Chapter 13
Zander reached out mentally to scan the restaurant before they walked in, a habit born of centuries of caution.
They’d arrived fifteen minutes early, specifically so the three could be seated when Aaron and Sophia arrived, but he found their brain patterns on the left-hand side of the building, about halfway back.
Both had extremely strong shielding, and he wouldn’t probe for their thoughts, but he could sense their energy. Aaron’s familiar controlled presence along with Sophia’s steady strength.
But mostly, he had to smile that his old friend had beaten him to it, claiming the strategic advantage of being seated first.
They’re already here, he telepathed Spencer.
Should I warn Emmy?
No. Acting like it’s a big deal will just further stress her.
He pulled the heavy door open and held it for them, then followed them inside, where the brutal cold quickly fell away. He might not feel the cold as he had when human, but when it was this cold, he appreciated stepping into warmth.
No crackling hearth greeted them, just the low, steady rush of warm air from vents tucked along the walls, carrying the faint metallic tang of heated ducts. The wood floors creaked under their boots, absorbing the heat that rose in invisible waves.
He breathed in, but mostly scented the roasted lamb and fresh bread. He parsed beneath the food scents and realized there were a whole lot of bear shifters, followed by wolves, then humans. A few big cats, and … yes, one dragon and one swan near the back left of the room. Of course.
The bear shifter behind the bar gave them a bored nod. A brief dip into her thoughts, and he knew she recognized him, and that she’d seen every possible variation of supernatural drama and was unimpressed by all of it.
Beside him, Emmy spotted her parents and froze.
Zander’s hand went to the small of her back to steady her, and he registered Sophia’s attention sharpening when she noted the contact.
Fuck.
He walked, guiding her, and kept his hand on her back. This wasn’t about hiding what they were to each other, but he hadn’t wanted to do this right off the bat.
Aaron rose from his seat as they approached, his movements controlled and deliberate.
He was a large, imposing man, with the kind of presence that makes people instinctively step aside.
His dark hair showed some silver dusting at the temples, though Zander knew the look was deliberate, so his ancient friend could stay in Chattanooga longer.
Sophia stood as well, her blonde hair in a sophisticated twist, wearing cream slacks and a cream sweater that probably cost more than most people’s monthly rent.
She was smaller than Emmy, more delicate in appearance, but Zander had seen her angry and knew better than to mistake elegance for weakness.
There was a coat rack near their table, and Zander helped Emerald out of her parka, hung it alongside Spencer’s, and then removed his wool overcoat while Emmy moved toward her parents.
Emerald’s shoulders were tight with tension beneath the warm, practical sweater. Nothing about her screamed trust fund party girl, and Sophia would notice that immediately.
The hug with Sophia was awkward, Emerald’s arms circling her mother with careful restraint, as if the embrace might bruise old wounds neither wanted to reopen. Sophia’s return hug was much the same, and Zander’s heart broke a little.
But the one with Aaron was truly heart-wrenching — the old dragon embracing his oldest daughter with the tentative reverence of a man cradling fragile glass, his massive arms loose enough to let her pull away if she chose, while Emmy clung to him, her arms tight around him as though anchoring herself to a long-lost memory.
Zander didn’t need to read minds to see the tension radiating from all three.
“Mom. Dad.” Emmy’s voice was steady, at least. “You remember Spence.”
“Of course.” Sophia’s smile was warm when she looked at Spencer, and she pulled him into a hug that looked far more natural than the one she’d shared with her daughter. “It’s good to see you again. You look good.”
“And you are beautiful, as always, but if I ask who you’re wearing we’ll annoy our companions,” Spencer said with an easy grin.
“It’s Piana,” Emmy said, and then looked a little mortified.
Aaron bridged the awkwardness by shaking Spencer’s hand, his expression friendly.
Spencer and Sophia had been genuine friends back in Chattanooga, neighbors who’d bonded over recipes and gardening, and their friendship might be the thing that kept this dinner from becoming a complete disaster.
Unless Sophia took offense at Spencer submitting to her daughter.
Now it was time for Zander’s individual greetings, and he gently hugged Sophia, then gave his old friend a firm handshake and shoulder clasp.
They settled into their seats with Emerald between Zander and Spencer on one side of the table, Aaron and Sophia on the other.
And Sophia once again clocked her between them, her eyes narrowing. Her gaze moved from Emerald to Zander to Spencer and back again, and Zander saw the exact moment something clicked in her expression.
“We need to talk,” Zander said before she could speak. “There’s something I … something the three of us need to tell you.”
Aaron’s expression didn’t change, but his hand moved to cover Sophia’s on the table. Sophia had likely telepathed her suspicions.
“Mom, Dad,” Emerald started, but her voice faltered.
Zander took over, his tone calm and matter-of-fact.
“Emmy and I have developed feelings for each other. Naturally, Spencer is also part of the relationship. It’s new, but it’s real, and none of us are ashamed of it.
That’s why I thought it was important you hear it from us directly, rather than through gossip. ”
The silence that followed felt like standing at the edge of an erupting volcano.
Sophia’s face went white, then red. “You—” She zeroed in on Zander, and her voice rose. “I trusted you to take care of my daughter, and now you’re fucking her?”
“Sophia,” Aaron said quietly, his hand tightening on hers.
She ignored him. “She’s barely twenty-four! You’re — God, you’re older than most civilizations! And you were supposed to be protecting her, not seducing—”
“Mom!” Emmy’s voice cracked like a whip. “I’m an adult! Stop treating me like a child you must protect!”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I can say!” Sophia said, rounding on her. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. He has thousands of years on you! You have no idea the machinations and manipulations he’s capable of!”
Zander opened his mouth to respond, but Emmy beat him to it.
“No one manipulates me.” Her voice was ice. “I learned from the best security expert on the planet, not to mention the fact you taught me how to shield. How dare you suggest someone could twist my mind!”
Sophia blinked, some of the fire in her eyes dimming as Emmy’s words hit home.
“This wasn’t Zander’s idea,” Emmy continued.
“It wasn’t even something either of us planned, but it happened, and I won’t apologize for it.
For the first time in my life, I’m happy in a way I never understood was possible.
I had no idea what it would mean to have people in my life who support me without trying to control me. ”
Aaron hadn’t said a word yet, but Zander could see the calculations happening behind his eyes. Assessing threat levels. Weighing political ramifications. Probably running through at least a dozen scenarios for how to kill a vampire without making an enemy of the entire Concilio and Senatus.
The young waitress appeared at their table, looking deeply bored by the tension. “You folks ready to order?”
“We need a minute,” Aaron said, his voice so calm it was terrifying.
“The special today is braised lamb shank,” the waitress continued. “Or you can order from the menu.” She looked at Zander. “We have wines and liquors.”
Sophia’s head snapped to look at Zander. “You thought you could make him okay with you fucking his oldest daughter by offering lamb?”
The waitress’s expression didn’t change. She’d definitely seen worse.
“Sophia,” Aaron said, his voice firm and gentle at the same time. His hand was still on hers, and Zander saw his thumb moving in small circles. He was likely telepathing some version of, Calm down. Not here. We’ll deal with this, but not in public.
Sophia took a breath, visibly struggling to rein herself in. When she looked at the waitress, her voice was tight but controlled. “I’ll need a few minutes before I can think about food.”
“Sure thing. I’ll be back.” The waitress stepped away without a second glance.
Aaron finally spoke, his attention fixed on Zander.
“You’ve proven trustworthy to me over the years in a thousand ways.
I didn’t think for a second about trusting you with my daughter.
” His voice was still that eerie calm, and Zander knew Aaron well enough to understand that was infinitely more dangerous than shouting.
“I asked you to look after her. Keep her safe. Help her find some direction.”
“I have,” Zander said simply.
“And somewhere along the way, you decided that included seducing her?”
“No, Sir,” Spencer said. “He avoided her, in Anchorage. Left it to me to help guide her. I’m in charge of the flock, and if I’m honest, I fell in love with her shortly after she arrived.
It’s only been recently I could act on it.
As for Zander, it wasn’t until we arrived here and were in such close proximity, and then… ”
When Spencer stopped talking, knowing better than to mention Emerald’s illness and bring even more strife into the conversation, Zander picked up. “Somewhere along the way, we realized we wanted each other. Emerald is an adult. I didn’t make decisions for her. Neither did Spence.”
Aaron’s eyes moved to Spencer, assessing. “How long?”
“The three of us?” Spencer’s voice was steady. “It’s been leading up to it for a few weeks, but the actual … physicality has only been a few days, but we haven’t tried to hide it, and Zander felt it important you hear it from him, rather than hear it through gossip.”
“A few days?” Sophia asked, then sat back in her chair. “So it could just be a fling?”
“Maybe,” Emerald answered. “But it feels different, mostly because I’m hoping it lasts, and that’s new for me.”
Both her parents stared at her.
“My whole life plan was to play for a few centuries before falling in love,” she explained. “Party, travel, have fun. But here I am, falling head over heels for two men. And it’s not what I expected, but it’s…”
She glanced at Zander and then Spencer before looking back to her mother.
“It’s perfect, actually. A dominant partner who challenges me and treats me like an equal, and the most lovely, most endearing and confident submissive on the planet — one who isn’t submissive because he needs a keeper, but because it’s the way he supports the people he loves. ”
Aaron kept his face neutral and unreadable, and looked to Zander with the unnerving intensity only a dragon can manage. “And you? Do you see this as a fling, or long-term?”
“We’re all hoping it lasts,” Zander said. “Me included, but it’s too new for any of us to make promises.”
“Yet firm and solid enough to tell us about it.”
“We haven’t hidden anything, and don’t intend to. It was only a matter of time before the news made it to you,” Zander repeated. “We’ve been seen together at two balls, and the gossip network in our world moves fast. It was important you hear it from me.”
Aaron absorbed that, his expression still unreadable. His old friend would gather all the facts before deciding on whether to take action or not. He looked at Zander a long moment before turning to his daughter. “Are you safe? Happy?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “To both.”
“And your schoolwork?”
“I’m ahead in all my classes, and work on my thesis is coming along. I know you have access to my grades. You have access to anything on the planet, if it’s something you want to know.”
Aaron nodded slowly, then looked at Sophia. Their eyes met, and Zander could practically feel the telepathy between them.
When Aaron turned back to the table, his voice was still that deadly calm. “I’m not happy about this, old friend.”
“I know.”
“She’s my daughter. I trusted you to look out for her, not seduce her.”
“I understand why you feel that way,” Zander said, refusing to apologize for something he didn’t regret.
“You’re way too old for her,” Aaron continued. “The power imbalance alone—”
“I’m not some fragile human who needs protection from the big bad vampire,” Emerald interrupted. “I’m a dragon shifter. I’ll live as long as Zander will, maybe longer. And I’m not stupid. I know what I’m getting into.”
Sophia shook her head, but when she spoke again, her voice was softer. “You look happy, and your energy is healthier than I’ve seen it in years. I’m trying to hate this, but…” She glanced at Spencer, then Zander. “If either of you hurt her, I will make you suffer in ways you cannot imagine.”
“Understood,” Zander said, a little shocked that she was giving somewhat of a blessing.
Spencer smiled, “I’d expect nothing less of the Swan Queen I know you to be. I adore your daughter, and it’s my job to support her emotionally, as her submissive. Only Zander knows me better than you.”
She nodded, her eyes a little sad. “You needed a friend, and I’ve always respected your strength. It feels wrong, that you knew her as a child, and now you’re…” She blew out a breath. “Neither of you would be who I would choose for my daughter, but all the protests I have…”
She glanced at Aaron and back to Spencer. “I can hear my father saying the same thing about Aaron, and we all know how that worked out for him.” She looked at Emmy. “So I will support you as best I can, so long as I feel this is a positive situation for you.”
The waitress reappeared. “Ready now?”
“I’ll have the lamb,” Aaron said, his eyes never leaving Zander’s face.