We both laughed at that. Father had a tendency to take things too seriously, but he could laugh at himself if he wanted to. Or if his funny bone was tickled, like now.
“I love my mate and I don’t want anyone else. Ever,” I said, returning to the topic at hand.
“Give him a chance. What if you’d learned he was an alien from outer space. Wouldn’t you need a little time to adjust to the concept?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s not the case here. Nobody is from outer space, and I’m just a garden-variety shifter.”
“Lux…” His tone held all the warning I remembered from when I was ten. Both my fathers were kind and funny, but they could also be strict when it was required. And nobody had to tell me when to back off.
“Okay, I’ll be patient.”
“You’d better be. We are counting on you to give us our first grandchild, and if you drive your mate away by being fussy and nagging, you’ll be in big trouble, foxy boy.”
“Yes, Dad. I get it. Patient. No fussy, no nagging. Deliver grandchild immediately upon arrival for your blessing.”
“And spoiling. Not by me, of course, but your father is already collecting toys.”
No, Dad wouldn’t spoil the child with toys. He’d be the one baking up a storm. Way too many cookies before dinner, preferably after our child had teeth.
“I love you guys. Thanks for the pep talk, Dad.”
“We love you, Son.”
I disconnected the call and dialed my mate. “Hi, how are you?” At first, most of the contact had been text. I was so afraid of overstepping that I didn’t want to chance him cutting me off entirely. But now, we were talking on the phone and even had done a FaceTime.
“I’m fine. Just working hard. Between work-work and the house, it’s keeping me busy.”
I wanted to help him, as long as he wasn’t asking me to come over or otherwise indicating he wanted to spend time with me in person. After several days, I called in to work and took a week off. I had plenty of time saved up, and I didn’t trust myself to drive that big truck while my mind was so galvanized by my mate.
He continued to be willing to chat on the phone, listened to all my woes without saying anything negative. I felt guilty about dumping on him when he was dealing with plenty too. But my fox was getting very upset, and so was I. Why have a mate if you never got to see him?
And then, on the third day I stayed home from work, there came a knock on the door. In no shape to see anyone, unshowered, unshaven, and wearing old worn-out pajamas, I dragged over to answer it and then stumbled back in surprise when I saw who it was.
“Rain!” He wore a pair of jeans that fit like he wasn’t even pregnant and a T-shirt with a rainbow embossed on the front. “You look amazing.”
My mate’s arms were filled with grocery bags and one from the pharmacy. “Ah-ha! You look…amazing…too. Have you eaten anything at all?”
Turned out, when we did our FaceTime, he took one look at me and realized what he needed to do.
“Alpha, you look like shit.”
“Thanks.” I tried to chuckle, but I didn’t have the energy. I hadn’t slept much, either. “But, I’m not hungry.”
“I’m going to cook, and we’re both going to eat and I brought supplements to build you up.”
“You are the sweetest omega ever, but you don’t need to bring me medicine. If it’s all right with you if I do it, I just want to hug you.”
“Hug away then I will go make dinner. I don’t intend to take no for an answer. My kit’s father is not going to fade away. Geez, alpha, are all shifters as drama-bama as you?”
“Some are,” I defended myself. “Others are not.”
He laughed and sailed past me into the kitchen where he unpacked his groceries and started to cook.
“You know you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. I’m your omega, and I want to.”
“You mean, this isn’t just a pity visit?”
