13. Theo

Meeting the family of someone I was dating was no big deal. I just went in, charmed the pants off them, showed them I wasn't a serial killer… done. All was right with the world.

Except any other time I had to meet "the family," it was a random lunch with the parents of someone I kinda liked because they happened to be in town, not someone I was madly in love with. This was different, this meeting mattered. It wasn't just because it was time to take the next step or because their parents were bored while on a trip or because the person I was sort of dating wanted to give their parents a bit of joy. No, this was the real deal. It was different in so many ways.

Not only was I meeting my mate's family, but we'd already made the commitment—the lifetime commitment. This wasn't a "let's see if we all get along" kind of situation. Carlton and I were forever. It made this entire thing far more intense. If they hated me… too bad, so sad, I was already family. Only the too bad would really fall back on me, not them. I was the one seeking acceptance in their world, not the other way around.

"What do you think?" I slowly turned around in my jeans and buttoned shirt. My fashion decision for the evening was to toe the line between casual and conservative. I wasn't even sure why I deemed it necessary, but I did. Maybe it was ingrained in me that this was how you showed respect to your significant other's parents or any important people, really.

"You look delicious, as always," he came over and unbuttoned the top button on my shirt. "And now you can breathe."

It was an accurate statement. I might be used to wearing shirts and ties, but that didn"t mean I liked them.

"I was going to put a tie on with that." Not that I wanted to, but it was better to walk in with a tie and take it off than not to have one. At least that was my logic.

"We're going to the restaurant where we had our first date. It's not that big a deal."

It kind of was a big deal, but I let it go. I was glad to see that to him, his parents would of course find me perfectly acceptable, better than maybe to me. I was always gonna worry a little bit. It was my way.

"It's time to go, my love." He kissed my cheek. "They're probably already there."

I glanced at the clock. "It's still almost an hour early."

"My parents are probably already there."

We drove the short distance to the restaurant. I was surprised when I got there to see that there was a sign up saying it was closed for a private function. "I'm so sorry, I should've called ahead. I thought about making a reservation, but the night we were here there didn't seem to have any need, and I just hadn't thought of it."

Please let his parents be like him and flexible. I couldn't think of anything less fun than sitting with his folks at a restaurant they didn't want to be at. Not tonight, anyway.

"There's no need to be sorry." He tipped my chin up with his finger. "The private event is ours." I looked at him as if he had been speaking some weird language from another planet.

"Excuse me. Did you just say this private function is ours? For your parents— you booked the entire restaurant?" That was over the top times one million.

"That's the thing. It's not only my parents who will be there." At least he had the wherewithal to look ashamed for me being so completely in the dark on this one.

"It's not just your parents. Who is it then?"

"Maybe my entire birth den. I'm not sure who all will be here."

I took a deep breath and counted to fifteen. Ten was not enough.

"Are you saying that everybody who ever mattered to you growing up is going to be in this room to meet me?"

He nodded again.

"And you didn't think this was possibly relevant information?"

"It is very much important for you to know," he agreed, and I gave him some serious side-eye. "Absolutely it is. And when you were walking over here from the car and I went back to get my phone, that's when I found out."

"They didn't tell you either?" We were going to have to set some boundaries with his family if they planned for this kind of thing to be the norm.

"Nope. I didn't know. They mean well."

"I guess it's less stress than if they had us arrange it?" Bright side?

"Agreed."

"Ground rules: stick to me like glue."

My mate put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. "I think I can handle that. And if you need to leave, just say something… just say ‘I want to go home.' There's no need to cover it up. We didn't invite these people. They can just have their party without us."

He meant it too. Another sign that we were a good match. I'd heard enough horror stories at work over the years to know that some partners picked their birth family first, every time. I was a lucky one. Carlton was on my side 100 percent of the time.

We went inside, and the first people I met were his parents. They greeted me with ginormous hugs and welcomes to the family. It was over the top and felt almost performative for a few seconds, but then I saw it for what it was. His parents were thrilled that he found his mate. That was what they cared about. They didn't need my job to be good enough or my clothing just right or any of that typical nonsense. I was their son's mate and to them that instantly made me worthy. And this hug? It had been exactly what I needed.

From there, I met cousins and neighbors, aunts and uncles, and even his grandparents.

"You holding up?" he whispered low in my ear.

"I better not get a test after about who is who." I wasn't actually kidding. I would full-on fail that exam so quickly. "I don't think I could even point out all the people that I met." Or were they people? Bears? Bears that I met.

"The test is Friday and will count as two, given the magnitude of importance," he deadpanned, and for a nanosecond I wondered if he was serious.

"I guess I'd better eat my final meal before I study to death." I grabbed his hand, and we went to our table.

We ate, talked, and even danced a little. A good time was had by all. And in a lot of ways, it felt like what a wedding used to be before they all got over the top with $7,000 outfits and $200 dinner plates. Tonight was about family and friends getting together to celebrate the joining of their loved ones. Through that lens, it was perfection.

When it was time to leave later that night, we weren't going because we wanted to be done with together time. No, we left because the waitstaff wanted to leave. Not if they had any chance of getting home to their families before a new day began.

"I really liked your family," I said as I buckled into the car. "They accepted me, not one of them having an outward problem with my humanness."

"My family isn't specieist."

"That's good." It had been something I worried about. I was glad to see that the worry had been a waste. "I really did like them. I'm not just saying that to make you feel more comfortable or whatever."

"Well, that works, because they really liked you too." He turned on the ignition and started to pull out of our parking spot. "I really would have told you earlier if I thought for a second that they were going to do that."

"I know, and now that it is over with, I'm glad I didn't know. I'd have been dreading it, letting it get into my head and mess with me. And it would have been for nothing, because at the end of the day, they're my family too," I said, settling into the idea of having so many people in my life who I still didn't know. I'd figure it out.

He smiled. "Alpha mine, that was exactly the perfect thing to say."

They weren't going to be a part of our daily life. They didn't even live close by. That didn't change the fact that after tonight, I felt like one of them, and I suspected that this feeling would only grow over the years, and I was glad.