Chapter Eleven
Kane
I opened my eyes and stared up at the poster of Elvin Vega, an actor I had the hugest crush on as a teenager. My parents hadn’t bothered to take it down after I moved out three years ago. If I squinted and turned my head to the side, he looked like Desmond. Was that why I found him so charming?
Tossing aside the covers, I sat on the edge of the bed.
I’d spent the night at my parents’ so I could help them prepare for dinner.
Especially since my “boyfriend” was coming over.
The two of us hadn’t really defined what we were, but my parents had chosen the human term to refer to him.
I couldn’t argue since we hadn’t mated, and friends didn’t kiss the way we did.
Touching my lips, I remembered our goodbye at the steps of my apartment two nights ago.
As much as I’d longed to spend more time with him, I hadn’t invited him up.
I was afraid of what I would do—would let him do—if I did.
I was falling for him fast and hard. Something I never expected to happen with an alpha I barely knew.
Sliding my feet into my slippers, I found my robe and wrapped it around myself for an extra layer of warmth.
As soon as the oven turned on and more people got moving around, the house would warm up.
Until then, it had a slight chill. It didn’t help that nerves attacked my stomach, my mind worrying about whether my parents would approve of Desmond.
It wasn’t until I’d arrived at the house I grew up in that I realized how much that mattered to me.
I used the washroom in between my sister’s room and mine before heading downstairs to help my dad with dinner preparations.
Growing up, we would open presents first thing in the morning.
We would have been up a couple hours earlier than I’d woken, bouncing with excitement to see what we’d gotten.
That ended as soon as my brother left for college and my sister spent a year overseas on an exchange program.
Sleeping in had seemed more valuable after that, and my parents didn’t mind.
As soon as my brother announced his new mate was expecting, our gift-opening schedule changed to revolve around them, whatever day and time they showed up with their kids.
As a single omega, I didn’t mind. Today, I wished they were coming earlier so I could have told Desmond to arrive sooner to get the whole introduction and evening over with.
I needed my dad to assign me all kinds of tasks to keep me busy until Desmond got there.
Otherwise, my stomach would be too twisted to eat dinner.
“Merry Christmas.” I hugged my dad from behind as he stood at the counter. “What can I help you with?”
He turned around and kissed my cheek then held a pastry to my mouth. “Merry Christmas, my sweet Kane. You can try one of these croissants. Your sister’s mate gave me the recipe, and I had to make it dairy-free, of course. But I want you to try them before Dee and Louisa get up.”
I accepted the still-warm treat from him and took a bite.
The crust was a perfect flakiness, but the middle surprised me.
There was some kind of sweet vanilla-flavored cream mixed with an explosion of berries.
“Mmm, Dad, this is so good.” I hadn’t meant to talk with my mouth full, but the taste made me forget all manners.
“Can I take them all and I’ll deny you made them. ”
My dad chuckled as he swatted me with an oven mitt. “Nice try. I’m glad you approve.”
I nodded as I took another bite. “Seriously, you can make these for me anytime.”
“Good to know.” He winked at me. “Especially since you now have an alpha in your life who will want more of your time. These may eventually be the only way I get to see you.”
I blushed as flashes of Desmond’s face filled my mind. “I’ll always have time to visit my family. But I hope you like him. I really want you to.”
My dad rubbed my arm. “I have trusted all my children in choosing their mate. Cam took a while to settle down, but when he did, he found the perfect omega in Scott. And Dee may be with a human, but they are meant for each other. You were never adventurous in dating. I always assumed when you found someone, you would fall for them instantly.”
My cheeks warmed even more. I may not have fallen for Desmond the first moment I met him, but I did find him hard to resist. Part of me worried it was too fast, that there were some red flags I was missing behind my infatuation.
“Here.” My dad handed me a bag of carrots and a sack of sweet potatoes. “You can peel and chop up these. That should keep you occupied for a bit while you wait for your suitor to arrive.”
I rolled my eyes but gladly accepted the task.
My father woke up next, cleaning the walkway out front for those who would be arriving later.
It was just before lunch when my sister, Dee, and her wife, Louisa, came downstairs after also spending the night.
I was sure they’d been up for a bit already since I’d heard them giggling and using the bathroom.
Before the rest of my family arrived, as well as Desmond, I headed back upstairs to have a shower. I knew as soon as my niece and nephew arrived, they would want to open presents, and I wanted to be fresh-smelling for my boyfriend.
Once clean and in new clothing, I headed downstairs. That was when I heard my brother’s voice, followed by the squees of his children. A heavy weight fell into the pit of my stomach. Would Desmond show up? Had I rushed him into something he wasn’t ready for just by trying to be nice?
The dread of having to tell my parents he wasn’t going to come weighed heavy on my shoulders as I descended the last of the stairs. I took a deep breath as I walked toward the living room.
That’s when I saw him. Desmond. He sat on my dad’s favorite chair lounger, bouncing my niece, Charlotte, on his knee.
She giggled as he held her to keep her from falling off.
My heart swelled watching him, and I wondered if it was too soon to be in love.
The rest of my family hadn’t noticed me, all of them focused on him with the same cautious adoration in their expressions.
“Me next.” My nephew, Will, stood to his side with his hands gripping the arm of the chair. “I want a turn, too.”
I stepped into the room. “I thought you’d be begging to open presents rather than wanting to bounce on my boyfriend’s knee.”
“Uncle Kane!” Charlotte leaped off Desmond’s lap and barreled toward me.
I picked her up and gave her a big hug. That’s when Will took her place on Desmond’s knee.
Moving my niece to my hip, I smiled at Desmond. “So, I guess everyone has met my boyfriend.”
“We have.” Cam winked at me. “He arrived the same time we did and helped us bring everything in. Had his own sack of presents, too, and now the kids think he’s the best.”
“Well, I think he is as well.” My cheeks warmed from saying that in front of my entire family, but his smooth integration into my parents’ home further cemented how fated our meeting seemed to be.
“Hi.” I curled into Desmond’s side when the kids were finally occupied opening presents.
“Merry Christmas.” He kissed the side of my face. “I have a present for you, but I think it’s better if you open it on your own.”
I gasped, keeping quiet to avoid the attention of anyone else. “Is it a naughty present?” I didn’t think we’d reached that point in our relationship yet, but we were already moving faster than I’d ever expected.
“No.” He rested his palm on my hip. “Not naughty. More of an inside joke between the two of us. At least, I hope we can joke about it now.”
I stared at him, wondering what it could be. Charlotte loved her glow-in-the-dark rock painting kit, and Will had already torn open the package of his shape-building magnets before Scott stopped him. Somehow, Desmond had known exactly what to get everyone.
Suddenly, we were inundated with hugs after the kids got to thanking everyone for their presents. Then it was time to eat. No chance to further contemplate what my gift might be.
Usually, I would have sat at the kids table with my niece and nephew, but my sister and Louisa took that honor.
Instead, Desmond had been positioned between me and my father, and across the table from my brother.
To me, it felt like some kind of inquisition.
Had they all been faking their approval of him?
After my dad brought the roasted sweet potatoes with pears and onions to the table, we began to pass the dish around.
The lentil stew with carrots and vegetables was next.
There was no meat in our entire dinner. Yet, Desmond never scoffed once.
He ate everything that was passed around, never seeming hesitant about any of the food.
I found that strange considering he came from a family of predators, but it only cemented my feelings for him.
For dessert, I helped my dad bring the croissants to the table and he brought my favorite, sugarplums. They were a delicious combination of walnuts, prunes, apricots, and dates, mixed with seeds and spices.
If I’d have known he made those, I would have hidden the container in my room so no one else could eat them.
Coffee and tea were served, and conversation moved from food to more personal topics.
“So, Desmond, your father is a well-known con man. You anything like him?”
“Father, that’s rude.” I knew my father would have questions for Desmond, but I hadn’t expected him to be so blunt.
Desmond rested his palm on my lap, under the table. “It’s okay.”
My father shrugged. “I’m just looking out for you. I wouldn’t be doing my job as alpha of this family if I didn’t.”
I looked to my brother and dad for support, but both simply sat back in their chairs, waiting for my boyfriend to answer.
“I understand, Mr. Northrop.” Desmond gently squeezed my thigh, and I rubbed my hand across his.
“I’ll be completely honest with you. I’ve never met Conn Adan, had never seen his face until he was all over the news.
I didn’t know he was the guy who got my mom pregnant until my grandfather reached out to her after Conn was serving time.
I think I look more like my mom, but I’m a wolf shifter like Conn.
And it feels like I have to prove every day that I am nothing like him. ”
There was a long silence before my father folded his hands together and touched his pointer fingers to his lips. “Well, thank you for being honest. Will you tell us what kind of shifter your mother was?”
Desmond turned his hand over and interlaced his fingers with mine. “She was a reindeer shifter. The same as Kane and some of you.”
That explained a lot about Desmond’s mannerisms and food acceptance.
After my father questioned him even more, delving into his mother’s side of the family, we all learned that Desmond’s great-grandmother was a good friend of my dad’s great-aunt.
A connection that seemed to make my family accept him without any further investigation.
No more mention of his father, which I was still bothered by.
Taking everything in stride and answering with complete honesty, Desmond got the approval of everyone in my family.
Which meant they expected he was a likely candidate to be my mate. I didn’t know if I was ready for that.