Page 24 of Devil May Hunt (The Devils of Vitality #8)

The meeting with his parents had been scheduled at their favorite restaurant.

The Night Bloom was the same as it always was.

Brennon didn’t know why he’d expected it to be any different, as though he’d subconsciously hoped his parents would make a big deal out of his suddenly being mated.

Maybe he’d taken Gunho’s comments exchanged with his mother too much to heart.

Even Rin had picked up on his anxiety, leaving him to stew for the most part as the week progressed, only teasing him when the quiet in their dorm room got to be too much for either of them to comfortably bear.

There wasn’t much to talk about, not with Brennon only confiding so much, but at least the two of them seemed to be on better terms now that word had gotten around they held the same title.

It was almost laughable how much gossip about his crush there was on campus. He hadn’t really noticed it before, but it was hard to miss when Brennon heard the words Royal Consort and “wasn’t he into Rin Varun?” whispered behind his back more times than he could count in a day.

It felt like he was even getting unwanted attention here, despite the fact he’d visited this restaurant for all major events with his parents since he was eleven.

They’d even reserved the same table, one on the second level, tucked in the corner against the wall made of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Morning Glory Bay.

The only restaurant fancier than this one was Concealed, but his rigid parents wouldn’t be caught dead there, no matter how brilliant the food was said to be.

Not that they’d bothered to show up here either.

They were late.

“Are you nervous?” Gunho was seated next to him, dressed in another three-piece suit, this time with the Idris family crest pinned on his lapel.

Beneath it, another circular pin had been added, this one depicting the sylar, a feline creature with antlers and webbed wings. It was the universal sign for the Intergalactic Conference and worn to signify the wearer was an acknowledged dignitary from a planet that had signed the accords.

Somewhere in a drawer in the four-story home the Cree’s called their own, Brennon had an identical pin.

Should he fish it out? Would he need it? Probably, right? If there’d been call for it as a Royal, now that he was a Royal Consort he’d most likely—

“Talk to me, pretty lover.” Gunho rested a hand over his under the table. “Let me in.”

Let me in.

He’d been saying it all week. In text messages, voice memos, and over the phone when he called enough times, Brennon had finally caved and answered. For the most part, he’d respected their agreement and hadn’t ordered Brennon anywhere all week, but he hadn’t exactly given him any real space either.

Their chat log on his multi-slate was longer than any of his others, including his friends’ group chat.

It was filled with morning and goodnight messages, random questions around mealtimes asking if he’d eaten and what.

Sometimes the alpha had even requested he send pictures of the food.

At first, Brennon had been annoyed, thinking he’d wanted proof he was eating, but he’d realized by day three that Gunho was actually just curious about him.

That was…kind of sweet.

So was this. The worry in his eyes and the way he angled his body close to Bren, as though to shield him from whatever was upsetting him.

Too bad there was no avoiding the inevitable.

“I should have warned you they would do this,” Brennon sighed, though he didn’t make any moves to shake the alpha off. There was something almost comforting about the guy’s warmth and the smell of him. That spicy scent lingered between them, teasing his nostrils.

Cruelly reminding him that they were coming dangerously close to the end of the week, and soon he’d have to decide how he wanted to handle the alpha and his new physical shortcomings.

Having to rely on another person was a shortcoming.

He refused to believe otherwise. So far, he hadn’t felt a repeat of the heat symptoms, but he knew it was coming.

If he’d been smarter, he would have taken the alpha up on his numerous offers throughout the week to sleep together, but he’d put it off, and now he was almost out of time.

“It’s fine. The business portion has been completed. This was a mere formality. If they don’t show up, we can still enjoy the evening without them,” Gunho replied, smiling softly when Brennon’s brow winged up. “There’s no need for you to feel embarrassed on their behalf.”

A part of him wished the alpha wouldn’t be so understanding.

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” he asked, voice naturally low in the dim lighting. The restaurant was a renowned location for intimate dinners and a venue for entertaining upper-class clients. The table they were at wasn’t tiny, but made to fit four close together.

There was just enough room for him to move his arms with the large alpha sitting next to him, but suddenly it felt too tight.

“Doing what?” Gunho asked innocently.

“Being nice. Making it hard for me to dislike you.” Was it an act though? So far, the alpha had more patience and tenderness than Brennon was able to muster. Weren’t war heroes meant to be hardened and strict? “All week you’ve been nothing short of gentle and understanding.”

“Why do you sound pissed off?”

“Because I am.” He didn’t want to hate Gunho, that would only make his life more difficult.

But he didn’t want to like him either.

Didn’t want to let his guard down and get sucked into the fantasy of a happily ever after.

“Forget it. They aren’t coming.” When he went to stand, Gunho stopped him.

“Let’s order without them.” He waved over the waiter. “Do you know what you feel like?”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell him he wanted to go, but Brennon realized how spoiled that would be. The alpha planned his schedule around this dinner. The least he could do was make sure the guy didn’t leave hungry.

He rattled off his usual order, then helped Gunho decide with a couple of suggestions.

By the time they were alone at the table once more, some of the tension had eased out of his shoulders.

Brennon sipped at his freshly poured wine and gazed out the window at the twinkling city lights reflecting off the lake.

He’d always liked it here. The quiet, moody setting had made it seem special.

“When I was younger, this was the only place I knew I could count on them leaving work on time for,” Brennon told the alpha still seated at his side, even though he could have moved to the other side of the table since it was clear his parents weren’t going to show.

“As soon as I enrolled at the Academy, that changed. We haven’t been here in a while. ”

“You were happy when you found out they’d suggested it,” Gunho surmised, and instead of trying to deny it like he might have a couple of weeks ago, Brennon hummed in confirmation.

“Since you’ve already taken over the company, and I’ve already been publicly announced as your Royal Consort, I should have figured they would find an excuse and bail.” He checked his multi-slate for the millionth time and, sure enough, there was a missed message. “Predictable.”

“What’s it say?”

“Their vacation got moved up unexpectedly so they had to fly out tonight. They said they called the restaurant and told them to put it on their tab and for us to enjoy our evening.” Brennon motioned for the waiter.

“What are you doing?” Gunho asked.

“I’m going to order one of everything.”

He clicked his tongue and captured his hand, lowering it back to the table. After giving a slight shake of his head so the waiter would turn back around, he sighed. “Let’s not play any more of these games with them, all right?”

“Why, think I’m too childish?”

“No, I think they’re not worthy of you putting on a show for them. Besides, we don’t need their money or their influence. Are you forgetting who I am? Let’s do one better. I’ll refuse to let them pay. That will irk them, don’t you think?”

Brennon could picture the frown on his father’s face when he went to check the books and saw there’d been no charge for the night.

His dad was like that. His ego got a stroke whenever he could flash his money around.

They must have thought that would be enough to impress Gunho and make it so the alpha didn’t mind being blown off.

“So much for them secretly caring more about me than I thought.” Brennon downed the rest of his glass then reached for the bottle with his free hand, leaving his other trapped beneath the alpha’s large palm.

“I’m sorry. I fear that’s my fault, and I got your hopes up.”

“It’s fine. Who needs them.” Not Brennon. “I don’t need family.”

Gunho’s hand tightened over his. “You have family. We’re family.”

“Right.”

“Hey,” his firm tone caught Brennon’s attention, and he turned his head to look at the alpha. “We’re family.”

Sure, on paper that was very true.

“I have a new digital ID that says as much,” he joked, but the alpha didn’t laugh. “Royal Consort Brennon Cree. Interesting how much work it takes just to add another title before my name. I had to accidentally entice an alpha from another planet and—”

“Although I deserve it, I would prefer if you didn’t take out your irritation toward your parents on me.”

That was…fair. Brennon rubbed at his temple and then went back to staring out the window. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I know I haven’t done right by you. I know we started off…wrong. But I promise I’m trying to be what you need. You don’t have to pretend like their absence doesn’t hurt you.”

He knew all about doing the wrong thing and wanting forgiveness afterward.

Hell, wasn’t it his fault his relationship with his parents had gotten this bad?

If he’d only been open and honest with them all of those times, instead of purposefully not listening out of spite…

But the past couldn’t be undone, and somewhere along the way, he’d gained a pushy, overly concerned for his well-being alpha.

“I don’t know how to be a family,” he admitted softly. “As you can see, I don’t have much experience with being a part of a healthy family dynamic.”

Gunho chuckled. “And I do?”

“You’re close with your cousins.” He remembered the alpha talking about them at length during one of their phone calls.

“We don’t want to kill each other, and they’re fine with having me around so long as I don’t step on their toes,” Gunho corrected. “I just didn’t want you to think I had no one in my corner and couldn’t protect you.”

“Protect me from what?” He glanced back at him. “You promised you wouldn’t try to force me to move planets.”

“I won’t. We’ll stay here.” The alpha cupped his cheek. “We’ll build a life here, together.”

“What, like wake up every morning and have breakfast before heading to the office?” Brennon scoffed. “How domestic.”

“You don’t approve?”

“It sounds a lot like how my parents have lived their lives the past twenty-plus years.”

“We’ll be different.”

“How so?”

“I don’t know,” Gunho admitted. “We just will.”

The food arrived then, and Brennon changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on what clearly confused them both. This was going to take time, this thing developing between them. Since he’d given up on thoughts of leaving and had decided not to go anywhere, they could take things slow.

For this, for the tentative promise of family, Brennon could learn a little patience.

Couldn’t he?