second until she faces me with a friendly grin and opens the door wide enough to let us into the house. Caelan pushes me forward gently, and I walk through the doorway with my head held high even though I’m incredibly anxious.
Audun is still carrying the little boy, and he gives me a shy smile when I glance over my shoulder. Caelan looks way too amused for this situation, which somehow doesn’t surprise me. He seems amused by almost everything I say and do, so I try not to pay him any mind. The house is lovely, and I’m slightly distracted as I walk through the foyer behind Audun’s baby mama. It looks like I’ve stepped into a fancy European storybook cottage, with wooden rafters on the ceilings and the most charming paintings and decorations leading into a large, open kitchen and dining area.
There’s a woman standing at the sink, facing away from us. I can’t see her face, but she’s wearing a long, black skirt with embroidered folk-art looking flowers in bright red, orange, blue, and white. She’s wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with a red vest over it, and a black scarf tied over her shoulders and head. I blink at her outfit a few times, and dart a quick glance back at the guys and the girl that answered the door. They’re dressed totally normal—the girl is wearing a long, modest blue dress, but it still looks like something I’d see back home, and the guys are wearing plain black trousers, long shirts and jackets.
“Kdo přišel?” the woman asks over her shoulder without looking up from her task.
“Ahoj, Runa.” Caelan grins at the woman as he rubs his hand across my lower back.
She drops something in the sink and spins around to stare at us in shock. She has the same gorgeous skin tone as Audun and the toddler, but her eyes are the same captivating blue color as the girl’s. She looks to be middle-aged, maybe in her forties or early fifties. I find myself growing more confused by the second, but the woman’s face immediately breaks out in a bright smile.
She exclaims happily and rushes over to pull Audun into a hug. He looks a little embarrassed, but he hugs her back after setting the child down. She hugs Caelan too after stepping away from Audun, and then she stands in front of me and grabs both my hands.
The woman who looks an awful lot like Audun, and who I’m starting to suspect might be a relative, continues to smile at me with genuine warmth as she asks a question. Caelan steps closer, wrapping his arm around my waist in a way that’s slightly possessive, and he answers, “Naše žena, Isla.”
Naše žena. I’ve heard him say that a few times now. He said it outside just a few minutes ago, and he said it to the couple we met in the street on our way here. He also mumbled it multiple times when we were snuggling in bed earlier while he and Audun kissed the mate rune on my wrists over and over.
I wonder if the words mean mate—their mate. The thought makes my mouth curve up into the stupidest, most idiotic smile ever. I really hope I’m right because just the thought of them introducing me to people as their mate already, without even really knowing me yet, makes me so incredibly happy.
The woman exclaims once more, and hugs me the same way she did Audun and Caelan. When she pulls away a few moments later, she begins speaking at me rapidly and excitedly, but Audun quickly cuts her off with an apologetic grimace.
The girl from the front door laughs and says something else to the middle-aged woman, and I watch as her expression slowly transitions into something between confusion and amusement. The girl laughs again and steps in front of me as she gestures to herself, the woman, and then the little boy that’s hiding behind her legs.
“Marieke, Runa, Naren.”
I’d already guessed Runa’s name because of how Caelan greeted her, but I’m glad to finally know Marieke’s and her son’s names. Caelan and Audun look rightly chastised when Runa realizes I was never introduced properly. She gestures toward the dining room table and continues speaking hurriedly.
Caelan directs me to sit at a long, wooden table. He pulls my chair out like a perfect gentleman, and he and Audun sit on either side of me. Everyone is being super nice, but I can’t help