17. Monster-in-law

17

MONSTER-IN-LAW

A fter a week long investigation with no leads, my father is forced to take King Rune's promise that he wasn't involved in the assault against me. With no other choice, my father invites Damek and his parents over for dinner.

I remember what Damek said about his mother—that she used to be human. So when they come over and I see just how beautiful she is, I'm surprised. She is just as beautiful as any natural born supernatural.

When Damek walks in, he abandons his parents and walks right over to me.

Though we haven't seen each other in a week, we have talked on the phone every single night. The more I get to know him, the more that I know that he had nothing to do with the attack on me. Though I can't speak for his father, I do know that Damek trusts his dad and I trust Damek. If he says his father is innocent, he is.

Damek introduces me to his mother when she walks up to us. "Mom, this is Madeline Scott. She's the girl I've been talking to. Madeline, this is my mother."

Queen Rune turns her nose up as she looks me over from head to toe with a critical eye. " This is her? I thought a hybrid succubus would be more attractive."

"Mother," Damek hisses at her.

If I hadn't heard how unattractive I was my entire life, I might take her words to heart. But this is something I'm used to. I'm just surprised that she's the one saying it.

"It's nice to meet you, Queen Rune," I tell her, hoping to show Damek that I'm not offended.

"You don't have to use titles," Damek says. "You're practically family. You can call her—"

Queen Rune cuts him off. "Queen Rune is just fine , Damek."

Damek narrows his eyes. "Mom, you're being rude."

"Am I?" She puts a hand to her chest, feigning innocence. "I thought succubi were supposed to be charming."

Damek tenses, clenching his jaw. I can tell he's about ready to fight his mom for me. It's sweet but unnecessary.

I put my hand on Damek's arm. "It's okay, Damek." I look at his mother. "I am a hybrid succubus, but I have more vampiric traits than I do succubus. I have very little succubus magic."

Queen Rune narrows her eyes like she wants to argue with me, though I'm not sure why. What did I ever do to her?

Damek grabs ahold of my hand and laces our fingers together. He's still clenching his jaw, but he doesn't say anything. He likely doesn't want to start anything here, especially not after what happened last week.

King Rune makes his way over to us with my dad at his side. Damek's father wears a genuine smile making me think that he's nothing like his wife.

Damek's stepmom is not at all what I thought she would be like, especially considering she was once human. All the humans I've ever interacted with have been very kind. Then again, Queen Rune has been a vampire for over twenty years now, so maybe she picked up some bad habits.

Or… maybe she just doesn't like me. Maybe she wants better for her stepson than a hybrid. I can't fault her for that. Many people in our community look down on hybrids. My own family scorned the fact that I was half vampire. How could I possibly hold it against her?

"Princess Madeline, it is lovely to see you again," King Rune says in greeting.

I curtsy to him. "Thank you for coming to visit."

"Of course." His grin widens. "My son is very smitten with you."

Damek's cheeks turn a light shade of pink. "Dad."

King Rune chuckles. "Does she not already know?" He looks toward me. "He hasn't stopped talking about you since he met you."

I can't help but grin, loving the fact that Damek has spoken to his father about me. I wonder what he's said, but I don't ask.

"Isn't she lovely, dear?" King Rune looks at his wife.

His wife wrinkles her nose. "She's not what I thought she'd be. I thought you said she was half succubus."

"My daughter is half succubus." Dad steps up beside me, putting his hand on my back.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "I was just explaining to Queen Rune that I don't have a lot of succubus magic. My vampire side is dominant."

"I highly doubt that," King Rune says. "I dare say every single male vampire is half in love with you. Even without succubus magic, you would be popular, but your magic makes you more alluring."

Alluring?

Nobody has ever called me alluring and I'm not sure it's an adequate thing to say about me. I'm just a hybrid.

"That's sweet of you to say." I chew on my bottom lip, not sure what to make of the situation.

Damek's dad likes me, but his stepmom hates me. Will he consider their opinions when it comes to me? What if Damek decides I'm not worth pursuing after this?

At Dad's suggestion, we make our way into the dining room for dinner. Everybody has a heated mug of blood except for me. I opt to drink water, which Queen Rune takes note of. She narrows her eyes as she studies my glass.

"Princess Madeline, do you not want blood?" she asks.

"I don't drink blood," I inform her.

She opens her mouth to say something else, but Eden and Julien come into the dining room, taking their place at the table. My shoulders relax when I see my younger brother. He takes the free seat beside me, leaving me in between him and Damek.

"Queen Scott, Prince Julien, how lovely to see you both," Queen Rune says in a sugary sweet tone. It's not a tone she's used when regarding me.

I guess she likes my family. But I'm not so sure that the woman can tolerate me. I wonder if she will grow to like me. The thought of having a mother-in-law who hates me isn't an appealing prospect.

After the greetings, King Rune turns his attention to me. He takes a sip from his mug. "Princess Madeline, you said you don't drink blood."

"Correct," I answer. "It's not that it tastes gross or anything, I just can't stomach it. Any time I've tried, it's always made me sick afterward."

"Fascinating." His eyes light up. "And it doesn't affect your strength?"

I shake my head.

"I've witnessed for myself that Madeline's strength never wanes," Dad says. "I've never seen anything like it. If she wasn't my daughter, I'd give her a job as a guard. I've considered training her anyway. It might be a good idea, considering the attack."

"Training?" I take a sip of water.

"To learn how to fight and defend yourself," Dad explains.

Fight ?

The thought nearly makes me laugh out loud. I can't imagine what my cousins would think if they heard that.

Succubi and incubi are not fighters. Even my grandfather, the king, had to hire guards of other species to help protect him. Not that he ever truly needs protecting. Succubi and incubi are very passive. It's, thankfully, a trait that skipped over me.

Julien rubs his hands together. "Excellent. I want to train with her."

"You do?" Dad's eyes widen in surprise at Julien's proclamation.

Julien grins. "I've wanted to learn for a long time. I think it would be good for me and my sister to learn together. It would be a good bonding experience."

"You two are close, I take it," King Rune says.

Julien nods. "Very close. She loves it when we hang out in her room."

I roll my eyes at him. "You don't even knock. And you put your dirty shoes on my bed."

"Julien," Eden scolds.

Julien simply smiles at her and she smiles back.

He's got his mom wrapped around his finger. And the fact that he's the youngest I'm sure doesn't hurt his case.

"Queen Rune, I haven't heard how you're doing with all of…" her eyes flash toward me, " this . How are you holding up?"

This? Am I not even a person now?

I notice Julien clench his jaw.

Damek reaches a hand toward me and grabs my left hand in his, clasping it firmly. He probably feels horrible about his mom's behavior. I sort of wish he had warned me what she was like so I could've been prepared. Then again, maybe he didn't know. She seems nice to him. And I don't imagine Damek brings home many girls to meet the family. He has a very limited pool to choose from. It's not like he could date just anybody.

"I'm fine," Eden says. She's smiling, but I know her well enough to see the annoyance in her eyes. "Madeline is like a daughter to me. I enjoy having her with us. She completes our family."

"We love Maddie," Julien says, standing up for me. He doesn't try to hide his annoyance as he narrows his eyes at Queen Rune. "I'm not even upset about not being the prettiest one in the family anymore."

I snort. "Only because, to quote you, we look like."

He winks at me.

Damek chuckles. "I hadn't noticed before, but you two do look alike."

"And since you're attracted to my sister, I'm going to take that as a compliment." Julien smirks at Damek. "Thank you, Prince Damek."

"Just Damek," he says. "There is no need for titles when your sister and I are so close. We'll likely be brothers someday."

Dad chokes on his drink. "I didn't realize the two of you were so serious."

Damek's words shock me too, but not as much as they do my father. I do like Damek and I think he's the only marriage candidate that I'd ever consider. But we haven't known each other long enough to make a permanent decision. And after meeting Damek's mother…

"Oh, Damek," Queen Rune sighs. "You don't mean that, do you? This… girl… isn't worthy of you or your love."

Dad tosses down his napkin. "And what is wrong with my daughter?"

She snorts. "Your daughter is barely even legitimate."

"She is legitimate. She is currently my heir," Dad argues. "She comes from two strong supernatural lines. Her mother is a princess, second in line to the succubi and incubi throne. A throne that Madeline's grandfather currently sits on and rules. She was born for greatness."

My heart swells at my dad's words.

I've never heard him talk like this before, not about me.

Julien slips his arm on the back of my chair. "Maddie is more suited to be queen than half the rulers that currently sit on the throne. She's going to make an amazing queen."

Queen Rune, realizing she's overstepped, lowers her head. "My apologies, King Scott. I meant no disrespect to you or your family."

"I apologize as well, on behalf of my wife," King Rune says. He looks at me. "I would gladly welcome you as my daughter-in-law. I believe you will be a quite capable queen and the Rune Clan would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you, King Rune." I nod at him in respect.

Damek squeezes my hand. I know he hates his mother's actions. How do I explain to him that I'm used to this? That my cousins used to berate me daily. I know that being a hybrid makes me unworthy of the throne. Just because I come from two strong bloodlines doesn't mean anything. Blood is just blood.

After dinner is over, Damek and I escape from our families. I take him to the back, where there is an enclosed back patio. After my father realized how the cold affected me, he had it enclosed so I could still enjoy looking outside. Three walls are made up of entirely glass—bulletproof glass. From here, I can see the heated pool. Even though there is heat rising from it, I don't plan to swim until summer. I don't care how warm the water supposedly is.

"I'm sorry about my mom," Damek says, as sits beside me on the loveseat. "She's usually a very loving and kind person. I don't know why she acted that way toward you."

I shrug. "It's okay, as a hybrid, I'm used to it."

"What do you mean?" Damek slips his arm around me and pulls me into his side.

"I wasn't exactly welcomed openly in the incubi and succubi community. Even my cousins made fun of me for being ugly." I chew on my lip, trying not to think too much about what happened in the past. Damek's stepmom reminded me of what it was like at home. Now, more than ever, I'm so thankful to be here with my father.

"Your cousins called you ugly." Damek cocks an eyebrow. "Were they blind or jealous?"

"As I'm only half succubus, I'm not as pretty as most succubi," I tell him, in case he doesn't know. Maybe he's never met another succubus before.

"Maddie, I've met other succubi. Trust me when I tell you, none of them were as gorgeous as you are." He pushes my hair back from my face.

I blink, unable to process his words.

First, he called me Maddie . And somehow, hearing my brother's nickname for me on his lips is blissful. Second, he thinks I'm gorgeous—more gorgeous than any full blooded succubus he's never met. How am I supposed to react to this?

"You don't believe me?" he asks.

"I don't know," I admit. "I believe you're not lying, but I am questioning your judgment."

"I'm not lying," he confirms.

He's not.

Which means he does think I'm gorgeous.

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "What about your mom?"

"What about her?" he asks.

"She hates me."

He hesitates. "I don't know what's going on with my mom, but her opinion of you doesn't matter to me. I've already made up my mind about you and I know how I feel about you."

How he feels about me. I want to question him—ask him to go into detail, but he keeps talking.

"Do you mind if I call you Maddie?" Damek asks. "I heard your brother call you that and I thought maybe you preferred the nickname."

I can't help but smile. "Julien is the first person to ever call me Maddie, but I like it when you call me that. It makes me feel…" I let my voice trail off, not knowing how to explain. "Well, special."

He grins. "Good. Because you are special, Maddie. I hope you know that. My mother was dead wrong about you. When I go home, I will talk to her about it. I'm sure my father already has spoken with her. You're important to me and I don't want to lose you because of what my mother said."

I relax at his words.

He's not going to take her words to heart.

And I'm important to him.

"Thank you, Damek." I relax further into his side, resting my head against his chest.

I'm not sure what's going on between Damek and me, but I could get used to this.