10. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Calder
Calder had been hoping for a mate for almost as long as he’d been alive—and he’d been alive for a very long time.
All that hoping and all that wishing hadn’t prepared him for the utter perfection of having a mate.
He couldn’t claim that everything had gone smoothly between him and Adam, but now that they’d got past the worst of the misunderstandings, now that they were actually communicating with one another and Calder wasn’t trying to hide part of himself, now that Adam accepted him as he was…
Quite simply, it was the best thing that had ever happened to Calder—and he’d lived long enough that many good things had happened to him.
Bad things had happened, too, of course, and he knew that having a mate didn’t mean that would cease.
He’d sort of hoped it would take longer for a bad thing, though.
But no, Adam had to explain to his father that he’d found a shifter he was going to bond with.
Adam had wanted to do this on his own to ensure that his father wouldn’t feel outnumbered, but Calder really didn’t want to leave Adam on his own for what was sure to be an emotionally fraught conversation.
Because they were partners who could communicate, they’d compromised: Calder would stay out of view of the camera and swear not to say a word, but he’d hold Adam’s hand and be there for him.
It meant he was eavesdropping on the conversation, in a sense, but he could have heard it anywhere in the apartment, and Adam would have told him about it anyway. Calder had already sworn up and down not to take offense no matter what Adam’s dad said about shifters or him in particular.
Adam and his father made it through some initial pleasantries, and then Adam’s grip on Calder’s hand tightened.
His face was strained as he announced, “Dad, I’ve got something to tell you.”
“Hit me with it, kiddo.”
And Calder could hear the affection in his voice. He couldn’t see the screen from where he was sitting, to ensure Adam’s father couldn’t see him, but his voice was a lot like an older version of Adam’s.
Hesitating, Adam finally admitted, “It’s just, I’m not sure you’re going to be happy about it.”
Calder prayed that this was an occasion where Adam was wrong.
He could hear the frown in Adam’s father’s voice as he asked, “What? You’re leaving the bakery? Moving even further away? Not coming home to visit this summer?”
Adam seized on that with a look of desperation. “The summer! No, I’m still hoping to get out there, Dad, but I, uh, probably won’t be alone.”
There was silence for a moment, and then, “You’ve met someone? And it’s serious enough that you’re already talking about meeting the parent? Kiddo, that’s wonderful!”
He sounded delighted, and Calder wished with all his heart for this to go well. Adam’s grip was still strangling Calder’s hand.
“His name’s Calder,” Adam said, and he managed a genuine-looking smile, though he still looked a little nervous. “And he’s amazing. He’s smart and kind. He thinks other people are fools for being bothered if I’m clumsy.”
“I like him already,” Adam’s father said, and Calder could hear the smile in his voice.
“He cares about ocean conservancy, and he likes to walk me home from work, and he always comes up with the best ideas for dates. We just cuddled on Valentine’s Day, and he took me out for a harbor boat tour a couple days later,” Adam added.
“That sounds like a man with his head on his shoulders,” Adam’s father said approvingly.
“He’s the best,” Adam said, his voice incredibly fond. Then he straightened his shoulders, his expression going stern. “And I want you to remember that, Dad. Okay?”
“Okay,” the man said, clearly confused. “He’s not married or something, is he?”
“No, of course not,” Adam said, scoffing. “As if I’d put up with that.”
“Drinking? Drugs? Come on, Adam, what is it? You’ve described someone who sounds just perfect. What’s wrong with him?”
“There’s nothing whatsoever wrong with him,” Adam said firmly. Then he swallowed, a look on his face Calder didn’t want to ever see again, fatalistic and resigned, before he added, “He’s a shifter.”
Dead silence, heavy and suffocating. For one second. Two. Five.
“Adam!” The word was sharp and explosive, full of anger and incredulity. “What on earth are you thinking? I raised you better than that!”
“No!” Adam snapped. “Despite the fact that you raised me to dismiss shifters just because Mom chose to run away with one, I finally got past that.”
“Don’t talk about your mother like that!” The words were snapped.
“Dad, I will. I have to.” He sounded pleading. “She was an adult, and she made a decision to leave us. That was her choice.”
“That animal seduced her,” Adam’s father spat.
Adam’s grip on Calder’s hand grew even more painful, but he kept his voice mostly even.
“Even if a shifter—who’s as much a human as we are—did do that, that doesn’t make all shifters seducers.
Just like one witch being bad doesn’t make all witches bad.
That’s nonsense, Dad. It’s prejudice. Surely you can see that. ”
There was fulminating silence for a moment, and then a sharp, “I can’t believe you’re letting one of them seduce you, too. I thought you were smarter than that!”
Adam flinched visibly, but there was an obstinate curve to the line of his mouth now, and his eyes were bright and direct, not looking away from his father on the little screen.
“If there’s any seduction going on, it’s very mutual,” Adam said sharply. “We want to be together, and we’re not hurting anyone by making that decision. We’re making vows to one another, and we intend to keep them.”
A sharp intake of breath. “Adam! You can’t seriously be considering bonding with a shifter! Absolutely not! I forbid it!”
Adam was practically vibrating. “Dad, that’s not your decision to make. We are choosing to spend our lives together.”
“And to have your life cut short if he dies! How can you ignore what happened to your aunt?”
Rather than reassuring his father the way Calder expected, Adam argued, “By that logic, he’s taking an equal risk by choosing to be with me. It’s a choice we’re making together.”
“A choice that could kill both of you! How long have you known this shifter?” Adam’s father sounded angry and alarmed. “This isn’t like you at all! You wouldn’t be considering it if he hadn’t seduced you.”
Adam sighed, lines bracketing his mouth and furrowing his brow.
“No, Dad, I wouldn’t be considering it if I’d continued to let your prejudice blind me to the fact that shifters are people just like the rest of it: human, flawed, some good, some bad.
You didn’t have anything bad to say about Calder until you learned that he was a shifter, and you haven’t said a single thing about him since then. ”
“Adam.” His father’s voice was strained. “I can’t support you if you do this.”
Adam sucked in a sharp breath, making his whole body jolt, then let it out slowly. His face went eerily devoice of expression, and his voice came out utterly calm.
“Well, that’s your choice. You have my number if you ever change your mind. Goodbye, Dad.”
Adam pulled his hand away from Calder to jab the end button with his finger even as his dad was squawking out his name in protest. There was silence for one second, two, and then Adam began to cry.
Calder gathered him into his arms, grateful when Adam burrowed into him like he was trying to meld them into one.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Calder told him, hugging him close with most of his arms and patting him with his tentacles.
He desperately wanted to take away all of Adam’s hurt, but he’d lived long enough to know that sometimes, grief just had to be felt.
Adam clutched him, sobbing into his chest for a long time, until finally there was just the occasional hiccuppy sob.
Eventually, he sniffed and said in a scratchy voice slightly muffled against Calder’s chest, “I think I got snot all over you.”
“That’s alright, sweetheart. I don’t mind.”
Adam’s breath hitched. “I’m sorry my dad was awful.”
Calder tightened his grip. “That doesn’t matter. The only thing that hurt me was you being in pain, and that’s not your fault. I will always hurt when you hurt, and I will always be here to make you feel better when I can.”
Adam sniffed again. “You do make me feel better. I, uh, knew it could go like this, but I kind of hoped it wouldn’t.”
“That’s totally natural,” Calder soothed.
“And remember: this was a great shock to your father. I’m not saying he reacted acceptably, and I don’t know that he’ll ever change his mind, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that there are very few things that withstand the passage of time. ”
Adam blew out a breath that gusted over Calder’s chest. “I guess that’s true.” His voice went quiet, small and vulnerable. “It’s just… it’s been me and him since my mom left, you know?”
“I can only imagine how hard this is, sweetheart.” Calder had never had a parent to lose, but just imagining losing Adam gave him some insight. “But I swear to you that you’ll always have me, and absolutely nothing you do or say or are could ever drive me away.”
Adam sighed again, a shiver running through him, and he buried his face deeper in Calder’s chest once more. “Same. I know I wasn’t very good at that before.”
Calder pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“But—” Adam started to protest.
Overriding him, Calder said firmly, “You had reasons for thinking what you did, you recognized the error in your thinking, you apologized, and we moved on. We had one wobble, and you’ve been an exemplary partner since then. I can only hope I’ve been doing as well. Let’s move forward together.”
Adam let out a little puff of noise Calder couldn’t quite identify, but what he said was, “I like the sound of that.”
Excellent. And if Adam’s father didn’t seem to be coming to his senses soon, Calder would pay him a little visit.
Adam