"Uncle Graham!" he squeals with delight.
"My little prince," Graham says. His gaze is as soft and loving as any man's could be when he peers down at the child. "How's my little Leon?"
He really cares about him, my inner voice observes, shocked.
"Great," the boy says and smiles. "Mom, Auntie Helia, and Auntie Alyssa are down the hall talking about you. Everyone's wondering when you'll find yourself a wife. But you already knew that, didn't you?"
Oh my God. His nephew just went there. In front of me. I hope they won't assume that I'm...No, no, no. Surely not.
If possible, my insides liquify. The entire situation feels like an out-of-body experience. To describe the uncomfortable emotions being pumped inside of me right now is like an extreme sport. I'm the female version of the emoji with a tongue sticking out.
"Little brother!" someone bellows from deep inside the house. "You're late. I thought that was my job."
It's obvious who the king is.
Graham winces at my side. "That's Garren," he whispers to me before turning to his brother. "What can I say? I'm my own man."
He straightens his back and walks deeper into the house toward his brother's voice. I follow on his heels all the way to the living room, coming face-to-face with a tall man who's a spitting image of Graham except for high cheekbones and an extra-chiseled jaw.
Are all the wolves drop-dead gorgeous? Is that a way to identify them?
"Welcome to the Grey Manor," King Garren says.
My legs tremble, but thankfully, I'm able to walk over to him and shake his outstretched hand.
"Stop scaring the poor human," a tan woman with light brown hair by Garren's side exclaims. "I'm Alyssa, Garren's wife."
She comes up to me. Out of instinct, I extend my hand, wanting to make her acquaintance.
She gives me a small smile of approval and shakes my hand. "You must be Cassidy Strayed."
"Cassie," I force out, trying to match her friendliness.
While I never liked socializing much, I've never been so nervous about it before. It must have everything to do with the fact that I know she's a wolf. All of them are.
"It's nice to meet you, Cassie," she says, her smile widening. She turns and gestures at a gorgeous woman with ashen-white hair and plump lips. Her eyes are bright blue and her skin as pale as Leon's. I know who she is before Alyssa introduces her. "That's Queen Leia Lafayette. Gavin's wife."
The woman's beauty is breathtaking, though her stern demeanor makes her even more enticing. It's probably the wild edge that nobody seems to be able to contain.
Another clone of Graham comes into the room, positioning himself protectively behind Queen Leia. His strong jaw is covered with a groomed stubble that makes him look older than he is. He has a blue and white jacket over his broad shoulders.
"Hey," he says and puts his hands on Leia's shoulders.
It's easy to assume that he's Gavin, which Alyssa confirms when she introduces him next.
My eyes travel to the woman sitting next to Leia. She has long blonde hair and green eyes. Though she is very beautiful, something tells me that she isn't a wolf.
"That's Helia," Alyssa continues, confirming my suspicions. She's a witch. "She's Prince Grayden's wife."
"Okay, that's enough of introductions for now," Graham interferes. "She can properly meet the rest later. We have work to do."
"Why so uptight, little brother?" Garren teases. "You should find a way to get some release if you know what I mean."
"Everyone knows what you mean, Garren," Grayden says, coming into the room. He's the only brother I've seen around the building often enough to recognize on sight. "It wasn't funny the first couple of dozen times you said it, and it's not funny now."
He takes his position next to Helia who beams at him as if he hung the moon. That must be what it looks like to find your true love, because I definitely see more than a friendship between the two of them.
"I agree," Gavin joins the game. "Graham's sex life is not up for discussion."