Chapter 6
Camden
Iliked playful Maxwell. I liked seductive Maxwell even more.
I couldn’t help it. I was but a horny omega who had just met his alpha.
In my case, sire. And, well…I wanted him.
Desperately. With him being playfully seductive though, that only made my own desire increase, and I needed to do something to put it on hold.
At least for a little while. The best thing I knew to kill my libido was to think about my parents, and so that’s what I did.
It worked like a champ because by the time we got to Maxwell’s comfortable-looking sofa, my immediate desire had dampened.
“What just happened?” Maxwell asked as we sat down, him not quite next to the arm but not far enough to the middle that I could sit on the other side of him, and me next to him in the middle, turned toward him enough that I could easily look at my mate.
“What do you mean?” I looked around the room and tried to take in as much as I could in seconds, but I knew I’d get a chance to learn more about my mate by talking to him. “You suggested talking. You mentioned a comfortable sofa. Here we are.”
“I did both of those things, yes. And I have only myself to blame for our current position, as you took my suggestion literally. That isn’t what I was referring to though. Your aura changed color again, and I’m still trying to learn what it means.”
“I’ve been around very few warlocks, and none have ever mentioned auras before. I understand we all have them. Does that mean you see everyone’s auras when you look at people? Instead of seeing people, they all…glow?”
Maxwell chuckled. “It can. I don’t have to seek out someone’s aura though.
I was looking for yours because we’re not yet mated.
Once we are, I’ll have our bond to know what you’re feeling.
For now, I’m curious about what you were suddenly thinking about because your aura went from a red hue to blueish. ”
I nodded slowly. “I’m not sure what all of the colors mean, and I’ve honestly never given my aura much thought. But I was thinking about my family because I really needed to get my desire in check. They usually help do that.”
Maxwell stared at me for a bit before he started laughing.
He nodded while doing so and then placed his hand on my thigh.
It only took a moment for him to start shaking his head and then stop laughing.
“I do apologize. I’m the same way though.
If I were to think about my parents, I would certainly lose all ability to get in the mood.
Is there a reason why you don’t wish for that though? Have I done something wrong?”
I sighed. “No. I very much want to, but you said let’s talk.
Therefore, we talk. I’m also trying to not rush things, because yeah, I would be really happy to just go into your bedroom and get it on.
But we both know what that will lead to, and I do agree that we should probably cover some of the basics before we get to that point. ”
“All right. Well, you know my age. I’m three hundred forty-four. I’m an only child. My parents are Winston and Lukyan. I was born in Bristol, where I spent the majority of my life, actually.”
“You have two dads, then,” I said. I didn’t care, obviously.
I was going to be paired with a sire. It didn’t bother me, and since I knew what the faint line on my lower stomach meant, I had been dreaming about finding my sexy alpha mate.
It had never occurred to me that I would have a sire for a mate instead.
“I do. Lukyan is my omega dad. He’s a snow leopard shifter.”
My eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Maxwell chuckled. “Yes. My father happened to be on a trip in search of his One. He was pulled toward Russia, and then one day, while at a market in a small village, he said there was Papochka. Even with them both being paranormals, them being together wasn’t safe in Papochka’s village.
It didn’t take much for Father to convince him to leave with him.
They returned to England and settled in Bristol with my birth coven. ”
I sighed. “That sounds so romantic. Please tell me it was.”
“It was. They are still very much in love.”
“They’re still alive?”
Maxwell nodded. “They are old, and I say that with the utmost love. My dads are great, but they like a simple life.”
“Are they still there? In Bristol, I mean?”
Maxwell shook his head. “No. They moved to Ibiza a few decades ago. They’re completely retired and just enjoy one another’s company. They travel a lot and visit all of the tropical places they want.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. “That’s so amazing. Seriously. I love that for them.”
“Do you want to travel?”
I shrugged. “I have some. I imagine that I’ve not traveled nearly as much as you.
I think that it would be wonderful to travel with you, but you’re my mate, and I know doing anything with you would be wonderful.
” My smile fell a little when I realized that the chances of us traveling were probably low.
“How will that work though? If we’re the doctors for the council?
How can we both be gone at the same time? ”
Maxwell gently rubbed my knee. “It’s simple. We pick a weekend and have a little weekend away. Obviously, it would be best if it wasn’t when there were babies due soon. But my phone works anywhere, and I have the ability to pop back in with a moment’s notice.”
“I guess I didn’t think about that. I’ve always had to drive or fly. I’m pretty good with both, but I do prefer to drive over flying.”
“And traveling the magical way?”
I shook my head. “I’d not done that until Rainier brought me here. I was all packed up, had my moving truck loaded, my SUV on the trailer, and I was driving westward. I didn’t make it far before I had to stop because of the snowstorm.”
“We had the fringes of that a few days ago,” Maxwell said absently. “I’d like to take you to meet my parents eventually. Or they could come here. But Ibiza is beautiful. Bristol is quite different, but there are a lot of things to see not only there, but in England in general.”
I sighed. “I’ll go anywhere with you,” I said before I leaned my head against the back of the sofa. “I’m happy to run away for a weekend whenever we can. Or we can stay here. I’m pretty easygoing.”
“We’ll plan something soon.”
I grinned. That sounded nice. After a moment of silence, I sighed. “So, my parents are great. They really are. But my ma has an issue with boundaries. She’s great. Dad’s great, but she doesn’t know when to let go. She wants all of us to live on the same street and give her a million grandchildren.”
“Are your siblings mated?”
“Some. I’m the youngest of eight. Which is a lot of kids. We’re all boys. I’m the only omega somehow. My dad is Albert. He’s a wolf shifter, and we lived in his pack. Ma is Elizabeth, and she’s obviously an arctic fox.”
“Do you know how they met?”
I nodded. “Ma was in Bangor on her way to Bar Harbor. Ma is from Québec City, so not far, actually. She was on a girls’ trip, and they somehow met. We all have C names. I’m not sure why, and neither do any of my brothers.”
“All eight of you have names that start with the letter C?”
I nodded. “Yep. Charles, Connor, Caleb, Carson, Carter, Christopher, Cameron, and then me. Carson and Carter are the only set of twins, which I think surprised everyone since fox shifters tend to have multiples.”
“That’s…a lot of C names.”
I chuckled. “We won’t be doing that. And I’d prefer if none of our children’s names start with that letter.”
Maxwell chuckled again. “I can agree with that. I’m not hung up on any one particular name.”
“Same,” I replied. “Well, except avoiding names that start with C.”
“I can understand that. You said some of them were mated?”
I nodded. “Charles is. His mate is Annie. She’s the sweetest. They have three children.
Caleb has a mate. His name is Alex. They have one and are hoping for another sometime this year.
” I grinned, thinking about my brother and his mate.
I was sure they were all going to be surprised that I was the fourth of us to find my mate.
“The only other one that’s mated is Carson.
His mate’s name is Maria. They have twins, and I’m not sure they’re planning on more.
Maybe one more, but who knows. The rest of us were all looking. Well, except for me since I found you.”
Maxwell nodded slowly. “I look forward to meeting all of them. Even your parents.”
I cringed. “You don’t want to. I mean, yeah, you do, but it’s going to be a whole thing.
Ma will start pushing for us to move back there, and we’ll need to have lots of grandbabies for her.
And then the calls won’t stop.” I became a bit overwhelmed just thinking about it.
“I had to silence both of my parents’ numbers when I left earlier this week.
I tried to leave on Monday, but I made the mistake of letting them know I’d be leaving soon, and I wanted to get together and see them before I did.
Then the guilt started.” I sighed. “I just gave in and dropped letters in the mail to them and then left. I had to mute their calls and messages.” I pulled out my phone and handed it to Maxwell.
“They still come in, but I don’t get notified. ”
Maxwell took my phone, and I knew when he saw the little red dots on the home screen. “How many calls and messages do they send you?”
“Too many,” I told him. “Ma will call at least three times an hour because she’s not getting through to me. Then she messages. Then when that doesn’t work, she will use Dad’s phone.”
“This is obsessive,” Maxwell said.
“Yeah, I know. I’m the last to leave. Even my brothers who aren’t mated have moved away because she just kept parading everyone’s unmated daughter or son around us.
But they were always from the pack, never anywhere else.
Just as soon as someone came of age, they and their parents were being invited over for a family meal. ”