16. Davien

Chapter 16

Davien

"Road trip!" I said out loud without offering Errol an explanation.

"Huh?"

"I have to pitch a new project to a company in Green River." It was a day's drive or a two-hour flight. My boss had reminded me of certain people who lived between here and there. Damn, he had a good memory.

"For how long?" My mate's eyes watered, and he ran a finger over his bottom lip.

"A week." I was hoping Errol could come with me, but he'd have to take time off. And while Grams was doing okay, he'd need to arrange for someone to check in on her. I couldn't expect him to organize everything and leave with me in two days.

"I'll miss you." He rested his head on my chest. My mate liked listening to my heart ever since he learned about my beast. He said my heart pitter-pattered rather than thumped and that was because my unicorn was wrapped around it.

"Me too, but we'll talk morning and night." Seven days wasn't long. It was one day less than eight but a day longer than six. I'd be counting the hours till we were together again.

"Why are you driving and not flying?"

Ahhh, he'd picked up on that. I sighed because I should have told him this before we mated, though introducing him to my unicorn was the biggie, and we'd been there and done that.

"I'm going to stop off along the way." I could have driven straight through, but it seemed like the time was right for a face-to-face.

Errol's brow crinkled, and I kissed the wrinkly lines. "And do what?"

"I have family who live deep in the woods."

Not just any family; my folks. But we lived very different shifter lifestyles. They kept their beasts safe by keeping away from people, but their unicorns were free to wander the woods. I was a city-dweller, and until the day I'd revealed my beast to my mate, my unicorn had never been outside the orchard fence.

Our different perspective on how to live with a so-called mythical beast had caused friction in the past, and our communication had dwindled to phone calls on holidays and birthdays.

Errol pulled away and his eyes searched mine. "I thought you didn't have any family. Isn't that what you told me?"

Had I said that? Pretty sure I'd kept it vague. But whatever… I hadn't been honest with my mate because I was avoiding any conflict with my parents. I'd chickened out, and now I needed to alpha up.

I sat Errol down and summarized what had happened between me and my parents. Before I was born, my parents were planning on traveling the world and doing volunteer work. After I arrived, they handed me over to my grandfather, saying they'd be gone a while. A while turned into years, with them popping in occasionally and telling Gramps what a great job he was doing.

Until, I was close to my first shift, and my folks came back. But the day I met my unicorn was when a wolf lunged for me as we were in the woods near the house. My parents chased the wolf, but that experience terrified me and I retreated to my grandfather's.

I explained to Errol that I hoped to repair some of the damage and open up communication.

"Seeing you with Grams and how you care for her made me realize life is short and we should keep our loved ones close."

"I'm coming."

I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh, but my mate caught on to what was in my head and he slapped my arm.

"Not here, not now, and not in my pants. Keep your mind on your folks and how you hid them from me."

"Yes, sir."

I apologized for being an ass, and Errol asked if there were any other secrets he should know about.

"Nope, that's it."

I was overwhelmed with guilt, while I should have confided in him when we first met, he was worried about Grams, and once her meds were administered properly, it never seemed like the right time. That was a poor excuse, and I had to be mindful that my mate was my partner in life and was deserving of my trust.

Errol had taken so much time off his job as a freelance personal trainer over the months Grams wasn't herself—which was why he didn't have the five hundred for her bail—I worried he wouldn't be able to pay his bills if he came with me.

But we were mates, and I offered to make up any shortfall.

"It's okay. I've been working a crazy schedule, covering for two colleagues, so I'm sure they'll take my clients for a week."

My beast was also excited because he'd get to frolic with my parents' beasts.

I do enjoy frolicking .

Two days later and the car was packed, we had food for the trip, and Grams's neighbor was primed to check in on her twice a day.

"This is exciting." Errol was already foraging in the snack basket and we hadn't reached the city outskirts.

My folks were vegetarian, and I'd arranged to be there for lunch. They had a huge garden, something I was envious of, even though I had space at my place to grow vegetables.

"Will they be weirded out that I'm human?" My mate gasped and put a hand to his chest. "You have told them about me, haven't you?"

I deserved that, having not confessed about my family.

"This is like a fairy tale." Errol pressed his face to the window as I drove along the winding track lined with trees to my parents' home.

My dads appeared from their cottage before I'd turned off the engine. They held hands and waited near the gate. I thought of how loving Errol was with Grams, and once again, I was overwhelmed with guilt at our estranged relationship. It wasn't their fault I took fright at the wolf incident.

It was up to me to break down the barrier that existed between us. Smiling and waving, I hugged them both, and taking Errol's hand, I introduced them.

My mate didn't hold back. He flung himself into their arms, saying how happy he was to meet them and was hoping they'd show him around the garden.

"We'd love to." Joel, my omega dad, looked at me as Errol clasped him in a bear hug.

Aran, my alpha father, added that it was a shame the visit would be so short, as we were only staying overnight.

I opened my mouth to say we could visit again, but Errol butted in with, "Oh don't worry. We can visit at Christmas, and I'll bring my grandmother if that's okay."

My parents shared a glance. "More than okay," they both replied.

Errol strolled into the house with my omega dad, chatting about Grams, how we met, and gushing over my childhood home.

"I like him," my alpha dad whispered. "And his grandmother…"

"There might be a connection." I reviewed what Errol had told me, his tattoo, and Grams's recollections.

Father patted my arm. "It was more than fate. The goddess oversaw this personally."

That was what I'd guessed, and I hoped I lived up to her expectations. If I got on better with my folks, I might rise in her estimation.

When we walked in, Errol was placing serving dishes on the table. My folks had gone all out and cooked a huge feast. We sat down, and everyone passed around the food before we tucked in.

"Thank you for being so welcoming to Errol and me." I thought of all the lost years, but I hadn't been lacking love. Gramps saw to that.

"You're our son." Father patted my hand.

"Davien tells me your unicorns roam freely in the forest," Errol blurted out.

The way he said it sounded as though my parents' beasts were out there now while we sat inside eating lunch.

Dad sent me a "Does he know?" look.

"Errol has met my unicorn. He understands the process."

"Ahhh," Dad replied.

"I thought we might take our hoofs and horns after lunch, as long as that's okay with you, Errol. I don't want you to feel left out," Dad suggested.

"I can't wait to see the three of you standing proud and tall."

I bit my lip and inspected my food because that was how my mate described my cock.

While I was happy to rest after the drive and our big lunch, my folks said their beasts were eager to shift because it had been years since they'd seen my unicorn.

"That's so sad." Errol blinked away tears.

"I'm aiming to fix that." I reached out to Dad and Father, and they each took a hand.

"You'll do great, my darling." Errol enveloped me in his arms. "The woods aren't scary, and you'll have your folks with you."

Perhaps my fear was irrational. It wasn't as if terrifying wild creatures lurked behind every bush and tree. Or did they? And the one and only time I'd shifted with my folks was that day.

"I wish I could take a pic, but don't worry, I know I can't." Errol averted his eyes as my parents got naked. As a human, he was weirded out by nudity, apart from when he and I got our clothes off.

"Can I look?" my mate yelled.

My beast pawed the ground, and Errol turned around. "Oh my gods. One of you is silver and the other pink."

That explained how my beast was both of those colors.

"Have fun." My mate leaned on the fence and waved.

My parents' beasts were on either side of mine, and we cantered into the woods until the trail narrowed, and my unicorn charged ahead. He was galloping up a hill, the wind whipping his mane, as his hooves threw up clods of dirt.

But I was sweating and my human heart was hammering against my chest until we reached the top. We stood together surveying the countryside and the house with Errol in the garden. Freedom felt pretty good from this vantage point.

Maybe views aren't so bad after all.