Chapter 17
Wayne
I drove the short distance across clan lands from Jace’s house to my mother’s. Of course, both my sisters’ cars were parked outside the house.
But then, maybe it was a good thing that they’d be here. They’d keep Mom from going too nuts, especially if Will and Walker were also here.
After slamming the truck door, I bounded up the porch steps and went in without knocking.
“Well, hey there,” Mom said. “I wasn’t expecting you. I just made some sandwiches for lunch, easy enough to rustle up a couple more.”
She pressed a kiss to my cheek and pulled out a chair.
“Thanks,” I muttered and kissed both my sisters on the tops of their heads as I walked past. “Hey.”
“You look guilty,” Wendy said.
“No,” I replied defensively.
My oldest sister, Virginia, narrowed her eyes. “She’s right.” It had been a coincidence that Mom and Dad named us both W names. But Wendy had done it on purpose with Will and Walker.
I sighed. There’d be no doing this without their input. Too bad the kids weren’t here.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked from the counter. “Are you okay?”
“We can eat,” I said. “We don’t have to talk now.”
Mom set down her butter knife. “Now, if there’s something to talk about, we can talk about it while we eat sandwiches, son.” She slapped the sandwiches together and set them in front of me on a paper plate. “Spill.”
I sighed as she moved to the head of the oval table and sat in front of her own plate.
“Okay. Well, I guess I’ll just show you.” I’d worn a tee with long sleeves, but the cuff was loose. I was able to easily pull it up my arm and display my tattoo for all of them to see.
Mom, Virginia, and Wendy gasped in unison.
“Oh, Wayne,” Mom whispered. Tears filled her eyes. “You’ve met your fated mate.”
Virginia and Wendy jumped from their chairs and circled the table, enveloping me in flowery-perfumed hugs. I didn’t mind it, though. They’d always been really great sisters to me.
The only reason I was uncomfortable was that there wasn’t gonna be any getting out of telling them how long I’d known about my mate.
“Well, tell us,” Mom said. “Do we know her? Is she local or someone from the pack that visited not too long ago?” Her eyes twinkled. “I’ll understand if you waited a few days to tell us.”
Oh, no, she would not. It had been a lot more than a few days.
“Well, Mom.” I met her gaze, then flitted my eyes to meet my sisters’ steady looks. “It’s Bianca Newman.”
She sat back and cocked her head at me. “Jace’s mate’s sister?”
I nodded.
Virginia narrowed her eyes, but Wendy sat back. They’d already put it together. Wendy chuckled. “You are in so much trouble,” she whispered.
“Didn’t you have your arms wrapped around her at the bonfire the other day?” Virginia asked.
I sucked in a deep breath and pulled my sleeve back down. “Yeah.”
Mom put her hands on either side of her plate, her sandwich untouched. None of us had taken the first bite yet. “Wayne Parsons.” Shit. Her voice was deadly soft. She was pissed. “You’ve known that girl for months. You worked for her.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“When you came to me for advice about whether or not you should quit working for her, there’s no way you didn’t know she was your fated mate.
” Mom’s left eyebrow arched, and the little vein in her forehead, that we’d all dreaded popping out when we were kids, began to pulse.
My daddy wasn’t the only one who’d had a temper.
Mom had one as well, but she controlled it far better.
“I did know,” I said softly. “I wasn’t ready to talk about it.”
The chair scraped against the tile as Mom stood and turned away, her hand over her mouth. “How could you not tell me?” she asked. “I’ve been trying to find women to introduce you to. Worrying, fretting. If you’d just told me that you’d met her and that you weren’t ready to talk about it—”
“Oh, come off it, Mama,” I said in a slightly louder, but as respectful as I could manage, voice. “You would’ve meddled until you had her barefoot and pregnant.”
Wendy snorted and even Virginia, who still looked pissed, bit her bottom lip. They knew it was true.
“Now, Mom, you know I love you. I’m your son and nothing is changing that.
And I’m sorry if me not telling you was hurtful to you, but I did what I did for a reason.
I had to work out my own stuff still dragging me down about Dad before I could commit to a mate.
And you would’ve been urging me to go to her, show her my dragon, on and on. ”
Mom turned and met my gaze with her eyes full of tears. “Oh, Wayne. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I’ve been overbearing to the point that you thought I might’ve ruined your chances with your mate.”
Scraping my chair back, I hurried over to her and put my arm around her shoulders. “You do it because you love me, and you want me happy. I understand that. You’re not trying to do any harm.”
“That’s true.” She sniffled. “I just want you to be happy.”
“That’s not the only reason I didn’t say anything, though,” I said.
She pulled back and looked up at me in surprise. “What?”
“Well, you’ve never said one way or the other how you feel about dragons and humans mating,” I said. “I wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”
She blinked rapidly and her mouth formed an O shape. “Why, I didn’t even think about that. I don’t care if she’s human or witch or a vampire, as long as she makes you happy.”
Joy bloomed in my heart, and I yanked my mother into a big hug. “Aw, Mom, that makes me so happy.”
She burst into sobs, clutching my shirt. “I promise I won’t interfere. You can always be honest with me.”
I shushed her and wrinkled my eyebrows at my sisters for help. “It wasn’t mainly the interfering thing,” I said. “It was the dragon with a human thing. More than anything.”
Bold-faced lie, but I had to get her to stop crying. “I know you won’t interfere.”
She sniffled and looked up at me. “I promise, Wayne, if I ever overstep, just tell me to butt out and I will, okay?”
I nodded. “Okay. But listen, don’t start on kids. We’re not even sure we ever want any. If it happens, fine, but don’t even mention it.” Sticking my finger in her face, I tried to look stern.
She held up both hands. “Deal.”
We sat back down and finally everyone started eating. “What’s she like?” Mom asked.
Relaxing against the chair, I sighed. “She’s amazing. She’s smart and determined. And she’s got this influencer thing going, like a makeup artist.”
Wendy straightened up. “Oh, that sounds fun.”
I nodded and chewed. “It is. It’s her passion, so she’s like me. She has a real drive in her career.”
Mom smiled indulgently as my phone buzzed in my pocket.
“Sorry,” I muttered and pulled it out. It was a text from Bee.
Water just broke. Meet me at hospital.
“Oh,” I whispered, then crammed half the sandwich in my mouth. “I gotta go.” Wrapping another sandwich in a napkin, I snatched a bottle of water and stood. “Sorry.”
“What’s going on?” Virginia asked. Everyone looked alarmed.
“Briana’s in labor. I’m meeting them up at the hospital.” No way I was letting Bianca stay up there while her ex could appear out of the blue.
“You’re close enough to her and her family that you’re going to the birth?” Wendy asked.
I shrugged. “Bee will be there, so I will too.”
They hurried after me and waved as I drove off. Before I pulled out, I texted Bee to tell her I was on my way.
By the time I got to the hospital, Bee and her mother, as well as Jace, were in the delivery room with Briana.
Which left me in the quiet waiting room with their dad. I nodded once. “Hello, Mr. Newman. Big day.”
He turned from where he’d been staring off into space and raised his eyebrows when he saw me. “Hello, Wayne. Nice of you to come.”
I waved off the compliment and sat down, leaving a chair between us. “Of course.”
Mr. Newman sat back and sighed. “You know, Bianca has never, not once in her young life, come over to tell us about her boyfriend. She’s popped in with them, out of the blue bringing one young man of questionable moral fiber or another over.
But she’s never cared about any of them or thought they’d last long enough to introduce them as her boyfriend.
” He chuckled. “And she’s never enlisted her sister’s help.
” He turned in the chair and crossed his leg.
“Yet there’s something about you that made her do all those things.
They tag-teamed us to make sure we’d accept you into our lives. ”
I cleared my throat. We’d been planning to have dinner with the Newmans, tonight, in fact, and do the whole introductions and intentions thing then. Looked like we’d be doing it now, though.
“I love your daughter,” I said quietly. “I want to spend my life with her. Spend my life finding ways to make her happy and challenge her and take care of her.”
Mr. Newman arched one eyebrow. “That’s good to hear.” He sighed and gave me an appraising look. “Briana vouches for you and your family. But you come off a bit hotheaded to me.”
I nodded. “I can be. That’s true.”
Mr. Newman struck me as a reasonable man, and the best way to convince him I belonged with his daughter was honesty.
“Sir, my father was a volatile man. He died as the result of a fist fight that came about because of his temper. I’ve spent my adult life finding ways to be a better man than he ever was.
I meditate, go to therapy, and do yoga as an outlet for any pent-up aggression or…
” I waved my hand, searching for the right word.
“Passion I may have. If I ever begin to act like he did, my mother, my sisters, and even Bianca. They all know. They know what he was, who he was, and how I never want to be that man. I want to be the man that puts a smile on her face every single day.”
“I appreciate your honesty, son,” Mr. Newman said. “And we all have our demons. It’s how we deal with them that matters.”
Not long after, Kaylee and Porter walked in, then Kaylee disappeared to the delivery room. Skye and Anthony were next with Skye disappearing as well.
“Wayne,” Porter said. “I got that info for you.”
I moved over to sit beside him and prayed he kept his voice down. I had no idea how much Bee had told her parents. “What’s up?”
“Well, the judge said no to the restraining order.” He shook his head. “I tried, man. But I did have a cop friend of mine talk to Andre.”
“Andre?” Mr. Newman said.
Shit. He had good hearing for a human.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “You know him?”
“If you’re talking about that little shit that Bee dated for a while, I do.” He narrowed his eyes. “What about him?”
I sighed. Damn it, this wasn’t my information to tell. I hoped I wasn’t betraying Bianca’s confidence. “Yes, sir. The same. He’s been hanging around Bee too much, contacting her after she asked him not to. Nothing violent, but we wanted to nip it in the bud early before it escalated.”
His face darkened. “I’m going to kill him, and her for not telling me.”
I held up my hands. “She probably didn’t want to worry you. We’ve been taking turns staying with her. She’s in no danger with us around, and like Porter said, Andre’s been warned.”
He nodded and sat back. “We’ll see.”
I chuckled, but my chest filled with warmth. He was her stepfather, I knew, but that didn’t matter to him. I hadn’t had this kind of caring, loving dad.
I’d be damn sure to be one for my children, if I ever had any. If Bianca’s dad could care about her this much, I could care about an adopted child.
It took several hours, but soon, Bee came running into the room. “It’s a boy!” she yelled. “And he’s gorgeous.” She beamed at her father. “They named him Joshua Jason Collins, after you and Jace.”
Hugs were passed all around; then one by one we all went back to wish the new parents all the blessings. I was surprised when I went back to find Hayden was there. She was the one holding little Josh when we walked in.
After giving our congratulations and a big baby boy gift basket I’d run down to the gift shop for, Bianca and I said our goodbyes.
“How would you feel about staying at my place tonight?” I asked as we walked to the car.
She looked up at me with dark circles under her eyes as we walked in the moonlight. “That would be fine,” she said. “Can we swing by my place for a bag?”
“Of course.”
Once we got to my house, on my family’s land and clan land, I turned to my mate. “I could really use a shift. Would you mind?”
She nodded eagerly. “You got a big coat?”
With a chuckle, I gathered an electric blanket from the closet.
I wasn’t sure where I’d even gotten the thing.
I’d never really had women over, and I sure as hell didn’t need it.
But I was glad to have it now. After bundling Bee into my biggest coat, I plugged the blanket in the outlet on the porch and settled her in my wooden porch swing. “That should keep you toasty.”
After pressing a soft kiss to her lips, I launched off the porch and shifted in midair. Flapping my wings in the middle of my yard, I looked back at Bee on the porch. She tucked her knees under her chin and stared at me in awe. “Can you hear me?” she whispered.
I grunted my assent.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this. It’s so cool.” A grin spread across her face. “Go, fly.”
Peace spread through my heart. I was happy, happier than I’d ever been in my entire life. After a short flight over the trees, I landed in the yard to find she hadn’t moved. I’d been listening and stayed close in case she had needed me.
Shifting back to my skin, I walked up the porch steps. “Thank you for accepting me,” I said as I sat beside my mate.
She stared at me. “You could be a ten-foot-tall reptile or a tiny gecko. You’re still Wayne. You’re still mine.”
With a sigh, I gathered her in my arms and carried her inside. I didn’t need to have sex but holding her felt like the most important thing in the world at the moment.