Chapter 4 #3
“So you are my Zhara’s Gavin,” Amalia said in a gentle and warm voice while examining me from head to toe like one would an oddity they had longed to see forever.
“I am,” I replied in a friendly tone, instantly liking her.
She shook her head with an air of awe as her gaze roamed over my broad chest before she locked eyes with me. The sweet, almost maternal way she stared at me warmed me from the inside out.
“Figures you would be this massive,” she whispered wistfully as if to herself. “I always knew my little Princess would find her own Ghan.”
I chuckled and slowly nodded. “It’s not the first time I’ve been told something along those lines.”
“Aunt Mercy hasn’t stopped raving about you. So has Ghan for that matter, when he wasn’t being jealous about you taking his place at the top of Zhara’s favorite people’s list,” she added teasingly.
“I’m sure he’ll find a way to make me pay for it,” I replied with a grin.
She smiled back and appeared to be about to say something before changing her mind, her face sobering.
“I won’t lie,” Amalia said in a suddenly serious tone.
“In the very first years, I was extremely hesitant about this connection between the two of you. But my baby waited for you a long time. And from all accounts, so did you. With you living on the biggest and most luxurious pleasure barge in the known galaxy, I thought you would dive into a life of debauchery as soon as you hit puberty. But you remained steadfast, thoughtful, and devoted to her this entire time.”
“Always,” I replied with conviction.
She smiled and, to my surprise, raised her hand to gently caress my cheek. “My Zhara is going to love you. Don’t let these two brats bully you, especially that one,” she added, glaring at the General over her shoulder.
“Amalia…” he said in a disapproving tone.
“Shush!” she warned, pointing a menacing finger at her husband. “You’ve done enough damage for one day.”
He rolled his eyes, and this time, I pinched my lips and clenched my teeth in a mostly failed attempt at trying not to burst out laughing.
She turned back to face me, that sweet expression blossoming on her beautiful face again. “If he gives you a hard time, make sure to tell me, and I’ll set him straight,” Amalia said in a conspiratorial tone while winking at me.
I chuckled and nodded. “Will do, Mrs. Praghan.”
She recoiled and looked at me with an almost offended expression that surprised me.
“Oh, hell no!” she exclaimed, her use of the human expletive taking me aback.
Granted, Zhara had told me that growing up on a slavers’ ship surrounded by human prisoners, her mother had developed an unrepentant potty mouth and had a predilection for human swear words.
“You can either call me Amalia or Mama. Mrs. Praghan is what the stuffy people call me or when my bratty kids want to make me feel ancient,” she grumbled with overly dramatic outrage.
I burst out laughing, the instant affection I felt for her cranking up another notch. Considering how close my mate was to her mother, it thrilled me to see her so openly welcoming to me.
“Then Mama it is,” I said with a grin.
“Good choice!” she said with an approving tone.
To my utter shock, she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug.
Despite her respectable height, the top of her head barely reached my chin.
On instinct, I reciprocated the embrace.
The General looked as if he had bitten into something foul as he stared at us, while his Geminate seemed to be fighting the urge to also burst out laughing.
In that instant, I realized that Zhara’s sire was also not challenging my relationship with my mate, and that he had potentially accompanied Khel to keep him in check.
But I quickly dismissed the two men from my mind as I refocused on my mother-in-law. Although brief, the hug she gave me had that same magical maternal energy that just made you feel wrapped in a warm cocoon of love.
Amalia released me and took a step back before beaming at me. “You give those awesome teddy bear hugs like Ghan does, but without the reluctant grumpiness. You’re absolutely a keeper,” she said approvingly.
I laughed again, pressed my palm to my chest, and bowed my head as a thank you.
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said.
She caressed my cheek again, then patted my chest twice in an encouraging gesture. “Take heart, son. You will see her soon.”
I nodded and watched her turn around before she gestured at her husbands to follow.
“Come on, you two bullies. Time to go home,” she said, marching with determined steps towards the exit.
For the briefest instant, I almost thought she would grab them by the ear and drag them home like two misbehaving children.
But then, you couldn’t do that with a Xelixians’ ears as they didn’t stand up like most other species.
They connected to the head from all sides, basically looking like just a ridged bump with an earhole in the middle.
“I didn’t do anything!” Lhor protested with indignation.
“But you didn’t stop him,” Amalia retorted in a stern voice before glaring at Khel. “And you better leave him alone!”
He sighed and shook his head with a dejected expression.
I laughed.