“That means that you’re going to have to move.I mean, you can stay here for a little while, or longer if you don’t want to move in with me, but I’d really like to live with you and the baby.”
“Of course I’m going to live with you and the baby.Nico, what are you afraid of?”
“I guess we didn’t talk about it.”
“We haven’t really had time to talk about much, but I thought we agreed we wanted to be a family.”
“We did.”
Clearly, Mackenzie hadn’t done a good job explaining himself.“To me, being a family in this situation means living together,” he said gently as he touched Nico’s cheek to convince him to look at him.“We can talk about all of this, but ideally, I’d like to live with you and the baby.I knew that meant I’d have to move.It’s why I haven’t unpacked my stuff yet.”
“So you’re okay with it?”
“More than okay with it.I don’t want to be apart from you.I realize it’s going to take a little time to find a place and everything, but I don’t think we should wait too long.I want us to be settled before the baby arrives.”
Nico beamed.He’d truly been afraid, hadn’t he?He’d been stressed, and Mackenzie had unknowingly added to that stress.
Never again, if Mackenzie could avoid it.Nico would know he was loved and cherished from now on.Mackenzie would make sure that.
“I want that, too.We’ll have to talk to my father about finding a home where we can move.I think we should talk to Jerome, though.You can’t move right away, and I don’t want to stop seeing you.Besides, you’re going to have to tell him about all of this eventually.Maybe if we tell him now, he’ll allow me to come and go more freely.I don’t want to have to hide anymore.”
“I don’t want to have to hide, either.”And if Jerome was unhappy and didn’t want to allow Nico into his territory to visit Mackenzie, Mackenzie would move on right away.He could find something in Northwood if things came down to that.He really hoped he wouldn’t have to fight with his family already, though.He moved here to be closer to them, including Jerome.
He didn’t think things would go badly, but he was still nervous as he and Nico walked over to Jerome’s house.After all, what did he know?He was human.He barely understood shifter politics, but he knew that things hadn’t been easy in the forest lately.He also knew he was about to make Jerome’s life more complicated.Unfortunately, they couldn’t avoid talking to Jerome.He was technically Mackenzie’s alpha right now—as well as family.
As always, Jerome’s wife welcomed Mackenzie into the house.She looked curious about Nico’s presence, which made sense if she recognized him.She led them to the living room and left them there, disappearing into the house to call Jerome.Nico started pacing the room, while Mackenzie sat on the couch and bounced his knee.They were both nervous.
They had good reasons to be.
“What if he tries kicking you out right away?”Mackenzie asked.“What if he gets angry that you’re here at all?”
“Then I’ll go home, and you’ll either come with me now or later.He can’t force you to stay, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that.”
“I just don’t want to lose him.He’s family.”A family Mackenzie had just found and didn’t want to lose.
“I know.”Nico’s voice was soft.
“Who’s kicking who out?”Jerome asked as he walked into the living room.He didn’t look surprised to see Nico there.He probably wasn’t.
Mackenzie got to his feet and rubbed his palms over his thighs.“We were hoping you wouldn’t kick Nico out, even after we tell you that he and I are together and that I’ll be moving to bobcat territory.”
Jerome blinked.“Well, I can’t say that’s something I expected to hear from you today, but I’m not planning on kicking anyone out.How are you, Nico?”
“I’m fine, thank you,” Nico said, sounding official.It was kind of hot.
“That’s good to hear.So, the two of you are dating?”
“It’s a bit more than that,” Nico said as he pressed a hand against his stomach.He didn’t have to say anything.
Jerome’s eyes widened slightly, but he quickly nodded.“I see.Well, I’m happy for the two of you.Mackenzie, let me know when you’re planning on moving, and we’ll help.In the meantime, I don’t have any problems if Nico wants to spend more time here.This is your home, Mackenzie.It’ll continue being your home even if you move away.You might not be able to shift into a fox, but you’re still one of us.That matters to us.It matters tome.”
Mackenzie could have kissed him, but instead, he rushed over and hugged him.“Thank you.”
Jerome hugged him back.“That’s what family is for, isn’t it?”
Chapter Twelve
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