Cyrus wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t nervous about introducing Cella to his parents. They were good people, who wanted their son to be happy. There were some shifter groups that had rules about mating, preferring to stay within their own kind, but tigers had never been like that. Although the majority of the ambush were tigers, there were human mates, a wiccan mate, and even other shifters. He didn’t think a vampire had ever been mated to a tiger in the ambush’s history, but he was proud to be the first one.
The call connected and he smiled at his parents. “Hi.”
His parents waved. “Hello,” his father said. “How are you?”
“Is everything okay?” his mother asked. “I can’t remember the last time we video chatted.”
“Everything’s wonderful,” he promised. “In fact, it’s more than wonderful, it’s perfect. Last night I met my truemate.”
“Oh!” his mother gasped. “You did? That is wonderful news!”
Cyrus hadn’t realized that Cella had eased out of frame, and he grasped the arm of her chair and pulled her over. “This is Cella, my truemate.”
“Hello,” Cella said, her voice cracking a little.
Cyrus couldn’t help but grin. He put his arm around her. “Baby, these are my parents, August and Cora.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Cella said.
“You too,” August said. “So, I’m guessing by the fangs that you’re a vampire?”
“Yes,” Cella said.
“Did you meet at the restaurant?” Cora asked.
“We did,” Cyrus said. “I was working when she came in for a tour with Mishka and his mate last night, and the rest is history.”
“Congratulations,” Cora said with a broad smile that made her eyes dance. “That’s amazing news! I guess you were right about a change of scenery being just what you needed.”
“Absolutely,” he said. “We’d like to come visit on Friday so you can meet in person.”
“That’s perfect. You can come for dinner,” Cora said. “I have to confess I don’t know anything about vampires. Do you eat real food? Or can I... oh gosh, how would I even buy blood? Can you get it at the grocery?”
Cella chuckled and covered it with a cough. “It’s fine, I promise. I don’t eat food, and I drink synthetic blood. I can’t leave the club until after the sun has set, so as long as you don’t mind waiting until then for dinner, I can just sit and chat while you eat.”
“Oh, that wouldn’t be very polite of us,” Cora said. “We’ll eat before you come over.”
Cyrus laughed. “If that’s all settled, Mom?”
“It is now.”
“Good,” August rolled his eyes. “Have you talked to Midas?”
“Not yet. I wanted to tell you the news first. Although, full disclosure – Gavin was there when I met Cella, so he knows but he swore he wouldn’t tell.”
“That stinker,” Cora said. “I’ll have to talk to his mother about that.”
“Don’t give him too hard of a time. He was doing me a favor. It was my news to share after all.”
“Well, that’s a good point I suppose.”
“I’m going to talk to Midas after this. Would it be all right to invite him to your house Friday?”
“Absolutely,” Cora said. “The more the merrier.”
“Does your... what do you call the leader of your group?” August asked.
“The master of the coven,” Cella said. “And it’s Mishka.”
“I’ve seen him on television,” Cora said. “He’s very handsome.”
Cyrus rolled his eyes as his father made a disgruntled noise.
“What?” Cora said, feigning innocence. “He is.”
August cleared his throat with a side glance at his mate. “What I meant to ask was if you wanted to invite him along Friday?”
“Thank you, but no. Mishka doesn’t really leave downtown for safety reasons,” Cella said. “We’ll have a celebration for our mating at the club, and we’d love for you to come and meet everyone, if you’d like.”
“That sounds fun. We haven’t had a date night in ages,” Cora said.
“I can dust off the ol’ dancing shoes,” August said.
“Please don’t,” Cyrus said, thinking about the last time he saw his father dance during a mating ceremony. He looked like he was fighting off a swarm of bees.
“Fine, fine. Well, congratulations again to you both. We’re looking forward to meeting you, Cella. Welcome to the family,” August said.
“Thank you,” she said.
Cora blew a kiss. “Take care of my son. See you Friday.”
“I will.”
They said goodbye to his parents, and she ended the call. When the screen went dark, she sat back in the chair with a loud sigh of relief.
“I told you there was nothing to worry about.”
“You were right. Your parents are adorable and so sweet. They really were just happy to hear that you’d found me.”
“My parents are pretty straight forward. What you see is what you get with them.”
“I like that.”
“Do you want to video call Midas?” she asked.
“Nah, I’ll just call him on my cell.”
He settled back in the comfortable office chair and pulled Midas’s contact information up, then pressed the screen to connect the call. As it rang, he looked at his mate. “Have I told you today that you’re gorgeous?”
“Not today, no,” Midas said.
Cyrus barked out a laugh and Cella smiled broadly. “Sorry, man, I was talking to my mate.”
There was a brief pause and Midas said, “No way? You found your truemate? When?”
“Last night. At the restaurant.”
“Well, damn, that’s great news! Who is she?”
“Her name is Cella. She’s part of Mishka’s family.”
Cyrus wasn’t sure if Midas knew what family meant in this instance, but it was clear he did.
“Cool. I haven’t met her, but I’ve met several males from his inner circle. Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I wanted to not only tell you the good news but also talk to you about the joining ceremony. Do you have time to chat?”
“Of course.”
Cella busied herself on her computer while Cyrus explained that he and Cella were beloveds, and what that would mean when they bonded together.
“There’s a wolf shifter in the family, and when she joined with her beloveds, her allegiance to her alpha was altered. I’m not certain it would happen to me, but it’s a possibility. I want Cella to have the benefit of being part of the ambush, and as long as we’re officially mated before we become beloveds, then while I’d still recognize you as king, if my cat believes Mishka also warrants my allegiance, it won’t cause an issue with us being part of the ambush.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Midas said, “I agree. It seems the best option is for you to wait until after the joining ceremony to become beloveds. In order for me to join you officially, you’d still need to be in sole allegiance to me as king. If becoming immortal changes that for you, our ambush laws wouldn’t allow it.”
“I just want to ensure that if we wait until the mating ceremony to become beloveds, that I won’t have to leave the ambush assuming my allegiance changes.”
“You won’t. You’re still a tiger and still part of the ambush, no matter if things change for you physically. What matters is the mating laws, and I need to be the king of at least one person in the mated party during the ceremony.”
“That’s what I thought, thanks. I would absolutely choose Cella over anything else, but I’m glad I don’t need to.”
“What we do for love, huh?”
Cella shot Cyrus a smile. He winked at her.
“I’ve spoken to Mishka about the restaurant, and I’m going to finish out the job. Then I’ll take a position on the coven’s construction crew.”
“Excellent. I would understand if you wanted to take a pass on working at the restaurant, but I’m glad you don’t want to. You’re invaluable, and I’m going to be disappointed to see you go.”
“Gavin can just work twice as hard,” he offered, helpfully.
Midas snorted. “Yeah, sure.”
“I’m bringing Cella to meet my parents on Friday. Would you be willing to come meet her in person?”
“Absolutely. I’ll coordinate the times with your folks.” In the background Cyrus heard a knock. “I gotta get that.”
“Yeah, no problem. Thanks, Midas.”
“You’re welcome, and congrats again. I’m happy for you.”
Cyrus ended the call and put down the phone. He leaned over and nuzzled her neck. “Whatcha working on, beautiful?”
She sighed softly and sank one hand into his hair. “Nothing as important as whatever sexy thing is on your mind.”
“So sure I’m thinking sexy thoughts?”
“You smell turned on. It’s like the sexiest, panty-dropping cologne ever.”
He laughed and nipped her throat. “Then let’s go do something about it.”
“I thought you’d never ask.”