Silence fell again. Darin slowed down and turned into a driveway that already held a car. He stopped, but he didn’t let go of the steering wheel, at least not until Shad clasped his shoulder. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see. They already know about Ira, and they want you to be happy.”
Darin nodded and exited the car. Ira followed his lead and stretched. He was surprised when Gabriel came closer and patted his shoulder. Ira arched a brow in question and Gabriel shrugged. “They’re not bad people. I know I make them uncomfortable, but they’ve never said anything, and they’ve never tried to divide me and Shad. They really just want their sons to be happy, and they know you’re one of the keys to Darin’s happiness. You and cupcakes.”
Ira smiled and snagged the box of cupcakes from Darin’s hands as he passed next to him. Darin tried to protest, but Ira shook his head and followed Shad up the driveway.
Shad opened the front door without knocking and yelled, “Mom?”
There was a bustle somewhere to their left and a woman walked into the entrance. She was cleaning her hands on a towel and wearing an apron. She smiled at Shad, but her smile dimmed a bit when she saw Ira. Still, she kept it there and hugged Shad, then Darin when he came in. “I’m so happy to see you, boys.”
“Mommm,” Shad whined. “We’re not boys anymore.”
Darin’s mother looked at her sons and nodded. “True. You haven’t been for a while. Come on, everyone’s in the living room.”
Ira followed silently, but once they were in the living room and everyone was saying hi to everyone, he was left standing there with a box of cupcakes in his hands. He looked at Darin, but Darin was hugging a man who looked like an older version of himself. Darin’s mother caught Ira’s gaze, and she gestured to him to follow her through another door.
They ended up in the kitchen. Most of the counter space was covered in plates and bowls, but Darin’s mother pushed them aside and Ira put the box down. He wasn’t sure what to do next, so he hovered there, feeling awkward, until Darin’s mother held her hand out to him. “I’m Brenda.”
“Uh, Ira.” He let his hand fall when Brenda let go.
“I know. Darin told me about you.”
Ira noticed she kept a careful distance between them. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She looked at him. “I know.” Ira’s gaze must have been enough for her to understand he didn’t believe her. “I know, really. You’re Darin’s mate, and he says you’re a good man. I trust my son’s judgment.”
“But?”
“But I’ve been told predators would hurt me and my family ever since I was a child. It takes more than a few days to get over that.”
Ira nodded. “I understand.”
“I’ll try not to be afraid, but you have to forgive me if I am, sometimes.”
“I will.”
She finally smiled. “All right.” She took a bowl from the counter and handed it to Ira. “Take that to the living room, will you?”
Ira obeyed without protesting. He went back to the living room, following the sounds of voices talking loudly. When he entered, no one realized he was there, not right away. He had the time to look around without anyone recoiling from him or giving him the eye.
Shad was sitting on the couch, Gabriel next to him. Gabriel was looking at Shad with an amused smile on his lips, while Shad was talking to a young woman. Darin was sitting on an armchair arm, the man who had to be his father in it and listening to his son. There were another two men in the room, and Ira could hear the sound of children playing somewhere close.
It was overwhelming. Not that Ira wasn’t used to family time, but his family was very different from Darin’s. Even when they did meet, it was quieter, stiffer. There wasn’t as much joy, especially the last few times Ira had gone home.
One of the men Ira didn’t know yet turned as he talked and froze when he saw Ira standing there with a bowl in his hand. Ira hurriedly put the bowl—full of chips—on the coffee table, where there was already an array of other bowls and glasses, and stood tall to meet his mate’s family.
He saw the man swallow, and Darin got up from where he was talking to his father. “Umm, everyone, this is Ira, my mate.” Darin’s father got up and walked closer to Ira. He didn’t look afraid, but Ira saw the glint in his eyes that said that yes, he was thinking about Ira eating him.
Ira resisted the urge to roll his eyes and shook the hand that was offered to him while Darin talked. “This is my father, Harry.”
Ira shook Harry’s hand. Then one of the other men was there, grabbing Ira’s now free hand without fear and shaking it enthusiastically. It surprised Ira, but it was a nice change. “This is my brother Luke. Don’t mind him, he’s always that hyped up.”
Luke scoffed. “It’s not every day I get to meet one of my bro’s mates.”
Ira liked him instantly and almost regretted not being able to talk with Luke more, but he had other family members to meet.
“This is my other brother, Carl. Carl’s mate is outside with the kids, but you’ll meet her soon. And that’s my sister Amanda.”
Amanda waved from the couch but didn’t get up to shake Ira’s hand. Carl did, though, and Ira wasn’t sure what to make of him. His handshake was strong and he didn’t look scared, but he did look like he was trying to read Ira’s thoughts just by looking at him.
“Nice to meet everyone,” Ira said meekly, or at least he hoped it sounded meek. The last thing he wanted was to send Darin’s family screaming for the hills.
Darin smiled at him and pulled him to the second armchair in the room. Ira pushed Darin so that he’d be the one to sit in the armchair, but Darin shook his head. He pushed Ira first and once Ira was settled, Darin flopped onto his lap. Ira looked around, but there was no expression of disapproval on anyone’s face. Fear, though, Ira could see, but he ignored it. They’d find out he was harmless sooner or later, and in the meantime, as long as Darin wasn’t afraid of him, Ira was fine.
Luke dragged a chair closer to them and sat. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at Ira. Ira waited for him to finish doing whatever he was doing, but Luke stayed in the same position and asked, “So. Are you going to eat my brother?”
There were a few gasps in the room and Darin swatted his brother on the back of the head, but Ira didn’t mind the question. “Not in a bad way.”
Luke cocked his head. “There are good ways to do it?”
Darin went red and slapped a hand on Ira’s mouth. “Don’t answer that.”
“There’s this thing called rimming,” Shad said. Darin glared at him but Ira snickered against Darin’s hand.
Luke’s mouth opened a bit and his eyes widened. “Oh. Right. I can’t say I’d thought of that.”
“Obviously,” Ira said, pushing Darin’s hand away.
“I’ve never been rimmed. Is it nice?”
“Can we please talk about something that’s not sex?” Harry asked. “I like to think all my children are still pure as snow.”
Luke snickered. “You do know that Carl has two kids, right? I really don’t think they just appeared in their cribs one day. Besides, you saw Laurie pregnant both times.”
“I share Dad’s opinion. No sex talk,” Darin said.
“Oh, fine. Prudes.”
“I’m not a prude,” Shad said.
Darin glared at him. “Oh, you can talk sex but you can’t kiss Gabriel in front of the family?”
Shad blushed and looked at his sister again while Luke got Darin’s attention back. “So, rimming but no eating. That’s good.”
Darin groaned and pressed his forehead on Ira’s shoulder.
* * * *
Darin’s mother’s birthday lunch had gone better than Darin had thought it would. Everyone but Luke was still a bit wary around Ira, but they weren’t scared, not anymore. They’d seen how Ira was with Darin, and that Darin wasn’t scared of his mate in the least.
Luke’s behavior had helped, too.
He’d been his usual bubbly self and had asked question after question. Ira had answered them all, even the ones Darin wished he hadn’t—he really didn’t enjoy seeing his mate talking with his brother about their sex life. Not that Ira had gone into details, but Luke had wanted to know more about rimming, and Ira had answered. It had made Darin both embarrassed and horny, and they didn’t even have the time for a quickie.
Darin handed his father a cupcake and put the box on the coffee table. His mother was handing coffee cups around with Ira’s help, and even Amanda, who’d apparently been terrified of Ira before meeting him, took a cup from him without problems. She did make sure they didn’t touch or come too close, but it was a start. A good one.
Ira sat on the arm of Darin’s armchair and bit into the cupcake he’s taken from the box. He hummed as he ate and licked his lips, and Darin couldn’t look away. Then Luke snickered and Darin had to glare at him. “Would you stop being... being yourself, please?”
Luke pouted. “But it’s so much fun.”
“I’m sure it is.”
“So, Ira,” Darin’s father asked. “What do you do?”
Ira briefly looked at Darin. “I... not much, sir.”
Darin’s father wrinkled his nose. “Harry.”
Darin could tell Ira was feeling awkward when he nodded and repeated, “Harry. Right.”
“And what does not much mean?”
“Ah, well, I don’t actually have to work. I have enough... inheritance to not to have to, and after what happened, I needed some time.”
“What happened?” Ira looked at Darin again, a question written on his face.
Darin decided to help and answered his dad’s question. “He’s been in a lab too, Dad.”
Darin’s father looked at Ira again. “Ah, I see. Well, if you don’t need to work, then who am I to tell you that you should find a job? After what you probably went through, you should get all the fun you can from life.”
“I was actually thinking of starting to help Darin in his shop a bit,” Ira said. Darin arched a brow at him and he shrugged. “Not that we’ve talked about it yet, but that way I won’t spend most of my time in the house. That’s, well, I tend to do that if I don’t push myself, and helping Darin and being able to spend time with him would help, I think.”
“Of course. And what about your family? Have they met Darin yet?”
Ira looked uncomfortable and Darin decided he needed to steer the conversation to another topic. He looked at Luke and tried to make that obvious. Luke nodded and Darin almost kissed him when he asked, “What are you guys doing this afternoon? Are you going back to Whitedell right away?”
“Ah, no. Jimmy asked us to meet with him and a few other guys we were in school with.”
“Do he and those other guys know about Ira?”
“Nope.”
Luke grinned. “Damn, I want to come too, just to watch them when they meet him and realize Ira’s a snake.”
“The last thing we need is for you to add fuel to the fire. It’s already going to be bad enough as it is.”
Ira rubbed Darin’s back. “Why? Is it really going to be that bad?”
Darin sighed and leaned against Ira’s hand. “Probably. Some of them will be fine since they don’t even know about shifters, but others... Jimmy has always been scared to death of predators, and even if I get why, I hope he’ll be fine.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“Jimmy’s bully in high school was a wolf shifter,” Luke answered for Darin. “I was a year ahead of Jimmy and the twins, but the entire school knew how bad Jimmy had it, and they didn’t even know Jimmy and the wolf were shifters.”
“What kind of shifter is Jimmy?”
“Squirrel.”
Darin saw Ira grimace from the corner of his eye. “I can imagine how bad it was for him.”
“Yeah. The guy took every opportunity to torment Jimmy, in and out of school.”
“And no one tried to stop him?”
“The school did, but apart from warning the wolf, they didn’t do much, and when they did it was worse out of school because he took revenge on Jimmy.”
“Yeah. Jimmy has the scars to prove it,” Darin said.
“Maybe I should stay here, then,” Ira proposed. “I don’t want to scare him.”
“Come. He knows me, so hopefully he’ll understand I wouldn’t be with you if you weren’t a nice man.”
“Still. I don’t want to scare him. Maybe you should at least call him.”
Darin shook his head. “You’re my mate, and as much as I hate doing this to him, he’s going to have to get used to you if he wants to be my friend. Might as well start now. If we go there and he panics or if he doesn’t want you to be there, then I’ll call Nysys or Ani and I’ll ask them to take us home.”
Ira kissed the top of Darin’s head. “All right.”
They chatted a while more, and when Darin got up to get their coats, his mother followed him into the entrance. He waited while she gathered her thoughts, hesitation clear on her face. She reached for his hand and squeezed it, and he briefly closed his eyes.
“You look happy,” she said.
“That’s because I am.”
Darin’s mother cupped his cheek with her free hand. “And that’s the only thing that counts. Don’t let anyone try to convince you it’s not, be them your friends or your family. I know I didn’t welcome Ira the way I should’ve, but he seems like a good man, and he makes you happy. That’s everything I want for my children.”
Darin leaned forward and hugged his mother. They weren’t close, not like they’d once been, but he knew she loved him, and he loved her. Knowing she accepted Ira just for his sake made his chest feel too tight.
Darin’s mother leaned away and patted his cheek. “Now, are you leaving?”
“Yeah. We’re going to see Jimmy and the others. I hope it goes well.”
“Go and have fun. And remember, Ira is welcome here any time.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She kissed Darin’s cheek and went to the kitchen. Shad came into the entrance. “What’s taking you so long?”
“I was talking with Mom.”
Shad examined Darin’s face. “What did she say?”
“Everything’s fine.”
Shad beamed. “See? I told you everything would be great. Give them some time, and they’ll accept Ira just like they did with Gabriel.”
Darin handed Shad his coat and put his own on. He brought the other two back in the living room and dropped Gabriel’s in his lap. Gabriel looked up from the conversation he was having with Carl and smiled a thank you. Ira looked relieved to see they were leaving, but he hid it well. Darin had already learned some of his mate’s quirks, though, so he knew that the way Ira was tweaking his ear lobe meant he was nervous.
Darin kissed his dad’s cheek. “We’re going.”
Darin’s father got up and hugged his son. He patted Darin’s back and moved away to offer Ira his hand. They shook, and Ira relaxed just a tiny bit. His shoulders went down and he nodded. “It was a pleasure to meet you, si—Harry.”
Darin’s dad smiled. “Good. I expect to see you and Darin next month.”
Ira looked at Darin. “Next month?”
“It’s Carl’s little girl’s birthday,” Harry said
Darin smiled and shrugged at Ira. “You don’t have to come if you have something else to do.”
“Oh, no. I’ll be happy to.”
Darin believed him.
* * * *
The afternoon had gone better than Ira had expected, but the day wasn’t over yet. He wondered if going with Darin and the others really was a good idea. After finding out what had happened to Jimmy, or at least parts of it, he understood why the man was scared, and he didn’t want Darin to lose a friend just because of Ira’s presence.
But Darin had insisted, so Ira was in the car with him, Gabriel, and Shad, and Shad
was driving them toward the town center. “What did your friend plan?”
Darin shrugged against Ira’s side. “No idea. This wasn’t really planned, you know that. Shad, do you know anything?”
“Nope,” Shad answered as he turned onto a larger street. “Jimmy just said that some of our old classmates were planning to gather and just spend time together.”
Shad parked and Ira looked around. “How small is this town? We could’ve come here by foot.”
“But then we wouldn’t be as fast when we’ll need to run away,” Shad said with a smile.
“You think we’ll need to run away?”
“Not really, but I do think we might have to leave early.” He left the fact that it would be Ira’s fault unsaid, but Ira knew it.
“We have less than eight hundred inhabitants,” Darin told him when they climbed out of the car. “You know how it is. Fewer people to see us.”
Oh yeah, Ira knew how it was. His family lived in a small town too, although they didn’t even try to at least pass for normal. They were pretentious, and everyone knew who they were since Ira’s father had built the damn house on the mountain—that really was a hill, but whatever—some twenty years ago. They should be moving soon, but Ira already knew they wouldn’t. He just hoped no one in town would think it weird that Ira’s parents didn’t seem to age all that much.
Ira looked around. It was a Sunday, and the town was just about dead. There were a few people in sight, and several cars, but it was still March, and everyone seemed to be inside. He followed Shad and Gabriel up the street.
“It’s not that bad, you know,” Darin said from next to him.
“I never said it was.”
“There’s a city park that’s pretty big, so it’s good for our furry halves. There’s everything we need.”
“Darin, I grew up in a small town. You don’t need to sell it to me.”
Darin grinned, but the smile faltered when Shad stopped in front of a small bar and grill, right next to a post office. Shad looked at them, smiled, and pulled the door open. The level of noise rose and they stepped inside. Ira looked around, liking what he was seeing.
Darin Page 9
