I paused on the landing and turned to face my friend, who was trapped inside the body of my mate. “You knew this day was coming. You’ve been avoiding them for long enough. It’s time. I love you and believe in you. Everyone here has your back.”
“This is so weird,” Dave said.
I shot him a glare. “You need to pretend to be the powerful owner of Summer Grove House. Don’t give an inch, because they will try to bully you.”
Dave grinned. I never looked like that when I smiled. It was menacing. Maybe there were benefits to having Dangerous Dave in charge while we dealt with Rebecca’s parents.
“Let’s do this,” I said.
I pushed Aunt Liz out in front of us. It could have been worse; Dayna could have taken over Rebecca’s body. My youngest aunt couldn’t pull off a stoic vampire princess.
Rebecca’s parents waited in the parlor by the fireplace, while two tuxedo-wearing vampires stood by the door. Bodyguards? Made sense, I guess, that vampire royalty needed protection, unless it was a display of wealth and power. Whatever their purpose, it wouldn’t be to detain Rebecca, and if they dared to try, then I would happily start an international war. She was my people, and I protected my people.
Rebecca’s mother had her nose turned in the air, like we smelled nasty. She was a slightly older and pointier version of Rebecca—same blue eyes, same blonde hair, same dainty build. She wore a stiff yet elegant red shift dress and classic black pumps. Her father was taller than his wife and wore a navy three-piece suit like he did it every day. He effortlessly pulled off the timeless look, so much so that if his photograph was taken today, people wouldn’t be able to tell which century it was from. Dark lashes framed his green eyes, and he looked like he spent time outside in the sun.
“Mother, Father,” Aunt Liz said. “What brings you here?”
Caroline Lexington narrowed her gaze. “You abandoned your manners when you left your family and country.”
I arched a brow at Rebecca. How did that question constitute no manners?
“Please sit,” Dave said. “I’ll have refreshments brought in.”
Bryn Lexington made a shoo gesture like Dave, AKA me, was his servant. Dave looked at me, asking permission to put Bryn in his place. I shook my head. This situation was delicate enough. It would take more than that to rattle my cage.
Dave muttered something and took off into the kitchen.
“We need to speak to our daughter alone,” Caroline declared.
“Not happening,” Rebecca replied, folding herself onto the sofa with far too much grace.
“Principal, this is not your problem,” Bryn snapped.
Rebecca snorted. “You are in my country, in my mate’s house, threatening one of my mate’s best friends. This is most definitely my problem. I live here, just like everyone else you see around you. You are on our turf, you are in our home, you are here uninvited. I urge you to spit out whatever you came to say so we can return to our rather uneventful evening.”
Rebecca was channeling her inner beast, and I was one hundred percent here for it.
“Does your pet dog need to be here for this?” Caroline sneered at me. Pet dog? Oh, she means Dave.
I arched a brow and folded my arms. Luckily for me, Dave was known to be a man of few words.
“Careful, Caroline. He bites,” Rebecca said with a smirk.
Dave came back into the tense room with Maggie following behind him, carrying a tray of homemade lemonade and cookies. I had to force back the irrational urge to grab the plate of cookies and shout “assholes don’t get cookies.”
Dave grimaced as he took a seat next to Rebecca, and she slid her arm over his shoulders. Oh, this was priceless.
Realizing this wouldn’t be as easy as snapping their fingers, the Lexingtons took a seat on the sofa and eyeballed Liz. Maggie twisted her hands together before running off back to the kitchen.
“It’s time for you to come home, Rebecca,” her mother said softly. Okay, so we were going to go about this all differently now. “You’ve had your wild years and gotten it out of your system. Now you need to return home and do your duty.”
Liz shook her head. “I’m happy here. I’m never returning.”
Bryn sighed. “We’re relying on you to marry to ensure our ties with Europe remain strong. You aren’t safe here. There have been rumblings in the community.” He glanced at Dave.
Oh shit.
“What kind of rumblings?” Liz asked.
