Chapter 11 - Auðr

Knock. Knock. KNOCK! KNOCK!

I groaned at the incessant knocking at my hotel room door. I knew who it was. Léonel told me last night when we got to the hotel that he’d get me an hour after sunset to head to Bloodmoon. The sun had set an hour ago, so my time was up. I’d told the rest of the band we’d be in Bloodmoon. Rune wasn’t happy about it, but I told him to keep his mouth shut, or I’d shut it permanently. I’ll deal with him and the band after I’ve talked to Sage tonight.

“You are annoyingly prompt,” I grumbled as I opened the door.

“Nice to see you too, Uncle Auðr.” Léonel smiled.

His smile fell a little as he took in my choice of outfit. My nephew had chosen dressy casual clothes, so he kept his jeans and leather jacket but put on a red button-down that I’d bet he even ironed. On the other hand, I wore what I’d usually wear on a day off. Today, I’d decided to wear black skinny jeans with rips, my black Dock Martins, and an oversized white t-shirt with a skull face. I saw nothing wrong with what I’d put on after my shower.

“What?” I asked, folding my arms.

“That’s what you’re going to wear? You’re meeting Sage’s family. Their parents. Shouldn’t you want to, oh, I don’t know, make a better first impression?” Léonel asked.

“Better first impression?” I arched my brow.

Was he serious? Even as a young man, I didn’t dress to impress others. I wore what I wanted. I dress up for shows and events. Meeting Sage’s family was a byproduct of going to talk to them. I don’t need to impress their family. Let them think whatever they want. I’m not going there to seek their validation.

“Léonel, I’m a hundred twenty-eight years old. I don’t give a fuck what anyone’s first impression of me is. I’m going there to talk to Sage and resolve this situation before we go to our next show.” I shook my head.

“I know, but they are your mate. You should want their family, especially their parents, to like you.” Léonel frowned.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. I don’t need to breathe, but it helps calm me. I didn’t want to say the first thing that came to mind. I’m not unnecessarily cruel, especially to my family. So, I wouldn’t ask him how looking the part of the respectable male worked when it came to Jane and her family. That was crossing a line that didn’t need to be crossed. I won’t use his pain against him.

“And why are you dressed all presentable? These people are Leo’s in-laws. What does it serve you to jump through hoops to try and impress them?” I asked.

“That may be true, but given the impression they have of the people who were present to raise Leo, I don’t want them to believe my absence all these years makes me anything like them.” He admitted.

“Léonel…” I sighed. “You are far superior a person, and in less than a day of knowing Leo, already a better parent than either of those fuckers could dream of being.”

“You’re saying that because we’re family.” He said.

“No. While I probably tolerate you more than I would anyone else because we’re family. That’s not it. I’ll happily call out anyone in our family tree who’s a shithead. But you, Léonel, have always been a good man.” I assured, squeezing his shoulder.

“If these wolves can’t see that or give you shit for not knowing about Leo… I’ll kick their asses,” I promised with a smile.

“Uncle Auðr, please… on great great grandpa Joseph’s soul, promise me you won’t do anything violent.” Léonel pleaded.

“Fine. I won’t hurt anyone. I suppose it’s for the best. Because if I lashed out while in Bloodmoon territory, I’d have to deal with worse than Hana. I’d have to deal with Logan. I’ve yet to have the pleasure of his acquaintance, and I can only assume that hospitalizing his pack members would get me banned from the area.” I lamented.

“Good. Now, with all that out of the way. Have you fed? Do we need to stop on the way?” Léonel asked.

“I’ve had two blood bags. I’ll be fine.” I said as I pointed to the two blood bags in the trash.

“Then, if you’re ready, let’s go. You may not be eating, but Leo said Hale and Erin are hosting a BBQ for us tonight.” He said, waving for me to follow him.

“Oh, fun.” My voice was heavy with sarcasm as I flipped my black fedora on and followed him out.

The drive to the Shelton house in Bloodmoon took about two hours. It was a quiet neighborhood. Though I expected that Bloodmoon would be a peaceful place for years, I think the last time something big went down here was the massive ‘earthquake’ the Incubi Luna caused when her kid sister, the now Delta female of Bloodmoon, was kidnapped. Maybe that’s why vampires and other species have issues with wolves. The kind of power some of them possess is crazy.

“This is it,” Léonel announced as he pulled up to the curb outside a split-level traditional house.

Three cars were already in the driveway: a black jeep, a white sedan, and a gray SUV. How many live in this house? Or did the Sheltons invite more guests to their BBQ? I shrugged and climbed out of our rental car. A couple of their neighbors were staring. That was expected. Bloodmoon may be allies to Caleb’s clan, and their Princess might be mated to Albert, but that doesn’t mean that a vampire rolling up to a random house is common. Léonel nodded his head politely while I flashed my fangs.

“Behave,” Léonel whispered just as the front door swung open.

“Auðr!” Sage shouted as they jumped down the steps at me.

“Fuck hell,” I grunted, having to catch them.

If the neighbors weren’t already staring, they sure were now. I’m certain we were quite the spectacle. For all the shit Léonel had given me about my outfit, Sage was dressed similarly. Their outfit at the Pride Festival wasn’t just for the festival. Tonight, Sage was wearing combat boots, fishnets, cutoff shorts, a black Immortal Eclipse tee, and a red flannel with the sleeves slightly rolled up their forearms. They looked good. I’m not saying otherwise. However, jumping on me like this was very impulsive and trusting of them.

“Sage Casper Carlisle!” A red-haired woman shouted from the door. “Get off your guest.”

“But mom…” Sage pouted, turning their head to look at her. “He’s my mate. You’d jump on Daddy Hale if the opportunity were there.”

“Based on the noises from their room, I’m pretty sure she jumped on him plenty last night.” River snickered from behind their mother, quickly ducking away before she could swat him.

I turned my head to look at Léonel. We can’t communicate telepathically, but my expression said it all. He was worried about how my outfit would look. He worried about the impression I would make on these people. I don’t think I’m the one Léonel should’ve been concerned about in this scenario. At least not in the sense of worry about the kind of impression I’d make.

“Misters Darby.” Sage’s mother forced a smile to greet Léonel and me. “I’m Erin Carlisle, please come inside. My mate and the rest of the family are in the yard.”

“Thank you, ma’am. I’m Léonel, Leo’s… dad. And this is my uncle, Auðr.” Léonel introduced us as he walked up the steps.

“We were told all about you both last night. Leo couldn’t stop gushing about finding you and needing to send a thank you gift to David for finding you. As for Auðr, my Sage hasn’t shut up about him.” Erin chuckled.

“I see,” I said, putting Sage down despite their pouting. “I don’t intend to be here long. I’m just here to speak with Sage.”

“He’s just cranky because he had to drink from a blood bag. Please, ignore him, Miss Carlisle.” Léonel smiled at Erin while elbowing my side.

“Come on, Auðr. I want you to meet my dad, older brother, and sister-in-law.” Sage insisted as they grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs into the house.

I could hear Erin and Léonel chuckling as they followed us. I’d expected a living room at the front of the house, but instead, it was a formal dining room that Sage pulled me through first. Unlike most people’s formal dining rooms, theirs looked used often. I wondered how many people lived here or if they hosted large family dinners that often.

Next, I was pulled through the kitchen with a breakfast nook and to the great room. The great room had plenty of seating, and the walls were covered with pictures. Maybe if I were more interested, I’d want to take a closer look at all the photos, but I wasn’t interested. I also wasn’t given time to look at anything as Sage continued pulling me through the house. We exited the patio doors from the great room and onto the deck.

The yard was decorated for a big party. Colorful balloons were tied along the deck and at the ends of the long picnic table. And rainbow string lights- I don’t mean they were arranged in rainbow colors, but they were little rainbows strung around the space to give the yard a soft glow now that it was dark. An older man, I’ll assume Hale, was at the grill, while a blonde male and woman with light brown hair were laughing about something at the table with Leo and River. Everyone’s heads turned to look at us, or me specifically.

“Hey, everyone! Auðr’s here!” Sage waved. “Come on, I’ll introduce you.” They smiled, tugging me forward.

“Evening.” I nodded.

I am too old for this meet-the-family bullshit. Not to mention, I’ve yet to agree to do anything with Sage. I haven’t directly rejected them, but that doesn’t mean I’ve accepted anything. I’m no wolf, so this needs to be discussed and decided on like normal people. Meeting these people was something Léonel wanted to do. I don’t fault him for it. These are the people Leo stays with. He may not have known about Leo till the other day, but he has the instincts of a dad. He wants to know Leo is safe.