We’re on our way to Layla’s family home. The lands of the Nech’i Tekula pack are an hour’s drive from LA, where the summit is being held.
Layla’s family has been eager to see her, especially considering how much time she’s spent away from them in the past months.
It’s rather unusual for lycan parents to be so concerned about a child. Maybe they wouldn’t be if Layla had been born with a wolf.
I watch her twirl a strand of curly hair around her fingers as she looks out the window—low-rise strip malls with their dull parking lots, hills in the background, the sky bright and expansive.
Her plush lips and hazel eyes draw me in; the curve of her collarbone over her newly toned arm is so tempting.
I have to stop looking at her, or I’m going to crash the car.
The romantic part of me wants to drive out farther into the desert and run with her—just the two of us, forever.
But no, we’re going for Sunday dinner with Layla’s parents and siblings, and maybe a grandparent or two, and probably some friends of the family, and a whole menagerie of young werewolves.
We arrive at the family home, where I discover that it’s not just Layla’s family, but that several other pack members have stopped by to say hello to Layla and pay their respects.
I feel strangely like a celebrity whenever we come back to Layla’s pack lands, and it’s not like I’m short on attention anywhere else.
I shake hands with some people I dimly remember from the mating ceremony where I met Layla’s pack.
“Lord Archer, so honored to have you visit our pack again!” Alpha Blake shakes my hand vigorously.
“Alpha Blake, it’s a pleasure to see you again. I trust you’re well?”
Layla is talking to some women around her age. She’s so at ease here, I almost feel bad that she has to follow me around.
Layla’s parents are waiting at their front door to welcome us. The assembled crowd disperses as Layla walks up to hug her siblings. I kiss her mother on the cheek and shake her father’s hand.
“Lord Archer, I’m glad you brought our daughter home to us before you take her off adventuring again!” Layla’s mother is smiling up at me approvingly as she holds my arms, too short to reach my shoulders.
She catches me off guard with her motherly demeanor. I like it. I just can’t quite get used to the idea that I’m part of their family now. I may never get used to having a real family.
We go inside and squish onto sofas in the living room while Maya brings out tea. A gaggle of Layla’s nieces and nephews are playing quietly. It had been some time since I had been around such well-behaved young pups.
Layla seems so happy to be among her family again. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’s nearly forgotten me altogether.
I watch as she talks animatedly to Kaleb about the transparent look of vampires when you photograph them. She then shows her father the photos she took while we were on safari.
“These are beautiful. Is that a leopard?” her father says, his voice full of pride.
“It is!” she replies. “We saw loads of them—you should see them run, faster than any wolf I ever saw!”
“What a glamorous life, going on safari! I’m jealous,” Maya pouts.
“Layla wasn’t anywhere near where we’re from,” Mr. Emanuel chimes in. “Safaris are such a tourist trap. I don’t suppose visiting the village of your ancestors is in your future plans?”
“You’ll be making nature documentaries before you know it,” Kaleb jokes to ease the tension.
“Yeah, nature documentaries about werewolves and vampires!” Layla rolls her eyes.
“How is the job going?” asks Maya.
“Well, I finally managed to get some vampires to appear in a picture, which was a big step forward. The werewolves I’m used to, but the siren journalists really like to get drunk at lunch,” she says.
The family all laugh. All but Mr. Emanuel, who sits quietly with a stern look on his face—no doubt due to everyone ignoring his quip about their family’s village.
“You haven’t been carrying on with sirens now, have you, Layla? I’d have thought Lord Archer would have something to say about that.”
He looks at me expectantly.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Emanuel. Your daughter is in safe hands. I won’t let any drunken tritons near her.”
He smiles approvingly.
I feel slightly out of place among someone else’s large and boisterous family—something I never had myself. I think I may even feel a hint of jealousy at their intense bond.
Layla belongs here, automatically, wherever else she goes and whatever else she does. Regardless of her parents’ pushiness, they love her. And they seem to be treating her with more respect now—like a true adult.
Mrs. Emanuel comes in to direct the family to their respective tasks. The women file into the kitchen, and the men set the table and bring in chairs.
“Lord Archer, dear, would you mind watching the children while we’re in the kitchen?” she asks.
“Er, yes, of course!” I stare in the direction of the youngsters. There are four of them, and they all seem harmless enough.
I walk over to them and stand there awkwardly—really feeling my size.
One of them stops and stares at me. Another toddles hopefully in my direction with outstretched arms.
Two more are playing with toy cars. One of them lets out a sudden shriek; I’m not sure if it’s due to being happy or in great distress.
“Hi, children. I’m Gideon.”
“Gidder!” a very small one shouts back at me.
“I’m Alex.” A girl of around five approaches me. “This is my car. I want to race.” She’s waving one of the cars at me.
“No, I want to go in the garden!” a smaller boy says.
“Those two things are not mutually exclusive,” I point out, realizing as I do that he might not yet be of an age to listen to reason.
Alex stares at me.
Before I know it, the children have descended into wailing chaos, the toy cars are being used as weapons, and one of the crew is rolling around on his back as a wolf cub.
“It’s okay, we can all have our wishes met and our conflicts resolved!” I say, increasingly panicky, holding my hands up.
A toy car hits me on the forehead.
“Calm down, everyone; everything is going to be fine!”
I hope someone arrives to rescue me before too long. I fear I’m making a bad impression.
I try again, picking Alex up and setting her aside to stop a wrestling match she’s having with the boy.
“Now, we’re all going to sit down and say what we want, and then we can decide what we’re going to do.”
They aren’t listening. If anything, they’ve gotten louder and more insistent.
Alex bites my hand.
“You little beast!” I say, eyebrows and mouth wrinkled into a snarl.
I instinctively drop her, and she begins to wail.
I could use a little help right now, so I mind-link my emotions to Layla.
It makes zero sense.
I’m a fierce negotiator. I have navigated harsh political climates and stopped wars. But I cannot seem to get four little pups to listen and behave.
I set my dish on the table and watch Gideon from across the room. Meno is in wolf cub form and seems to have attached himself and his runny nose to Gideon’s sleeve.
“I want to go in the garden, but Alex won’t let me, and we have to go there because…” little Bren screams through tears.
“Diplomatic skills are working out for you here then?” I ask him, plucking Meno from his sleeve as Alex starts crying.
“You’re here,” he says. “I thought I was going to disgrace myself in front of your family.”
It’s funny to see Gideon so lost. He’s so competent with literally everything else—always in control, always on point.
Now his hair is a little ruffled and he’s got a smudge on his shirt.
“What happened to your head?”
There’s a small red mark on his forehead.
“Caught in the line of fire,” he says, waving Alex’s favorite car at me.
I guess he hasn’t had to deal with children much.
Alex comes to hang onto my leg.
“Come sit down, we’re going to eat in a second,” he says to me.
Gideon gives me a kiss.
“Thanks for saving me from your nieces and nephews!”
It’s funny being at the table with so many people again; it’s been a long time since I saw my family, especially because I used to go home to them every weekend.
It feels good to be home, although I’m still glad to have escaped my hometown.
Kaleb is telling the story of a recent unlikely pairing, a friendly baking enthusiast who is mated to one of the most scandalous bad boys of the pack.
He was in my class in high school. He seemed harmless, although maybe not that smart.
Apparently, there are rumors of him hanging out with vampires and getting girls pregnant.
“It is funny how these things work,” says Mom. “You never know whether you’ll find your mate in the house next door or a land far away.”
Dad nods sagely. Abraham squeezes Maya’s hand.
“So, Gideon, the little ones didn’t terrorize you too much, I hope,” says Kaleb, smiling impishly.
“Kaleb, Lord Archer will make a wonderful father when the time comes!” says Mom.
“My grandchildren are my greatest joy,” she adds, looking at me as she says it.
“They’re lovely children, really,” Gideon says, and it may just be the first time I have seen him lie.
“Wanna share how you got that shiner on your head?” Kaleb says, saving Gideon from having to talk anymore about his love of children.
“There was a minor car-related incident, but I think we managed to come to an agreement in the end.”
The table laughs.
I was prepared to have to manage Mom’s expectations. Sooner or later, I knew this would become a talking point. It was only a matter of time.
My parents really love being grandparents.
But I want to do more exploring and take more photos before I have to think about whether we want a family.
Of course, Mom couldn’t resist a comment about how she’d like more grandkids. But she hasn’t asked me outright at the dinner table when I’m going to have a baby, which seems like an improvement.
I’m just going to enjoy this. I’d expected that every time I came home my family would be the same. I love them either way, but it’s a nice change to feel like they respect me now.
Although I’m still a little annoyed that I had to be mated to a prominent lycan to get them to see me as an independent adult.
I’ve never asked Gideon if he wants kids; I always thought we’d have that conversation way later. He gives me a sideways smile as my family continues to talk, gossip about the pack and what they think might come out of the summit.
Everyone has an opinion to give.
Grandma nudges me with a naughty smile.
“You make sure you have plenty of fun with this handsome man before you go having any babies!”
“Thanks, Grandma. I will.”
“You can always have fun after too, of course, like I am!” she adds brightly.
Gideon offers to help with the dishes, and my mom looks delighted.
“What a gentleman your mate is. You two are lucky to have found each other!”
I’m so glad my family loves Gideon, even though they didn’t meet under the best circumstances. I don’t really know what he thinks of them.
I could feel his panic when he had to deal with the kids, but I can’t always see how he feels. I’m not powerful enough yet, or maybe it only works sometimes; I don’t really know.
We say goodbye and promise to come by again before we leave. In the car heading back toward the city lights, I wonder about how Gideon feels.
Family time around a dinner table in a small town away from the glitz and glamour of the palace is not really his style. How often is it really that he ever hangs out with normal people?
“I hope you don’t find my family too much,” I say.
“Nothing about you is too much,” he replies.
That’s not much of an answer. In fact, it was exactly the kind of response Gideon gives when he doesn’t want to talk about something.
“I mean, I’d find it a lot to socialize with your family if there were so many of them.”
“Well, you’re lucky to have a large family and that everyone seems to genuinely like one another. For me, it’s basically just Louis. He’s all I’ve got,” he says.
I can’t sense how he’s feeling; when I try, I’m immediately confused. So I leave him be and look out the window as we pass the neon of a gas station in a small town.
When I don’t respond, Gideon adds, “And you. You and Louis are my family.”
