Chapter Eighteen
Falkan
“Are you sure your parents are okay with all of us dropping in on them?” Kyle asked.
We had just pulled onto the street where my parents lived. And where I lived half a block away.
“They specifically said they would have dinner for all of us. They want to meet you.” I reached over to the passenger side and slid my palm against the side of his head.
“I guess I don’t like the meeting-the-parents part of all this.”
Griffith leaned forward from the back seat. “It’ll be okay, Kyle.”
It was nice of Griffith to be so optimistic after his family had snubbed us nearly as badly as Kyle’s.
Kyle’s worry was understandable. He’d had only bad experiences. Dragons could be territorial and temperamental, but my flight was open and friendly. Sure, there were always bad eggs, but we chased them out when we could.
Another difference. My parents couldn’t wait to meet my mates.
I pulled into the long circular drive framing a big fountain.
“Wow, your parents have a huge house,” Kyle exclaimed.
“I warned you.”
“Not enough,” Griffith huffed. “You didn’t say this place is a mansion.”
He was right. When I was a kid, I always thought it looked like a giant cake. “Oh, well, they only live in one wing of it. The servants have quarters out back. I can’t wait to show you my old childhood room. And after dinner, I’ll show you my home down the street.”
“Only one wing?” Kyle looked at me like I was joking.
I shrugged. “I guess that sounded a bit privileged, huh?”
He shrugged back at me. “You never told us you had servants growing up.”
“Ugh. Sorry. Trained omission on my part. People react weird if I say it.”
I parked right by the front columns of the vast porch.
Immediately, one of the butlers came out to greet us and take my car to park it in the garage.
There were always guest spots available in the garage, though most of it was taken up by Father’s cars.
It was like a hangar and specifically built for his hoard.
When we walked in the front door, I was immediately assailed by wonderful cooking smells. Father loved to cook, especially meat on the grill. He wasn’t great at other foods, but he had cooks for that.
Just as I had that thought, he appeared at the end of the large greeting hall, Dad at his side looking elegant in glittery earrings and a long gown.
“Falkan!” Father rushed forward and enveloped me in a big hug. He smelled like comfort in his casual suit.
Dad followed, putting his arms around both of us from the side, his fragrance expensive and soothing. They both took my face in their hands and kissed my cheeks.
I pushed them away, slightly embarrassed. They were always so enthusiastic, and I loved it, but sometimes, it could be embarrassing in front of strangers. Or friends.
I turned to introduce Griffith and Kyle. “I want you to meet the two best men ever. I’m lucky to have them in my life.”
Dad stepped forward. He took Kyle’s hand. “You must be Kyle. I’ve heard such good things about you. I’m Paolo.” He looked up at Griffith, holding out his free hand which Griffith took. “You, too. Griffith, right?”
Griffith nodded.
Kyle said in a soft voice, “Nice to meet you.”
Griffith spoke next. “Thank you for having us here.”
“Of course. We couldn’t wait to meet you,” Dad said.
Father approached and warmly shook each of my mate’s hands. “Hello. I’m Danton. I’m so pleased you have arrived. Was the drive smooth?”
“Yes. Falkan’s a good driver,” Griffith said.
Dad nodded. “Agreed. He seemed to take to driving better than flying.”
I spoke up. “I love to fly. Just not in planes.”
Everyone laughed except me. I didn’t find it funny that I might trust my own wings to manufactured ones.
After the greeting, Father led us to the massive dining room. “I don’t want you to feel rushed, but I grilled steaks and chicken, and it’s nice and hot. Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” we all said in unison.
“Good. We have all the sides: mashed potatoes, gravy, broccoli, salad, fresh-baked rolls, an array of desserts. We mean to have you stuffed full in this house.”
Over dinner, my parents made me proud. They asked all the right questions and showed genuine interest in my mates. They kept saying how happy they were for us.
They were everything I could have ever hoped for in parents, unlike the last two parent meetings we’d had.
Father gestured across the table at me. “Son, you’ve been saying your beast has been restless. Now you know why. He wanted you to go out on this trip so you could meet them.”
“Plus,” Dad added, “you listened to your instincts and took the scenic route through San Diego.”
“Best scenic route I ever took.” I raised my glass of wine, and we all toasted to my new mates.
When it was time to leave, my parents had won over both Kyle and Griffith. This was a win-win.
On the way out, Dad took me aside. His earrings jingled as he whispered something into my ear. Shock went through my system like being struck.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m usually not wrong about these things.”
Back in my car, the guys began to pepper me with questions.
“Are they always so nice, or were they just being polite?” Kyle asked.
“Do your parents always kiss you that way?”
“They have all those servants, yet they said they never hired nannies or mannies. Is that true? Were they always hands-on in raising you?”
While we sat idling in the driveway, I answered each of their questions one by one. My parents were not just being polite; they always kissed me when they greeted me or when I was leaving, and they were quite hands-on in raising me together.
There was one other thing I was bursting to tell my mates, but I decided to wait until after we got to my house, where we planned to stay for a few days.
We pulled up my driveway and they gasped.
“It’s not as elaborate as my parents’ place, but it’s all mine.”
“Falkan, I feel you’ve misled us,” Kyle said.
“What?”
“We knew you had money, but this is a huge house.”
“Only six bedrooms, six baths.” I put my hand over my mouth. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say ‘only’ again.”
“But look at this yard,” Griffith said. “It’s huge.”
It was desert landscape, but embellished with boulders and, to reflect the lusher higher elevation, trees and a shallow creek running parallel to the road. A small flat bridge that was part of my driveway allowed us to safely cross.
When we entered the front door, I said, “Now, I don’t want you guys to feel pressured just because it’s a nice place. We can live anywhere in a nice place. So, don’t worry about that. If you guys don’t feel right here, speak up.”
“Your dad said the neighbors here are all nice, and they’re friends. And everyone wants to meet us,” Kyle said.
“Dad doesn’t lie.”
“And he said your flight has a lot of threesomes as fated mates, so we’d fit right in,” Griffith chimed in.
“That’s true.”
They moved ahead of me, practically crashing into each other to get to see every downstairs room and the kitchen. They kept calling out, “Wow, look at this!” They announced all details they loved.
Upstairs, it was the same. They explored like men on a mission. I stood back and let them go. Hell, if they wanted to scent-mark the place, I’d be the happiest guy. But again, no pressure.
When they finally sat on my couch to rest, I brought them drinks and sat facing them.
“Well?”
“We discussed this while you were getting drinks,” Griffith said. His face looked grave.
“Yeah.” Kyle scrunched his face into a frown.
I waited for the verdict. It wasn’t right. Their faces said it all.
Then they both burst out laughing, and Kyle said, “We love it here. As soon as I walked in, it felt and smelled like home.”
Griffith spoke between laughing breaths. “It’s beautiful. And the neighborhood is gorgeous. And your parents…they’re amazing.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” They both jumped up and grabbed me, pulling me to my feet.
“And it’s okay that they live right down the street?” I asked.
“Hell, yes!” Griffith bounced with me in his arms. “They’re wonderful.”
Kyle embraced me from behind.
My body flooded with so much happiness, I couldn’t contain myself. I leaned in and bit Griffith on his claiming mark. Then I turned to Kyle and bit him.
“That felt so good.” Griffith put his hand to the back of his neck.
Kyle just sighed with his big grin.
“I have something else to tell you both.”
“What?” Kyle asked.
“Dad told me something just before we left. It has to do with the three of us. It’s a big deal.”
Griffith squeezed me. “Spill.”
“Okay, back up a little. I want to face you both before I say it.”
“Say what? You’re making me impatient,” Kyle said.
“First, I just want to say that Dad knows things. He has a special way about him. Accelerated dragon senses is what we call it.”
“And?” Griffith frowned. “What did he say about us?”
I looked at Kyle then reached out and cupped his chin, tilting his head up to meet my eyes. “He says you’re pregnant, Kyle.”
“What?” Kyle’s mouth formed an O.
“He’s never been wrong about these things.”
Griffith turned to Kyle. “You’re pregnant, buddy?”
“I didn’t know.” Kyle started to hyperventilate a little.
We sat him down between us and held him until he processed this new information.
Finally, he said, “I’m pregnant. Huh. That explains it.”
“Explains what?” I asked.
“Why I suddenly don’t like scrambled eggs when they’re my favorite food. And why I’ve been craving hot peppered jerky this whole trip when I hate hot peppered jerky.”
After that, we covered him with kisses. Later, we carried him up to my bed and celebrated our new beginning.