Page 5 of Their Promise

Preening at her praise, I admitted, “It helped coming home.”

Great Uncle Silverowl hugged me and tapped the middle of my forehead. “Your snake wants out. I can feel it.” He had come over at least once a week to train with my fathers and subsequently, we had spent a lot of time training together as well. “When’s the last time you shifted?”

“Snakes aren’t exactly people’s favorite animal,” I reminded him. “Pretty sure the girls in my dorm would have burned the building to the ground if they’d seen me.”

“Are you bigger?” Great Aunt Leona asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, a lot.”

“Define a lot,” Great Uncle Silverowl said with a frown.

“Come over after we eat and she can show you,” Mom said. “We need to eat.”

“Oh, were you shopping?” Great Aunt Leona asked and waved at the server, Tim, who immediately rushed over and added the empty table next to theirs to make a combined larger table so we could sit with them. One of the perks of being royalty was having people make accommodations for you that they wouldn’t normally for others. I tried to avoid doing it because I felt bad to inconvenience people, especially since I’d been adopted into the family.

“Yes, buying dresses for tonight,” Mom answered and sat. “Tim, can we get four of that sparkling wine that I like and our usuals?”

Tim was always our server when we came to this restaurant, so he was used to our requests. “Of course, Your Majesty. Are we still not eating onions?” he asked and looked at me.

My face scrunched as I said, “Of course I’m not eating onions still. They’re gross.”

Everyone laughed, including Tim.

He winked. “Just checking, Your Highness.”

Mocking him silently as he walked away, I sat between Mom and Great Aunt Leona and leaned my head on her shoulder. “I’ve missed you, Great Auntie.”

She leaned her head over to rest atop mine. “I didn’t miss you reminding me of my age.”

Chuckling, I said, “Well, it has been about twenty years since I came into your lives.”

“Ouch, way to make us feel old,” Mom said and sighed. “I’m no longer part of the youngest generation of shifter adults.”

Great Uncle Silverowl chuckled. “You don’t look a day over twenty-five, Rubyhare.”

Rubyhare was Mom’s elven name, a descriptor of her animal form, a white rabbit with red eyes.

She smiled and said, “You’re lucky, Leona. Any way you could train your nephew a bit better?”

I rolled my eyes. “Dad is super sweet to you.”

“There’s always room for improvement,” Great Aunt Leona said as she shook her fork at me.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

“Speaking of that,” Great Aunt Leona said in a higher pitched voice, “any prospects on the horizon?”

I scoffed and shook my head. “You’re as bad as Maya.”

“Hey!” Maya said with a hand to her chest.

“She’s got time,” Great Uncle Silverowl said softly. “You two mated ladies didn’t find your mates until you were older than she is currently.”

Tim returned with our glasses of sparkling wine, giving me time to take a sip before responding.

“If you want grandbabies, go bother my brother,” I told Mom. “He should have even more prospects than me.”

Maya scowled and took a large drink of hers.

---