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“I’m not used to that.” And didn’t really want to be, but I also did not want to be late to meet my new father-in-law or cause Asher’s moms to hold dinner. “It makes me a little uncomfortable.” A lot uncomfortable. “I hope he likes me.”
First time Onyx ever said anything like that. But I got it. Our mate was everything to us, and since neither of us had any family to rely on, and we knew how much that hurt, we weren’t going to let that happen to Asher if we could avoid it.
“He’ll like you, mate,” I said, squeeing her arm. “How could he not?”
We hurried to get ready for dinner and descended to the ground floor together. Tonight was to be just family, a small group and a chance to talk to one another before guests arrived for the Yule festivities. Although I’d done everything I could to make Onyx comfortable, walking into the dining room where everyone was dressed up so nicely and seated formally brought back a whole lot of memories and did nothing for my peace of mind.
But I’d had a lot of training in being a member of this set, and even if my parents had never been satisfied with me, I could maintain and not make a fool of myself. I just hated having to behave in ways expected of me.
“Blaze!” Asher strode out ahead of us and embraced a man who looked exactly like him. “It’s good to see you, Brother.”
I hung back with Onyx, watching the brothers greet one another. Blaze attended a different school, one for students who were known troublemakers, but to see them now, you’d never think they behaved in the least differently.
Chapter Eight
Valentina
“What if you do the white-candle thing? Call on your ancestors?” Fox was intrigued by this entire endeavor. He and I were in the thick of a mystery book series, and this felt like one of those stories come to life. I’d promised myself to steer clear of drama since the whole Dean thing went down. The last thing we wanted was mischief or mayhem. Peace and quiet were the real Christmas presents this year.
Still, Erik had helped us. I wanted to help him back. He had called me out in my training, and though that meant threatening my mate with one of his crony’s teeth at Fox’s neck—in the end, it did the job. Onyx and I heightened our powers with his help and the help of the book he supplied us with.
I snorted at the white-candle comment. I didn’t know why I had such an aversion to the damned things—I guessed it made it all seem like a séance. And the truth was, calling on my ancestors was like my own séance—except I wasn’t calling on ghosts—my ancestors always appeared mostly alive and well, though I knew better.
“I can call on Circe. I think she was the one who called Diana. I don’t know if I can.”
“Is it worth a try? If she could give us something else to go on, or if she had more details. At this point, we’re working with nothing.” Storm wasn’t wrong.
“They came for me and Onyx to help us work against Dean, but this is to help a vampire.”
“The vampire is our friend. And Diana is a daughter of Circe. Maybe plead with them on her behalf. If they are fated mates like Erik claims, then certainly Diana would want peace for them.” Fox—such a sweet romantic at heart. He loved the love stories as much as I did. And ours was his favorite.
“Okay. But I’m starving. And calling on the goddess drains the hell out of me.”
“Breakfast for the female,” Bishop grunted from the kitchen. I could hear him already shuffling through the fridge, gathering odds and ends for an omelet. All of my mates had evolved into fantastic cooks, but Bishop was the master of breakfast.
“Pancakes?” I asked, walking into the kitchen and batting my eyes.
“I don’t understand any kind of breakfast that doesn’t include pancakes,” he said and leaned over to kiss my mouth. Hard. His stubble scraped against my chin. Damn, I loved it when he grew out his stubble a bit.
Storm and Fox snuggled me on the couch while they argued over whether some team was going to win the Superbowl. I watched football with them but only because they liked it. “Are you falling asleep?” Fox asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
“I’m resting my eyes.” It was the truth. Kind of. I was also reminiscing over the times Onyx and I had called on the goddess and never heard back from her. She came to Onyx in a dream but, for me…it wasn’t until later on that she answered the call of her descendant.
I hoped this wasn’t one of those times where she made me wait. I wanted Erik to have a chance at a peaceful holiday, knowing what happened to Diana.
Maybe getting the chance to gain vengeance.
Wasn’t my kind of gift, but to each his own.
“Is snoring part of the resting-your-eyes thing?” Bishop asked as he wafted a stack of pancakes in front of my nose. The smell of freshly buttered flapjacks woke me up instantly. At least, enough for eating, a small calling on the goddess, and maybe some mating time.
There was always time for mating. That’s what Bishop said.
We all agreed on that.
Once breakfast was done, I stared at the cabinet that held the candles. Onyx insisted I keep some in the house for occasions when I needed the goddess. Sounded practical to me, so I kept them.
“All right. Here goes nothing.”
