Stunned, Willow was trying to understand what her son told her.Two mates? But why…and how does that work?Finally, gathering her wits, she asked, “Are you sure, Glenn? Maybe you’re mistaken.”
A low, rumbling growl answered his mother’s reaction; there was no mistake and how dare she even think there was. His tiger was surging forth when he felt Alex’s hand on his shoulder, instantly soothing his animal.
“May I?” asked Alex, holding out his other hand.
Hesitating at his mate’s request, Glenn wavered between taking his mother to task for doubting him, or giving his phone to Alex who would then be subjected to possible insults.
“Please,” Alex whispered.
Sighing, Glenn could not refuse his mate’s heartfelt plea, passing his phone over to him.
Giving his mate a sweet smile, Alex took the phone and sat down next to Glenn. “Mrs. Thachter? Hi, I’m Alex, one of Glenn’s mates. You can’t imagine how surprised I was when I scented your son and realized he was my mate, especially since I’d already met my other mate, Sawyer. Isn’t that crazy? It took us some time to sort it all out but we did and now we’re all claimed.
“I bet you’re wondering who I am? Well, I grew up in New York City…lived there ever since I can remember. When I finally finished my schooling, I stayed in the city, well, at least until my father died. He left me some money, so I decided to travel across the country, visiting places I read about when I was growing up.”
Pausing while Willow asked him a question, Alex glanced over at Glenn, giving him an encouraging smile. “Nope, I had no idea I would end up having two mates. After I arrived at the campground where I had my reservation, I walked around, meeting other campers and that’s how I met Sawyer. Well, you can imagine howshocked I was when he rolled down his car window, and I got a good whiff of his scent.”
Humming softly, Alex waited until Willow finished her question. “Oh yes, ma’am, I knew it right away.”
Using his enhanced hearing, Glenn picked up his mother’s next words. “Please, call me Willow.”
“Willow, what a beautiful name…who picked the name, your mother or father…oh, wait, I bet both did. Am I right? Hey, wait a minute, I’ll have Glenn put us on speaker so he can hear you, too.” Handing the phone back to his mate, Alex grinned as he muttered, “Charming.”
Taking the phone, Glenn hit the speaker button. “Mom?”
“Yes, dear…to answer Alex’s question, my father picked it. It was under a willow tree that he met my mother.”
“Oh, how romantic!” Alex murmured. “Who picked my mate’s name?”
“We named him after his grandfather.”
“How neat! Do you have any pictures of my mate when he…”
“Mom,” Glenn interrupted. “We should be up there in a few days. I’m just waiting until Smokey and Ghost get back.”
“Okay dear,” Willow said. “I can’t wait to meet your mates…well, Alex anyway. I already know Sawyer.”
“I can’t wait to meet you too, Willow,” Alex said. “Hey, how about if Glenn takes a picture of us and sends it to you?”
“I’d love it!”
“Good…we’ll do it as soon as we hang up,” Alex said. “See you soon.”
“Bye Mom…I’ll let you know when we’re on the way.” After his mother said good-bye, Glenn ended the call. Then looking at his mate, he said, “How did you know?”
“Your tiger was in distress, lover, so I came to see what I could do.”
“Yeah, I figured that, but I meant, how did you learn to be charming? Isn’t that what you said to me?”
“Oh that…uhmm…I was one of the smallest kids in my class, so I was picked on a lot and was always trying to avoid bullies…I know, not a very good solution. One day, a teacher found me hiding and demanded to know why I wasn’t outside playing with the rest of my classmates. I eventually told him why. Luckily, he was understanding and taught me several ways I could handle myself without getting into a fight. Talking was the method I became good at.
“So when a bully approached, I asked him a question…really friendly like…or complimented him about something…it didn’t matter what, but they got distracted and forgot all about beating me up. One day, the teacher who helped me, heard me talking to one of my classmates who was targeting me that day. Afterwards, he congratulated me and told me I was quite charming. The term stuck.”
“Well, it certainly worked with my mother. Thanks. I was in danger of losing it when she questioned my claiming two mates.”
“Lover,” Alex murmured, “you need to get used to other people’s disbelief about our mating…it’s very unusual considering you’re a tiger and Sawyer’s a wolf. No one can tell what I am and that’s only going to further confuse the hell out of them.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Glenn said. “And that reminds me of something I meant to ask you…how come other shifters couldn’t tell you were a dual shifter?”
