Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
She calls, she begs, and I fold. It’s impossible to ignore my mother.
Worrying about silly things, like Jun meeting my parents, feels inappropriate when people are dying… but I am. I’m worried. Lucky for me, Jun agrees to the dinner. I can avoid my mother whining for one more day.
Taking the man I once loathed to my parents’ house is strange enough, but doing it a few days after my father launched a consensual demon attack on us is appalling.
At least Jun is kind enough to drive. As we creep up the winding path to my family estate, I glance at him from the corner of my eye. He recovered overnight from the demon bite. Now, two days later, it’s as if nothing happened.
The lines between us are blurry. He’s agreeing to meet my parents, but I know it’s part of our ruse, not as my mate—or even my partner.
If he were my partner, I would keep him miles away from my parents. I’ve had several serious relationships, and I didn’t bring any of them home. My parents are intense enough to scare anyone, human or otherwise.
At best, they’re embarrassing. At their worst…
Well, my father may be a killer—though it’s a strange thought to have. That speaks for itself. At least Jun understands that piece, but there’s nothing to prepare him for my mother.
“I don’t take responsibility for what happens in there,” I say as Jun parks in the driveway. “I warned you about my mother, and you still agreed to come.”
“She can’t possibly be worse than your dad.”
“You’re right. They’re equally terrible.”
Terrible isn’t the word I would use to describe them. Not really. I adore my parents. Even with the complicated feelings I harbor for my father, I love him. Still, they both have big personalities and daunting energy, and I need to warn people about them—especially my mother’s dramatics.
“Relax,” he says. “I got this. First, I’ve been handling you for years.”
“Excuse me?”
“And second… your father’s demons already attacked me. I’m still here. There’s no scaring me away.” He smirks—a smirk I’ve always hated.
Why does it make me swoon now?
Jun looks different tonight. He didn’t go so far as to cut his chin-length hair, but he styled it and tucked it behind his ears. A brown, chunky, ribbed sweater has replaced his usual leather jacket.
I touch the fabric, surprised at how soft it is.
“Where did you get this?” I lean closer, trying to look for a tag.
“Borrowed it from Caldwell,” he mumbles, his cheeks as red as the devil himself.
“Really?” I lift a brow, pulling on the fabric. “I’m surprised you two wear the same size.”
“We don’t.” With a sigh, he opens the car door, likely intent on ending the conversation—even though I’m having so much fun. “I’m stretching this shit out. He’ll hate me for it.”
Not only is Caldwell noticeably taller than Jun, but they also have different builds. Caldwell is sinewy, while Jun is more… Herculean.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you look very handsome.” I leave the car and smile at him over the roof. “I wasn’t expecting you to put this much effort into meeting my parents.”
“I’m not.” His eyes narrow. “I’m trying to make sure they don’t eat me.”
“Right.” I chuckle under my breath. “Because only I can do that.”
He comes to my side, clutching my hand, somehow tender and firm all at once. “Don’t get me started right now.”
“Is that all it takes to get you started?”
“These days? With you? Yes, princess. That’s all it takes.”
I could mock and pretend I don’t understand, but I do. Jun and I have only had sex one time, but I haven’t been able to get it off my mind. I force it away now, wearing a tight smile as we enter my family home.
It looks the same as ever, but the scent of savory roast beef and rosemary wafts through the abode.
“Don’t let it fool you,” I mutter under my breath. “My mother doesn’t cook. I don’t know if she remembers how.”
Jun snorts. “I figured.”
Of course, my mother heard the comment, arriving with a scary smile on her beautiful face. “Are you already filling his head with lies, mon trésor? I know how to cook.”
I lift an eyebrow.
“That said”—she turns away, gesturing for us to follow—“I had some help with tonight’s meal.”
There was likely a time when my mother could cook, but after being a vampire for a hundred years, one forgets how. We only eat together on occasions like these, either to look or feel like a normal human. Tonight, it’s for appearances.
Jun is here. He has a human palate and, hopefully, an enormous appetite. My mother paid for a feast: roasted potatoes and other seasonal vegetables, tender roast beef, pumpkin cheesecake, and bottles of wine.
“Sit down.” I gesture to a chair.
He’s glaring at me again. “You first.”
No way. I see it coming before it happens. I move toward a chair, and he pulls it out for me, wearing a look of defiance.
I touch the back of the chair. “You’re being weird.”
“I’m being a gentleman,” he says through gritted teeth.
Of course, my parents can hear everything we say. We’re already failing at the ruse, and Jun is failing at being a gentleman… but he’s trying, and it’s amusing. I sit down and allow him to push in the chair.
I gaze at him through heavy lids. “But you’re always such a gentleman.”
He rolls his eyes and sits next to me.
My mother takes her seat at one end of the table. “Let me pour you both some wine.”
“Jun is driving,” I say flatly.
Her eyes widen. “You aren’t staying the night?”
“No.” I have a feeling I’ll need time out of the house after dinner.
Hurt flashes across my mother’s haughty face, but it’s swiftly replaced with a smile. “Oh, all right. May I get you a soda, Jun?”
“Sure.” He smiles—an act, one he’s surprisingly good at. “Coke is fine if you have it.”
As my mother scurries off to fetch the drink, my father arrives. He’s been in his study, and the dazed look on his face says he’s still half-focused on something else.
I nod. “Father.”
“Daughter.” He chuckles, taking a seat at the head of the table. “What happened to Papá? No need to be so formal.”
My lips flatten. “We have company, remember?”
Realization appears to dawn on my father, his attention shifting to my companion. “Jun! I’m pleased you could make it. You look well, all things considered.”
“I feel well,” Jun says. “Healed up in no time.”
“Glad to hear it. It puts me at ease to know Margaux is with such a powerful partner.”
I snort, and Jun is smiling all too smugly. Asshole.
“I have to say,” my father continues. “I’m impressed you two made it this far in the trials.”
My mother returns in a blur, shooting a glare in my father’s direction.
“Do not talk about the trials at my dinner table.” Her words are clipped short. “We are here to have a lovely time, to get to know Margaux’s partner. I do not permit work chat at my dinner table.”
“Of course, mi vida.” My father ducks his head, a smile playing on his lips.
Forgetting about work has always been a struggle for him, and in some ways, I think that’s why he and my mother are a good fit. She’s constantly jetting from one vacation to the next, the total opposite of his workaholic tendencies.
If he wants a moment of his mate’s time, he’s forced to take a vacation.
My mother sets a bottle of Mexican Coke in front of Jun.
“Wow.” Jun lifts the bottle, taking a delicate sip of the drink. “You sprung for the good stuff.”
“Of course,” my mother says. “Margaux acquired her taste from someone, did she not?”
I roll my eyes. “You always find a way to compliment yourself through complimenting me, don’t you?”
“You’re right.” She chuckles. “Sorry, sorry. That’s enough about us. I want to know everything about you, Jun. Tell us about yourself.”
For the first time, Jun’s act wavers. He shifts, and his smile tightens as he stares at his empty plate.
Of course, my mother forgets to serve the food.
“Maman? Father?” I say, hoping to save Jun. “Shouldn’t we have food on our plates before we interview my mate?”
Mate or not, I fight an urge to protect Jun from my nosy mother. It’s my fault he’s here.
“Right, you are!” My father stands, cutting slabs of roast beef. “I will do the honors.”
Beside me, Jun’s posture relaxes. We can’t put the conversation off for long, but it gives him a moment to collect himself. He doesn’t speak until we have food on our plates.
“I’m a theater student,” Jun says, “like Margaux. That’s how we met.”
“Oh?” My mother leans in, delighted by the insignificant detail. “Have you been in a show together? I’m sad to say I might have missed it.”
“We’ve been in many,” Jun says. “You probably saw us without realizing. Our Professors love pairing us together.” He turns to look at me, and I don’t flinch away, easily meeting his gaze.
“It used to annoy me how often we would end up as scene partners, but…” I let out a delicate sigh. “They saw something we didn’t.”
“I see it now.” We’re still acting, but the look he gives me feels real, his eyes boring into mine.
I forget my parents are here until my mother claps her hands together.
“Such a lovely story,” she says, sighing happily.
I turn to her, and although I haven’t fed in days, my face is hot. “We met in freshman year. It took a while for us to realize what we are…”
My father chuckles. “You had to spend years complaining about him first. You’ve always been stubborn.”
“How did you two meet?” Jun asks.
I have to commend him—Jun easily takes the heat from himself and puts it on my parents.
“You don’t know what you just started,” I mutter. “They love telling this story.”
“Allow me to set the scene,” my father says. “It was France, 1924. The summer Olympics were being held in Paris, and I went with a group of friends. There, I met the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“That was me.” My mother’s eyes sparkle. “I was betrothed to someone else, but from the moment our eyes met, I knew I would let him take me wherever he wished.”
“We traveled the world together, and after a decade, she finally asked to join me in my immortal life. I already knew we were mates—I knew for years.”
My mother says, “That night, when I sprang from the earth with new life, I knew we were as well.”
“How did you know you were mates?” Jun asks.
“I could feel her,” my father says. “No matter how far she went, her essence followed me.”
I can’t meet Jun’s gaze, but I feel him searching for me.
“It’s a beautiful story,” Jun says. “You lived a decade without knowing whether she would want to be a vampire. You must have had faith in your relationship.”
“Oh, I always knew I wanted to become immortal, but I wasn’t sure when I wanted to stop aging,” my mother says. “Thirty-eight felt like a wonderful time to stop.”
I frown, moving my attention to my mother. “Do you think I’m too young for immortality?”
I’m only twenty-five, after all. Over ten years younger than my mother when she was turned. Do I want to be frozen here forever?
“Not necessarily.” She shrugs. “It depends on your preference, darling—and there’s no rush. As a born vampire, you have more control. You don’t stop aging until you want to, even after the ceremony.”
“It is different,” my father says.
Everything is changing. They’ve never told me this much about the immortality ceremony, and they’re saying it in front of Jun. I suppose that means we’re portraying convincing mates. It’s a small win, considering how stressful everything else in my life is.
At least I can still act… but it’s not an act at all. Not anymore. Hell, I’m all over the place.
The rest of the night passes smoothly, with my mother telling tales of her travels and my father gushing over her at every chance he gets.
At the end of the night, my father stops us before we can leave. “Margaux? Jun? Let us meet in my study. It will be quick.”
I exchange a look with Jun, my stomach churning, and we follow my father up the winding staircase.
His study—it’s always reminded me of him. The real him. Unlike the office at Strode, it is anything but generic. Trinkets of centuries of travel scatter about the room, and he has a self-portrait hanging on the wall. The room smells like him, too—sandalwood, leather, and his subtle cologne.
I know my parents by scent more than sound or even appearance. It’s always been my strongest sense, and my earliest memories are of their comforting smells.
Now, this room reminds me of Tobey as well. I can’t be here without thinking of them screaming on the floor, and their fear of my father’s portrait. They were right to be afraid all along.
“You’ve both impressed me in the trials,” my father says. He rummages around his desk without looking at us. “And I know you’ll be victorious in the last trial…”
He takes out four items: two pocket watches and two cloth badges with Strode’s sigils. It looks like any other school badge, but it’s not.
I freeze. It’s the same sigil he’s been wearing at the trials. The same one I found on the victim.
Jun takes my hand, squeezing my fingers with a powerful grip.
“You’re supposed to be given these once you pass the last trial.” My father sets the items on the desk. “But I think you’re ready for them now. Don’t tell the others. No need for them to know I’m playing favorites.”
“What are they, if you don’t mind me asking?” Jun poses the question on the tip of my tongue.
We know what the sigil is, but after all this time, we may finally receive answers about the watch. His heart races.
And I know my father can hear each beat.
“The watch is a charmed item of protection,” my father says. “We give it to each member of the Order.”
“And the sigil?” I ask.
“You will find out later. For now, it is to show you’re one of us.”
I don’t want to be one of them. I wear a trembling smile as I take the items, determined to hide my nerves. Jun’s thumbs brush against the back of my hand, and the fear dissolves into peace—the bond.
Does he know he’s using it to calm me down?
“Thank you,” I say. “I hope we don’t fail you.”
“You won’t,” Father says firmly, determination flashing in his eyes. “I have faith in you—in both of you. You are true, chosen mates. I can see that, and your mother can as well.”
And if my mother believes our ruse, it was a convincing act.
It’s convincing enough that now, I believe it. It’s clearer than ever. Jun is my mate.
Dammit all.