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“Vaughn, we are down in someplace called Honey Creek. We cannot get to where you are, which apparently is up on a mountain that is only accessible through magic. You need to fix that.”

I sighed again. “Yes, good morning to you,” I said. “Now is not necessarily a good time, Father. A bit of⁠—”

“Vaughn, it is snowing. You know how I do not care for the snow.”

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I looked over at Lewis. He was trying not to laugh but was probably going to lose that battle soon.

“Then I suggest you get back into your vehicle and drive to your hotel and get out of the snow,” I told him.

“There is no hotel. We will be staying with you.”

I choked on my own saliva. “I beg your pardon. Since when?”

“Vaughn, we’ve waited long enough. You did not share that you were mated, and now there is a baby.”

I wanted to scream. That was, until I heard Lewis start laughing. It was quiet at first, but then it grew louder as he couldn’t hold it back any longer. I smiled at my amazingly wonderful mate. “Should we get Evan to escort them up?” I asked.

“I was thinking Jordi, actually.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. The thought of my parents coming face-to-face with a demon was comical.

“Vaughn, you are being rude.”

I sighed. “Father, I have a one-week-old baby. My life is upside down at the moment, and there is a reason why I didn’t bother to inform you that I’d found my mate or that he was pregnant. You haven’t bothered to reply to any of my messages since last June,” I told him. “I took that to mean you weren’t interested in having much contact with me in your retirement years.”

That probably wasn’t exactly fair, but what else was I supposed to say? It had actually been Wilder that had reached out first shortly after I’d left Washington. We’d had regular contact since.

“Vaughn, don’t be stubborn,” Father said.

“Give me the phone, Dunstan.”

I met Lewis’s gaze and his eyes widened. I pressed my lips together tightly to keep from laughing.

“Vaughn, darling. We wish very much to meet your mate and new baby. Might we come up to the mountain? How does that happen?”

I sighed. “Hello mother.”

“Hello darling. You know how your father is.”

I truly wanted to scream. She hadn’t been any better.

“Mother, right now isn’t the best time. We’ve just woken and Lewis is feeding the baby.”

“Darling, you are truly going to keep them from us? From your parents? What about Wilder and Marley? Are you not going to allow them to come up either?”

Any hint of amusement vanished from Lewis’ face.

“Mother, you simply do not drop in unannounced on a couple with a newborn baby. It’s rude. No, I will not have you escorted up to the mountain. Go find a hotel and we will discuss you visiting possibly later this afternoon once we’ve had a chance to at least wake up a bit more and shower.”

“But it’s already mid-morning. Why are you not showered already?”

I shook my head. Stubborn people they were. “Mother, I’m ending the call now. You have obviously forgotten how it is when you have a baby that is up at all hours of the night.”

“But we traveled—” I didn’t wait. I ended the call and then turned off my phone. They wouldn’t be able to bother us that way.

“I need to use your phone,” I told Lewis. “Neither my parents nor Wilder have your number, so they won’t be able to reach us through it. I need to make a call though.”

“I think it’s over on my side of the bed. If not, it’s in the nursery. I was probably taking pictures of Elowen in there.”