bryan for me." She added, waving him off.

Kieran made his way down to Sela's office, knocking politely.

"Where's Bryan?" She asked as soon as he made his way in, her dark eyes searching for his mate.

Kieran made a face. "I'm starting to think you all prefer him to me."

Sela chuckled at this, caught off guard. "I'm not even going to deny it." She said bluntly, offering him a seat.

"Yeah, should have seen that coming." He muttered to himself, taking a seat. "He's a little busy today."

"Of course, now down to business because I'm sure you want to get back to him." Sela gave him a sly smile, pulling up a notepad.

"Actually, wait, I need something else." He cut her off, leaning forward earnestly.

Sela paused, throwing him a look. "What is it?"

"Today is our first anniversary…" He started to say.

"Oh my goodness, congratulations." Sela gushed, cutting him off.

Kieran took a deep breath, giving her a dead look. "Thanks but I need advice on what to do, I'm fresh out of ideas."

Sela made a face, dropping her notepad on her desk. "I'm your therapist, not a couple's call center." 

"So you'll help me?" He prompted, soft lights dancing in his eyes.

Sela groaned at his earnest look, knowing that there was no telling him no. "Fine, I'd say you shouldn't go for flashy things, it's your first month so it's a very special and delicate landmark. You know Bryan more than anyone else, you should know what will make him happy." She said as vaguely as possible, wanting them to get back to business.

But Kieran's eyes lit up like he had a light bulb that had gone up in his head. "Thanks Sela!" He shot up to his feet. "I owe you one."

"Wait! Kieran, we're not done with your session yet!" She called after him but he was long gone. "I guess I'll reschedule." She muttered under her breath, settling back on her seat.

Kieran had the perfect idea, his mom's cottage. He had mentioned it to Bryan a couple times but had never taken him there, what other better time than today?

He needed to get it all set up though, while he made sure the place was looked after properly it would still need to be touched up.

It was why he had taken off from Sela's office, he had a lot of things to put in place before taking Bryan there.

He got into his car and started it up, pulling out his phone, he had a couple calls to make.

~*~

Back at this house Bryan was making headway with lunch, he had talked to his mom a couple times and told her that he would be the one to pick her up.

It was almost noon and he was worried that Kieran would be the first to show up and he would have to come up with excuses to keep him away,

He had also called his mate often to keep track of his whereabouts and thankfully he had to run into town to get a couple things done, it was almost perfect.

It was time to get his mom, Kieran had a lot of expensive cars packed in the garage and he had access to all of them.

It would be a little difficult explaining to his mom how he got his car but he would manage it.

His mom had been keeping her distance from the Pack so he knew that there was no way Kieran knew she had returned.

A short drive later and Bryan had his mom in the passenger seat, she looked younger than the last time he saw her, a warm glow to her face.

Surprisingly, she wasn't too inquisitive although he knew she could probably guess where they were heading when she caught sight of Kieran's house.

"You cooked all of this?" She asked with pleasant surprise when they were settled in the house.

"Yeah." He mumbled sheepishly, a soft red on his cheeks.

"Your mate must be so lucky." She beamed at him, making mention of his visible mating mark for the first time since she saw him.

"That who you wanted me to meet right?" She pointed out, letting him lead her to the living room.

Bryan had told her he wanted her to meet someone important, Fiona had been expecting maybe a girlfriend or a boyfriend, the last thing she expected was for her baby to be happily mated.

"Well, where are they?" She asked, trying to hide her anticipation.

"One sec." Bryan shot to his feet, hurrying to call up Kieran.

He was distracted by Kieran to notice his mom staring unabashedly at him, trying to make out who it was he was talking to.

"They'll be back soon." He beamed at his mom who looked away the moment he turned in her direction.

"That's fine, we need to catch up anyway and I'm a little early for lunch, I fear."

"What?" Bryan laughed. "I literally picked you up, mom."

"I didn't even know you could drive." She said bluntly.

"Mom!"

~*~

Kieran frowned at the last call from Bryan, the constant calls hadn't worried him, he had expected them even but Bryan asking if he could come home did.

Was something wrong?

Thankfully he was all done and he was close by so he could make it in record time.

He immediately hurried back, parking in the driveway and hurrying up the stairs.

His knock startled Bryan because he hadn't been expecting him back so soon but Fiona smiled at this, happy that whoever her son had mated loved him very much.

Bryan hurried to the front door, flinging the door open to a visibly worried Kieran who immediately pulled him into his arms.

"Are you okay, baby? What's wrong?" He immediately asked, checking him over.

Fiona lost her patience at this point, getting up to sneak a peek. "Mr Banes!" She exclaimed with utmost shock, the tiles sliding into place behind her wide eyes.

"Mrs Winters?" Kieran's surprised response greeted her, still holding on tight to her son. "I had no idea you would be coming."

"And I had no idea you were who I was invited to meet."

Bryan just smiled widely at their interaction. "I didn't tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise." He said to Kieran who still had his arms wrapped around him.

"Mom, meet my mate, Kieran, who you already know well now and Kieran, say hi to my mom." He introduced quickly.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, I want to get both your opinions on my cooking." Bryan beamed, leading the way to the kitchen.

Kieran made a horrified sound. "You cooked?"

"I know right, I had the same reaction."

Bryan knew his mom didn't but he played along, loving how they got along so well, the two most important people in his life.

It was all he could ever ask for.

~*~

Kieran had driven his mom back, saying that he wanted to have a little talk with her.

Bryan couldn't say no to that when he was the one advocating for them to get closer but he was a little sore at being left out.

He waited impatiently for his boyfriend to come back so that they could celebrate their anniversary properly.

So he was caught off guard when Kieran said he wanted to show him something as soon as he got back.

It was still early afternoon because his mom had to leave quickly, she wasn't staying in Pine Creek for long either, planning on moving permanently to the city.

But that wasn't for him to worry about, especially not on his anniversary.

Kieran said he wanted to show him something, leading the way to the car.

He tried not to be too nosy and it paid off because the journey wasn't very long, was this where Kieran had been when he said he needed to head out to town?

It would explain how he got back so face. It was so precious how they both hid the fact that they remembered their anniversary from each other so that they could surprise each other.

It all fell into place when he caught sight of the cottage ahead, Kieran had told him about it.

It was where his mom had lived the rest of her short life, happy but sad, heartbroken beyond repair and waiting for the return of her love.

Bryan was really touched that Kieran wanted to share the place with him.

It was strikingly beautiful, like something out of a fairytale.

The first thing he noticed as soon as they got in was the pictures, it hit then that he had never once seen a picture of Kieran's mom at the mansion but here her pictures were everywhere.

His mom was starkly different from him, with soft looking flaxen hair and the softest brown eyes you ever saw. She looked delicate even from her pictures, he could see how she died from a broken heart.

"Thank you for this." Bryan moved into Kieran's arms, soft blue eyes looking up at him.

"No, thank you." Kieran replied in a soft whisper full of sincerity. "You gave me this."

It was true because Kieran hadn't been able to come here since his mom died but now he could and he had cleared out most of her effects, leaving all of her pictures for Bryan to meet her.

He knew if his mom had been alive, she would have approved of Bryan.

His heart felt lighter with Bryan in his arms and a random thought popped in his mind.

He couldn't remember the last time he smoked a cigarette, not when he had his own nicotine in his arms.