His father jerks his head back at us and blinks owlishly for a moment. It would be comical if it wasn’t true.
“Well,” he clears his throat. “Thatissomething. And here I thought you were going to introduce me to the woman you’re with. Is this the one you left for so many years ago?”
Lynx lets out a nervous chuckle and runs his free hand through his hair, and now I’m starting to feel uncomfortable.
I feel someone poking at the edges of my mind testing my walls, trying to find any weakness, so I reinforce my barriers. I’m sure it’s Lynx’s family just testing that I’m good enough for their son. I can see how it would be something any father would do to their child’s mates. That doesn’t mean I should give them easy access though.
It dawns on me that I knownothingabout his family. I have no idea how they felt about him leaving home at such a young age, or their stance on me not being a shifter, or how they’re going to feel about me dragging Lynx through…well, HELL with me.
My stomach knots up as I go clammy, and I desperately seek out Lynx through our link.
‘HELP! I’m freaking out here,’I manage to get out.
‘I got ya.’He squeezes my hand and steps closer to the bed, dragging me with him.
Yep, bring me closer to your father…that will solve my freaking issue.
“Yes. This is Nerezza, my mate,” he says with pride, wrapping his arm around me and tucking me into his side. His action brings me more relief than I could imagine, and I find myself leaning into his heat.
‘It’s okay, Rezzi. They will love you. Nothing to be worried about. Promise.’
‘Swear?’
‘You can rename my balls if I’m wrong,’he promises.
‘Damn. A ball promise? You must be serious,’I tease.
He glances down at me with his eyebrow quirked.‘Deadly.’
Sierra smiles from the other side of Lynx’s dad as she observes us. “Well, it’s nice to officially meet you, Nerezza. I’m glad our son could find you.” She grabs a wet cloth and wipes away some of the oozing blood from Knot’s head wound while her husband does the last stitch. “So, who’s this gentleman, and what do you mean about needing to leave Hell?”
“He’s just our Door Knight at Purgatory Prep,” Lynx mumbles.
I scoff and give him a jolt in the rib with my elbow. “Stop it, Lynx. That’s just rude. He’s more than a Door Knight,” I scoldhim and look up to see his parents looking at me with emotion in their eyes.
His mother quickly walks around the table, being careful of Knots’ wings, and stands before us with her jaw open as if she’s trying to find words.
‘Is your mother okay? Did I say something wrong?’
She raises her hand to touch Lynx’s face but pauses, and his father quickly joins us around the table and draws her into his arms.
“Mom?” Lynx hesitantly questions.
Fuck this. I’m getting weirded out.
“Did I do something wrong?” I ask, and my words seem to break the spell for Sierra.
“Did you name him?” she asks, almost desperately.
“Yeah, but I was six,” I try to explain, but she waves away my excuse.
“No, dear, you did nothing wrong.” She sniffles. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I love the name,” she says, wiping away a tear that breaks free from its hold.
“I’m sorry. What’s going on?” I ask, a bit confused.
Lynx’s dad turns Sierra towards him and quickly kisses her forehead before she smiles up at him and nods. She gives us a watery smile and leaves the room without a word.
Okay, I’m not freaking out at all here.
