Delevan peeked sideways at Blair. They were standing in front of his dad’s door, and Delevan wanted to be sure Blair was comfortable before knocking and going in.
“Are you sure I shouldn’t come tomorrow? I mean, we just met,” Blair said.
“What will it change? Dad already knows about you. Heck, you met him before you met me.”
“That’s what worries me,” Blair muttered. “But really, I should probably come only after we decide what to do.”
Delevan scowled at the door. Nysys had obviously run to Keenan after lunch, and before Delevan and Blair had been able to talk about mating or anything important, the two had burst into Delevan’s suite without even knocking. Delevan had tried to send them away, but he’d known it was a moot point even before he started.
He and Blair had had to spend their afternoon with Keenan and Nysys. While Delevan didn’t really mind them—usually—he’d wanted to spend that time alone with Blair rather than with them, especially since they’d decided they needed to throw a party. No one had come, probably because Delevan had sent a mass text saying he’d horribly torture whoever came. He could deal with the two pests, but not with the entire pride.
Keenan and Nysys had left only ten minutes before Delevan and Blair were expected at Delevan’s dad suite, so they’d had only a few minutes to clean up. Delevan knew his dad and Ani wouldn’t have minded if they’d been late, but he also knew they had to be excited to talk to Blair, just like he was. At least they would have the opportunity to do it. Delevan still didn’t know when he’d be able to, but he promised himself it would be soon. Very soon.
Blair bit on his lower lip, and Delevan already knew it was a sign he was nervous and stressed. He’d seen him do it several times over the last few hours, and every time he’d wanted to replace Blair’s teeth with his. He hadn’t—yet.
Delevan sighed. “Look, if you really don’t want to see them, I won’t force you.”
“No, I’ll do it. I’m just nervous.”
“You already know them.”
“Yeah, but I know them as Blair Stanley, council enforcer, not as Blair Stanley, mate of their son.”
Delevan shivered. “Please, don’t say that again.”
Blair gave him a wide-eyed glance. “Say what?”
“Their son. I’m not Ani’s son. He’s younger than me!”
“Oh. Sorry.”
Delevan shook his head. “It’s fine. We have a weird relationship, but it works. More like cousins or something. I really don’t want to think of him as a father, because it’s too fucking weird.”
“Yeah, well, the point remains. I haven’t met them as your mate yet.”
“It doesn’t change anything. They liked you before, and they’ll like you just as much now.”
“Except that Dominic will want to use my bones as toothpicks if I hurt you.”
Delevan couldn’t resist. He laughed—the tension that had been building in his chest loosening. “Oh, come on. He won’t hurt you. He never hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it.”
“Hey, from his point of view, I’ll deserve it if I hurt you.”
Delevan leaned toward Blair and kissed his cheek. He moved away, but didn’t put much distance between them. He could still feel Blair’s warmth, and he wanted to kiss him again. “Hurting me won’t warrant a death sentence, Blair. Not even Glass was killed, and you know what he did. Dad might scowl a bit at you and give you the if you hurt my son speech, but that’s it. Nothing more will happen. Honestly, Nysys and Keenan are more dangerous than Dad.”
Blair cocked his head. “You’re probably right.”
“I know I am.” Delevan leaned forward again, and this time he kissed Blair on the lips. Blair was still for a few seconds, then he kissed back.
And the door opened.
Blair sprang away as if burned, and Delevan rolled his eyes. He looked at Ani, who was standing at the door, smirking. “You couldn’t have waited five more minutes?”
“Nope. Dom is getting impatient.” He looked at Blair, who was looking everywhere but at him. “He can’t wait to meet Blair.”
“He already knows me,” Blair said, still looking away.
Ani laughed. “Come on, Blair. We’re not that scary.”
“You’re not, but Alpha Nash...”
“I thought I told you to call me Dominic,” Delevan’s dad said, coming to stand behind Ani. “And if I meant it when you were just another council enforcer, I certainly mean it now too. Come in, both of you.”
Stepping into his dad’s suite always felt like coming home for Delevan. He didn’t know why, since he’d only spent a year there, yet it felt more like home than his mother’s house had growing up.
He went straight for the couch, grabbing a soda from the coffee table on the way. Blair sat next to him, tense and awkward, and when Delevan tried to take his hand, Blair looked at him with wide eyes and shook his head.
Delevan’s dad laughed. “Aww, come on. I’m not that bad.”
Blair took a deep breath and visibly tried to relax. He unfolded his hands and pressed his palms on his knees, and this time Delevan didn’t let Blair stop him when he tried to take his hand. Blair looked a bit wild, but he didn’t pull his hand back, and Delevan took it as a victory.
“Not... bad. I’m just nervous,” Blair answered.
“I’m sure Delevan will be just as nervous when he meets your parents,” Ani declared, smirking at Delevan.
Delevan rolled his eyes. “I won’t deny I’m nervous at the thought, but I don’t think Blair’s father will try to kill me.”
Ani snorted. “That’s only because you know Dom would kick the ass of anyone who tried to hurt you.”
Delevan batted his eyes at Ani. “And you wouldn’t? I’m hurt.”
Ani threw a pretzel at him and Delevan ducked. His dad shook his head and chuckled. “You two always make me feel old.”
“That’s because you are, Dad.”
Delevan’s dad pressed his lips together and threw another pretzel at him. Delevan hadn’t expected it, and it hit him right on the nose. He looked at his dad, then laughed. “Maybe not that old. You still have great aim.”
Blair was obviously more relaxed after seeing Delevan’s father wasn’t a monster just waiting for him to breathe the wrong way to have a reason to tear him to pieces.
“So, Blair. I hired you for the council, but I don’t really know much about you,” Delevan’s dad said, leaning back in his armchair. Ani was perched on the chair’s armrest, and Delevan knew from experience that he’d slide down as the evening went on. It was something they did often, and it was cute. And ugh, why did Delevan think of his father as cute? He wasn’t cute. He was a father.
Blair fidgeted. “There’s nothing much to say.”
“You’re a Komodo dragon, so how did you end up in this country, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Uh, my great grandparents came here when they were young. Dad’s human, and he had no idea shifters existed until he met Mom. I have two brothers and one sister, all Komodo dragon shifters.”
Delevan chuckled. “I’m kind of waiting for the I like long walks on the beach and watching sunsets part.”
Blair arched a brow. “Are you saying I sound cheesy?”
“Kind of, but it’s nice. You obviously care for your family.”
“I do. They’re the reason why I decided to become enforcer. I want them to be safe.” He looked at Delevan. “And I want you to be safe too.”
“You want me to be safe? Don’t you think I can take care of myself?”
“Of course I do, but you’re my mate. I’ll always want to protect you.”
They stared at each other until Ani broke the silence. “Aww, you’re so cute.”
Delevan picked up the pretzel he’d put on the coffee table and threw it at Ani’s nose.
* * * *
Blair didn’t know what had made him say that, and for a moment he thought
he’d made a mistake. Telling the alpha’s son he wasn’t able to protect himself wasn’t the greatest idea, but Blair hadn’t meant it that way, even though that was how it had come out of his mouth. At least Delevan didn’t seem offended.
“Have you two already talked?” Ani asked.
“We tried, but Nysys and Keenan decided we needed to celebrate,” Delevan told him. Everyone in the room grimaced.
“I swear, those two,” Dominic groused. “Sometimes I wonder if I should kick them out. They’re too much trouble.”
Ani patted his shoulder. “And you love them too much to do anything about it. Besides, they’d just come back if you did.”
“I just take care of my pride members.”
“Aww, admit it. They have a special place in your heart, one they dug for themselves with a lot of effort.”
“And a lot of explosions.”
“That was mostly Nysys.”
“Except when Keenan made the microwave explode.”
“That wasn’t really his fault. He hadn’t noticed he’d turned the timer the wrong way.”
“He stuck a mug of water in it and set the time on ninety-nine hours! It definitely was his fault.”
“His finger slipped.”
“He left the mug in it and forgot about it. He scared all of us to death, and he was lucky no one was in the kitchen when it happened.”
Blair looked at Ani and Dominic as they talked, feeling like he was watching a tennis set. He didn’t know what he’d expected when he’d entered the alpha’s suite—something dark, like a cavern, with Dominic sitting in a chair, stroking a cat sprawled on his lap, maybe.
But Dominic and Ani were... normal. They were fighting like an old couple, and they clearly loved each other—and Keenan.
“He learned the lesson,” Ani said.
“Maybe, but I’m not sure Nysys did.”
“Morin said Nysys hasn’t made anything explode in a while.”
“Doesn’t mean I’ll ever let him cook in this house again. I learned my lesson, too.”
Delevan leaned sideways against Blair’s side. “See?” he whispered. “Nothing to be scared of. The worst that can happen is someone throwing a pretzel at you.”
Blair couldn’t deny the alpha was just about the least scary thing in the room right now. He was still arguing with Ani, his arm around Ani’s waist, his free hand on Ani’s knee. Ani leaned against Dominic’s side, trusting him completely, even though they were fighting. Well, they weren’t really fighting. It was more a banter they obviously did often.
Delevan cleared his throat and Dominic and Ani looked at him. “Not that I don’t enjoy talking about Nysys and Keenan and their last mess, but that’s not really why we’re here.”
“Ah, yes. I asked you if you’d already talked and you sidetracked me with Nysys and Keenan,” Ani answered. “So? Have you talked? I can’t remember if you answered me.”
“Umm, no.”
Ani looked at Blair. “Where are you going to live? Do you expect Delevan to move out of the mansion? Out of the state? Are you going to continue working for the council, or do you think it’s better if you stop now that you’re mated?”
Blair didn’t know where to start. Scratch that, he did. “We’re not mated yet.”
Ani waved his words away. “But you will be.” He looked at Blair and arched a brow. “Right? Or are you thinking to make Delevan wait?”
“We haven’t talked about it yet.”
“I know. Pardon me for being a nosy father-in-law, but I’d like an answer to those questions anyway.”
Delevan made a strangled sound as Ani mentioned being his father-in-law, and Ani stuck his tongue out at him. “Deal with it, Del. I’m your father-in-law. You can call me Daddy.”
Delevan wheezed. “You’ve been spending too much time with Nysys and Keenan.”
Ani winked. “Maybe.” He turned his attention back to Blair and arched a brow in question.
Blair could tell he wouldn’t get out of it easily, so the best option would be to answer Ani’s questions, even though he didn’t have any sure answers. “I’m not going to make Delevan wait to mate, not if he doesn’t want to. I’ve seen how bad something like that can go with my sister, and the last thing I want is to hurt Delevan. I already live here, so no, he won’t have to move out, and I don’t think I’ll leave the enforcers. Does that answer your questions?”
“Mmm, not all of them,” Ani said,” because I still have a few thousand, but it’ll do for a start. I know you live here right now, but I thought it was temporary?”
Blair looked at Dominic, who shrugged. “It was supposed to be,” the alpha said. “Blair is here to learn how to shift only parts of his body from Ira, and he was supposed to go back to Celina’s nest when he was done, but we can keep him.”
Delevan snorted. “He’s not a dog, Dad.”
“You can still keep him. I’ll give Celina a call and explain things to her. Unless you want to go back?”
Blair shook his head. “No. I like it here, and I wouldn’t ask Delevan to leave his family.”
“What about yours?”
“They live in Vermont, so I don’t see them often. It doesn’t change anything, really.”
“And we’ll go visit once Blair is done with his training and we’re mated,” Delevan added.
Blair looked at him. “Really?”
“Yup. I get to go through the meet-the-parents thing, too.”
“Or they can come here,” Dominic proposed. “We have plenty of space for them to visit.”
“I’ll tell them after I tell them about Delevan,” Blair answered.
He felt confused, in over his head. So much had happened over the last half a day, and he hadn’t had the time to wrap his mind around it yet. He needed to think, to relax, and to spend time with Delevan, possibly before he had to talk to anyone else. He loved his family, but he knew they’d jump on the opportunity to come visit, and he wanted some time before they did, some time alone with Delevan, like a honeymoon. Was it too much to ask?”
“I can see Blair has had enough of us,” Ani said.
Blair shook his head. “No, no. It’s just a bit much to take.”
“Right. Why don’t we watch a movie, then? We can talk again tomorrow, or another night. It’s going to be weird not seeing Delevan as often, but it was about time.” Delevan threw another pretzel at Ani, and Ani avoided it. It bounced on the carpet. “Clean that up before someone walks on it. I’m going to go grab more drinks and popcorn.”
Delevan got up, grabbed the pretzel and the ones they’d thrown earlier, and followed Ani, leaving Blair alone with Dominic. Blair swallowed. This was probably the moment when Dominic would give him the speech and threaten to tear his throat out if he hurt Delevan.
Dominic reclined in his seat and looked at Blair. “You can relax.”
“I know. I am. Relaxed, I mean.” Yeah, right.
“No, really. I don’t know why you seem to be so scared of me. You weren’t when we met for your transfer.”
“It was different.”
“Of course it was, but I’m still the same man. I don’t want you to hurt my son, but I know you will.” Blair opened his mouth to protest but Dominic shook his head. “You will, just like he’ll hurt you, just like I hurt Ani and he hurt me. We’re not perfect. I’m not going to ask you to be. What happens between you and Delevan is private, and I won’t hurt you for anything you do. I’m not that kind of man. I won’t abuse my authority on you. Now that I think about it, we should probably do something about that. I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to continue giving you orders.”
“I’ll do my best not to hurt him,” Blair said, focusing on the most important thing.
“I know, and that’s all I ask of you.”
Delevan and Ani came back. From the smiles on their faces, they knew he and Dominic had talked. Blair wasn’t sure it helped much, because while he understood Domini
c was fair, it didn’t mean he wasn’t intimidated by him. Dominic was head of the council and alpha of his pride. He was a powerful man. It would take Blair a little while to be comfortable with him.
Delevan sat next to Blair on the couch as Ani turned the TV on and went to Dominic’s armchair. Delevan smiled and sat much closer to Blair than he had before. He raised his arm and hooked it around Blair’s shoulders, something Blair wasn’t used to. He usually was the biggest in his relationships since he was six foot five, but Delevan was just as tall as him, and it was nice. Fate really had picked the perfect man for him.
* * * *
Ani gave them a last smile and closed the door, leaving them alone in the hallway. It was late—they’d watched a movie, then another, and had realized how late it was only when Delevan had looked at his phone and saw it was almost two in the morning.
Blair shuffled next to him and Delevan started walking in his suite’s direction. Blair followed, but they stayed silent until they reached Delevan’s door.
They hovered in front of it, facing each other. Blair looked like he wanted to say something, and his awkwardness was cute. “Do you want to come in?”
Blair’s eyes widened. “We haven’t even talked yet!”
Delevan laughed. “I’m not asking you to come in to have sex, Blair.”
“Oh. Why are you?”
“Because I don’t want you to go. I like spending time with you, and I thought we could sleep together.”
“Sleep?”
Delevan shook his head and opened his door. “Yes, sleep. I enjoyed cuddling with you on the couch and I’d like to continue, but you can go back to your room if you prefer.”
Blair bit on his lower lip. “Sleep?”
“Yes. Why do you look like you’re about to bolt? I told you, you don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“I had sex with Benjamin,” Blair blurted out.
Delevan swallowed. He hadn’t expected Blair to be a virgin, but he also hadn’t expected him to have had sex with someone who lived in the mansion. Someone who wasn’t him. Still, he couldn’t hold it against Blair. “Well, I know it wasn’t today, or you’d have had to be very sneaky about it,” he tried to joke.
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