More than a dozen times, he found himself wondering what it would be like to introduce Cameron to this group. He knew Christopher and Ronan would welcome him into the fold, and he was pretty sure all the “adultier” adults would, too. However, as Ronan’s omega mom began bragging about their frighteningly large number of grandchildren, Emory decided he’d spare Cameron the large group introduction for a while.
He met up with his mother and a few of their aunts for a birthday dinner at a stately restaurant, and his wandering thoughts turned anxious as he imagined the scrutiny his judgmental aunts would rain down on his fated mate. Emory had received a barrage of critiques, verging on harassment, after becoming CEO. Some of it continued to this day, which was why he didn’t come home often. His mom visited the office in the city more than enough.
Most of the women in his family were powerful and influential people, ranging from politicians to executives and influencers. Above all else, they were committed to preserving the power and prestige of the family. While no one would ever fight a fated mate bond, it didn’t mean they wouldn’t pass veryloudjudgment on outsiders brought into the fray.
The majority of the family had mated with other lions, large cats, or, at the very least, other mammals. There were a few fated mate pairs that crossed into avian lines, but they were quite skittish around the larger pride and tended to keep to themselves. As far as Emory knew, there weren’t any aquatic shifters in the family, and while he had absolutely no problem with Cameron being a water creature, he wasn’t sure what his family was going to say.
Aquatic shifters were very different from one another, with some creatures like orcas rivaling lions, wolves, and bears in ferocity and power, while dolphins and certain species of fish were known to be playful and a bit flighty. The general stereotype about water creatures was that they were a bit more ‘go with the flow’ and laid back than other species. Emory had no idea what type of creature Cameron was, and he realized he hadn’t shared his animal with Cameron either. What would Cameron think when he learned he was fated mates with a king of the animal kingdom? It was a lot of pressure, and some of Emory’s past hookups had felt daunted by it.
He and Cameron had been texting sporadically, and Cameron had even sent him a selfie with his parents. Emory had done the same with the boys on his birthday. The thing was, they hadn’t talked about anythingrealyet. It didn’t feel right to delve into serious topics over text, but Emory was itching to learn more about the adorable omega.
He felt that creeping urge to dig his hands into a new project and try to solve it. Just like everything else in his life, if he could get a handle on this fated mate thing, he was sure he could master it.
Despite the doubt he’d shared with Christopher, a small part of him hoped theywouldfall into a whirlwind courtship after the fall holiday, and he would be able to introduce Cameron to his family at the Winter Solstice. Unfortunately, he and Christophersat down and looked at his calendar, and even if they moved several meetings and projects around, he only had six free days before the Solstice. He shared these dates with Cameron and was heartbroken to find they only had two days in common.
Cameron apologized, claiming he wasn’t usually this busy. He had just earned his company a grant, which required a significant amount of work be done by the end of December. Emory was scared to admit it, so he kept it to himself, but hewasalways this busy.
Thankfully, despite their conflicting schedules, they were able to plan a dinner date for almost two full weeks after their fateful meeting at the airport.
The days passed slowly, and Emory found himself checking his phone more than he ever had in his life. His mood brightened whenever he got a text from Cameron, and while he still couldn't name more than a handful of facts about the man, he felt like they were slowly becoming friends. Some of Cameron’s texts verged on flirty, and his use of emojis and GIFs was fun, adding vibrancy to a communication medium Emory usually hated. Aside from a few brief references, though, they barely discussed the fated mates aspect of their relationship.
After Cameron went to sleep each night and Emory’s phone screen went dark, Emory’s lion would pace around, worrying about why their relationship wasn’t moving faster. Logically, Emory thought the speed they were moving made sense, but he could sometimes hear his aunt's critical words in his head, asking if he was ever going to find someone to settle down with. First, their precious Jonathon had left, then his father had died, and now Emory was somehow already failing at being a fated mate.
Emory wondered if this was how all fated mate couples started off. When they’d first met, Emory had felt ready to mate right then and there, but over text, it was clear they werestrangers. Emory hadn’t tried to woo anyone in a long time, and his days were so full of work and worry, he didn’t have any leftover time to figure it out.
Finally, after what felt like months but was only a week and a half, the day arrived for their dinner date. Of course, as was Emory’s luck, they got their first snow of the season that morning. He monitored their text thread, worried that Cameron would need to cancel due to the weather. When no notification came, and it was time for him to leave, he nervously buttoned up his pea coat and headed down to his waiting town car. Cameron had told him he didn’t have a car, and in this city, it really wasn’t necessary. Parking was next to impossible, and even when spots were available, they were outrageously expensive.
Unfortunately, this meant that Cameron was probably trudging to their agreed-upon restaurant on public transit. Emory was fortunate to be able to use his company’s car. Maybe he could speak to his mother about contracting the car for Cameron’s personal use.
He didn’t even have time to craft that email on the laughably short ride to the restaurant. He had originally planned on walking, but with the snow, driving was the better choice. He arrived fifteen minutes early, which turned out to be a blessing for him and his frazzled nerves–and even more frazzled lion. Hopefully, he could gather himself enough to present a calm facade for his fated mate.
Chapter Five
Cameron
Shay spent the week of Fall Harvest making fun of Cameron for how much time he spent on his phone, crafting the perfect messages to send Emory to make him smile. Every time Emory sent back an “lol” or a “haha,” Cameron felt like he’d won an achievement award.
Thomas had been terribly controlling, wanting to know what Cameron was doing at all times. It had made Cameron hate texting, but with Emory, it felt easy and almost fun. He only used one emoji, the laughing crying face, and every time he sent it, Cameron’s octopus helpfully conjured up Emory’s broad grin from the day they’d met.
If he could keep that image in his head, maybe he could find a way to believe in this whole fate thing. For days after their encounter in the airport, Cameron could have sworn he could feel Emory’s arms around him and smell his rich scent. But as time passed, the sound of his laugh became harder to conjure up and was replaced by creeping nerves.
It had been a long time since he’d dated anyone. There had been one or two men after Thomas, but his octopus had been almost as emotionally battered and bruised as Cameron had been. Still, Cameron tried to dredge up everything he could remember about successfully dating, and his octopus tried to flirt and flounce over text whenever he could.
He felt like he was only semi-successful, but his octopus thought they were doing great. He wiggled with joy and frolicked about anytime Cameron’s phone dinged. The constant internal reactions had Cameron’s heart fluttering in both good and bad ways.
For all Cameron’s skepticism about fate, Emory had clearly come into his life for a reason. At least that’s what Shay kept saying. She’d also said that about Thomas, except for the opposite reason. “You had to go through that to become the person you are now.”
Cameron knew his sister only meant that he was the person he was now because of what he went through, not that he'd been destined to experience trauma, but still. He wanted to argue that he, in fact, didn’thaveto go through anything. He could defy fate and expectations and become a hermit.
It looked like Emory was here for now, though, and wanted to give their relationship a fair chance, so Cameron kept up a steady stream of texts. He was also exceptionally busy at work. Between catching up after the holidays and preparing for the next one, he was working a lot of late nights, and before he knew it, their date was upon them.
The restaurant Emory chose was in the center of town and required a tram and bus ride to get to. Cameron had never seen the need for a car in the city, but he’d also never been the biggest fan of public transportation. The tram schedule could be thrown off by an errant accident or issue, and the bus was even worse, especially in bad weather. He left earlier than necessary for thedate, which of course meant that everything went smoothly, and he arrived almost an hour early.
He decided to get a calming tea at a cafe across the street and curled up in an armchair by the window. His fingers itched to look at Emory’s social media one last time, but he had promised himself he wouldn’t.
Despite his initial protest, Cameron eventually gave in to Shay’s prodding and checked Emory’s socials. After some extensive Googling, he’d discovered that Emory’s company was quite large and rather impressive, with partner offices all over the country.
Emory’s profile mainly featured photos of him with two male friends and a series of group photos from work retreats. There were also several photos of Emory with his mother. Their bone structure was similar, but unlike Emory’s head of blonde hair, his mother had a long mane of gray hair. The only word Cameron could think of to describe her was regal. Well, regalandintimidating.
