Pa grinned. "He's polite. That's how you know his parents raised him right."
I blushed, my reservations melting away. I returned Da's hug, then Pa's when he moved in to embrace me as well.
Given the way I'd met Meeko, I didn't expect his parents to be so welcoming. I assumed all mouse shifters would be afraid of me, but maybe Meeko had assuaged at their fears. After all, he wasn't just bringing home a boyfriend—I was his fated mate.
"Well, I'd invite you in for tea, but I don't think you'll fit," Da teased. "Excuse my nosiness, but do you shift at all?"
"I do, but only into human form. I'm basically this big all the time," I said.
"Then we'll bring the tea outside."
"We don't have any harpy-sized furniture either," Pa mused. "No problem. We'll sit by the lake."
I couldn't help but smile as they shifted and ran back into the den to prepare our impromptu picnic. The mental image of mouse shifters sipping tea in a forest by a frog-shaped lake was like a page out of a storybook.
When they appeared with their mouse-sized teapots and the picnic basket, I said, "Please, allow me."
Da chuckled and handed the items to me. "Careful, they might be too heavy for you."
Meeko sidled up next to me as we walked towards the lake, smiling the whole time.
"They love you already," he murmured.
I beamed. This was going much better than I expected. I was so happy that Meeko's dads accepted me. It only strengthened our bond as fated mates.
Beside the sparkling blue lake, a few stones were arranged in a semicircle. Meeko's dads remained in mouse form, since it was considered polite to maintain the same shifted form as your company. I realized it was awkward with me, since I was at least half human in any form I was in, but I guessed being a harpy was considered being shifted.
We sat down and Pa handed out our little teacups and snacks.
"Sorry they’re so small," Da said with a laugh. "We don't often have company as grand as you, Cloud."
"Oh, it's totally okay. I know I'm probably not what you expected."
His dads exchanged a glance, love in their eyes.
"We didn't have any expectations, to be honest," Pa said. "Fate chose us to be mates. It was only a coincidence that we both happened to be mouse shifters."
I smiled and sipped my herbal tea. "That's a relief. My whole family is made up of mixed-species shifters, so I never thought it was unusual until I met others."
Da chuckled. "Isn't every family a little unusual?" he asked with a twinkle in his eyes. "I should tell you about the time Meeko—"
Meeko groaned, cutting him off. "No embarrassing childhood stories, please."
"Uh, absolutely yes to embarrassing childhood stories," I said. "I want to hear all about little Meeko."
My mate glared at me. "When I get the sword back, Iamgoing to stab you for this."
Da's brows rose. "Get the sword back? Did you lose it?"
Meeko sighed and put down his tiny teacup. "A lot has happened since the last time I visited. Let me fill you in…"
He explained how Mistral attacked him and stole the sword, and how we'd been on a wild harpy chase to retrieve it. They listened intently. The longer I spent with the mouse shifters, the better I became at reading their expressions. I could tell by Da's concerned face that he cared about that sword as much as Meeko did.
"That is odd that a spirit would steal the sword," Da murmured. "But the blade is forged with spirit magic after all. Maybe he was taking back what belonged to him."
"I don't think so," I said. "He didn't know how to use it. And he wasn't aware that only an omega can wield it properly. It doesn't change shape to suit the swordsman's form when an alpha holds it."
"Did you know that, Da?" Meeko asked.
