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So much for her being scared. Our little girl had the heart of a tiger. She slept all the way home, breathing softly and evenly and even more adorable now. She’d won all our hearts with hers.

Chapter Sixteen

Allen

After a whirlwind romance in less than two days, I realized I hadn’t kept my promise to Dad. I was supposed to be calling him every day, keeping him updated on my vacation.

When I got back to my hotel room late, I thought about waiting until the morning to call. Dad might be asleep, or busy. I didn’t want to interrupt him.

When I opened my phone, I saw he’d left me a text. It was a couple of hours old.How’s it going, Allen?

I shot back a text to see if he was available.Hey, Dad. Is this a good time to call? Or maybe tomorrow morning?

A text came back immediately.I’m up.

And then my phone was ringing.

“I swear I wasn’t worried when I didn’t hear from you,” Dad jumped in right away. “I just figured you were busy having fun and all that. Are you?”

I cleared my throat. “Hi, Dad. I’m fine and all that.”

“Glad to hear it. But…you sound different. Your voice… Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Well… I have news.”

“I’m listening.”

I decided to just dive right in. “I found my fated mates.”

“You have a mate? Already?”

“Not mate. Mates. Plural. An alpha and an omega. And it’s not something we think we want. It’s something we know. We felt it immediately, and I have to tell you there’s nothing else on earth like it.”

Silence.

“Dad, are you still there?”

“My son, you have to tell me everything. Spare no detail.”

I laughed. “But are you happy for me?”

“Am I? My baby boy is finally getting mated and going to give me grandkids. I would say it’s a dream come true for both of us.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that I thought Dad would disapprove, it was just that things had happened so quickly and I worried he would be worried for me and begin the parental questioning that every child, even grown ones, dreaded.

“It’s a triad, Dad. Kind of rare, I guess. But it’s real and wonderful, and it totally suits us all.”

“Start at the beginning, please. I want to know everything.”

I confessed to him that I had truly chosen to go to San Diego to attend a nightclub called Animals. He hadn’t heard of it before, so I explained how people had described the place as electric and magical. I began to talk fast as I described immediately scenting my mates even as I stood outside the club waiting to get in. I told him that we met each other as if we had been long-lost brothers from long ago. Then I talked about everything Matthew and River that I could remember.

I told him about how nervous I was shifting for the first time outside our pack, and how accepting and nurturing my mates were about my beast being a griffin.

When I got to the part about claiming my mates and them claiming me, I left out a few choice details. Dad didn’t need to hear everything about my love life, and no good father should.

I realized nearly an hour had passed, and Dad hadn’t said a word.

When I stopped talking, I politely waited.