Page 13

Finn

"You look like you're going to puke," Penny commented, and I shot her a withering glare. Her bright red hair was in a ponytail, her green eyes sparkling as she watched me with a smirk on her face. She was such a little shit-stirrer.

Thanks, Penny. That was exactly what I wanted to hear five minutes before my mate was supposed to show up for lunch with my family.

Holy shit, why had I agreed to this? Levi and I had only been on two dates. What was I doing introducing him to the crazy that was my family?

There was a knock at the door, and I jumped, making Penny chuckle.

"Calm down, Finn. It's gonna be okay. He's your mate, not a human high school boyfriend. "

We both knew she was lying. If that was the case, she wouldn't have avoided bringing someone home in all her years of dating.

"Levi, Greta, come on in!" Dad greeted, his voice full of cheer. I could just imagine the wide smile on his face, and I speed-walked to the door to get Levi before Dad said something embarrassing. Fuck, this was going to be a long lunch.

"Levi," I said, my voice a tad breathless, and my cheeks heated up as he smiled at me.

"Hey, Finn." He was dressed in a simple black t-shirt—I was a little sad to see the lack of puns—and off-white pants, his hair perfectly styled unlike his usual messy do.

I relaxed a little when I realized how nervous he was—why else would he look like he was just about to head to a work conference?

Or church?—and took his hand in mine, giving it a light squeeze.

"Come see Penny."

He nodded quickly, and I led him into the living room, where Penny jumped to her feet with a wide grin, then threw her arms around Levi in a tight hug.

"Oof, you've gotten strong," Levi commented as he hugged her back, making her laugh.

"And you turned hot," she shot back, making me huff. Could she not flirt with my mate, thank you very much?

Levi laughed as he pulled back, his eyes roaming over Penny as his smile softened. "It's good to see you, kiddo. "

My chest warmed at the apparent affection in his voice, and I knew Penny had heard it too, because her teasing smile disappeared.

"I'm glad you're alive and well, and that you ended up here."

"Me too," Levi said, then glanced at me, and repeated the words, "Me too."

"Okay, lunch is ready!" Papa called from the kitchen, and Penny clapped her hands.

"You two buckle up. I'll set the table."

" Do I need to buckle up?" Levi asked hesitantly, and I shrugged.

"I have no idea. None of us have brought someone home before, so this is a first."

"Really? None of you? Not even Penny?" Levi asked, clearly surprised.

"Dad has always been a little overprotective of Penny, and Dean or I were never serious enough with anyone," I explained with a shrug, and Levi nodded solemnly.

"So I am the first boyfriend and mate to be brought home, which means I'll probably get the full force effect of the parental inquisition."

I winced. "Sorry."

"Nah, I have nothing to hide. As long as I answer every question honestly, we should be good, right?"

"You're right about that," Dad said as he poked his head into the living room. "Come on, lunch time. "

We joined the others in the kitchen and sat down, Levi taking Dean's usual chair beside me. Sounds from the pantry told me where Neya and Greta were, and Padfoot seemed to be napping in the grass outside. Papa had probably locked him out there so we could eat in peace.

"I probably should've checked this before, but is vegetarian okay?" Papa asked, shooting Levi a worried look.

"Totally! I'm an earth mage, so I try to eat off the land as much as I can."

"It's nice to have another mage in the family," Dad said, making Levi smile.

"You're a healing mage, right?" Levi asked as Papa started serving everyone, piling big helpings on every plate.

It was an Indian thing, Dad had told me the first time Papa added more food to my plate after I'd said no multiple times.

Apparently, Indian parents were big on serving their kids seconds and thirds.

"Yep, the best one there is," Papa answered for Dad, making him give Papa that besotted look he got on his face whenever Papa gave him a compliment.

Levi smiled as he took a bite of the curry, then made a delighted sound. "Wow, this is delicious, sir!"

"Call me Jai. And thank you, it's my mom's recipe," Papa said, smiling as he took his seat.

I shot Levi an impressed look, but he was too busy eating to notice.

Penny caught it, though, and she gave me a wide-eyed look, agreeing wholeheartedly.

It'd been barely five minutes since we sat down at the table, and Levi had somehow already complimented both my parents and gotten into their good graces. Maybe this wouldn't be hard after all.

"Finn's lucky to have you both as his parents," Levi said after a moment, and while it could've been just another attempt at buttering them up, I knew Levi meant it, and I was sure my dads could see it too.

"Your parents?" Papa asked hesitantly, and I blinked, realizing I'd never asked Levi about them before. If he had told me back when we were kids, I didn't remember.

"They're alive and well, as far as I know. But I haven't seen them since I was, oh, fifteen," Levi said, then smiled sheepishly. "I ran away from home. I used to live on an island of mages, but I didn't like how they treated some of the mages."

Oh, now I remembered. It was why I'd trusted Dad after he and Papa adopted us.

I'd heard him mention leaving Ravenshire and remembered what Levi had told me.

I'd thought, 'If this man also left that place, then he must be a good person like Levi.

' I couldn't believe I'd forgotten about that.

Just how much of that time had I hidden away from myself?

Levi

"You're from Ravenshire," Raphael said, and I shrugged.

"I was. I haven't thought of that place as home in a long time."

"Neither have I," he said with a sad smile. Oh .

"Wait," Finn said, and I glanced over at him. His brows were furrowed, his green eyes a bit distant as they met mine. "I'm not sure if I'm remembering right, but didn't you say you left because you saw a kid being mistreated?"

I nodded, the memory clear in my mind even now despite all the shit that had followed. "Yeah, he was maybe ten or so, and he was telepathic. They treated him like he was the freaking devil."

Finn and his dad shared a glance, and I nudged him. "What is it?"

"That kid you saw? He's here too."

"What? Really? He got out?" I demanded, my food forgotten as I turned to face him.

"Yep. His name is Micah, and he's mated to Cam. He's the dragon's son."

"Wow," I said, shaking my head as I thought about the small, dark-haired kid I remembered. He would be what, twenty-five? Twenty-six?

"It's strange how many strings tie you to this town, isn't it?" Penny asked, and all I could do was nod. It really was strange, in the best way.

"I'd like to meet him at some point. I doubt he remembers me, but." I shrugged, and Finn placed his hand on my knee below the table, squeezing softly.

"Don't worry. Sooner or later, you're gonna meet everyone in Mistvale. And I do mean everyone ," Penny said with exaggerated wide eyes, and I laughed .

"I'll look forward to that."

The rest of lunch passed with companionable chitchat, and Finn's dads turned out to be great. I'd figured as much since they'd earned Finn's trust, but it was good to learn it for myself.

After lunch, I was almost sad to mention I had to get back to work, and Jai sent me off with a few Tupperware boxes full of curry to pass on to Noel and Rebba. He told me not to keep one for myself because I could just come over for a meal if I got the craving.

I'd never experienced complete acceptance like this before. Finn's dads had been nothing but nice to me, and they were so damned caring. I didn't even remember my own parents caring about me like this, and I was just starting to get to know Jai and Raphael.

Greta decided to hang around for a while, and since she knew the way back home, I left her under Finn's care and made my way to the packland, where Noel gave me a tight hug when I showed up at his door with the curry.

After giving Rebba her share, I returned to the construction site, where Caleb eyed me for a full five minutes before I realized Noel's scent must be clinging to me, and spent the next few minutes overexplaining myself to avoid getting mauled by a possessive wolf.

Caleb let me talk, and talk until my mouth went dry. Then, he patted my shoulder, and said, "Calm down, Levi. I trust my mate. "

Then he walked off while I stared after him with a short-circuiting brain and a desperate need for water. My boss was going to be the death of me. I just knew it.

Me : Who do I go to for some dirt on my new boss, Caleb?

Finn replied within minutes, and I quickly unlocked my phone once I was sure the topic of conversation wasn't around.

Finn : I don't know about dirt, but if you'd like to prank him, Cam's the guy. He grew up pranking Caleb, and he still does it every chance he gets.

Me : That's Micah's mate, yes?

Finn : Yup. He's off on a late honeymoon with his mates, but he's supposed to be back soon.

Me : Got it.

Finn : What did Caleb do anyway?

Me : I'll tell you later. Call tonight?

Finn : Sure.

I put my phone away, then turned my attention to work, counting down the minutes until I could talk to Finn again. How had I turned into a lovesick fool in a matter of weeks?

By the time I got home later that day, I was dirty and exhausted.

I stumbled straight into the shower, where I stood under the water for a whole two minutes before realizing I'd forgotten to undress.

Thankfully, I'd removed my phone, wallet, and keys before stepping into the bathroom, and I quickly removed my wet clothes before resuming my mannequin impression under the spray .

After I deemed myself clean enough, I wrapped a towel around my waist—for Greta's sake—and went into the bedroom. I ordered some food, then called Finn, putting the phone on speaker as I went digging through my closet for some sleep clothes.

"Hey, Levi!"

"Hey, how was the rest of your day?" I asked, biting back a yawn as I pulled out an old t-shirt from the back of the closet.

"It was great. Penny and I hung out, drove to the Witching Hour for some cake. She likes you."

I smiled as I slid the t-shirt on, then slid on some underwear. That would do.

Climbing onto the bed, I grabbed my phone, then settled with my back against the backrest. If I lay down, I was sure I'd fall asleep.

"I like her too. She's still as spirited as she was before."

Finn snorted. "She's a menace."

I chuckled, then wished Finn was beside me so we could cuddle as we talked.

"Would you like to go out tomorrow?"

Finn hummed. "I have plans with Penny during the day, but maybe in the evening?"

"Sounds good."

"Let's do something simple, like dinner. I have a feeling whatever Penny decides on will be exhausting."

"Dinner sounds good. I'd like a quiet night too."

We stayed silent for a few moments, and then I yawned .

"You should get some sleep."

"Can't. I'm too hungry. I ordered food, and I'm just waiting for it to arrive."

"Then I'll keep you company till then, if you want."

"I'd love that," I said with a smile, and Finn chuckled.

"Dean was mad we didn't video-call him in for lunch today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He said he couldn't believe he 'missed the drama,'" Finn said, and I could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"I think he would've been disappointed."

"Yeah, it went well, didn't it? My parents weren't anywhere as embarrassing as they could be."

"You mean like showing me pictures of thirteen-year-old Finn?"

"They wouldn't," he gasped, horrified, and I laughed.

"I've seen you at that age, remember? I don't need pictures to remember your cute smile or your forever pink nose."

Finn grumbled unintelligibly, making me laugh.

We talked until my food arrived, and then Finn stayed on as I ate, our conversation never hitting pause. We spoke about whatever came to mind, remembering the nicer bits of our time together as kids, sharing stories about our time apart, and making plans for the future.

It was easy, it was fun, and it felt damned good.

By the time I was ready for bed, I didn't want to stop talking to him. I would've pushed myself to stay awake, but when I yawned for the third time, Finn declared it was time for bed .

"Sleep well, Finn," I agreed reluctantly after he threatened to end the call, and I could hear the smile in his voice when he replied.

"Good night, Levi. See you tomorrow."

All I had to do was get through tomorrow, and I could see Finn again.