10. What family is supposed to be like

10

WHAT FAMILY IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE

W hen Damek picks me up the next morning, I am nervous. I think he can tell because he holds my hand the entire way to the airport.

"Are you okay?" he asks after a long moment.

My heart is racing, something I'm certain he noticed long before now.

I take a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm just… nervous."

"What do you have to be nervous about?" He furrows his brows.

"Spending an entire week with your family—more specifically with your mom." I lower my head. "And I'm also nervous about spending the week with you ."

"Am I that bad? Do you not want to spend an entire week with me?" he teases.

I can't help but grin. "It's not that. I'm more worried about how you will feel about me after spending an entire week with me."

He squeezes my hand. "You're not going to scare me away that easily."

Will I not?

What if, once he gets to know me, he hates me?

Still, wouldn't it be better to know now, before we get married?

"Part of me still can't believe that this is real," I admit. "I was always told that I was too ugly to get married—that nobody would want me like that."

Damek brings my hand up to his mouth and he kisses my knuckle. "Rest assured that I am very attracted to you, Madeline-soon-to-be-Rune."

My heart skips a beat when I hear his last name attached to my first.

I suck in a sharp breath. "Madeline Rune doesn't sound so bad."

His grin widens. "No, it doesn't. I think it sounds nice. I'll be even happier once it's officially yours. Part of me is kicking myself over the six month thing. If I were smart, I would've demanded we marry within two weeks."

I can't help but laugh.

It's a little less than five months until our wedding now, but part of me agrees with Damek. It does seem like a long time to wait now that we've gotten to know one another.

"You don't have to be nervous about my mom," Damek says, continuing our earlier conversation. "I talked to her and made her promise to be nice."

I have no doubts that she will be nice to me in front of Damek. I just worry about her getting me alone. But maybe she will be kinder since my mother isn't there to make things worse.

"My mom promised to be nicer during wedding planning," I tell him. "So maybe things will be better."

"It will." He nods firmly like it's a guaranteed thing.

I, on the other hand, grew up with a lot of fighting and bickering. It's hard to imagine our moms getting along.

We arrive at the small airfield. It's different than the one that I flew into with my father. A private jet is waiting there for us, and I spot Queen Rune climbing the stairs to get on the plane.

Well, it's too late to back out now…

I unbuckle my seatbelt and look at Damek. My stomach is in knots, but Damek doesn't look nervous at all. He's wearing a huge grin as he climbs out of his SUV and walks to my side. He opens the door for me and sweetly helps me out. As we walk toward the plane, somebody begins to unload our luggage for us and stow it away.

Damek holds my hand and I'm aware that my heart is racing slightly. He squeezes my hand, probably trying to reassure me. But it's not Damek that I'm nervous about spending time with—it's his family. Or, more specifically, his mother.

He comes to a stop before we reach the stairs. I glance over at him, curious what he's doing. He's watching me with his glowing brown eyes. Ever so slowly he leans over and kisses me. He keeps holding my left hand, but with his other hand, he gently traces his fingers along my jaw and through my hair. I melt into him as I kiss him.

This is what I've always wanted—no guy has ever made me feel like Damek before. Our relationship may have had a strange beginning because of the political weight that comes with our being together, but that doesn't change how I feel about him.

He pulls back a little and smiles at me before tugging me toward the plane. Any thoughts other than his lips are gone as we make our way up the stairs and onto the plane. It isn't until I see King and Queen Rune sitting toward the front of the plane that I remember I was nervous. Damek doesn't pull us toward the front though, he sits in the back. I also spot his younger brother, Duncan.

I haven't spoken much to Duncan—I don't think his younger brother has said more than a handful of sentences to me. I don't even remember dancing with him at the ball that introduced me to society. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I didn't dance with him.

Duncan, as per usual, ignores us as he does something on his phone. He glances up and gives us a nod before focusing on whatever is on his screen.

"What is your brother always doing on his phone?" I whisper to Damek as we buckle our seatbelts.

Damek rolls his eyes. "Texting."

That's it? He's texting somebody?

Damek must see the question on my face because he explains, "Duncan has a girlfriend, but don't bring it up while we're on vacation. It's a touchy subject for my parents."

I raise an eyebrow.

"She's a turned vampire, not born. Dad doesn't care—he should marry for love. Mom, on the other hand, wants Duncan to marry to best. She wants him to marry a queen."

"Isn't that…" my voice trails off as I search for the right word.

"Hypocritical," he supplies. "Yes, it is. My dad would've gladly given up his throne to marry my mom. And he pretty much did. It will be difficult for Duncan to marry a royal since he's not considered legitimate by our laws."

I lean closer. "I never danced with your brother at that ball."

Damek grins. "Duncan already confessed as much to me. He pretended to be excited about you for our father's sake. He said he never even introduced himself to you. He knew you'd never choose him when you had legitimate royals to choose from. I was glad to hear it. I didn't want to fight with my brother for you, but I would have."

I put a hand to the base of my throat. "Damek…"

He laces our fingers together. "We've got about a seven hour flight before we get there."

The pilot comes back to make sure everybody is ready to take off and informs us we'll be leaving within the next couple of minutes.

Once we're in the air, Damek lets go of my hand and instead slips his arm around me.

Part of me still can't believe that Damek wants me here with his family on this vacation. I wouldn't have blamed him if he had wanted to go on one last family vacation before our wedding without me. I'm not technically part of his family. And our engagement isn't ‘normal' by any means.

And yet… I feel chosen. And, dare I say, I feel loved .

Does Damek love me?

Do I love him?

As I consider my feelings, I already know the answer.

Yes, I love him. I think I've loved him for a long time, possibly since our first date, when we stayed up nearly the whole night talking on the phone afterward. Or maybe since he fought to give us a year long engagement because he knew it was the custom of succubi to have a long engagement. He did that for me. Because it's customary for vampires to marry within a few weeks.

Everything Damek has done is for me.

What have I done for him?

"Damek," I say.

He looks at me.

"Thank you."

"What for?" He raises an eyebrow.

I take a deep breath and shake my head. "Just… everything. You've done so much for me—like arguing for a long engagement."

He smirks. "That was slightly selfish on my part. I wanted to make sure your father didn't accept any other alliance proposals and I thought if we had a lengthy engagement you might be more open to the idea."

"Still, thank you. Everything you do is for me and I haven't done enough to reciprocate that." I chew on my bottom lip as I wonder what I can do to show him how I feel about him.

Do I tell him that I love him or is it too soon?

"Having you here, by my side, is all I want." He gently kisses the top of my head.

"Gross."

I look up and see Duncan take a seat across from us. "Could you two keep the kissing to a minimum this week?"

Damek snorts. "Absolutely not."

I study Duncan, noting that he and Damek do look similar, with their brown eyes, dark hair, and pronounced jawlines. But Duncan's features are softer and he carries himself differently.

Because he doesn't have the weight of a crown, I realize.

Damek has a lot on him. Someday, he will rule his clan.

And he chose me to rule by his side.

My heart feels so full at the thought.

Duncan groans. "The two of you are going to be stealing love sick glances at one another the whole week, I can already tell."

Damek tightens his grip around me. "You're just jealous."

Duncan nods. "Because they wouldn't let me bring my girlfriend with us."

"I doubt your mom wanted me to come either." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear.

"True," Duncan says. "She has been complaining about it for days, ever since Damek confirmed you were coming."

Damek shoots his younger brother a glare.

"It's okay," I tell Damek, to reassure him. "I know your mother doesn't like me."

"Mom doesn't like anybody," Duncan says. "It's her coping mechanism. She is snubbed by most other royals, so she does her best to pretend like she doesn't care."

For the first time since I met Queen Rune, I can relate to her. I have never fit in with my royal succubi and incubi cousins because I'm a hybrid. It's always bothered me horribly, even if I try to hide it.

"Don't worry," Duncan continues. "She might say she doesn't like you, but I think she does. And once she sees how much Damek cares about you, she will love you too."

I somewhat doubt that. I imagine Queen Rune and I will never truly get along with one another.

"What is there to do on the island we're going?" I ask, changing the subject away from family drama. I've had enough of it to last a lifetime.

Duncan's face lights up. "We're going to have so much fun, you'll see. We always take the boat out, that's always fun. We have jet skis too, and we go night surfing. And the food…"

I grin at his enthusiasm.

Duncan sits up straighter, a mischievous grin on his face. "Though I suppose in a few years, I'll get to teach your children how to surf."

My cheeks grow warm.

Damek snorts. "As if I want you teaching them. I'm a far better surfer."

"Keep dreaming," Duncan teases.

I can't help but smile at their banter. Though, Duncan is likely right. Once Damek and I get married, it will only be a matter of time before we have children. Isn't that what a marriage like ours is about? Having heirs? Our children will one day rule the Rune Clan.

I want to have a large family, that way the weight of the crown won't be so heavy for my oldest child.

"Most succubi have large families," I tell Duncan. "So I imagine you'll have lots of nieces and nephews to spoil."

Damek's grin widens.

Duncan groans. "The two of you are going to gang up on me, aren't you? Uh."

But even Duncan can't hide his smile.

This is what family is supposed to be like.

When I glance toward the front of the plane, I find Queen Rune watching us with an expression that I can't read. When she realizes that I've caught her watching, she quickly looks away, but her expression doesn't change. She almost looks… thoughtful.

I wonder… is Damek right? Will his mother grow to like me over time, once she realizes I'm not like the royals who have snubbed her?

The thought gives me hope. Because, as much as I don't want to admit it, I do want a caring family. I don't like having a family that is constantly fighting with one another. And that isn't an environment I want to raise my children in either.

Damek keeps his arm around me as he and his brother continue to tease one another. And I think about what future vacations will look like once we have children. I imagine us heading to the beach for a fun week. I even imagine what Queen Rune would be like as a grandmother. As much as she dotes on her sons, I imagine she will do the same to her grandchildren.

Maybe Queen Rune isn't as bad as I once thought. The way she treats her sons is evidence of that. Even though Damek isn't her son by birth, she loves him just as much as she does Duncan.