“Nonsense,” his mother said smoothly. “We’ve got it handled. Go next door with Ronan, and we’ll see you both in a few hours.”
Cameron rushed forward and threw his arms around Emory’s mother, before doing the same to Emory, pressing up onto his tiptoes to give Emory a peck on the lips. Before Emory could beg to go with them, he and Ronan disappeared down the hall.
He gave his mother what he hoped was an endearing pout, but he’d never been very good at it. Jonathon had been an expert at dodging chores and avoiding tough situations. He’d managed to leave the pride, after all, and there was no tougher situation than that.
His mother studied him for a moment before shaking her head, turning on her heel, and exiting the room. Emory was left to organize the final menu with the kitchen staff and direct their butlers in setting up the formal dining room.
By the early afternoon, the aunts began arriving, and Emory kept a close eye on Leslie. Most of the family barely tolerated her, but there were a few cousins and two sets of aunts who lit up when she approached.
Ariel and Corin arrived right before dinner was set to start, and Emory hastened to claim the seats next to them.
“We’re so excited to have Cameron officially join the family,” Corin exclaimed, wrapping a wiry arm around his shoulders.
“Yes, he’s an absolute joy to be around. Where is he now?” Ariel asked.
“Rather typical of someone with no culture to disrespect those of other shifters,” Leslie said under her breath. It was so quiet Emory wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t already been watching her.
“Excuse me?” Emory asked, his voice low but fierce.
The room fell silent, and Leslie looked up, first at Emory, then his mother, and finally at her rat–quite literally, he was a beta rat shifter–of a husband. Emory did his best not to stereotype, but he really was sniveling and pathetic. Always quick to agree with his more dominant omega mate, but also quick to turn on her if the situation called for it. His beady eyes bounced back and forth between Emory and Leslie, clearly waiting to see how things would play out.
“I’m just saying that I asked the boy about his family’s mating and breeding traditions, and all he could tell me was about his adopted parents’ very flamboyant dances.”
“I’d be careful, Leslie,” one of the other uncles growled. He was an omega eagle shifter who practiced similar mating-dance traditions. His beta wife had chosen to employ lion shifter culture for their mating, but Emory had always wondered if his uncle felt he had missed out.
“My apologies; I mean nothing against seahorses or other shifters who dance. I just find their idealistic view of relationships a bit old-fashioned,” Leslie said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Just because you’re a pretty boy who does a pretty dance doesn't meananythingin the grand scheme of life. How do you know if his family's values align with your family’s? How do you know if he’ll uphold the family company by birthing you strong, healthy cubs? See, this isn’t a problem for us lions because we have our family to do the digging. They can find out, for example, if a boy who doesn’t even want to be a boy, with no culture to speak of, can’t even birth his own children and yet is still trying to court the head of the family.”
Emory’s lion slammed to the surface, forcing Emory to his feet and unleashing a roar that shook the glasses on the table. He managed to avoid a full shift, but his claws came out and ripped through the tablecloth he had set across the table earlier.
Ariel rose up next to him, her snake tongue snapping out of her mouth as she hissed. Corin jumped to her feet next to her mate, snarling as several other family members let out equally distressed feline growls. He was too angry to note who was on his side, but he vowed to find out later. Right now, he had to focus all his attention on not shifting on top of the dining room table.
Emory’s mother banged her fist on the table, and the room fell silent.
“That is quite enough! If you have an opinion, you can share it in the vote.”
“You don’t think we should discuss this, Sabrina?” Leslie’s sniveling mate asked. “Leslie was very diligent in her interrogations this week; I’m sure she has more to share.”
“I, for one, would like to hear more. Especially regarding whatever she heard about the ocean boy’s fertility. Why were we not privy to this knowledge?” Emory’s aunt Bela said, bringing her glass of wine primly to her lips.
“Oh, I have lots more to share. It seems the boy is overly invested in the environment with no eye for business or capitalistic pursuits. He will clearly never join the family business. First, we have Jonathon run off and abandon his post, and now Emory wants to mate with someone who is more concerned with frilly clothing than carrying on the family name like a proper omega!”
“Well, won’t you be happy to hear then that Jonathon has returned? He may even make an appearance this week,” Ronan drawled, appearing in the doorway with an absolutely devastated-looking Cameron.
“Cameron…” Emory moved to go to him, but he stopped at the sudden fierceness in Cameron’s eyes.
“I don’t know what I have done to earn your hatred,” Cameron said, his glare bouncing between the different members of the family. “Aside from not meeting your archaic expectations of family structures and the role of an omega. To be frank, though, I don’t think I care anymore. You can sit here and act like you have Emory’s best interests at heart, but you obviously don’t if you would vote against what he wants for himself.”
Emory was stunned speechless. Even his lion was silent. Several members of the family murmured around him, but Cameron wasn’t done.
“No matter what you say, imply, or whisper about me, I know Emory wants to be with me. He respects me and cares for me, and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with him, building a family exactly the way we see fit. No, my parents and I are not related by blood, but that doesn’t mean my parents love me any less. If we ever decide to have children, they won’t be related to us by blood, just as Emory and I aren’t related, but that doesn’t mean I will love them or Emory any less. At the end of the day…” Cameron’s voice broke, and he shook his head violently, as if he could shake away the tears. Ronan placed a gentle hand on Cameron’s shoulder, and he leaned into the touch.
“At the end of the day, I know that’s all that matters. I will love Emory with every fiber of my being until the day I die, and if that’s not enough for you, I don’t think there is anything I can say or do that will change your minds, and–and I’m tired of being your punching bag this week. I don’t deserve this!” Cameron took in a shaky breath, but it turned into a sob, and he turned and fled from the room.
Emory whipped his head around to face Leslie, but before he could say anything, three pairs of hands were on him and shoving him towards the door. He knew two were from his aunts, and one felt distinctly like his mother, but he didn’t stop to check. He allowed Ronan to grab him and drag him by the wrist out of the dining hall.
“Go! I’ll take care of things here. Perhaps they want to hear more about your elusive cousin who dropped into my DMs today,” Ronan said as he shoved Emory towards the stairs.
“And Emory?” Ronan called when Emory was halfway up the stairs. He turned around on the landing, hand gripping the railing so hard, he was surprised it didn’t crack. “When you find him, say whatever else it is you need to say, but for fucks sake, tell him how badly you love him, too.”
