Emory led Cameron to the table and pulled out his chair. Emory’s mother smiled a toothy grin, and Cameron wondered how he had ever thought Emory was anything but a lion shifter.
“You can call me Sabrina,” Emory’s mother said. “I did not take Emory’s father’s last name. Rather untraditional, I know, but I was the only child my parents had, and I wanted to have someone still carry our name. I have to admit, I know embarrassingly little about sea shifter cultures, and even less so about octopus culture. Do you plan on taking Emory’s last name when you mate?”
Cameron responded without thinking. “I would like to, yes, but I think I’ll do so after we get married, not after mating.”
Sabrina’s eyes widened, and she turned to look at Emory. “Well, if you do have children, it will be nice for you to have the same last names. It caused a fair bit of confusion when I had to pick Emory up from school or travel with him to different countries.”
Emory squeezed Cameron’s shoulder with one hand as he began spooning out heaping bowls of stew with the other. “That depends on whether we have children, Mother, which is not our current desire nor plan,” Emory stated calmly.
“Yes, yes, I am aware, son, I was only making an observation.”
Cameron stared down into the bowl of stew Emory had set in front of him, willing his appetite to return. The second children were brought up, it seemed to flee, just like his octopus was trying to do.
Upon returning to his seat, Emory grabbed Cameron’s hand under the table. “I assume the aunts have been made aware of this as well?”
“Of course. I played my duty as the messenger and was nearly maimed for it. You will have to pay the price of their questions and concerns over your choice, but that seems a small price to pay to ultimately receive their blessing for your mating.”
“Will we?” Cameron asked, unable to hold his tongue.
Both lion shifters turned to look at him with varying degrees of concern. “You are his fated mate and quite clearly as in love with him as he is with you. Most of the family will take an immediate liking to you because of that. I think the rest will eventually fall in line.”
Cameron felt that old tingling start at the base of his neck. He glanced at Emory out of the corner of his eye and saw that his face had completely drained of color. “Mother, we haven’t?—”
“Yes, yes, I amaware,son,” Sabrina said with an exasperated sigh and a very uncharacteristic eyeroll. Her eyes landed on Cameron, and to his utter surprise, she winked at him. “There is no need to be so uptight. I have informed the family of your wish to remain childless, your desire to declare your love before mating, and your agreement to come here to receive the traditional blessing for that mating. While I cannot guaranteethey will be on their best behavior, everyone here is well aware of the circumstances. I am merely stating a fact that will probably be repeated throughout the weekend: you two are obviously in love, and your inner beasts are clearly ready to mate.”
Cameron gripped Emory’s hand, and Emory squeezed his fingers. Relief washed away all the obnoxious tingles, and Cameron couldn’t hide his grin.
“Truly, your father and I were just as enamored with each other, but I actually demanded my mate mark by our second date.”
Cameron leaned forward against the side of the table. “Would you… I mean… Could you tell me about him? When you mention him, you light up the same way Emory does.”
Mother and son shared a soft look, and Sabrina filled the rest of dinner with stories, both funny and serious, whimsical and romantic. By the time they finished dessert, Emory had shed a few tears, and his mother had shed several. Cameron wasn’t much of a crier, but even his eyes watered watching the two of them. Emory had scooted his chair closer to Cameron, holding his hand tightly the entire time. Sabrina hadn’t minded their close proximity; in fact, she’d cast their joint hands an approving looks.
“Cameron, I cannot say enough what an absolute pleasure it has been. I am looking forward to spending the week getting to know you better. If you need anything, or if anyone gives you too much trouble, please feel free to come to me,” Sabrina said.
Cameron nodded and wiped frantically under his eyes as they decided to water again. He blamed his octopus.
After wishing his mother goodnight, Emory led Cameron through another hallway and towards a smaller back staircase, presumably for staff. They went up the stairs and down a large hallway until they came to a closed door. The furnishing clearly matched Emory’s apartment, including the ornate pictureframes and paintings of folks Cameron assumed were other family members.
Emory didn’t stop to explain any of the paintings. In fact, he was pointedly ignoring them, and Cameron wondered if it might be a holdover from childhood.
Through the door was what appeared to be Emory’s wing of the house. There was a large couch that looked almost as fancy as the one in Emory’s apartment, with an enormous bean bag chair off to one side. Both were facing a giant flat-screen TV mounted on the wall and hooked up to the original Xbox and PlayStation machines. Next to the TV was a desk with a gaming chair and an old-school gaming computer.
Emory walked them through the sitting area towards one of the two doors on the far wall. They passed a small bar equipped with a mini fridge and bottles of alcohol ranging from cheap college dregs to some pretty expensive-looking stuff.
Emory opened one door, revealing a monstrously huge master bathroom, decked out with a tub big enough to hold their entire friend group, a walk-in shower with two waterfall heads, a vanity with three sinks, and a towel warmer. Emory walked through the bathroom to another door, not narrating the tour but allowing Cameron to take everything in. He opened the final door into what must have been his childhood bedroom. There were posters on the wall of boy bands, sports teams, and shelves lined with soccer trophies and straight-A honor roll certificates.
The bed was a king-sized four-poster bed with linens that had obviously been replaced since Emory was a child. There were two large bedside tables, each with its own lamp, and one had a small stack of fantasy novels on it while the other was empty except for a framed photograph of Emory and Ronan. A door was cracked open on the far side of the room, leading into what Cameron suspected was a walk-in closet, probably the size of his apartment.
“I’m not even sure if we could both fit in my childhood bed,” Cameron mused.
“Oh, this isn’t my childhood bed. I was one of those dumb kids who thought a waterbed would be cool. I mean, it definitely was when I was in high school. Especially when—” Emory stopped short and glanced at Cameron. Cameron quirked a brow, and then the other when Emory’s cheeks began to darken.
“When…” Cameron prompted, and Emory cleared his throat.
“Uhm… Well, it was great fun for sleepovers.”
Emory cleared his throat again, and Cameron thought he knew where this was going.
