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.Time to face the music aka meet the family Auðr lol
“Where’s my… Léonel ?” Leo asked cocking their head, still unsure how to address him. “I’m right here.” Léonel greeted, patting Auðr’s shoulder. “It’s going to be fine, uncle. It’s just a bunch of wolves.” I heard him whisper “Hello. I’m Hale Shelton. Welcome to our house.” Dad greeted as Mom moved to his side. “You’ve met my mate and already know River and Leo. This is my son Austin and his mate Suzanne Walterson.” He gestured to my older brother and his mate. “It’s nice to meet you all. Thank you for inviting us. I know it’s all a bit awkward.” Léonel said. “I’m Léonel Darby, and this is my great great uncle Auðr.” He introduced. “My mate.” I proudly declared, squeezing his hand. “So you’ve mentioned.” Hale smiled fondly at me. The dude has always accepted how crazy River and I can be. That’s why we love him and so easily call him dad. He’s the best dad either of us could ask for. I’m thankful every day he’s in our lives. And tonight, I hope his easily accepting and calming p
What did I just agree to? I haven’t been thinking clearly since meeting Sage yesterday. And now, sitting on their bed with this damn wolf mating book, which didn’t say us being mates was impossible and how sure they are of all this. Outside of my sexuality, I don't think I’ve ever been as sure of something as Sage is that I’m their mate. I’d come here with a mind of telling Sage this wasn’t going to happen. You can see where that determination got me. I have agreed to a monogamous, long-distance relationship with an eighteen-year-old who, despite describing themselves as a demisexual, has a habit of getting their tongue in my mouth. I’m not complaining about the last part.Kissing Sage was strangely better than that first sip of fresh blood after waking up. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, compare it to that first sip of coffee or your drink of choice that wakes you up and makes life tolerable. Things were getting good when I felt Sage check out, so to speak, from the kiss. W
Damn it! I knew I recognized that pack name for a reason. My brain was too fried from all the Auðr hotness to think straight. Plus, I only remember important shit. There is zilch important about Dane Blackburn or his stupid pack. How fucking dare these assholes show up here unannounced and unin-FUCKING-vited. How dare their arrival get in the way of my private time with my mate. Things were getting good before they decided to crash the party.“Alpha Dane is dead.” one of the old fucks said.I’m not always good at remembering names and faces. At least not when I first meet someone. Even less when I don’t want to meet them, but I’m pretty sure the one that just talked, the brunette with brown eyes, was named Joar. I think Alpha Logan said he was the Beta. I don’t care what rank he held in Steelcrest. I don’t care about Steelcrest.I glanced at River and Mom. Based on their expressions, this was news to them. Mom looked conflicted. I think no matter how much she hated the shitstain. She’s
That was a lot to dump on an eighteen-year-old kid. I get that Logan kept them at bay for the last six months, but why not keep them away even longer? If François told him I’d meet Sage at the Pride Festival, why bring them so soon? I know there’s a blood moon eclipse this month, but there’s another one in December. So why bring them now if he knew we’d just met? Why not wait till December? Probably because they wouldn’t wait that long. When Sage started putting themselves down and generally displaying textbook shutting down and overwhelmed behavior, I was ready to shut this shit down. I’ve spent decades bringing depressed and suicidal people back from the edge. I know the signs of someone about to break. Like my bandmates, I wanted to step in and protect Sage from all this. My intervention wasn’t required, at least not to get Sage away from the Steelcrest elders. Sage handled that expertly. Even I couldn’t see in the darkness they created. No wonder their wolf is named Eclipse.
Was Auðr being serious? He looks serious. Yet, I’m still struggling to wrap my head around it. If our roles were reversed, would I be as calm as Auðr? Would I accept this massive life change with such ease and grace? Would I stick around to see if I could handle it? I don’t know. I don’t even know how to handle this in our current roles. ‘Auðr is right. I help ground you, but he’ll be that missing piece to the puzzle that is your soul. With our mate at our side, there’s nothing we can’t do.’ Eclipse assured me. Eclipse was the only person I was letting communicate with me, and well, he’s my wolf, so I kind of can’t shut him out. I could feel the pack and family link banging on my head as everyone tried to reach me. Thankfully, by focusing on Auðr and our conversation, I could ignore everyone else. “I wish I was as sure of things as you and my wolf.” I frowned. “You don’t have to be sure of anything, Sage,” Auðr said. “I take that back. There is one thing you need to be sure about.
In my century-plus years, I’ve seen many technological advancements. Some were good, some were bad. And none have been as perfect a double-edged sword as the internet. The internet connects people and expands the accessibility of knowledge to the masses. It also gives a platform for people, some of whose inside thoughts ought to have remained that way, an opportunity to hurt others globally. All aside, as a supernatural being held accountable to the statute of secrecy, the internet is the worst invention ever. Before the internet, it was much easier to say you were someone else, and no one made a connection. It wasn’t a huge deal for many of my kind because they weren’t in the public eye. For the others in the band and me, it is. With the internet and conspiracy theories out there, we may find ourselves back into permanent retirement from performing to protect the statute of secrecy. I don’t know if I’m ready to give up music, and I know the others aren’t. How easily Sage found p
I didn’t fully understand everything, but it made sense in my heart and soul. Auðr and I have always meant to be. It didn’t matter what year it was or what species we would find each other. That’s the kind of destiny I can get on board with. The sort of destiny that makes having to share even a drop of blood with that sperm donor is worth it. It’s worth it when it means I get to kiss Auðr. Sure, the steering wheel was uncomfortably prodding my spine, but that didn’t matter. A little pain was nothing in comparison to the pleasure of touching Auðr’s bare chest, of how his tongue entwined his mine, of how his fingers felt as they danced their way under my shirt. I gasped as we suddenly moved. Auðr had pulled the lever to recline his seat back, so now I wasn’t simply in his lap but lying on top of him. Am I a top? Is Auðr a bottom? I didn’t know, but I couldn’t wait to figure that out. I know there’s still a lot we need and should be talking about. But why waste Auðr’s lips on words wh
I don’t like that cop. I don’t need to know him. I don’t care to know him. He cockblocked. He implied that I have an STD or am at least a carrier. I’m a vampire. We can smell tainted blood, and don’t mess around with that. All of that aside, what has put that wolf on my shit list is that he embarrassed and upset Sage with his nonsense. I needed space between us and that pack. My hotel room was the most logical destination. We shouldn’t be interrupted there. And while my dick’s priority has been fucking Sage since they climbed on my lap and started grinding themselves against it, sex doesn’t have to happen. If Sage’s interest has fizzled by the time we get to my room, it’ll be fine. Sage did say they are demisexual, so I was not expecting a consistently high libido. I didn’t want to start a serious conversation during the drive. Talking about what happens if Sage takes Steelcrest’s offer sounded like a one-way ticket to not getting laid. I turned on the radio to avoid a mood-killing