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“A break from me?”
Blair shrugged. “You. Mated life. The pride. Who knows? I don’t always understand where my mother’s trains of thought lead her.”
A knock came at the front door.
“I’ll get it.” Luke wasn’t surprised to find that their visitors were his aunt and grandmother. He’d known it was only a matter of time before they turned up to see Blair. Both women had a fondness for her. Ingrid had always been the grandmother that his mate never had. His aunt Valentina had taken Blair under her wing long ago and treated her as a surrogate daughter.
Ingrid smiled. “Morning, darlin’. We thought we’d drop in and see how you and Blair are doing.”
Moving aside to let them pass, he said, “She’ll be happy to see you.”
Valentina’s gaze immediately landed on Luke’s brand. “Ah, you have mated,” she said in her thick Russian accent. “Good. It should have been done months ago,” she added with a haughty huff. “You dragged your heels like immature boy who fears commitment.”
He frowned, affronted. “It wasn’t like that at all. I made a deal with Blair’s parents, which you’re well aware of.”
Valentina flicked her hand. “Bah. There are always loopholes. This you know. Do not give me boring speech about honor. There is no room for integrity in some situations.”
That was just the kind of comment he’d expect to hear from a wolverine. They weren’t big on ethics. Like at all. Particularly Ivanov wolverines. Valentina might have taken her mate’s surname of Devereaux, but she was an Ivanov down to the bone.
“Now, where is my Blair?” demanded Valentina.
“I think you’ll find she’s my Blair,” he said, but his aunt had already walked off in search of his mate.
Ingrid gave him a tight hug. “Congratulations on your mating, darlin’. Your scent has mixed with Blair’s already. That’s good. I sense the bond. It’s strong. Not yet complete, though.”
Something that didn’t please his cat. “It soon will be.”
“Well, of course it will. You’d stand for nothing else.” Ingrid lightly patted his cheek. “I love seeing my favorite grandson so settled and happy.”
He snorted. “You call us all your favorite.”
“But I’m only truthful when I say it to you.”
“Yeah, sure.” He followed the sounds of voices into the kitchen, where his mate and aunt were chatting while Valentina switched the kettle on to boil. Watching as Blair embraced Ingrid with a huge smile, Luke felt his chest go warm and tight.
He loved that Blair was so comfortable with his family; that she thought of them as her family. That was exactly what they were, but not all people got along well with the relatives of their mate.
He was a perfect example of that.
Luke had tried hard to build some sort of rapport with her family. Only Mitch had been receptive. Les hadn’t been rude or difficult like Noelle, but he’d also been nothing more than icily civil.
In general, Luke wasn’t a person who needed the acceptance of others. It didn’t bother him if someone disapproved of him. It didn’t even particularly bother him that his mate’s parents had no time for him. But, for her sake, he wished things were different.
Watching her putter around the kitchen—grabbing this, repositioning that—satisfaction filled him. She didn’t move around the place like a guest; she moved with the ease of someone who was home. Which she was.
Blair was already stamped all over the apartment. She’d long ago marked it with her scent, her style, her touch, and the brands her animal left here and there.
“You must come for dinner one evening,” Valentina announced, her gaze dancing from him to Blair. “I insist. My brothers will come also. It will be nice family meal.”
Luke ran his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. “Nice? Really?”
His aunt’s eyes widened. “Why would it not be?”
“Because your brothers like to torment and argue with your mate, and they have not one problem with doing it at a dinner table.” It made for an uncomfortable situation.
“There is love behind their words.”
Luke’s brows shot together. “Love?”
“They are not type to say such things. But they do care for my James.”
“They’ve tried to kill him. Several times.”
“Well, I do not talk about that.”
Luke shook his head with a sigh. “I don’t want Blair exposed to their dysfunctional bullshit.”
“It’s too late for that,” his mate cut in, her mouth curved, “I’ve met them on a number of occasions.”
“Yeah, and those occasions were one too many,” Luke told her.
Valentina sniffed. “They will seek her out if you keep her from them. They adore Blair.”
“We’d be happy to come for dinner, Valentina,” Blair interjected. “Thank you for the invitation.”
“You are most welcome.” Valentina cut her gaze to him. “See how easy that was? Always drama with Devereaux males. Even my James. It is in blood, I am sure of it.”
Luke snorted. “Ivanov wolverines are the dramatic ones. Jesus, your mother has knocked your father out with chloroform more times than I can count—”
