His mother pulled him aside during lunch and again in the early afternoon to discuss a recent stock report. He also received a frantic call from Christopher, prompting several calls to Hayden and Jordan about a personnel issue that could escalate into a PR nightmare if not handled correctly. Each time he returned to Cameron’s side, he found him looking washed out, the blues in his eyes and even his freckles appearing muted and dulled. Emory tried, rather unsuccessfully, to ask if he was okay, but Cameron merely nodded and changed the subject.
Warm, brown eyes followed him throughout the afternoon, and each time he met his mother’s or Corin’s gaze, he saw his own concern mirrored in them. He’d spoken privately with Corin a few times, as delicately as he could, about victims of abuse. She had given him a few tips and pointers on how tonotice triggers and different forms of support he could provide. The way Corin’s brow kept pinching, Emory wasn’t sure if she was picking up on those triggers now, or if she was just generally concerned about Cameron—like Emory was.
If only his father’s eyes were amongst the crowd. He’d always known how to fix things, whether it be the pipe that always leaked in Emory’s bathroom or Emory’s bruised ego after his first heartbreak in high school. His mother helped in her own way, but she seemed at a loss when it came to Cameron. Emory tried several times to reach for Cameron’s energy, but that wall had been resurrected again. He could see it behind Cameron’s eyes every time he lifted his head to answer a new question from an aunt or turned to smile softly at something Emory said.
Finally, Corin was the one to step in. “Have you gotten the chance to venture off the estate yet?” she asked Cameron, and when he sadly shook his head, Corin’s gaze pierced straight through Emory.
“I was hoping to show him around town tomorrow and maybe bring him to some of my favorite shops,” Emory rushed to say.
Cameron’s smile was like the sun breaking through winter clouds. “If that works for your schedule, I’d love that.”
Emory found Cameron’s hand under the table and clung to it, like maybe he could somehow hold onto that smile as well.
The next morning, Cameron actually seemed excited for the day. He woke Emory up with soft kisses, and his octopus energy rolled over Emory like waves in a kiddie pool.
“I can’t wait to show you the old ice cream parlor. They have the same flavors they used to serve fifty years ago, and?—”
Emory’s words dried up in his mouth as they walked into the kitchen to see storm clouds rolling in above the walls behind the house.
He had to ask twice before his mother let him turn on the seldom-used television in the breakfast room. His heart sank to his toes when the weatherman reported they were expecting a nasty wintry mix for the next two days.
Emory watched helplessly as his beautiful omega deflated. Leslie arrived shortly after, bringing several of the other aunts with her, and Cameron practically crawled inside his sweater. Emory decided to call in the big guns and put out a cry for help in their group chat.
His friends came through, as they always did. Christopher removed him from a conference meeting that afternoon, and Ronan arrived an hour later with an overly bright smile for all of the aunts and uncles. He served as a sort of human buffer between Cameron and the others for the remainder of the day, but even Emory was beginning to think it might be too little, too late.
“You need to do something about your aunts, Em,” Ronan said, as they sat in the living area of Emory’s wing of the house later that night.
“What do you mean?” Emory asked, tilting his body in line with the car on his TV. His character careened around a corner, narrowly avoiding a banana peel.
“It’s like they’re sucking the life out of your mate,” Ronan said, skidding across the screen and crashing into Emory’s car. They both spiraled out of bounds and had to wait ten seconds to respawn.
Emory turned to look at Ronan. “I’ve noticed that as well, but I don’t know what to do. They–and I think it’s mostly Leslie–don’t seem to be saying anything overtly mean or hurtful.”
Ronan cracked his knuckles as he stared at the television. “When you left the room to refill drinks, Leslie’s husband announced that they were trying to conceive. Leslie lookeddirectly at Cameron and said she was so excited to have her own flesh and blood children to raise and loveproperly.”
Emory squinted at Ronan’s profile but turned back to the TV as their engines revved back to life. “That…is a weird thing to say.”
“I think she was implying that because Cameron can’t have kids–”
Emory crashed his car into a pylon and whipped around to look at Ronan. “No one in the family knows that Cameron can’t have children, except my mother. I highly doubt she would have told Leslie of all people, and even if she had, you think Leslie would be so crude as to comment on it?”
Ronan bit his lip as his car passed the finish line. He slowly put down the controller and squared his shoulders. “She wasn’t the only one. One of your other aunts brought up a news story about two adopted children who did petty crime together, and another uncle said what a shame they weren’t at least adopted by a rich family so they could have somerespectabilityin that sense. I think it’s possible they were just referencing the fact that Cameron was adopted, but it felt more pointed than that. Either way, it seems pretty fucked up to comment on either of those things.”
Emory’s growl was almost as loud as his lion’s. He stood up and marched towards the bedroom where Cameron was resting, as if he could somehow protect him now. He didn’t make it very far before two strong arms banded around his waist, and he was yanked backward into a soft chest.
“Emory, stop. If Cameron didn’t tell you any of this, it means he doesn’t want you to know. I think that’s a separate problem you need to deal with later, but for now, you and I should find a way to run interference with the family. Or you should talk to your mother about maybe cutting the week short?”
“We haven’t gotten official approval from the family yet,” Emory said, turning around in Ronan’s arms to look down at him. “That’s supposed to happen at tomorrow’s dinner, but…this isunacceptable, Ronan. I can’t just say nothingto Cameron. Also, how am I supposed to sit across from them tomorrow and look them in the eye, knowing they have said such things about my mate? How dare they only say things when I leave the room!”
Emory’s canines extended, aching to tear into something.
Ronan tightened his grip around Emory’s back. “They said some things while you were in the room, too, Em. I assumed you and Cameron had agreed to turn the other cheek, but…”
Emory’s shoulders slumped, and his lion curled his tail between his legs. “They did? I mean, I heard the occasional jab about us not having kids, but I’m so used to ignoring it, I barely noticed.”
Ronan winced. “That's also what I heard, but some of them seemed to be implying that it was Cameron’s fault because of some of his…choices.”
“Choices?”
