This time Alex is prepared for the slap. He ducks down and runs a few feet away to avoid the hit. His laughter brings joy to my soul, and I can’t help but laugh along with him. Of course, I cover my mouth so he doesn’t know, and he can’t hear since he left the protection of the soundproof bubble. He glances up and gives me a wink and blows a kiss. I love the playfulness of my dirty-minded mate.
Still holding hands with Klaus, I make my way toward my parents. I drop the spell around us and catch the glimmer in my mother’s eyes. As I come to a stop in front of my parents, Marcus comes up on the side Klaus isn’t on and Derrick stands next to him. Alex pauses a short distance behind us, wanting to stay out of arm’s reach.
“Nothing brings a mother more joy than to see her daughter in love, and to be loved in return. I’m so happy to be able to observe your sweet moments with your mates. We have a lot to catch up on. We need to know everything that led up to your disappearance, and what’s happened since you came back. We need to talk to you about our people and our magic. So much is imbalanced and we need to get started setting things right.
“I know you’re embarrassed by me mentioning it, but it’s imperative for you to seal your bonds. As soon as you do, the anchor will be able to gain the stability it needs to balance out once more—Oh, don’t give me that look! It’s natural to complete the bond, nothing to be blushing about. In the meantime, I’ll help get the castle back in order. If there’s anything specific I can help you with, just let me know.
“How about we set up a lunch meeting tomorrow for us to get caught up on sharing information?” She pauses to wait for my response, however, I can tell she isn’t finished with our conversation.
“A lunch meeting sounds perfect. I would appreciate having your guidance on what I should do to help set everything right again.” She nods her head with pride shining in her eyes once again.
“Lovely. Now, who are these handsome men you have here?” She looks over each of my guys, scrutinizing them.
Before I can introduce them, Marcus steps forward and offers a small bow of respect. Straightening up, he says, “I’m Marcellus, ma’am. Heir to the North pack. I prefer to go by Marcus in modern times. To my left is Frederick, we call him Derrick. He’s the Heir to the South Pack. To the other side of Cecily is Nicholas, or Klaus, Heir to the West Pack. Behind us is Heir to the East Pack, Alexander.
“My twin brother is the one who Cecily went to bond with all those years ago. She will fill you in about her tale tomorrow. His name is William. It’s a pleasure to meet the parents of my beloved.” He’s taken on the leadership role that I haven’t seen since I was still observing them in my soul form. I know he tried while I was still under the impression he was the one who betrayed me. I was too mad to pay attention to it then, but now... now it’s hot as fuck. I kind of just want to shove him in the first empty room I find and rip his clothes off.
Alex takes a step forward and runs a discrete hand down my spine, before he grabs a handful of my ass. I have no doubt he somehow picked up on my thoughts. What a little shit. “Ma’am, Marcus overlooked sharing my preferred name is Alex.”
Marcus is quick to argue against him, “No, I didn’t, troublemaker. You deserve to be called Alexander for a little while.” He smirks before swatting Alex’s hand from my ass and wrapping his arm around my waist.
My mother just smiles, fully amused by my mates. William chooses this moment to join us again, coming up behind us to squeeze in beside me. He lays a kiss on my cheek in greeting, and I release Klaus’ hand so I can include Will within the conversation. “How did it go?” I ask him.
“We have a solid plan. Thea is going to run point for us, she knows all of the best places to hide and eavesdrop for information. Plus, she said she’ll get the fairies to help pass the messages even quicker to us. We should be getting updates on Silas by morning.” I lean into his side, having missed him in the short time he was gone. Our bond still hasn’t become satisfied with how long we were apart from each other.
“Thank you, Will. I appreciate you getting everything set up. And for not going yourself.” He picks up my hand and offers a soothing caress with his thumb.
“Anything for you, Darling. Now, what did I miss? Have introductions been made yet?” William looks to my parents, and I receive a wave of his nervousness through the bond.
My father is the one to speak up this time. “They have, son, don’t worry, your brother included you in the introductions. Although I have an inkling we’re going to be hearing a great deal of your stories tomorrow. We’ve arranged to discuss things over lunch. I get the impression you and Marcus have had military training of some sort. I would love to discuss with you the protections I’ve been working on putting up around the castle, along with a few other things.”
Marcus and Will both eagerly nod their heads and they branch off to have a private conversation. My father was always the one in charge of the guards and protection of the castle along with security for my mother and myself. It seems fitting he would want to talk to the twins about safety. I have full trust that together, they will all set up a plan to keep us protected. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they decided to start a training regime for new guards and to build up the army in preparation for Silas.
I realize belatedly I forgot to introduce my parents to my mates. Apparently, my manners have gone to shit, having only had myself for company for five centuries. I suppose at this point, I should just wait till lunch tomorrow while we’re all in one place again. I gaze at my mother and ask, “You mentioned having the contents you took from here. Would you like some help working on unpacking it all? Maybe you could show me what you’ve done so far as well.”
She comes over to my side and links her arm with mine. “I would love that. Your mate seemed to be particularly interested in the library. Shall we start there?” Derrick, of course, perks right up with the mention.
Seeing the devious gleam appear in Alex’s eyes, I hold my hand out to him. He takes it, knowing my intentions are to keep him out of trouble. Klaus follows behind us and Derrick walks on the other side of my mother as she shares the history of the castle. Alex trails his fingertips along the exposed skin on my arm with his free hand, causing goosebumps to prickle.Of course he would amuse himself by teasing me.
Klaus reaches out through our bond, and I can sense the hug he’s offering me. His words sound in my mind next.“How are you doing, Sunshine?”
I love how he always checks in with me.“I’m doing good. Just happy to be home, even if we do have a whole list of things requiring our attention.”
“We will get through it all. Spending the time to build a good foundation for ourselves will serve us greatly for the rest of our lives. Just take one task at a time. You seem to have been handling everything so far in stride, without becoming overwhelmed. What’s concerning you now?”His response is full of caring warmth.
“I suppose it’s just thinking about all of the things still before us which haven’t come up yet. I can foresee a lot more issues coming to light tomorrow in our conversation with my parents. And who knows what bullshit will arise with Silas receiving all of his lost memories. Then there’s the fact my mother had to go and question me not once but twice about having completed my bonds. I still have Marcus and Alex left, and I don’t like the thought of rushing to bed with them just to fulfill the magic requirements instead of it being a natural transition.
“I miss being intimate with you and Derrick. Each time I think about it, the magic yanks me away from initiating anything beyond kissing. It won’t let me since I haven’t completed the bond with all of you.”I trail off on sharing all of my thoughts.
He takes in a deep breath behind me and continues speaking in my mind.“Both Derrick and I have felt the magic compelling us to encourage you to complete the bonds. I know you have a pressure there to lock everything in, but you don’t need to see it as just doing it for the magic. Whether you’ve said it or not, we all know you love us. Any intimate moments have felt absolutely real and between the two involved. Or in our case, three, when Alex snuck in on my teasing.
“You and Marcus have been simmering in passion since you first allowed him to kiss you. He would jump at the opportunity for a private moment with you, and wouldn’t think once about you just doing it for the magic. Fates know Alex wouldn’t care either way. He’s had a boner for you since he first laid eyes on you.”My face reddens with his mention of the three of us under the blanket while watching the movie. Although with his last statement, I can’t help but laugh.
The sound of my laughter draws my mother’s attention from the conversation she’s having with Derrick. “Ah yes, the mental link the bond creates. Your father and I became quite good at hiding any signs of us talking to each other. I bet you never even caught on to it being something bonded mates could do.” I whip my head over and stare with narrowed eyes.
I’m shocked I never noticed, although thinking about it now, I can see some signs. Like when I would ask a question and they would glance at each other and both be on the same page when answering. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
She pats my hand before answering, “Some things are fun to discover with your mate. Learning things together helps create an even stronger bond.” I mull over what she says. There’s no doubt about all of our shared experiences having brought us all together even closer than anything else could have.
