Page 8 of Amber: Deja Brew

“No. We won’t!” Julian glares at me.

“But...”

"We can help out at the cafe to help you make time... and it’ll give me a chance to get to know Amber better."

"You've known Amber for years!”

"But I feel like I missed so much! And I'd love to meet all your new friends. Like those two lovely young men I heard on the phone yesterday. Chase and Wesley, was it?"

“Yes, Ma’am,” Chase says from the doorway, except Julian ends the call before he so much as makes a sound.

"Did you just..." I trail off, gaping at him.

"Hang up on his mother?" Wes finishes for me, his tone amused. "I think he did."

The phone starts to ring again, and Julian stares at it, wide-eyed. "Please don't tell her," he pleads, his eyes drifting from me to the guys and back again.

“Tell her what?” I ask in confusion.

“About us. I don’t mean you and me, us. I mean you and Chase and Wes and me. The four of us.”

“Oh.” My heart sinks right along with the bed, which adjusts as Wes settles down next to me.

I get this feeling like I’m about to shift, but then my bear shifter wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me onto his lap. “Don’t be upset, Ambear.”

“I’m not,” I say, even though I totally am.

Julian’s phone starts to ring again in the background, and we all turn and stare at it.

I know this relationship we have is unusual—I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it, myself—but lots of supes have group pairings. Not Witches or Chameleons, per se, but it’s not like what we’re doing is unheard of. And it never crossed my mind that our families might not approve.

Okay, fine, my family definitely wouldn’t approve, but it’s not like they approve of anything I do. If they haven’t already reached maximum levels of Amber Disapproval, they’re close, and it’s not like our relationship could get any worse.

Julian’s family, on the other hand, has been there for him through everything. They didn’t abandon him the moment his powers went wonky. They accepted that, unlike the rest of his family, his magic may never work right. And none of his sisters stopped talking to him, or stopped loving him, or ever made him feel like he wasn’t good enough. His entire family’s been there through thick and thin, and the idea that I might be what ruins their relationship is like a punch to the gut.

“I’m so sorry, Bean,” Julian says, when I’m the one who should be sorry. He takes my hand in his, and of course, I choose that exact moment to shift into a troll.

Okay, fine, it’s not like I have a choice. But if I did, now would be at the bottom of my list.

Wes grunts, because he’s suddenly got a giant troll in his lap. And no, that’s not some sort of euphemism.

I try to scramble off, but Wes keeps a strong grip on my hard, muscular, troll waist. He even places a soft kiss on my broad, linebacker shoulder, like it doesn’t bother him in the least that I’m suddenly a guy.

“Bean, I’m going to tell Mom, I swear...” Julian says, and I realize that my giant, hairy hand is still in his. Or, with my sudden shift, I guess his now smaller hand is completely engulfed in mine.

I try to pull away, but like Wes, Julian doesn’t let go.

“Bean, I promise I’ll do it. I just have to figure out how,” he tells me. His face is filled with love and regret, and none of the disgust I’d expect to find from a man staring at his mate-turned-troll.

“Ambear...” My bear shifter snuggles into my neck, and the rumble of his chest soothes me enough that I shift back. “Families can be... complicated.”

Wes is right—I know he is—but his words bring up a whole new set of worries.

“Is your family not going to be okay with us either?” I ask softly.

“They...” Wes hesitates. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Bears have multiple mates all the time.”

“But?” I add, because there is definitely a silent but in there somewhere.

“No one in our clan has a non-bear mate. We’re definitely... unusual.”

“Unusual...” I repeat softly as Julian’s phone starts ringing for the third time.

“I lost touch with my family,” Chase blurts out, which I guess is one less worry. One fewer family that might hate me.

“Please, Bean. Promise you won’t say anything?” Julian whispers. I nod, and once Chase and Wes agree, Julian picks the phone. "Sorry, Mom. My phone died. But listen, you really can’t come visit right now... it’s just not a good time.”