Chapter Seven
––––––––
“ARE WE SURE ABOUT THIS?” Ethan asked.
Liam glanced sideways before turning his attention back to the road. “Why wouldn’t we be sure?”
“Because this is your family, and I’m a chimera shifter.”
“They know you’re a chimera shifter. I told them, remember?”
“I know.” Liam had told his family about Ethan a few months after they’d started dating, once Ethan had felt comfortable enough for him to.
It wasn’t that Ethan hadn’t thought they would be together for a long time, but he’d wanted to feel like things were more settled before he got into it with Liam’s family.
He was still uncomfortable with telling people what he was, but he hadn’t had to in this situation.
Liam had told them for him. Ethan had wanted to be sure they knew what he was before he met them.
That way, if they had something against him, he wouldn’t have to go through that.
But Liam had said that his family was excited to meet him.
It felt like it was too good to be true, but Ethan’s boyfriend wasn’t a liar, and he wouldn’t want to hurt Ethan like that.
If he said it was okay, then it would be, no matter how hard it was for Ethan to believe.
Ethan just wasn’t used to it. In the relationships he’d had, he’d never gotten serious enough to meet the family.
Most of the time, he hadn’t wanted to take the risk anyway.
But he did now. He’d told several people what he was recently, and everything had gone well.
No one had rejected him. No one had told him that he was a weirdo or a monster.
No one had run away from him and told him to stay away.
If anything, everyone had welcomed him with open arms, including Liam’s team.
Ethan had gone to a few cookouts organized by Taylor, and while Taylor had had a couple of questions, it wasn’t anything Ethan hadn’t expected.
It also wasn’t anything outrageous. Taylor was just curious about Ethan’s chimera form, almost as much as Liam was.
It made Ethan wonder if Liam’s family would be curious, too.
Would they have questions? Would they keep their distance?
What if they didn’t have a problem with what Ethan was, but rather with the fact that he was a man?
From what Liam had said, his family was pretty traditional, and Ethan had a hard time imagining them feeling welcoming even so.
He knew that Liam wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt him, though, including them.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to choose, because Ethan didn’t want him to.
If Liam had to, though, Ethan hoped he would choose him.
They’d been together for a few months now, and things were going well.
Ethan wanted them to continue going well.
That was why he’d agreed when Liam had suggested he meet his family, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous.
They were a big part of Liam’s life, though.
If Ethan wanted any kind of future with Liam—and he did—he’d need to learn to live with Liam’s family.
At least Liam would never meet Ethan’s mother. It was a relief. Ethan wished his grandmother were still alive so that she could meet Liam, but he knew that she would’ve liked him. He didn’t need to talk to her to be sure of that. He just wished he could.
“If you’re really uncomfortable, I can turn the car around,” Liam offered. “But I promise you that they know everything, and they still want to meet you.”
“What did you tell them?”
“That I have the best boyfriend in the world. That you’re a chimera shifter, a dragon, serpent, and lion.
That you make me happy. My mother was a little confused about the cooking part, but I told her we both cook, and that was that.
She might not understand it, but as long as I’m happy, she is, too. ”
“I can’t believe she was more confused about which one of us would be cooking than about me being a chimera shifter.”
“That’s because you’ve never met her. You’ll understand when you do.”
Ethan swallowed. He could do this. He would do it because Liam wanted him to.
He tried to keep himself in check for as long as possible, but once Liam turned into a long driveway, Ethan lost the battle with himself.
He started bouncing his knee, then biting his nails.
Liam glanced at him, but he didn’t tell him to stop.
He also didn’t try to reassure him again, which was a relief because Ethan didn’t think that anything Liam could say would help right now.
Liam parked the truck, turned off the engine, and stayed silent. For a moment, the two of them were enveloped in the quietness of the truck. It allowed Ethan to breathe, which was good because he felt a little breathless.
“You do know that what they think about you doesn’t matter to me, right?” Liam said.
“Family always matters.”
“Okay, it does, but I’m not going to break up with you if my mother asks me to. No one would be able to make me break up with you except you.”
“But they’re important to you. No matter how you feel about me, you’re going to want to consider their feelings.”
“No, I won’t. It’s like with me becoming a firefighter.
No one wanted me to. My mother certainly didn’t.
She tried to make me change my mind many times, but she couldn’t, because I’d made my decision, just like I’ve made my decision when it comes to you.
You’re it for me, and you’re not going anywhere as long as you don’t want to. ”
“Even if your mother hates me?”
“Even then. If she doesn’t want anything to do with you, then that’s fine; you don’t have to visit them.
It does mean that they’re going to see me less often, though.
I’m finally happy. Mostly, it’s thanks to you, and I want to make you just as happy as I am.
As much as I love my family, they’re my past. You’re my future, and you’re who I want to focus on. You’re who matters.”
The front door opened, and an older woman appeared. She was drying her hands on a kitchen towel and wearing a blouse and a skirt. Liam looked very much like her. They had the same shape of face and the same eyes, and she looked just as kind as Liam did.
Maybe Ethan had been worrying for nothing. She watched them, a smile playing on her lips, but she didn’t come over to the truck or push for them to get out. She gave them time, clearly able to tell that Ethan needed it.
Maybe things wouldn’t be that bad, after all. Ethan didn’t have to become part of this family. He wanted to, but it wasn’t a necessity. If Liam was going to choose him over his family, no matter what happened, Ethan didn’t have to worry.
But he wanted his family to welcome him. He knew how important they were to Liam, and Liam was important to him.
“Just, maybe don’t mention the recent arsons,” Liam said as he glanced at his mother. “I haven’t told her anything about that.”
“You don’t want to scare her.”
“I don’t, but I also know that she’d try to get me to quit my job if I told her what’s been happening. I don’t want to fight with her over it, but I will if I have to.”
“I just hope you won’t have to.”
“Exactly. She doesn’t need to know exactly what’s going on at work. She just needs to know that I’m safe, and I am.”
He really was, even with everything that had happened a few months ago.
From what Ethan knew, the police were still looking for the person who’d paid the arsonist, or maybe that was just what they were saying.
Something told him they weren’t looking that hard, but it wouldn’t be a surprise.
It had probably been too long now, but he would love to be proved wrong.
But he wasn’t here today to think about the arson. The person who’d paid the arsonist would still be out there once their lunch was over, and in the meantime, Ethan needed to focus on Liam’s family. He took a deep breath, then reached over to squeeze Liam’s hand. “I’m ready.”
“Yeah?” Liam asked in a gentle tone.
Ethan wasn’t sure he actually was, but he nodded. He’d never be more ready than he was now, anyway. “Yeah, let’s go.”