He shook his head. "You wanted me to fight for you, remember? This place is dangerous, and I'm willing to go into battle with your piles of books and laundry until I know you're safe."
He raised his chin and touched our clasped hands to his chest. "Will you fight beside me, my mate?"
I tried, but I couldn't hold in the giggles. He was absolutely ridiculous, but he was mine. I nodded and dropped a kiss on his knuckles. "If you really want to help?—"
"I'd be honored."
"Where do we start?"
He released my hand and pulled out his cell phone. "I know it's only our second date, but are you ready to meet my mom?"
Presumptuous of him to think this was our second date, but also adorable. "Let's do it."
Full disclosure,no, I was not ready to meet Mika's mom.
On the drive east through rolling foothills and the occasional mountain, Mika coached me on how to best approach the matriarch of the Mears family. Direct eye contact, always. Stick to one-word answers, or as few words as possible. At the first sign of fear, she would eat me for lunch.
Talia Mears was a force of nature. It wasn't enough to say my omega senses responded to her the way I would an alpha. She had Mika's same dark hair, light brown skin, and soft brown eyes, but her presence was almost godlike. My hand trembled when she took it in hers, and my lip quivered when I tried to return her smile.
She leaned in, took one sniff, and turned to Mika. "Yes."
"Hmm?" He blinked.
"He's your fated mate, and I approve."
Mika pulled my hand away from her and stepped between us, blocking my view. "Mom, we just met."
She shoved him aside and looked me up and down. "What's wrong with him?"
"Everything," I said.
"Nothing!" Mika's alpha voice overpowered mine.
"Then stop fighting it," she said. "The builders are just finishing up with the new assisted living development, and the wolves are almost done with Bruce's new home. You always said you wanted to be his next-door neighbor again, and now's your chance."
"Mom." Mika rolled his eyes. "All I need are a few shelving units. That's all."
"When is your next heat?" she asked me.
"Wow, invasive!" Mika stepped between us again before I could answer. "Please, please just give me the keys to the storage unit so I can grab the shelves."
Every time Mika stepped between us, she danced around him to speak directly to me. "If your heat will be within the next three months, you'll need more than shelves! Mika's apartment isn't big enough for two people, let alone a baby. Is yours?"
"You don't have to answer that," Mika said, backing me toward the closed door.
I shook my head. "I have an efficiency apartment."
"That will never do." Talia grabbed my hand and pulled me down a hallway, leaving Mika to stomp behind us. "Tell me honestly. Is this room bigger than your efficiency?" She opened the door into a bedroom that would easily fit two of my apartment. Not only did it have a roomy king-size bed, but it also had a desk and reading nook in one corner and a small leather seating area in another. It looked like a furniture showroom, but somehow it all fit together.
"This isn't a bedroom," I whispered. "Is it some kind of museum?"
Talia scoffed. "Ha. Yes. The museum dedicated to my second-oldest child who left home nine years ago but returns every weekend. Such a good son." She turned and patted his cheeks. "I would be honored if you both moved in with me while you wait for your house to be built."
Wow. No wonder Mika was worried about introducing me to his mom. My omega dad believed in, "My way or the highway." Meanwhile, she was the highway, and we were on it, no matter what.
"Thank you, but no?" I glanced at Mika, trying to convey my apology with my eyes. I quaked in my hiking boots.
"No?" She copied my inflection and turned to Mika. "I know what you're going to say. You like your apartment in the city too much."
