Page 26 of Gavin

Gavin and Sadieslept in until nearly ten and it was by far the best night’s sleep he’d ever had. Not only was she snuggly as hell and smelled like a dream, but his tiger was radiating contentment and it made everything feel right in his world.

They fixed breakfast together after a romp in the shower that had lasted long enough for the hot water to run out, and then he’d driven her to his folks’ house, even though it was within walking distance, because they were heading to Midas and Maya’s place afterward.

“Mom? Dad?” he called as he opened the front door.

“On the back porch, honey,” his mom replied.

He took Sadie’s hand and led her through the house, pushing open the screen door and stepping onto the paver patio. His parents, Theo and Iris, were seated on the outdoor sectional sofa with coffee mugs and tablets, which he knew would be opened to an internet page of local news for his dad and recipes for his mom.

“Well, hello,” his mom said, putting down her mug and tablet. She rose to her feet and smiled.

“Mom, Dad, this is my truemate, Sadie. Sweetheart, these are my parents, Theo and Iris.”

His dad stood and smiled broadly. “What wonderful news! Hello, Sadie. It’s nice to meet you.” He extended his hand and she shook it.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

His mom said, “Are you okay with a hug? Aeryn told me I’m not allowed to just hug people without asking anymore.”

“I’m great with hugs,” Sadie said. She glanced at Gavin with a smile and then hugged his mom.

“Oh, hi there,” his mom said softly. “Welcome to our home and family.” She pushed her gently to arm’s length and said, “You’re so lovely! And what a pretty name. Sit you two, please. Can I get you anything? I’ve got cut fruit and fresh sourdough bread for toast if you’re hungry, and coffee too.”

“We just ate, Mom, but thanks,” he said. He and Sadie sat on the sofa and his parents took their seats.

“Tell us everything,” his mom said. “We went straight home after the hunt and Aeryn called to say you talked to Merrix at Midas’s house. I wanted to go right over to your house and meet her, but your dad said I needed to wait for you to come visit.”

“Thanks for waiting,” Gavin said, glad his parents hadn’t rang the bell when he and Sadie had been twisting up the sheets for most of the night.

His dad gave him a knowing look. “So, tell us about yourself, Sadie.”

He could feel Sadie get tense, but he’d already told her that she only needed to share what she was comfortable sharing with them this first time, that the full story could come later. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to spend the last couple decades being told she was a curse and not worthy of having a mate when she was just as deserving as everyone else.

If he ever met her alpha, he’d give him a swift kick in the balls.

Sadie had explained some of her past, including being pushed away by her mom to protect her and winding up with Adam and Cinder’s wolf pack.

“Which brought me here,” she said, taking Gavin’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “I can’t believe what felt like the worst thing to ever happen to me turned out to be the best.”

“That’s so sweet,” his mom said. “I’m really sorry you were treated so badly. We have a couple of white tigers in our pride. Melo, his brother Tahlon, and a couple of their children are also white-furred. Their mate is a witch who has purple eyes and is really sweet. But anyway, I guess what I was saying is that no one cares about fur color. Differences are actually celebrated in the tiger prides. There are some very rare colors like black with white stripes and even gold with brown stripes, and prides are considered lucky when they have people with those rare genetics among them.”

“That’s really neat,” Sadie said. “It’s nice not to be judged for something I can’t change.”

They spent some more time with his parents, talking about the pride and the town, and then they left so that Sadie could meet the leaders.

“We’d love to have you over for dinner,” his mom said as they walked out the front door. “Not tonight, I’m sure you have plans, but maybe tomorrow night?”

Sadie smiled with a nod at Gavin and he said, “Sure, Mom, that would be great.”

“We’ll eat around six. See you two later.”

He walked Sadie to his truck and opened the door for her.

“What did you think?”

“They’re awesome.”

“I think so too.”

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