Chapter 9
Adam stood and watched the news with the other guys who were on duty at the station.
Everyone had stopped what they were doing to listen to the announcement on the bill.
He crossed his arms, pretending that he didn’t care about the results.
He already knew which guys thought all mythos were animals and should go back to being mythological, and which guys just wanted the drama settled the way it had been in Europe for years.
Over there, Jake was already a person by law.
The mythos defined who was a person by if they could they learn another language?
The big dragons in the Presidio couldn’t and were clearly animals, even though they apparently spoke. Everyone who was working had learned English, and so were categorized as people. But if some other method was used, then there might be trouble.
Some proposed that shifters should be considered animals because they became animals. But how could someone be considered a non-person in one country and a person somewhere else?
And if Jake wasn’t a person, he wouldn’t have a job, or would there be exceptions?
He pressed his lips together; aware he was worrying when he didn’t even know the results yet. He scanned the bottom of the screen where numbers scrolled, only half listening to the reporter as they talked about who voted for and against.
“The bill passed,” the man next to him said, holding up his phone where he had the details without the waffle.
Adam sighed, as though he’d set down the weight he’d been carrying. If it felt that good for him, he could imagine how elated Jake must be—and Jake was still getting used to not being four inches taller and a lot furrier.
“Fuck,” one of the other guys said. “I can’t believe it. That cop is going to get away with being a dragon fucker.”
Adam glanced over. “You mean Kells and the dragon shifter?”
The man gave a nod. “Yeah, that’s the only one I’ve heard of.”
Adam had only heard good things about Kells. Kells worked the mytho cases, and the dragon shifter was the mytho liaison. They had all been told who to contact in case of a mytho issue while on a callout. “And how many languages do you speak?”
“It’s not about that,” he huffed and stomped out of the room.
It didn’t matter what the anti-mytho humans thought. The bill had passed, and werewolves were on the list of mythos classified as people.
Adam smiled and pulled his phone out of his pocket to text Jake.
Want to celebrate tonight?
There’s a werewolf street party if you want to come… it might be a bit too much.
While they hadn’t hidden their relationship in Creature Hollow, they hadn’t gone out of their way to advertise it, either. Going to the party would change that.
He had another couple of hours, so as long as nothing went sideways, he’d be there.
Wouldn’t miss it. Does this mean you’ll come over for dinner and meet my parents?
There was a pause. The three dots. Then another pause. Before Jake replied.
Do they want to meet me?
Yes. You are an important part of my life. TBH Dad will probably forget you five minutes after you leave…
Then three months later, Dad would remember everything that was discussed as if he’d never struggled to remember anything in his entire life.
The guy who’d shared the results leaned over and stared at his screen. “Who’s Jake?”
Adam drew in a breath. “My boyfriend.”
“You kept that quiet.” He gave Adam an elbow. “Why’s he talking about— Oh.” The guy stared at him like Adam had sprouted fur. “He’s mytho?”
Adam stared back. “He is.”
He was done hiding.