and our mating,” he sobbed. “You’ve been amazing, so super-dooper fair, and strong, and loving, and kind, looking after me, and agreeing with everything I’ve asked for, and what did I do? What did I do? I betrayed you… I didn’t talk to you, and now we’ve got fae after me, I still don’t know what happened with the vampire, I didn’t tell you about my parents because I wanted you to like them… and now…”
“You know, you and your mom are a lot alike,” Dian broke in quietly, but Kee could hear the humor. “You both start chatting and never let a slow old gargoyle like me get a word in. How about you take a deep breath and let me know what’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours.”
Kee ducked his head and swiped at his soggy cheeks with his fingers. “I didn’t tell you about the stalker because I wasn’t sure if you’d believe me, hell, I could hardly believe it because I couldn’t see anyone or scent them or anything, and I didn’t want you to worry about me while I was working.”
“That’s better, but maybe take another breath. I understand by the way.”
“You do?” Kee risked a peek upwards. My mate has such lovely eyes. But then Kee remembered he was supposed to be confessing. “I told my parents we’d claimed each other, and I thought they’d be happy for me, especially because you’re a gargoyle. But Mom had a fit and kept going on about me dying, and then Dad hung up on me, and I was sad about that, but I don’t have that much to do with them. And then…”
“Another breath would be a good idea.”
Oh, yeah. Kee inhaled slowly and exhaled. “And then they wouldn’t stop calling me every day – Mom ranting, Dad getting all huffy with me when I’d ask him about pixie shifting or my magic, and then he’d hang up on me again. They were so unhappy with me, but they are my parents, and I knew you’d meet them one day. I didn’t want you hating them before they could see you for themselves.”
“Your dad had a plan to save you. There’s a car that’s going to be on the outskirts of Arrowtown in two days. I’m not sure who’s going to be in it, but apparently one of the women coming has the drugs you need to never want sex again. Your mom made it plain they wouldn’t be there, but these guys who you’ll be with apparently travel all over. All you have to do is leave me, and not act as though you were ever mated, and apparently then your mom can stop worrying about you dying.”
Kee gasped in horror. “Oh, no, they didn’t… tell me…, no you already told me. Oh, my gods, how could they? I told them how much I loved you, and how good you were to me. I told them about helping save Roger and how the town gave us sanctuary… I did… I told them, I truly did… how could they do this to us?”
“You heard me mention the Men in Black reference – your mom actually referenced them first. Apparently, they’re stalking your every step.”
Leaning back from his mate’s chest, Kee studied Dian’s face. “Are you laughing about this?”
Dian tightened his lips in a straight line and shook his head. But Kee could see the twinkle in his eye.
“You are. You think this is funny? I’ve been worried sick…”
“Your parents wanting you to leave me pisses me off,” Dian said firmly. “Interfering in our mating when they haven’t met me – insisting you can leave me and will be fine because we’re immortal now – I was angry about that too. You wouldn’t need drugs to stop you getting a hard on if we weren’t together, because we’d still be mated, and I didn’t think they had the right to make plans for their adult son, without talking to us first.”
“Phew.” Kee laid his head back on Dian’s chest. “For a moment there I thought something was wrong with your gargoyle. But you can shift later, and I can check him out for myself.”
“And we’ll both enjoy that.” Then Dian chuckled. “But the Men in Black, really? Please tell me they don’t go running around with foil hats so the invading aliens can’t read their thoughts.”
“It’s not the aliens they worry about doing that sort of thing.” Kee chuckled too. “It’s the new government nano-technologies