Page 26 of Walking in Darkness

Dread took a back seat to the overwhelming love he had for his mom. Kit wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet. He hugged her for all he was worth. “Mom.”

Closing his eyes, he breathed her in. She smelled like his childhood. That was the best way he could put it. She loved to bake, and Kit had grown up with the scent of homemade breads, apple pies, fresh chocolate chip cookies—basically, his house had smelled like a bakery.

That scent was one of his earliest memories.

Kit placed her gently on her feet. His mom was five feet nothing, had shoulder length light brown hair that was wavy, and eyes the color of dark chocolate. Physically, she kind of reminded him of that soap star, Susan Lucci. His mom might be tiny in stature, but she had a huge personality.

Over her shoulder, he saw his two dads standing in the hallway. Holding his arm out, he motioned for them, and they quickly joined him and his mother.

Their group hug lasted for several minutes, and a little peace seeped into Kit’s soul. He was still annoyed with his parents, but it didn’t change the fact that he loved them dearly.

“Kit?” Nelson looked down the hallway. “Why don’t we go inside?”

“Good grief. Yeah. Good idea. I wasn’t thinking.” Kit moved out of the doorway so his parents and Nelson could enter. Once they were no longer in the hallway, he hugged both his dads. So maybe he hugged his papa a bit longer.

Once they were inside, he heard Hudson mumbling under his breath. He couldn’t make out what Hudson was saying, but there was definitely a rhythm to the words.

Kit noticed his papa’s eyes widened.

Hudson and Connie were still standing in Kit’s living area while he and his parents were crowded into the kitchen. He was basically standing in the middle of two groups of people.

Kind of ironic since he felt like he was straddling both worlds—the human one and the paranormal one. His parents were on one side, and Hudson and Connie were on the other.

Kit ushered everyone into the living room, and boy did it get crowded quick. “Mom? Dads? This is Hudson Redmond and Conrad Turner.”

Kit glanced briefly at his mates as he made the introductions. Why did both of his mates suddenly look guarded?

But before he questioned them, his parents said hello, but it was definitely stilted and hesitant. He also noticed that Nelson slipped past them and came to stand with Hudson and Connie. Dammit, was Kit supposed to introduce them by their titles? Why hadn’t he thought to ask?

“Hudson? Connie? These are my parents, Grace Meadows, Chris Meadows, and Michail Papadopoulos Meadows.”

Hudson and Connie greeted Kit’s parents, which was also strained. Wasn’t this just going swimmingly?

“For clarification, I call Chris my pops, and Michail my papa,” Kit said.

His pops was of average height. He had dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. Kit got his pops’ eye color and his mom’s hair color. His papa had dark hair, a Mediterranean skin tone, along with the Grecian, slightly convex nose and dark almond-shaped eyes.

Kit rubbed his temples. The tension was so thick he could cut it with a knife. “Hudson? Is it safe to talk about certain things? Thin walls, remember?”

“Yes. A privacy spell has been cast,” Hudson said.

Kit heard his mother gasp. He might as well address that first. “Mom? Pops? We’re the only humans in the room. Who wants a beer, because by damn, it’s five o’clock somewhere.”

Grace spluttered. “Kit!”

“I was kidding. Kind of. Too soon, maybe? Okay, look, why don’t we all have a seat?” Kit grabbed a couple of kitchen chairs and brought them into the living area.

His mom started toward the couch, but his papa maneuvered her into one of the kitchen chairs, which Kit couldn’t help but notice was closer to the only door in the place. Was that a shifter thing?

“Sorry it’s kind of crowded, but we thought it’d be better to do this here.” Kit stared straight at his papa. “Hudson figured you’d see this as my territory, since, you know, you’re a shifter and all.”

Michail sighed heavily. “This was not how I wanted you to find out.”

Kit collapsed on the couch. He knew, of course, but hearing his papa admit it was still shocking. He rubbed his chest as Hudson and Connie sat on either side of him.

Both casually touched him, which surprisingly helped the sudden ache in his chest. Was that the bond? It had to be. Had they felt his surprise? Was that why they touched him? Were they trying to comfort him?

He didn’t know, and guessed it didn’t matter, because their touch did calm him. If he was already this sensitive to the bond, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like once they officially mated.

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