“Is everything ready?” I wander into the new dining room space we cleared and created this past week in readiness for my father’s first official visit. The room which used to be the medbay, although now our outhouse for the clinic is complete, we are freeing up space indoors. The village has come on a lot these past months and even though we know a move back to the valley is in the books, we still want this place to have a use. Some of our pack might want to live out here despite the Alpha and Luna returning to the main homestead. Sierra has already expressed a desire to continue here with Radar now that she feels her position as Rema no longer requires her to oversee the reunited Santos. I think, in all honesty, she wants to relish in her new love and honeymoon period without grossing out her son. And maybe because her old home holds memories of her ex-mate and all she suffered.
I’ll be sad to leave our home behind, but I know this is the start of a new chapter for all of us.
“So clean it’s sparkling. The grounds have been refreshed, everything scrubbed, and the manor is in top shape for this royal visit.” Meadow drolls with that sarcastic tone of hers. Standing with her head propped to one side, she scans all the details on her tick list. She is still not on board with an alliance between our kinds or accepting my father as a guest, but she’s trying. Many of the pack are still reserving judgment until they see how life continues for themselves. This visit has already caused so much upheaval and mutterings among them.
“And Colton?” I ask, looking around for my invisible mate, who has been AWOL since the first light. Off doing whatever he does every day.
“Patrolling the grounds with Radar and Jasper. Still trying to acclimatize your brother into the pack and bickering with him at every opportunity. I swear it’s become a hobby for those two; they only hang out to argue. They sound like an elderly mated couple.” Meadow sighs heavily and then goes back to her clipboard.
I can’t say I disagree. The past week has seen my brother move into the house of his own accord and spend all his spare time goading my mate into verbal spats. They’re always together and fighting but don’t seem to think giving one another space should be a thing. We offered him one of the village houses on the edge of the patrol line for some solitude, yet he moved right across from our bedroom to piss Colton off.
He was meant to be here to protect me, and yet I have barely seen him since he dropped off his luggage. I guess because I have kept Carmen close in hopes that their proximity would help things along, she acts as a natural deterrent to his presence. He’s still holding out on her, and she’s so stubborn and hurt that she’s avoiding him like the plague. It’s frustrating to have two of them in a small space like this manor and yet see them never get within thirty feet of one another. Given his acceptance of living here now, I don’t understand why he’s so certain about this.
“They’ll be here at noon. I have no idea what food we should serve, seeing as they are vampires.” Carmen appears almost by magical thought, hands on her hips and looking unusually beautiful in a simple white summer dress that flows around her legs in a carefree manner. Ethereal today and her blonde hair is golden like a halo of softness.
“Look, there was a time when we didn’t think vampires could be in the sun. Maybe they can eat human food too.” Meadow shrugs, and both Carmen and I raise a brow in unison at her.
“Isn’t that the problem with their species… they eat human food?” Carmen widens her eyes to emphasize the words human and food, and I giggle at the wordplay.
“Ughhh, you know what I mean. Let’s just serve steak. Leave it raw, and they can suck it for all I care. I mean, who doesn’t like steak?” Meadow huffs at her.
“Angelics… they’re vegans!” Demi casually wanders in, looking mischievous at his quick-witted remark, and winks our way. His pale-skinned, sandy hair and blue eyes hint at far-off DNA in his past bloodlines. For once, no sign of his identical shadow. I roll my eyes at him.
“I guess that gene was missed on you two then.” I point out. “You two could eat your own weight in steak in three minutes.” For Angelic mix breeds, they lack anything good-natured or pure in their genetic makeup.
“We’re Lycans, baby. The wolf DNA dominates everything else.”
“Speak for yourself.” Sierra appears in the room, waving about her hands that are shrouded in a blue glow as if to prove her point, and then smiles sweetly as Domi moves out of her way to let her in. She has been walking around with that honeymoon glow, a mate mark on show at her collarbone, and making me and Colton seem like we are not even lovers in comparison.
I never knew Radar could be such a touchy-feely, attentive, and mushy mate if I hadn’t seen it myself these past days. They are glued together most of the time and always touching. Sierra is like a new woman. Glowing, bubbling over with brightness, her magical gifts seem to have ramped up to crazy levels. I guess all she needed was real happiness and mutual love. No more fear of dwindling gifts anymore for her.
“I think as a Lycan pack, we pretty much fail. Most of our main hierarchy are mongrel bloods of mixed breeds. And I’m a freakin part human.” Carmen plops her ass on the edge of the new long polished dining table and tosses her hair casually over one shoulder, with that sassy manner that I’ve missed. No hint of denial anymore in admitting what she is.
Since we made it clear to our pack that bloodlines shouldn’t be a shameful secret but something to celebrate, many have come forward to profess their childhood sins of being mixed breeds. All in all, only about forty percent of the Santos can trace their blood truthfully through Lycan only. Another lie we were force-fed all these years by Juan and his stupid ideals. It’s been refreshing to see them embrace their true selves and no longer hide hidden gifts from their kind. It seems we have so many talented among us with unusual abilities that may not always be useful but are what makes them unique. No longer afraid to admit that they aren’t only Lycan.
“Steak it is.” Meadow pipes up, getting us back on track and notes something on the clipboard she’s been carrying. “I’ll tell the kitchen to prepare a carnivore's feast. I’m sure blood-sucking leec…….” She stops talking when she catches my serious eye and hesitantly swallows. Not amused at her slip into insults concerning my father. “Chica, no offense, but I mean, it’s what they do.” She points out, and I shake my head with a small affectionate smile, inwardly sighing because she’s not wrong. I’m too sensitive today because of how uptight this meeting is making me. My nerves are all on edge, and I haven’t been able to eat today.
“Not all of those with vampiric blood.” I tap my chest and wink at her before returning to fixing the floral décor in the middle of the huge table. Letting it go and exhaling slowly to relieve some pent-up stress.
“True. I’ll stop talking.”