22. ~Ronan~
Chapter 22
~Ronan~
“Holy fucking hell.” I stood at the entrance of the Cauldron, staring at the madhouse before me.
“Ronan!” Celine beamed as she hurried over and looped her arm through mine. “Don’t worry. I know it looks scary, but it’s not so bad.”
“We’ll see,” I muttered, steeling my spine as the uncles standing near the bar turned to stare me down when I walked into the menagerie that was family dinner.
“This isn’t how the pub usually looks. We rearrange the tables when we have family dinner so we can sit together.”
There were several four-top tables stacked together down the center of the pub, set with silverware and napkins. There were more tables against a wall with covered dishes that smelled delicious.
But I couldn’t even think about eating as Celine walked me straight toward the lion’s den—her father. He was sitting next to a woman who must be Celine’s mother at one end of the long table. He immediately stood as we drew closer.
My gut clenched at the imposing figure of her father. He was about my size, but that didn’t diminish the alpha dominance radiating off him. There was no doubt he’d rip my throat out, or try, if I stepped one toe out of line with his daughter. Thankfully, I didn’t plan to. Ever.
“Mom and Dad”—Celine blew out a nervous breath and dropped my arm—“this is Ronan Reed. Ronan, these are my parents, Evie and Mateo Cruz.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” I extended my hand to her mother first. “And you, Ronan,” Evie said lightly, shaking my hand with a warm smile. It was obvious where Celine got her optimistic, cheerful personality.
I then held out my hand to her father. “It’s good to meet you, Mr. Cruz.”
His stare was so hard it almost made me laugh. He was obviously trying with great effort not to throttle me on the spot. I’d been in his house, his daughter’s bedroom, without his permission, and he had to know where she’d spent last night.
But Celine was an adult, and if he didn’t want his daughter to disown him, he had to play nice. I’d never met a father of a girlfriend. Perhaps because my relationships lasted all of a couple weeks before they fizzled. No woman had ever captured me but for a few moments.
Celine wasn’t my girlfriend. That word was too small for what she was to me. She was my everything. My beginning and end. And no matter what her father thought of me, I would never leave her .
So I stood there, my hand extended, waiting like a jackass for him to welcome me into the fold. To shake my hand like a man. For a breathless second, I thought he might not. Both of the women in his life stood there, staring wide-eyed, waiting like me.
Fucking finally, he lifted his arm and shook my hand. Surprisingly, he didn’t do that machismo bullshit of trying to squeeze my hand to death, the kind of pissing contest I expected from people like Baron Hammond. No, he shook my hand with a decent grip, then let go and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Ronan. Could I talk to you for a minute?” He gestured off to the side.
“Dad,” snapped Celine.
“Mateo,” his wife said with a hint of warning.
He raised his palms to them with a semi-smile. “It’s okay. I just want to talk to him, man to man.”
Celine turned to me and whispered, even though every werewolf, vampire, and grim reaper—I’d noticed at least one at the bar—could hear everything she said. “You don’t have to.”
I cleared my throat so I wouldn’t laugh. I definitely had to do this. She might not understand the man-to-man, especially alpha-to-alpha, dynamic. Backing down would make me a coward. And I wasn’t that, especially when it came to her. I’d stand up against a thousand alphas for her.
“It’s fine.” I touched her back gently. “Let me chat with your dad.”
Mateo’s brows shot up in a semblance of respect before returning to the grave expression that had greeted me. Then he walked to the back corner of the pub with a small stage where they must have live music .
We took seats opposite each other. I clasped my hands loosely on the table, waiting for the threatening speech he planned to give me. My advantage was that I’d been given more hard speeches in my lifetime than most of the people in this entire room. From my grandfather to my aunt and uncle, my high school counselors and teachers, my juvie parole officer, past bosses at the mundane jobs I’d held, I’d been given a hundred you-better-straighten-up speeches. I understood why they gave them to me. I was a bit of a fuck-up in my youth until I found fighting as an outlet. But even that came with shitty speeches from relatives. It had led me into a life of violence, inside and out of the ring. But, eventually, that had led me here to New Orleans—to Celine—where I belonged.
So it didn’t matter what her father was about to say. I’d accept it and go about loving his daughter with all my heart regardless of whatever threats he planned to lay on me.
“I looked into you, Ronan.”
Here we go. I didn’t nod or offer any response. I simply waited. “Quite an impressive streak of arrests in Texas.”
Still, I sat there, not saying a word. There was nothing to say. Not yet.
“But I’m not going to judge a book by its cover.” He glanced at my cheek where I knew I had a bruise from Friday’s fight. “My daughter speaks very highly of you.”
I had no idea why, but my heart rate sped erratically. This was unexpected.
He paused, then went on. “I don’t know you. That will come in time. But I know my daughter. She’s smart and strong, and I trust her. So if she cares about you the way she does, then she sees good in you. ”
My entire body locked up. I gulped hard, my chest rising and falling more quickly. He could detect that, of course, which I didn’t much like. I didn’t want anyone knowing they’d gotten to me. But this father, who didn’t know me one fucking bit, giving me the benefit of the doubt, had my emotions in a tailspin. Not what I’d expected at all.
“So I suppose what I wanted to say was that”—he leaned forward, elbows on the table—“I’m not going to kill you for sneaking into my house that night. I know what it feels like to pursue your mate.”
I actually startled at that. “You know?”
He scoffed. “Yeah, Ronan. I know.” A heavy dose of sarcasm laced his voice.
“Then you know I’m not going anywhere.”
“That’s why we’re having this conversation. I’m very protective when it comes to my family, especially my women.”
“I get that.”
“Good. Then I guess we understand each other.”
Done with this uncomfortable, if surprising, conversation, I stood. So did he.
Then his voice dropped wolf-deep, his eyes flashing gold as he said, “But if you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
For some reason, that made me smile. He loved her deeply.
As he should.
“Sir, hurting Celine would be like cutting out my own heart. That’s not going to happen.”
His eyes darkened to the normal brown, and his brows shot up in surprise. “Let’s introduce you to the rest of the family. ”
As soon as we walked back toward the circus milling around the room, Celine grabbed my hand and steered me toward the bar. “You need a drink.”
“More than anything,” I agreed.
She laughed, squeezing my hand to reassure me, my insides melting at her sweet affection.
Then we were approaching the bar where her many uncles stood along with Samara and a woman with blond hair and blue-dyed ends. They all turned at our approach.
“Okay, everyone. This is Ronan. He’s Shane Reed’s nephew. Be nice. Ronan, this is my uncle Nico.”
He gave me a nod. “I know your uncle well.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I heard he kidnapped your mate once.”
They all laughed except Nico, who rolled his eyes. “Don’t remind me. She can take care of herself anyway.” He wrapped his arm around the waist of the woman with partly dyed hair.
“You bet your ass I can.” She held out her hand to me. “Hi, there, handsome. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
When we shook hands, I felt her magic like a cool shiver rushing along my skin.
“Oh wow. Great energy, Ronan.” She pursed her brow. “This is Aunt Violet,” Celine said.
Then Celine went down the line and introduced an insanely long list of family members whose names I wasn’t sure I’d ever remember.
“Nice to meet you all,” I said, blowing out an exhausted breath. “Can I get a beer? ”
Celine pushed me around them all to the bar where a brawny bearded man, a human, was making drinks. She told me that he was her uncle JJ who wasn’t a blood-related uncle but who might as well be. I was beginning to understand that Celine’s family encompassed even more than the ten thousand blood relatives I’d just met. They seemed to gather others into their fold, simply because that’s the way they were.
JJ slid some kind of vodka drink from the smell of it to Violet, then turned to me. “What’s your poison, son?”
“Anything cold and alcoholic,” I said quickly.
He grinned, and I thought in another life, he’d make a great werewolf. “How about something a little stronger than beer?”
“Yes, please.”
Celine wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me close as if her relatives weren’t all around us, stressing me the fuck out. Besides the adults, there were a ton of kids everywhere, some younger ones who must be elementary age and also some loud teenagers in another corner doing some kind of TikTok dance or something. A set of blond-haired twin girls giggled at videos on one of their phones at the main table.
“My other aunts are in the kitchen. Joaquin and Diego too. Joaquin learned his love of cooking from my aunt Jules, who owns this place.”
“Diego likes cooking?”
“Hell no.” She laughed. “But we take turns helping in the kitchen for each meal. I got a reprieve this time since you were coming. So thank you for saving me from cooking duty.”
“You don’t cook?” I asked, smiling. “Nope. So now you know my weakness. ”
I leaned down to her ear and whispered as low as possible. “I know your real weakness.” Then I gave her hip a squeeze.
She blushed and whispered back, “Yeah, you do.”
“Good thing I’m not completely useless in the kitchen.”
“You can cook more than breakfast food?” she teased.
“Just wait till I cook you dinner. I can make a mean manicotti.”
“Truly?” Her green eyes lit up, lifting the anxiety from meeting her family.
“I’m not a chef or anything, but I can keep us alive with some decent meals.” Then I frowned, realizing what I was insinuating. “I mean, if later we would live together.”
Her expression softened. “Yes, that’s a good thing. We’d spend a fortune on takeout otherwise.” Her little comment meant everything to me. She was thinking long term now, and that’s all I needed to know.
“Here you go.” JJ slid a drink my way with an orange and lemon rind. “That’s a Sazerac. Sip it slowly.”
“Thanks.”
“Dinnertime!” yelled Aunt Violet as people carried platters and bowls of food out to the buffet table.
It was a madhouse as this giant family lined up and made their way through the line. After filling my plate with blackened redfish topped with crawfish étouffée, parmesan truffle potatoes, asparagus with buttery garlic sauce, and freshly baked french bread, my stomach was actually growling.
“This is family dinner?” I huffed a laugh as we sat down.
“Yeah,” said Diego, taking the seat next to me. “We do bougie family dinners with two chefs in the family now.”
“Is this your étouffée?” Celine asked Joaquin on a whisper .
He nodded, glancing down the table at their aunt Jules. “Yessss,” she hissed quietly.
“What’s the secret?” I whispered.
“Joaquin’s étouffée is spicier and is just a little better than Aunt Jules’s.”
Joaquin shushed her. “Don’t say that at the table.”
Morgan sat next to Joaquin. “I can hear y’all from the buffet table,” he grumbled. He had the personality of most grims rather than a vampire. “Your whispering is still too loud.”
“Anyway,” said Celine, “taste it.”
I took a bite as Samara joined our group on the other side of me.
“Damn.” I shook my head. “You may have to give me some lessons,” I told Joaquin. “I may need them.” Then I winked at Celine.
She blushed again and settled into eating her meal. Violet and Nico sat near us, too, then Mateo and Evie on the other side of them. Everyone dug into their meals, and for a few minutes, the only sound was forks on plates.
“Hey,” said Diego cheerfully, “has Celine ever told you about her most embarrassing moment?”
“Diego,” warned Celine. “ Don’t .”
“Remember that, Joaquin?” He turned to their triplet. “You mean Morgan’s fourth birthday party at his house?”
“Stop, Joaquin,” commanded Celine. “I’m your favorite, remember?”
Joaquin pretended he didn’t hear her and added, “That was hilarious.”
“What happened?” I asked, palming her thigh underneath the table and giving her a squeeze .
“You don’t want to know,” she told me. “But I really do,” I said.
“We were around five, I think,” said Diego. “It was a swim party with sprinklers to jump through and slip-n-slides. Uncle Ruben had decked out their whole backyard with the works.”
“They have a huge backyard,” added Joaquin.
“The problem was, Celine had been raised with brothers.” Diego grinned.
“I hate y’all,” she said.
Diego continued. “So when we ran off into the bushes to go pee like we’d done a million times back at our house while playing in the yard—”
“I’d like to say that was only the wolf in us,” interjected Joaquin, “but we all did it. Even Morgan.”
“Yeah, it was no big deal at home,” said Diego. “But Morgan had all these rich friends, kids from all the elite vampire families there, along with their parents, watching over us in the yard.” He laughed. “And Celine didn’t even try to hide herself in the bushes. She just stopped by a tree, squatted in her bikini, and peed by the tree.”
“I so hate y’all.” Celine’s head was in her hands.
Her father was staring at his plate, obviously trying not to laugh.
Then Aunt Violet piped up. “Cici, sweetie, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Says the sister who’s never embarrassed by anything,” added Evie. “But you were so little, Celine. No one noticed.”
Morgan, Diego, and Joaquin all guffawed. “ Everyone noticed,” said Diego. “It was priceless. Perfect little princess peeing on a tree in front of all the rich vampire families of New Orleans. ”
Celine shot a murderous look at Diego, and I noted the stress lines around the tightness of her mouth. I didn’t like that.
I squeezed her thigh under the table, catching her gaze. “Good thing none of that shit matters. Who cares what the rich vampires think? You’re not mated to any of them.”
The table went silent, and I didn’t give a shit. All I cared about was the way Celine looked at me, her eyes glassy with adoration, though she still wasn’t smiling.
Then I said low, only for her, “Isn’t that right, baby? And I think you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”
The whole family was watching this display, and I honestly didn’t care. I just wanted her smile. Then she gave it to me.
“Yeah,” she said a little hoarsely. “That’s right.”
I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “You can pee on my trees anytime you want.”
That broke the silence, and everyone laughed. Even Celine, her joy making my world right again.
We all dove back into the delicious food, but I didn’t miss the glance from Mateo and the approving nod he gave me before he returned to his meal.