Page 50

Selene

Thursday, July 17th - The dinner

Caelon does exactly what he said, dropping me off at my front door before turning to walk across the street to his own home. When I push open the front door, Mom’s coffee mug stops halfway to her mouth as she looks between me and the hallway towards our bedrooms.

“Well good morning, Moondrop, and happy birthday! I wasn’t expecting to see you coming in the house versus coming out of your room.” She laughs as she sets her coffee mug down on the kitchen island.

“Yeah, I wanted to go see Shadow today in case it was our last chance to see each other.”

I walk towards them, hoping I don’t have to elaborate much beyond that and maybe they won’t ask about the clothing.

Dad’s eyebrows wrinkle as he scans my body, seeing the jeans that I clearly have never worn before. Mom follows his line of sight before her eyes flick back to mine. I already can see the questions brewing and I might as well take care of them before they ask.

“Clearly, you can see I’m not wearing my clothes.” I sigh as I sit down at one of the bar stools opposite of where they are standing. “Shadow, aka Caelon, is my mate. Seems that he’s known all along, but he wanted to wait for me to find out when I came of age.”

“Awe, so this whole time he has been spending time with you as his wolf, bonding with you and patiently waiting for you. That’s so sweet,” Mom gushes.

Dad still looks skeptical as he glances between us. “Are you happy with it?”

“What do you mean Dad? Of course I’m happy with it. I just wish I would have known as long as he’s known. That’s it. I know that we wouldn’t have been mated before now, but he’s known for years. It feels like he’s further into the bond that I am even though I know that’s not fair to say.”

Mom walks around the island and wraps her arms around me. The warmth of her embrace along with her scent eases the turmoil inside me. Don’t get me wrong, I understand his hesitation, but I still can’t help but feel like I would have rather known.

She kisses the top of my head as she lays her head down on top of mine. “I’m sure he had his reasons and it’s okay to be upset that you didn’t know. All I can say is it’s best to communicate with your partner about those feelings. Just because you are fated to each other doesn’t mean this relationship won’t be work like any other type of relationship. In order to have a long,healthy, loving mateship, you first have to learn to communicate with each other. Don’t leave things unsaid for fear of how they will react. You are doing both of yourselves a disservice if you keep the feelings bottled up instead of taking the time to deal with the issue when it arises.”

Dad smiles warmly at the both of us before he joins us on my other side, wrapping his arms around both of us. “I have two of the most beautiful and intelligent women in my life. I just can’t believe that not only is my baby an adult today but she also found her mate. Can’t say I’m overjoyed about it.”

I lean back, looking into his eyes. His eyelashes are damp from the tears that are falling down his cheeks.

“Awe Dad,” I sniffle as my own eyes sting with tears.

“My baby has grown up and now I will have to watch you leave the nest as you go off to make your own way in life. I’m not ready.”

The tears are falling in earnest at his heartfelt words. I never considered how hard it would be for my parents to accept me leaving, I’ve only considered how terrified I was about it.

We are all a mess as we cry together, letting the emotions, thoughts, and feelings go. Dad’s the first one to clear his throat, wiping harshly at his eyes trying to stop the tears.

“Alright, that’s enough of the sadness. We have a birthday to celebrate today and I’m sure a certain young lady would love to tell her soul match all about what happened this morning. Plus, I believe a certain mother has a cake to bake?” He looks at Mom silently reminding her that we are losing time.

She wipes away her tears, sniffling as she tries to clear away her feelings. “You’re right.” She claps her hands together before shaking out her hands. “We have lots to do today. Will Caelon be joining us for dinner?”

“Yeah, if that’s alright. He said he would love to spend time with you guys.”

“Certainly, we would love to get to know the man who will be taking our baby from us.”

Dad plants a kiss on the top of my head before he gently taps my shoulder. “Go talk with Odessa. I’m sure she will be here soon anyways. Goddess knows that girl is glued to your hip.”

Pushing the stool back, I slide to my feet before heading off to my bedroom. They’re right, I would love to tell Odes, but first I would love to shower off the damp soil and other things that are all over me. Running into my room, I pull my phone off the nightstand and shoot off a text to her asking for her to come over while I shower. She sends back a quick thumbs up emoji before I turn the screen off and drop it back onto the night stand.

After a long, luxurious shower, I wrap my hair in a towel before heading back into my bedroom. Odes is sitting on my bed with her feet crossed underneath her, scrolling on her phone when I walk in. When she looks up, she squeals and jumps off the bed coming to wrap her arms around me.

“I hear that not only are we celebrating your birthday, but that you found your mate!” She practically busts my eardrums with the sounds coming from her.

I glare over my shoulder towards where my mother surely is in the kitchen baking.

“Don’t do that!” She swats my shoulder.

“What?”