First Meeting Between Mouse and Mates

Lifting his hand so that it was at his eye level, Raphael slowly unfurled his fingers until he could make out the shape in the palm of his hand.

His mate was so tiny… she didn't seem to even be real as she lay curled up in a ball. In fact, she didn't even take up the entirety of his palm.

How on earth was he supposed to take care of such a precious creature? His wolf would take one look at her and decide to eat her.

'Not eating mate,' grunted his wolf, and Raphael could see his eyes rolling in his head.

'Knowing you, you'd end up stepping on her by accident,' snorted the man while the wolf let out a huff of disgust.

'Then she can ride on my back. There is no need to make her walk when we are around.'

Something must have bothered the little animal in his hand as it suddenly stirred.

A tiny head unfurled from where it was resting against her stomach, and two of the cutest ears Raphael had ever seen popped out from nowhere and started to move around on their own. He could even feel his wolf trying to look out his eyes as the two of them stared at their mate for the first time.

Bright green eyes blinked rapidly as if she were just waking up. As soon as she saw Raphael, she quickly sat up, her nose twitching, as she wrapped her tail around her body, trying to hide it.

His mate was a mouse.

His human brain tried to process that fact as the mouse quickly tried to smooth out her fur and whiskers as she just sat there on his hand. It was like she was presenting herself as his mate, hoping that he would find her acceptable.

Raphael felt his wolf give him a firm nudge, knocking him out of his thoughts. "You're beautiful," he said, scrambling to find something to say. Lifting the index finger of his right hand, he carefully stroked the soft fur of her head.

His mate let out a happy squeak and before Raphael could react, she had already managed to run up his arm and was lying back in a small ball between his neck and shoulder.

Once again, he froze, not sure if he could move or not. He was worried that if he did, she would become off balance and fall.

'We'll just stay here,' grunted his wolf, clearly concerned about the same thing. 'Are you going to tell the others?'

Raphael took a moment to think about it. His entire body screamed at him not to tell anyone else, to keep his precious mate to himself. But if the situation was reversed and one of the others had found her first, he would be furious if they didn't tell him.

Letting out a long sigh, he took out his phone, trying to not move his right shoulder as much as possible.

Sending out a quick text to the group chat, he put his phone on silent and waited for everyone to show up.

----

Damien showed up only a few minutes later, followed quickly by Lucien and then finally Dominik.

"What's up, Bossman?" asked Lucien as Dominik closed the door behind him. While he hadn't spoken loudly, Raphael still glared at the wolf.

"Be quiet," he hissed at the three men, his wolf coming to the surface at the idea of waking up their mate.

"You are making no sense. You want to talk to us, but we can't be loud?" Dominik asked, raising his eyebrows. He was lying in bed, thinking about his potential mate, and he didn't want to be around the only male who smelled like her.

"I found our mate," interjected Raphael, holding up his hand before the other three could react. "You have to be quiet," he continued, putting some of his power into that command.

The three men almost bit off their tongues as the command washed over them, and they glared at their friend. It had been years since he had last done something like that to them.

"She is asleep," whispered Raphael. "I don't want to wake her up; she seems tired."

His words caused the others to relax, their tense shoulders lowering as they nodded in understanding.

"Where is she?" asked Lucien, his voice just as low and soft as Raphael's. 

Raphael lifted his hand and signaled for the men to come closer. As soon as they were within a foot of him, they could smell her scent so much stronger than before. When they had first entered, they had all assumed that they were smelling the aftereffects of her brushing against the alpha, but now they knew differently.

"I can't see her," grumbled Dominik, looking around behind Raphael.

Without words, Raphael pointed to his shoulder and moved his head to the side just enough that the other should be able to see the small mouse.

"What?" gasped Damien as he stretched a trembling hand out toward the tiny creature.

"It appears that she is a mouse shifter," said Raphael as he felt the mouse moving slightly. It was like she was trying to get closer to his skin.

"There are mouse shifters??" asked Dominik, wide-eyed.

"Unless you think our mate is an actual mouse, then I can only assume that she is a shifter," replied Raphael, rolling his eyes.

"Wait," grunted Damien, turning around and leaving the room. He was back within minutes with a tiny bit of fabric in his hand. "I just found it earlier when I had gotten undressed. It smells like her, just a bit. Do you think she managed to put it in my pocket sometime today?"

"But when?" growled Lucien as Damien walked over to Raphael and gently placed the blanket over the small creature.

"I have no idea," the other man admitted. "If it wasn't for the faint scent of coffee and books, I would have thrown it out."

A squeak of protest sounded in the room, and the four men turned their attention back to their mate.

She was sitting up on Raphael's shoulder, her eyes narrowing on Damien as she pulled the blanket closer to her chest.

"Sorry, little one," cringed Damien.

The mouse wasn't impressed as she continued to have a conversation with Damien that no one really understood.