“Sure,” he says quietly. “Want to talk about it?”
I huff. “Not really. It’s just my parents being their usual selves.”
“Ah, so it’s not only Ethan being an idiot.” He hesitates for a moment, then nudges me. “You know how I’ve got five incredibly annoying older sisters?” At my nod, he continues. “You’re like the brother I never had.”
I swallow around the sudden lump in my throat. I hesitate, then grab him in a hug and mumble into his shoulder. “Same.”
He grips me tightly for a few seconds before patting my back. “If you ever need a mum hug, let me know and I’ll get my parents to visit for a weekend. You know my mum will squeeze the stuffing out of you at any opportunity.”
“Thanks.” I let him go, feeling awkward and more than a little overwhelmed.
I suspect he can tell, because he wiggles his eyebrows. “Want to shift and race around the lake? I bet I can make it back here first.”
I manage a flicker of a smile. “Tempting, but we should get back in there.”
“Probably. Ooh, if we’re quick, we might catch the fight.”
I jerk. “What fight?”
He grins. “Between Ethan and Bryn. Your dragon texted Ethan, and whatever he said, Ethan wasnothappy.”
I rush past him, heading for the front doors. “You couldn’t have told me that sooner?”
Before Jet can reply, Bryn appears at the door to the manor, his body covered in scales and his eyes a matching crimson.
“Uh oh,” Jet says, sounding delighted rather than worried. “I’d better go check if Ethan’s still alive.”
‘What’s happened?’ I ask Bryn as we meet at the bottom of the front steps and Jet heads inside.
Bryn can’t sign when he’s partially shifted like this, and he responds by tugging me into his arms. He’s tense all over and there’s a deep rumbling coming from his chest.
Since a hug from my boyfriend is exactly what I need right now anyway, I bury my face in the crook of his neck and inhale his scent while I wait for him to calm down. It’s familiar and comforting, like toasted marshmallows over a campfire, and succeeds in soothing the last of the ache in my chest after that phone call. I lick the nearest scale, unable to resist tasting him.
He shivers and squeezes me tighter as his scales retract and the rumbling stops. I press a kiss to his neck but don’t take it further. I simply soak up the possessive way he holds me.
One of my favourite things about him is that he’s never hidden the intensity of how much he wants to be with me. After a lifetime of my parents never caring, never showing any indication of loving me at all, I need that extra reassurance.
Perhaps that’s why I’ve been so desperate to find my mate, and why I was willing to rush into initiating a bond with Bryn. I’ve seen how much finding Ayo has calmed Ethan down and given him a sense of security he’s never had, despite having the rest of us around him for years now. I wanted that too. That certainty that I’d have a person of my own who’d never leave me, who’d never avoid my calls or make me their lowest priority.
Whether Bryn is my fated mate or not, he never fails to make me feel special.
Eventually we part enough to sign. ‘What did your father have to say?’ Bryn asks, his brow furrowed.
I huff out a breath. ‘They’re going to visit my uncle in India for the festival, and I’m not invited.’
‘Shit, treasure. I’m sorry they’ve decided that, although to be honest your parents seem like right selfish arseholes.’
I snort, a wry twist to my lips. ‘You’re not wrong. Anyway, Jet offered to lend me his mum whenever I need a parent, so I’m okay.’
Bryn’s tension eases. ‘What’s she like?’
‘Jet’s mum?’ I can’t help my smile. ‘She’s a happy woman who adores everyone, and feeding people is her love language. I gain several pounds every time I visit.’
His smile is soft. ‘She seems amazing.’
‘She is; you’ll find out for yourself when you meet her. Anyway, what happened between you and Ethan?’
‘It’s nothing.’
