“Well, damn!” Dante cried. “You two really went ahead and did it!”
Gabriel kicked his shin.
“Ow!” Dante muttered. “I didn’t meandid itas in they had sex - I mean, they obviously did that too - “
“Oh my gods, please stop talking,” Gabriel groaned.
Raja and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Imeant, they faked it ‘til they made it,” Dante continued with a grumble. “Right?”
“Yeah, that’s about right,” Raja agreed. “It was just interesting that my father’s vision about Lorenzo turned out to be true.”
“Your father’s vision?” Anton asked.
“He’s the chief of Pardus clan, back in the rainforest,” Raja explained. “When I was born, he received a vision of a silver beast with me as a cub. They didn’t know what to make of it until Lorenzo showed up in his big silver dragon form. My parents said we were fated mates.” Raja caught my eye and smiled. “I guess we were fated all along and just didn’t realize it.”
“That’s interesting about your father’s vision,” Gabriel mused out loud. “Maybe that’s sort of like magic?”
“Maybe,” Raja agreed. “To be honest, it was really easy for me to believe the stuff Lorenzo told me about magic right away because of my father’s visions.”
Gabriel nodded. “That makes sense.”
“So, you said you’re a black panther, right?” Dante asked, leaning on the table.
“That’s right,” Raja said proudly, lifting his chin.
“That’s awesome,” Dante said, grinning. “Maybe with your panther form and Lorenzo’s magic, your kid will be some kind of superhero.”
My father nearly choked on his soup. “Kid? Raja, you’re pregnant?”
Raja blushed but looked more pleased than embarrassed. “Yes, almost a month now.”
“I’m surprised you couldn’t tell,” I teased my father.
“Maybe it’s because I’m used to that omega-pregnancy-smell after Gabriel’s pregnancy,” Dante said.
Gabriel shot him a wry glance. “Oh, you’re not special. I knew from the instant I walked through that door that Raja was pregnant.”
While his parents were speaking, Noah was busy putting his face in his safely-cooled soup. Gabriel noticed and, with a sigh, cleaned the tomato off his face with a napkin. “Anyway, Raja, I’ll be here if you ever needanyhelp with the pregnancy or baby. I know the first one is really difficult.”
“Thank you, really,” Raja said. “I’ll probably need all the help I can get. I don’t even have a crib or any baby supplies...”
“Hey, don’t say that in front of our dad, or he’ll show up will the entire contents of the baby store,” Dante teased.
I laughed. I remembered when Gabriel was pregnant and my dad had gone way overboard with the stuffed animals.
“Hey, I’m only trying to help,” Anton protested playfully.
The dinner went on without a hitch until it was finally time for dessert. At this point my heart began to race. The box in my pocket felt heavy as lead. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Raja. Although my nerves were on edge, I was ready.
I had been ready for this for a long time.
Nobody seemed to notice that I’d taken a break from the conversation. Everyone was engrossed in Raja’s tales of the rainforest.
When a lull in talking appeared, I seized my chance.
“I have something I’d like to say,” I announced.
