Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Harper

"Oh dear," my mother murmured at my side. "It's one thing to be pregnant out of wedlock, my dear, and another to discover the father of my granddaughter is another species. But perhaps we shouldn't mention to Nana that he believes in all…"

She trailed off, flapping her hand wildly in the direction of Giza and the bonfire, either trying to encompass all his stories, or perhaps shoo away a fly.

I sighed. Why would she be surprised that an orc isn't Southern Baptist? "I think Nana will have enough to worry about, Mom."

"You're right, dear. Perhaps the wedding should be small."

Well that was a 180-degree-turn from the last wedding she was planning for me. I glanced at her in surprise. "That would be…nice," I ventured.

But for once, my mother was watching me shrewdly. " You are marrying him, darling, aren't you? He certainly is charming, and once I got past all those tattoos, I could certainly see what you find attractive about him."

Yeah, he was hot as balls, that's what! I latched on to the middle statement, however. "Those tattoos are part of who he is, Mom." Realizing I was in danger of yelling at her, I lowered my voice so it wouldn't detract from the stories the orcs were sharing with their neighbors. "Giza is the oldest of them, and it's his responsibility to remember their past, so they can share it with their future. The tattoos he designs and gives are part of that."

Mom hummed thoughtfully, eyeing Giza in the flickering light from the flames. "He's a tattoo artist? Well, I hope he can keep you in the manner to which—"

"Mom . I can keep myself."

Blinking in surprise, she swung back to me. "Of course you can, darling." She sounded suspiciously sincere, and maybe my skepticism showed, because her expression eased and she took my hands, turning us to face one another. "Harper, you are the most capable young lady I know. You always have been, and I know you always will be."

Oh damn, she was going to make me all emotional, wasn't she?

She squeezed my hand and smiled gently. "You can do anything you set your mind to. I'm just saying, it's always nice to have a partner in life, and since you introduced him as your Mate, I assumed that means Giza is your partner."

"He is," I admitted quietly, my gaze on our locked hands. "I think."

A pause, and then: "Oh dear. I noticed you avoided my wedding question too. Are you not in a committed relationship with him? Did you just hump his bones because he's an attractive older man, and you were making a rebound and—"

" Mom ," I hissed, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. " No ."

"Harper." She gave me The Mom Look, which I guess I was going to have to learn, and I sighed.

"Fine, yes ," I whispered as I corrected her, "I was on the rebound and he was hot, and I jumped his bones."

"At least one of them." She winked.

Oh my God, she winked.

I closed my eyes on a groan, and she snorted with laughter.

"Darling, there's nothing wrong with a little fun, but you don't have to commit to a man just because he put a baby in you. You can move back near me, and I can help you and—"

"I love him, Mom." I lifted my chin and met her eyes. "The last month has taught me that. I love Giza, and he wants to be part of my life."

She frowned, because of course she did.

"Do you want him to be part of your life? You love him, but you don't want him as a partner?"

"No, I do!" Gah, why did we have to have this conversation now ?

Well, when else are you going to have it? At least it's semi-private here .

Pulling my hands from her hold, I glanced around. Everyone else's attention was on the bonfire. I wrapped my arms around my middle and moved around to the backside of the table, where the tree cover was less pervasive, and quite a lot of moonlight illuminated the area.

"Harper," my mother murmured, following me, and I exhaled .

"Giza…takes care of me, Mom. It's like he thinks I'm the best thing to ever happen to him, and he pampers me."

"Because of the baby?"

"Because of me ." I tipped my head back to stare up at the gray sky. "I didn't intend to find my Mate here, and Giza never thought it would happen to him. But the fact that I'm pregnant means I'm his Mate—it's like proof. So he's known from the beginning."

"And that's…bad?"

I could tell my mother didn't understand. Well that was fair; I barely understood myself.

"I didn't expect it," I tried to explain. To her and myself. "I thought this was my baby, my responsibility to take care of…and then he was there, and I love him, I do, I'm just…afraid."

"Oh, darling, I'm sorry." My mother stepped up behind me and wrapped her arms around me, resting her hands on my belly and her cheek on my back. "You always seem so confident all the time, I hate that you're afraid." When I sank into her embrace, she asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Before I could answer, my sister's whisper came from the shadows. "You're afraid of relying on someone, aren't you?" Then she was there, her hand on her hip in that sassy way of hers, glaring at me. "You're used to doing everything yourself, and Giza—"

"He's wonderful," I assured her. "You were right."

Meli's nod was adorably self-assured. "I usually am. But you're afraid to rely on him, tell me I'm wrong."

She wasn't wrong. "I'm just not used to it," I admitted.

"But Harp…" She took my hands, so I was sandwiched between her and Mom. "Has Giza ever given you any indication he wouldn't do the best thing for you?"

Of course not. I scowled. "I'm not used to someone else knowing the best thing for me. "

It was almost funny how quickly my sister's expression turned from confusion to understanding. " Ooooh . I see."

"Well I wish someone would explain it to me," my mother harumphed against my back.

Meli grinned at me. "Harper is used to always being right and having to be perfect. She's afraid that if she relies on Giza, he's going to make decisions and override her natural tendencies to be in control." My sister winked at me. "She wants to be his partner but is worried that means she's giving up control of her life."

Why did she have to say it so damn cheerfully ?

Behind me, my mother clucked her tongue and straightened. "Well, that's ridiculous. You should—"

"Mom," Meli interrupted sharply. "What have we talked about when it comes to validating someone's feelings?"

My mother sighed and moved around to take one of my hands and one of Meli's so we were standing in a circle. Any minute now someone was going to break out into Kumbaya under the full moon.

"Darling," Mom said to me with a sad smile. "If he loves you, truly loves you, he will never take control of your life. That's what a partnership is. You don't think your father would have put up with me all these years if he didn't love me?"

Actually, I'd often wondered about that. I tried to smile, but maybe it wasn't convincing, because Meli huffed in exasperation.

"Harp, does Giza make decisions for you?"

I remembered the way he'd reached for me in the doctor's office the other day, pulling me into his lap because he knew I was cold. I guess something showed on my face, because my sister was quick to add, "I mean, important decisions. "

I shook my head slowly. "No. In fact, he's…deferred to me." I blinked in realization. "On everything."

"Like what?" my mother prompted.

Without releasing them, I twisted so I could see Giza outlined by the flames. "My body. My career. Even what to have for dinner— dinner !" I gasped. I swung back to stare at my sister, my heart thudding in my chest. "The green beans!"

"Is this code?" Mom whispered, glancing between us. "Am I supposed to know what that means? Green beans? Potatoes? Mac and cheese?"

"The menu for tonight," I hurried to explain, excitement making my words trip over themselves. "Giza had plans for a full orcish meal, and when I suggested—no, I didn't even suggest, I just stepped up and told him that he needed some human dishes, like cooking the green beans in casserole form with onion straws…" I shook my head in rueful amazement. "He immediately accepted it."

"Oh good," Mom murmured. "The casserole is far more delicious than plain green beans."

My sister, however, seemed to understand the implications. She was grinning happily. "So the big decisions? He didn't try to make those unilaterally? Taking agency from you?"

No .

No, even more remarkable.

"He left them to me," I whispered, twisting again to stare at him in amazement. "From the beginning, he's made it clear he wants a future with me here on Eastshore. But he's also made it clear that he would gladly accept whatever parameters I put on our relationship."

Mom hummed. "So you could tell him you were moving back home to be near your mother, and he would pick up and camp nearby just to be— "

" Mom ," hissed Meli, and I felt my lips curling into a broad smile.

From the beginning, he'd left the biggest decisions, the solutions to the biggest problems in my hands. He told me his thoughts, but didn't push me into action. He left me my agency, as Meli said, and didn't try to take control.

"I love him," I whispered.

"I know," Meli quipped, at the same time Mom muttered, " Obviously. "

But my sister continued, "Have you realized the truth yet, Harper?"

When I turned back with one brow raised, she winked. "He's your Mate, your partner. And you, big sister, are his perfect Mate."

"Perfect," I whispered.

"You are perfect," she insisted. "Perfect for him, perfect for Eastshore. You're going to be a wonderful mother, and although you're probably going to fuck up a few things, I still know my niece is going to grow up thinking you're perfect too."

It was beautiful.

It was exactly what I needed to hear.

I pulled Meli into a hug as my mother gasped, "Language, Melinda!"

My sister patted my back, then released me. "I think there's someone you need to talk to."

Nodding, already distracted by what I needed to say, I turned to the bonfire.

As I stumbled around the dessert table, I heard Meli say, "So, Mom, you're taking this better than I thought you would. After the way you treated Cairo, I'm surprised you're not spitting mad about Harper falling for Giza."

Their voices were already fading when I heard Mom sniff, "Well, I would like Cairo better if he would give me a grandbaby. And if he smiled more. Stand up straight, dear…"

Some things would never change.

But for me…

My future was standing in front of me.

I stepped up to Giza's side as Sakkara lifted his beer. "A toast! To this year's blessings!" I felt my Mate exhale, and he wrapped his arm around me without glancing over, as if he'd known where I was all along.

"To belonging!" Karnak shouted, receiving cheers from the crowd.

"To babies," I heard Mom call, and a few others echoed.

"To friendship!" someone else bellowed.

"To the future," I announced clearly. When Giza looked down at me, I smiled. "To a future with our Mates."

"To Eastshore!" came the call.

"To Eastshore!" Others picked up the toast, repeating it until the children were chanting East-shore, East-shore and the gathering devolved into rowdiness.

And still Giza stared down at me, the shadows of the flames making his expression seem to dance. Or maybe it was the green light in his eyes, which made him seem as if he was lit from within.

I pressed my palm to his chest, feeling the strong heart beating in time with mine. Always.

"Giza?"

"Mate." The word was a mere rasp, almost as if it had been ripped from his lips.

Although it wasn't a question, I nodded in agreement. "Mate. Mine. Yours. Forever."

Something eased in his expression, then his muscles, and he seemed to fold around me. "Forever?"

"Here on Eastshore," I whispered, pressing closer. "I'm going to accept the offer from Sakkara. I can be here with you and my new friends and my sister and the beach."

His forehead dropped to rest against mine, and I could almost taste his relief. The realization made me feel guilty but excited about the future.

"You mean it, Harper? I'll go with you, to your home—"

"My home is here," I said emphatically. "I want this. I want you ."

"Mate," he breathed almost reverently.

"Forever."

And when he claimed my lips with his own, we were both smiling.