“Smells wonderful, Mom. What are we having?”
“Roast chicken, ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, roast beef, and ham.”
A houseful of shifters required a lot of food to keep up with their high metabolisms and to fill their bellies.
“Did Max make it home safely?” Vaughn asked, picking up a hunk of chicken sitting on the counter.
His mom swatted his hand.
His dad said, “His mother came and picked him up. She was very happy. Your female did well.” His father smiled.
“How’s Naya?” his mother asked.
“Good. She’s sleeping.”
“Did she settle in okay? Did she fall asleep right away?”
His father snorted with a smirk on his face. Vaughn shot his dad a dirty look when his mom looked away.
“Uh…not quite, Mom. She showered, and then we…had some things to settle, but she went to sleep soon after.”
“Good.” His mom looked around. “I’ll be right back. I have to grab the bread.”
When she left the room, his father let out a big laugh.
“Dad, not in front of Mom, will ya?”
“Oh, son, I’m pretty sure she knows you have sex. You’re making her a grandma after all. And it’s not like she doesn’t know what sex is. She did give birth to you and your sister.”
Vaughn held up his hand. “Dad, stop,” he said with disgust.
His father just laughed harder.
Thankfully, his mother came back with her arms full of bread from the pantry. “What’s so funny, you two?”
“Trust me, Mom, you don’t want to know.”
Her smile told him that she already knew.
“So, when are we going to have your mating celebration?” she asked. “Don’t you think we should do it sooner rather than later? Those babies are growing as we speak.”
“I haven’t actually talked about it with Naya yet. I don’t want to push her into anything. Plus, I feel bad that her parents aren’t on board with the whole thing. I don’t think it’s fair for only my parents to be there. I thought we should give them some time to think, and then we’ll try to talk to them again in a couple of weeks.”
“The poor thing. She’s sweet. She deserves better parents than those two. They are one of the reasons shifters have very little to do with vampires. They are stuck-up and speciesist. I understand they don’t like humans either.”
“Her grandparents were even worse,” his father added. “Your grandparents weren’t too fond of them.”
“Huh. I wonder what they would think if they were here now?”
His grandpa and grandma lived in Florida like a lot of retirees, not having a care in the world.
“Do they know what’s going on?”
“Oh, your grandfather still calls about once a month to make sure I’m not messing up his pride or his business, so yes, they know.”
Vaughn just laughed. His grandpa, Vincent, must have some trouble letting go even though it’d been time to retire.
“I wouldn’t laugh too much, son. He’ll probably still be calling you after I retire.”
Vaughn’s laughter died. He really hoped not. His grandpa could be one mean son of a bitch when it came to the Pride and the business. “The good news is they want to come for the ceremony.”
“Vaughn,” his mother said, “will Naya sleep all day? Does she want to come down and eat with everyone? We can close all the shades and curtains. It would be nice to have her join us.”
“Sure, I can go ask her. Thanks for putting her clothes in the dryer by the way.”
His mother smiled. “You’re welcome. I’ll go close the curtains before I forget.”
Vaughn made sure his mother went into the other room before asking, “Dad, did you find out anything on the wolf I scented last week?”
His father frowned. “No. Whoever was there hasn’t been back.”
“I was afraid of that. What the hell are they doing here?”
“I don’t know, son, but it can’t be good. I just hope we figure it out before it’s too late.”
The back door opened, and Payton walked in, ending their conversation.
“Hello, kitten.” Vance stood and kissed her on the forehead.
“How was class?” their mother asked as she walked back into the room.
“Fine. Same old, same old,” Payton said casually.
It was a little too casually. Vaughn eyed his sister. “Anything exciting happen?” he asked.
“Uh…nope,” she said with an exaggerated smile on her face. “I’d better put my stuff away,” she added before she headed upstairs.
Vaughn watched her go. Something was up with her. She was acting weird. He considered questioning her, but his sister was twenty-three years old, so she was an adult. He supposed she could make her own decisions, and she didn’t appear to be in any distress.
After a minute, he followed up the stairs to wake Naya up and ask her about lunch. It was nice having her in his parents’ home. He was glad everyone had accepted her and the pregnancy, and he hoped her parents would come around as well. More than anyone, Naya deserved to be happy.
NAYA HAD A great time with Vaughn’s family. They were wonderful. At the big table in the dining room, everyone sat around, talking all at once. They talked and listened and joked with each other as if they truly cared. Naya had never seen anything like it. Her family’s meals were formal, and the only conversations arose out of politeness, not because they were interested in each other’s daily activities.
During the meal, she got to know all of Vaughn’s fellow sentinels more. She knew Sawyer, of course, and she found out he indeed was serious most of the time. But even he smiled and joined in the conversation.
Saxon, she found out, was not the settling down type. Apparently, he loved women, and they loved him, but he swore he would never get serious with one.
Zane was the jokester of the group. He thought life was for having fun, and he took nothing seriously, except when it came to his job. Then, he was devoted and didn’t mess around.
Phoenix was a beautiful fiery redhead with streaks of black in her hair. While she looked very feminine, it seemed she was not. Naya understood that to be a sentinel, one had to be strong and confident, but evidently, Phoenix wouldn’t bother with makeup or do much with her hair. She hated dressing up, and she would wear sweats every day if she could. She was a tomboy. She covered up the naturally sexy curves bestowed on her with baggy clothes. But her hair was feminine and long, hitting her waist.
Tegan was the opposite of Phoenix. She was girlie and loved getting dressed up on her days off. She had straight hips and a flat chest. Her blonde hair was almost white, and her dark brown eyes were surrounded by thick blonde lashes. She was also good-looking, but she was more pretty than sexy, like a girl next door, whereas Phoenix had a more voluptuous look.
Reid was the brains of the group and the tech guy. All of them were computer savvy, but Reid was the type of person who could transfer money out of someone’s bank account ten times to ten different places before the victim even knew it was missing. People definitely wanted to stay on his good side.
Last was Camden, the only sentinel she hadn’t met before. He was the baby of the group. He grew up in South Dakota before coming to work for Vaughn’s dad. He had kind of a baby face, and she suspected the goatee he wore was an attempt to look older.
The best part of the meal was how everyone made Naya feel like a member of the family. They were all excited for her and her new job. And Lilith made several references about the babies. She offered to watch them whenever Naya and Vaughn had to work at the same time. Lilith talked about spending time with Naya, too. Payton chimed in and said they could all go shopping together, and Tegan agreed. The Mall of America had parking ramps and skywalks into the building, so they could get around Naya’s need to avoid the sun.
Vance also mentioned taking Naya out on their boat next summer since they lived on Lake Minnetonka. He reassured her it was
safe to go out on the water at night. She didn’t know what to say, so she attempted to change the subject slightly by asking his father what kind of boat he owned. She didn’t want to put Vaughn on the spot in front of everyone by mentioning that they hadn’t discussed a future together yet, and she might not be around much once the babies were born.
After lunch, Naya went back to sleep for a while.
Now, she was driving back to Vaughn’s apartment while he followed behind in his car. As she drove home alone, she had time to think. After everything that had happened today, she knew she could no longer put off talking to Vaughn. It was one thing when she’d thought their relationship impacted just the two of them, but now, his family and friends were involved. They couldn’t go on thinking that she, Vaughn, and the babies were going to be a family when they might not.
She rubbed her temple with her free hand. Besides his family’s treatment of her, she was confused by her and Vaughn’s lovemaking that morning. He’d said she belonged to him, but then there were all the things he hadn’t said. Did he think she belonged to him because she was pregnant? It was obvious the cat-shifters were very big on family. If he truly did see them staying together, then why hadn’t he mentioned being mated? Why hadn’t he said he loved her? Belonging to him was not the same as being loved by him. She didn’t know what to think.
When they got home, she parked in the guest spot next to Vaughn’s. She picked up her things, and then they both exited their cars at the same time.
“Do you need help with anything?” he asked, grabbing the food from his backseat that his mother had sent home with them.
“No, I’m good.”
He looked so handsome standing there, waiting for her, and she was overcome with emotion. She couldn’t deny how much she loved him, and she practically dreaded their upcoming conversation. He was amazing, and she couldn’t imagine her life without him. But what if he didn’t see them as a long-term couple? The thought was too much for her to bear.
She tried to smile back at him, not wanting him to suspect that anything was off, but it was a shaky effort, and he noticed.
“Hey, baby, what’s wrong?”
She scrambled for an answer. “A lot has happened in the last twenty-four hours.” She put her head down and hid her eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t pick up on her half-truth.
The parking garage was not the place for a heavy discussion, and she needed to regain her composure before she talked with him.
“Let’s get that food upstairs,” she said as an excuse to get out of there and walked to the elevator.
Vaughn nodded and slid his free arm around her, holding her close as the doors closed. It wasn’t helping her because she wanted to snuggle into him and pretend like everything was okay. When they got to his floor and into his apartment, she made an excuse to use the bathroom right away. Once inside, she splashed water on her face, trying to calm her racing thoughts. She was wound up and afraid she would burst into tears for release.
Deep breath in, deep breath out. I can do this. I have to do this.
She rubbed her growing belly and opened the door. She almost expected Vaughn to be standing there, waiting for her. Thankfully, he wasn’t, and she noticed the food they had brought home was on the counter. She went to put it in the fridge, grateful to have something to do, even if it only took a couple of minutes.
Vaughn came downstairs just as she closed the door to the fridge. She stood with her back to him, and he came up behind her.
He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Thanks for having lunch with my family and everyone.” He kissed her neck. “I know it can be overwhelming with all of them together. You were great, and they love you.”
She tried to relax, but when he brought up his family, she stiffened.
Vaughn put his hands on her upper arms and turned her around. “Naya, what’s wrong? You’ve been acting strange since you woke up this evening.”
She gently shook him off and leaned back against the fridge. She stared down at the floor as if it held all the answers. “Vaughn, what’s going to happen after the babies are born?”
“Baby, you need to be more specific. That’s a very vague question.”
She used her foot to play with an imaginary speck on the floor. “When we met with my parents, you said we’d probably live here until the babies were born. But what happens after?”
Peeking at him, she saw him shrug.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it.”
She tried not to think the worst, but she felt her throat thicken as tears burned the back of her eyes. She attempted to push them back, trying not to cry. She now realized she hadn’t thought this through. Since she needed his blood, they were pretty much stuck together until the end of March when the babies were due. If he told her they would go their separate ways after the babies were born, it would be the longest five months of her life. Why hadn’t she just milked them for all they were worth and then asked him these questions when she was in labor and hating his guts?
“Well, what do you see happening?” she asked. “Or what do you want to happen if it were completely up to you?”
He rubbed his chin. “Hmm…if it were up to me, I suppose I would choose to live near my parents. I would want a house with some land, so I could run around as my cat and teach the babies about being a shifter when they are older, too. Plus, as my mom said, she would be available for babysitting. But I also feel like it wouldn’t be fair to you. I know you’re not as close with your parents as I am, but you might not like being so far away from them. And I don’t know how you would feel about being the only vampire living in shifter territory.”
She snapped her head up. “You still see us together after the babies are born?”
“What?” Vaughn looked completely dumbfounded. “Naya, of course, I see us together. I don’t understand. Why would you ever think I didn’t? I thought I made how I feel about you pretty clear this morning—and every other night before for that matter. Plus, you are here, living in my home.”
She played with the speck again. “This morning just confused me. I know you like me and all, but I need your blood for the babies. I thought maybe that’s the reason I’m living with you.”
He put his finger under her chin and lifted her head. “If all I wanted was to provide my blood, I could just come to see you every couple of weeks. I didn’t have to move you into my apartment.”
He brought up a good point, but it didn’t excuse the glaringly obvious question. He moved his hand, and she looked down again.
“Then, why don’t you want to mate with me?” She heard her voice shake. “Why don’t you love me?” she whispered. While she sensed his deep caring and devotion to her and the babies through his blood, she was unable to tell if he truly loved her. She felt a tear rolling down her cheek.
Vaughn moved closer and cupped her head, forcing her eyes up to meet his gaze. “Naya, I’m sorry.”
She closed her eyes. She knew he was going to say, But, and then fill in the blank with something to try to make her feel better. She felt more tears sliding down her face.
“Naya, will you open your eyes and look at me? Please?”
Slowly, she did as he’d asked.
He leaned in a little. “I’m sorry I’ve been ignorant to your needs. I realize you don’t know much about shifters, but sometimes, I forget since we fit so well together. By shifter custom, we’re already mated. Sure, we’ll go to the justice of the peace and make everything legal in the eyes of the law, but that’s just a formality. We are mated.”
He dropped his hands and used one to touch the spot where her neck met her shoulder as he traced the bite he’d placed on her that morning. “You wear my mark on your shoulder. It’s a symbol of my love and commitment to you. And you are covered in my scent. It’s deep in your pores, which means you’ve accepted me as your mate. I’m sorry I haven’t given you a fancy ring—or whatever it is vampires do when they propose. I
should have realized vampires probably do something more formal and that you were waiting for me to ask you.”
She looked down and cleared her throat. “I was.” She looked up at him and rested her hands on his chest. “But, Vaughn, I don’t need some fancy ring or anything else. I love wearing your mark and your scent. My concern was that I didn’t know how you felt. I was worried you were only letting me stay here because of the babies.”
He pulled her into his arms, and she rested her head on his chest.
“Not even close. I knew you were mine weeks ago, even before I knew you were pregnant. It almost killed me to let you go, so you could be mated to some guy your parents wanted for you.”
She smiled against his chest.
“I’m sorry I’ve never told you how much I love you. I try to show you every time we’re close and you let me inside your body. Shifters aren’t close with just anyone. You are special, and it’s your privilege and right to be intimate with me since you’re my mate. But I should have said something, and I apologize for my ignorance.” He stepped back, cupped her face again, and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. “Naya Kensington, I love you. Babies or no babies, my life changed when I met you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he moved his to her waist.
She arched up and kissed him on the lips. “I have my own apology. I lied to you our last night in the club.”
His eyebrows drew together. “Oh?”
“I told you I could see myself falling in love with you, but the truth is, I already had. I love you, too, Vaughn.”
He leaned in and kissed her. His kiss was more than just lips. It involved tongue, wetness, and heat. It let her know he meant every word he’d said, and she now realized he really had shown her that he loved her every time they were together.
Later, after making love, they lay in bed, facing each other, and Naya knew Vaughn would fall asleep if she let him.
“Vaughn?”
He opened his eyes. “Yeah, baby?”
She propped her head up on her hand. “Can I ask you something?”
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