10. Dominic

Chapter 10

Dominic

I had asked for this. I had to keep reminding myself that not even two weeks ago I was asking Frederick when I would get to meet his family. Now here we were.

“How are you doing?” Frederick asked. We were standing outside a massive cabin that seemed as if every light inside was on. I knew that we were the last ones to arrive, and I was getting incredibly nervous about trying to fit in with everybody. My family was nothing like Frederick’s. And really, I had nothing to bring to this family.

“I think I’m going to be all right.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “It’s not as if I have to meet your parents too, right?”

Frederick squeezed my hand, and I felt a warmth wash over me from him. “No. They are still in Spain, but they do have plans to join us later in the spring. Because I know how they can be, they said they are making plans for a short visit after the baby is born.”

Instinctively, I reached down and touched my still flat stomach. I couldn’t help it. I was thrilled to be carrying our son. I never thought I would have a One, let alone a child. Now I had been gifted both, and it was still sinking in.

“I won’t say one way or another about them visiting.” I looked at Frederick and hoped that he would understand that it was nerve-racking enough to meet his parents. Add in the fact that they were planning on coming right after I had our son, I wasn’t really going to feel up for visitors. I would bite my tongue and not say a thing, but I was already dreading their arrival.

Frederick turned me so that I was airing at him directly. “Why won’t you? Do you not want them to visit?”

I shook my head. “I have no issues with your parents coming to visit,” I told him. “In fact, I’m very much looking forward to meeting them. I wish my parents were still alive and you would have had the opportunity to meet them. They weren’t exactly terrible parents, but they weren’t amazing either.” I think they would have liked Frederick, but I’ll never know.

The door to the cabin opened and a man who was in slacks and a button-down shirt stepped out onto the porch. “Frederick, bring your One in out of the cold.” He looked over at me and grinned. “I’m Rainier, by the way. You must be Dominic,” he said as he came down a few steps with an outstretched hand.

I reached for the offered hand and shook it. “I am, yes. It’s so nice to meet you finally. Frederick has talked about all of you several times since we claimed one another.”

Rainier offered a warm smile. “Hopefully everything he has told you was positive.”

I smiled at the older warlock. I knew exactly what he was doing, and that he most likely understood just how nervous I was about meeting everyone in the family.

“Is there anything other than positive to say about our family?” Frederick said teasingly.

“I’m sure there are a few skeletons in our families closet somewhere. Let’s not worry about dragging those out tonight, though,” Rainier said before he turned back my way. “If I don’t get you inside soon, étienne is never going to let me hear the end of it. He is super excited to meet you, as are Eli and Drew.”

I was quickly trying to remember who belong to whom, but I was failing miserably. With Fredericks hand on my back we followed Rainier up into the house.

“Eli is Benjamin’s One, and Drew is Sebastian’s,” he told me through our bond.

I looked over at him in relief. “How did you know?”

“The panic I felt through our bond told me you were struggling with something. Since we were talking about meeting others, I figured that was it.”

We didn’t have a chance to talk about anything else because we were now in the house and there were several people coming towards us. “Il est tellement magnifique!”

That absolutely must be étienne. I smiled at the fox shifter as he came toward me. “Merci,” I replied.

étienne’s eyebrows rose. “Parlez-vous francais?”

I tilted my head from side to side before I held up my index finger and thumb about two inches apart.

“Ah. Well, it is good timing that you are here,” he said. “If you’d like, we can certainly work on refreshing your language skills. It is so nice to meet you,” étienne said as he enveloped him in a hug. I had been warned that Frederick’s family was close and friendly. They certainly were. Not that I minded having a hug from his uncle.

“It’s nice to meet you as well. Frederick’s told me so much about all of you,” I told him.

étienne smiled over my shoulder and when I turned around, I found Frederick standing beside a pair of warlocks. One had dark hair like he did, and the other was blond. I knew the blond was Sebastian, and the dark haired one was most likely Benjamin.

“Dominic,” Frederick said. “This is Sebastian and Benjamin.”

“Hello,” I said, greeting both of them. I’d seen Sebastian from a distance in Venice at one point, but I didn’t remember ever seeing Benjamin.

“Drew is excited to meet you,” Sebastian said. “But he’s feeding Flora at the moment so he’s stuck in the back room. I offered to feed her, but he said she was already settled, and I wasn’t going to argue with him too much about it.”

I grinned after Sebastian started chuckling.

“And Eli is trying not to stare at Flora too longingly,” Benjamin said. I tried to keep my face neutral, but wasn’t sure I’d succeeded. “It’s all right,” Benjamin said. “We actually have twin sons, but Eli would love nothing more than to have another baby. We have to wait for his next heat though.”

“Oh.” I guessed that helped make sense of things.

“Don’t pay him much mind,” étienne said. “But do come inside and meet the rest of the family, including Drew and Eli. Ben and Eli’s twins are making all of the noise that you hear.”

You absolutely could hear the excited squeals of young children. Frederick laced his fingers with mine and together we walked through the house toward the noise. When we made it to the back room of the cabin, I realized there were more than just Drew and Eli back there.

“The one holding the toddler with the small guy sitting on the chair arm beside him is Calum, and that’s his fae mate Asher. Calum is Benjamin’s oldest brother. Their toddler is Isla, and she is a sweet little thing.”

I was trying to not freak out at the number of people in the room.

“Caspian wasn’t feeling the best,” Rainier said. “So he and Dimitri are at home.”

I nodded, remembering Frederick talking about Caspian. He was mated to a dragon alpha, and was pregnant.

“I can understand that,” I said, not sure what I was supposed to say in response.

“Have you been feeling poorly?” Rainier asked.

“Actually, no. If Frederick hadn’t told me for certain that I was pregnant last week, I wouldn’t even know that I was. I haven’t had any sort of symptoms or issues at all.”

I wasn’t going to mention the increased sexual need. I didn’t know if that was a from the pregnancy or the fact that I now had my One and we were spending plenty of time naked.

A pair of identical little boys ran by, both of them giggling while holding a toy truck.

“That’s Maverick and Spencer. They’ll be two in less than two weeks,” Benjamin told me.

I smiled at the warlock and nodded. “I hope they have a great birthday,” I told him. “How do you tell them apart?”

Benjamin snorted.

“He cheats,” a cute little omega said as he joined us. Benjamin immediately pulled him into a side hug. That must be Eli then. Eli looked from his mate back over to me. “He uses his magic to tell them apart. I have to go by the bracelets that I’ve put on their ankles,” he told him. “I would have thought I’d be able to tell them apart by scent, but they literally smell identical too.”

I looked over at Frederick with wide eyes. “We won’t have to worry about that. It’s so rare for warlock-warlock pairings to have twins,” he told me. That was true. I honestly couldn’t imagine having two at once. Although, it was probably easier for me and Frederick since we both had magic. But Eli was a fox shifter.

“Might I ask,” I said, addressing Eli. “How do you keep up with two at once? Do they both need to be changed and fed at the same time?”

Eli laughed while nodding. “Yeah, they did. But that was all Benjamin,” he told me. “Even when he was on assignments, I could just reach out to him and he could use magic to change their diapers for me. I would put them on these pillows and sit in front of them and hold both bottles at the same time, but yeah, diapers it was just so much easier to ask Ben.”

I looked over at the other warlock. He could do that? I had magic, but I was almost positive that I couldn’t use it like that. How was that possible? Was that because of who their family was?

“That’s amazing,” I said.

Calum and Asher approached while holding a sleepy-looking Isla. I was introduced to them, and learned they lived off of the mountain, down in a neighborhood on pack lands that the council had an arrangement with the pack alpha for. I was also introduced to Drew, and his and Sebastian’s precious little girl Flora. Frederick hadn’t been wrong when he said she was just the sweetest little thing. She was just days past three months old and shortly after I was introduced to her, she fell asleep in her daddy’s arms. Drew was absolutely in love with his little cheetah shifter, not that I could blame him.

When we finally made it to the oversized dining table, Benedict and Arturo had joined us. Sebastian’s parents were incredibly kind, and it was obvious that they were quite taken with Drew and Flora.

The food plentiful, and the company was amazing, and I finally started to relax once we were all sitting around the table. Any and all reservations I had about meeting Frederick’s family was for nothing. Every last one of them made me feel welcome, and not a single one mentioned the coven in Venice.

After we ate too much food, drank a few glasses of wine, and the mess was cleared with a little bit of magic, we all moved to the oversized sofas and chairs. Benjamin and Eli’s twins quickly wore themselves out and they were the first to say their goodbyes. Calum and Asher were next, as little Isla became fussy, and they headed home to give her a bath and put her to bed. That left us with Rainier and étienne as well as Sebastian, Drew, and Flora.

“You should take my phone number,” Drew said. With Frederick going back to work next week, you might decide you’re bored and want to hang out.” Drew shrugged. “I’m not saying that you’re going to want to hang out with me all of the time, but I’m just next-door and I can show you around the mountain if you’d like.” Drew turned toward Sebastian, and then back my way, his eyes large and rounded. “I wasn’t implying that Frederick hasn’t shown you around.”

“I would be happy to have your number,” I said as I pulled out my phone. “Let me give you mine as well. I have to look it up though because we recently changed it since I no longer needed Amherst phone number.” It didn’t take long for me to pull up my number. Once I had, I held out the phone to Drew and let him input it into his own. Seconds later, my phone vibrated in my hand when I received a text from the little cheetah shifter.

“Are you planning on working?” Drew asked me.

I shook my head. “Maybe I will again someday, but it’s not in the plan anytime soon. Right now I want to focus on the family we’re starting and I think that combined with the fact that Frederick and I are still getting to know one another is more than enough to keep me busy. Frederick said he wants to stay with the council, so I’m going to find things to occupy my time while he’s at work.”

“Well, if you need company, I’m just next door. Flora keeps me a little busy though, but I’m more than happy to spend time with you if you’d like.”

I smiled at the little cheetah omega. “I wouldn’t mind at all,” I told him. I glanced over at his mate though. “As long as Sebastian doesn’t have a problem with that.” He’d been friendly, but I was from the Venice coven, and I wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about me and my birth coven just yet.

“I think it would be good for Drew,” Sebastian said. “Especially since we’re still working on some rotations in and out of Italy,” he said.

I looked over at Frederick. “Will you be going back?” I asked.

Frederick shrugged. “If I’m needed I will. Right now, I’m still on leave for another week. We’ll have to see where things are when it’s time for me to go back.”

I nodded. I wanted to discuss that with Frederick more when we got home. I knew he was an enforcer, and that he could take care of himself. But if he was going to go to Venice, what were the chances that he’d let me go with him? It was possible that I could I could be of help there.

Flora started to fuss, and Sebastian quickly picked her up from Drew’s lap. “I should get the two of you home,” Sebastian said. Drew stood, and when I looked over at Frederick, he raised an eyebrow at me.

“Are you ready to head home?”

I glanced around the room and found Rainier and Benedict deep in conversation and étienne and Arturo were sharing another bottle of wine while looking at something on a table.

“I guess, yeah. We can work on decorating some more if you’d like.”

“You still are unpacking?” Drew asked.

I looked over at him and shook my head. “No. I can’t decide on a theme or color for our nursery. The rest of the place is finished, but there are too many ideas out there for nurseries.”

Drew shook his head and pointed at Sebastian. “He did ours. I understand you have magic and everything, but I don’t and I just told him colors and that was it. Poof, like the magic it is, the nursery was finished.”

I looked over at Frederick. “Maybe I should do that with you,” I said. “Look at how amazing our bedroom looks, and that was all you.” It was true though. I loved the plaster walls in our room. It made it feel more like home to me, and I needed that.

“I’ll decorate the nursery if that’s what you want. But there’s no rush. Our little one isn’t due until May.” He had a point there. We had a few months still.

“It was nice to officially meet you, Dominic. I’m with Drew on things. With you being just next door, don’t be strangers,” Sebastian said.

Frederick stood, and I joined him. That got the attention of the others. We all quickly said our good byes and then I took Frederick’s hand and walked out of the house. Once outside, magic had me wrapped up in my coat, hat, and gloves.

“Did you wish to walk home or go the magical way?”

I looked up at the night sky and sighed. It was so dark and cold. “Honestly, I’d rather travel the warlock way. I’m still not exactly used to the cold, and it feels really cold tonight.”

Frederick pulled me tightly to him, causing me to smile. He gave me a kiss, and that’s when I felt the tickle in my stomach as he used his magic to take us home. One moment he was kissing me in the cold, and the next I was warm and out of the wind.

Frederick broke the kiss and looked at me, but didn’t let go. That was fine. I rather enjoyed having his arms wrapped around me. “Was it so bad? Meeting some of my family that is?”

I didn’t even have to think. “No, they were all great. I’m still trying to get past the some in that sentence though. That was only some of your family. And none of them were your brothers or parents, and still, there were a lot of people there.”

Frederick nodded. “I did try to warn you. Our family has a lot of members, and it’s still growing.”

Yeah, it was. I thought about the twins, and little Flora and Isla. They were all young, and then there was Caspian who wasn’t even there. He was pregnant, as was I. And Frederick’s brothers in Spain. One was mated, but the others weren’t yet. Would that change soon?

“Since we don’t have to worry about figuring out what we’re going to have for supper this evening, is there something you’d like to do for the rest of it?” Frederick asked.

I looked at him and bit my lower lip. That was all it took for Frederick to playfully growl and I suddenly found myself flat on my back on our bed upstairs. When Frederick’s naked body laid down on top of mine, I reached for my One. This was definitely the perfect way to spend the rest of our evening as far as I was concerned.