She walked around the table, kissed her husband on the top of the head, and left the room.
The three of us remained silent for a few seconds before my father spoke. "She's getting used to the change, Aver."
"This isn't a change, Father. You just didn't know this about me."
He rose his elbows to the table, steepling his fingers in front of his face. "I—yes, that's true. She will adjust. Just give her time. I know," he said brightly. "We could plan a mating party for you two. The pack will enjoy the distraction."
Don't ask, Aver. Don't you dare fucking— "Distraction? From what?"
"Forgive me for bringing it up. These are the pack's problems, not yours. The interim period ends in a few short months, and we are no closer to agreeing on a new Alpha. If there was an option who had Elder families already poised to care for a pack, things would be easier."
He meant someone like me. Except he wasn't usually so subtle. It wasn't like he'd been silent about wanting me to lead the pack before.
"But that isn't for a few months, and it is not your burden to bear. Let me talk to her. She loves planning parties, and given time, she'll be ecstatic to help plan this one."
This felt like classic Elder parent meddling, but that didn't lessen the desire to present my mate to the world. There wouldn't be a pack member who wouldn't know who Hollister was and that he was untouchable. And a mating party meant we could easily have an official mating ceremony. But I was torn between wanting to keep distance between myself and my parents and wanting to claim Hollister in every way possible.
I looked to Hollister, who shrugged. "I like parties. But something casual though, right? I look good in anything, but I don't feel good in a suit."
"You could wear whatever you want," I said, noticing the way my dad's eyes tightened.
I preferred my parents when they were both one hundred percent horrible. This version of my father was strange, and I didn't trust it. "I want to be a part of the planning," I said.
"Of course," he replied quickly.
I looked for my napkin, feeling a sudden urge to wipe my hands clean. My plate was untouched, while Hollister's food was mostly gone. If he was finished eating, this was as good a time to leave as any. "I'll call you about the party. You don't need to call me."
My father's eyes widened but only briefly. "Of course, son."
***
"That was fun," Hollister said less than an hour later as he flopped down on the couch.
I'd taken us to Lawrence instead of the main house, figuring we could both use some quiet time to process what had just happened.
Hollister reclined back, propping his feet on my lap. "I mean this in the nicest way possible, Aver, but your mother is creepy. That pod person face swap? I felt like I was in a movie."
I played with Hollister's toes as he spoke. "Welcome to my childhood. Without the parts where I stood up for myself."
Hollister massaged my thigh with his heel as he frowned. "I'm sorry. Your life was like…physical and mental warfare."
He was spot on with the mental warfare. "Not so much the physical. I was a timid kid." Anytime Nash or Wyatt had ganged up on me as kids, Branson had been the one to step in.
"But it's over now. All done. Here I thought I needed to be there for support, but really, I needed to be there to hold you back. I don't understand it, Aver. You've held onto this secret for so long, and now suddenly, you're done."
"And glad to be rid of it."
Before he could ask why, I slipped out from under his feet and crawled up the couch, covering him with my body. I kissed his lips, but only for a short time before my lips continued traveling up his jaw and then down to his neck. His pulse fluttered beneath my lips, and I stayed that way, letting the gentle rhythm wash away any residual discomfort from the day.
At least this was a response I was used to. Coming to Lawrence was like shutting the door on the world and sitting in my own room for a while. Now, that room belonged to me and Hollister.
He cupped my face, pushing so I'd stop kissing and look into his eyes. "You won't regret this? Me?"
"How do you regret a piece of yourself?"
Hollister let out a low whistle. "Smooth, buddy."
He released my face, letting my lips continue with their task. I didn't know how long we made out, laying on our couch in middle of the forest. I didn't want to stop, but Hollister's hands pressed against my chest.
"Are you uncomfortable on the couch?"
"No," Hollister replied. "It's not that. I just want to say this before I convince myself not to, or that you don't want to hear it or whatever reason I come up with that won't actually be true."
The seriousness in his tone made me lean back and give him space. When Hollister copied me, pulling his body up into a sitting position, I reminded myself that this was my mate, not my parents. He didn't use his affection like a weapon, and I didn't need to be so immediately concerned. But though I knew all that, my body responded like he was trying to run.
I forced my limbs to stay motionless as Hollister shoved his hair back and off his forehead. What could he have to say that made him so nervous? The only possibility I could think of also happened to coincide with my worst fear.
"Aver, we haven't been together that long."
"I didn't need long to know you were the one."
He looked over at me, smiling briefly. "And you're so damned smooth…"
I bit my tongue. Clearly, I didn't have any idea what he was about to tell me, and the result was that I was prepared to defend against any reason he might have that he needed to go back to his old life.
It would be fitting that an evening with my parents was what pushed him out of my arms and into—
"Will you please stop imagining the worst? If I'm not supposed to, you can't either." He flashed me a smile and moved, slipping to sit on my lap facing me. "This position seemed to work in the past for conversations."
If I remembered correctly, this position had ended with him orgasming in my hand. But that couldn't be what he wanted. If it was, he would've just come out and said it.
He smoothed the skin on my face with his hands, likely attempting to work out the worried lines I couldn't quite mask. "So, I know we're always safe," he began, ensuring now I really had no idea where he was going with this. "But I didn't know if that was a for-you thing or a for-me thing."
Was he more confused about the situation than I thought? Where had we gone wrong in explaining it to him? "Pet, if we have sex without protection, it could change you in ways I have no control over. You'll get pregnant."
"I know."
"Exactly, and I know that it doesn't seem like a possibility, but none of the others thought it was a possibility for them too, and… you know?" It took me an idiotic amount of time for my brain to catch up with what he'd actually said and not what I'd thought he would say.
His lips lifted slowly. "I know. I could get pregnant. I could become a shifter. I'm telling you I want that."
A primal snarl caught in my throat. I'd known this conversation would come up, but I'd never dreamed it would come so early. I also didn't have any idea how meeting my parents had made him want to stick around more, but while I might have been slow, I wasn't completely brainless. "You want to try? It might not happen right away."