Page 8 of Tides of Fate

The comfortable armchairs and sofa are moss green now, having replaced the teen-friendly leather sectionals from Leo and his sister Maria’s years at home. A large television hangs on the wall, and a table sits nearby, where his father likes to play chess with anyone who stops to admire the hand-carved pieces.

The ebony and teakwood set was a gift from Grayson last Christmas, and Leo swears his father teared up a little when he received it.

Leo breathes deeply of the familiar space, taking in his parents’ comforting scents—black tea, apples, and wheatgrass. His mom Lauren’s current read,The Fabric of Civilization, sits beside her chair, a kindergarten-era bookmark he’d made sticking out from the top. His Mama Frankie’s knitting rests in the basket beside the couch, where she spends countless hours making baby hats for newborns in the NICU.

Sliding glass doors lead to the pool deck and lawns, stretching the length of the room and letting in the warm afternoon sunshine.

It’s the center of their home, and Leo wants Nix to like it so much. It’s his favorite place in the entire house, aside from his room.

It’s a place for family.

Leo flourished in what most Weres would consider a perfect Were home. Not that having three parents wastraditional—Were families came in all sizes. No, it was just that, while his alpha father was focused on success and the happiness of his family, Leo had a mom or two at home as well.

When his older sister had arrived, they felt blessed to have a single child. Many Were packs weren’t as fortunate. So when, three years later, Antonio welcomed their miraculous second child—a rotund, giggly, and stubborn Leonidis—his parents had been overcome with joy.

It’s no secret to anyone who knows them that Leo is doted on more than could probably be deemed healthy for any child’s humble development.

Mostly because Leo’s father rarely denied him anything he desired.

But his Alpha birth mother, Lauren—who is conversely stern and loving—did not exhibit the same enthusiasm for her son’s foolish ego or teenage posturing as her husband or wife.

She kept him grounded (sometimes literally), taught him patience, and he owed his humility entirely to her.

Her exacting standards for people meant rarely finding those she liked.

Gideon especially seemed to rub her the wrong way, and they spent the entirety of the pack’s visits sniping and grumbling at each other.

Oddly, it’s not stopped the pack from being invited over or from visiting on the first Sunday of the month for dinner, as their busy schedules allow.

Perhaps it’s that they are too similar?

Leo won’t be saying that out loud where either of them can hear, though—that’s for sure.

It’s a tough life, but Leo endures.Sigh.

Leo’s Mama’s personality, however, sits balanced between her mates: gentle and firm; doting and strong-willed; charming and intelligent. It is she who Leo feels he most resembles in personality, despite no shared genetics at all.

Mama Frankie fostered his love of music, food, and flowers.

It’s her that he meets at the café near Ripley every Tuesday for tea and cake. It’s her whose counsel he seeks when his thoughts don’t lend him peace. It had been difficult not to share about Nix being an omega and his worries about his family with her from the beginning.

In fact, Leo had opted to cancel their meetings just in case he couldn’t keep the secret. Frankie could ferret out secrets the military wanted kept quiet—poor Leo wouldn’t stand a chance.

They stand for a moment at the window, gazing out across the yard while Nix still smells calm. Leo hopes that if his mate can relax when no one is home, then he’ll be able to come for dinner or, at the very least, a brief visit with his parents in the future.

Leo heard once that a slow introduction to unfamiliar scents is the best way to get children used to new people. Or was that dogs? Shit. Well, it makes sense, and Leo will try anything to get the two halves of his family together sooner rather than later.

“I like it in here a lot. Smells good. The other rooms out front are pretty, but this is where your family is when they’re home, right?”

He makes his way around the room, touching some of the furniture and picking up the white queen from Dad’s chess set. When he gets to Mom’s book, he opens it to her current page and looks at the bookmark, running a finger over it with a tiny smile.

“Yeah. Whenever they’re home, they hang out here. When we visit, we do, too. Maybe you’ll want to come back sometime?”

Leo hopes he will—hopes he will love his family because they are a big part of who Leo is, and maybe they can help him heal a bit of that loneliness Leo can see sometimes.

“Maybe…they have to be nice if they raised you, right?”

Nix puts his mom’s book down on the table in exactly the same spot as he picked it up, even going so far as to let it hang over the edge like he’d never even touched it. It feels wrong somehow—that level of attention to detail.

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