Days went by as Bride grappled with what she should do. Part of her was desperate to stay with Vane, while another was terrified of it. So far the tessera hadn't shown, but that didn't mean the two of them could or should relax.
It was now Thanksgiving and she stood in her bedroom in Valerius's house with a knot in her stomach. Her parents had invited her, Vane, and Fury over to their place for the annual McTierney throwdown.
She'd told her family about her new "boyfriend" and had no idea how they would react to him. No one in her family had ever cared for Taylor and his air of superiority. In fact, her father had seldom said more than two words to him whenever she brought Taylor over.
What would they say if they ever found out that Vane and his brother were wolves? Granted, they liked animals, but Just thinking about it made her nauseated.
Taking a deep breath, she headed downstairs to find Fury and Vane waiting in the parlor.
Fury was dressed in blue jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. Vane wore black jeans and a gray and black V-neck sweater with his white T-shirt showing at the tip of the vee.
"Do I need to change?" Fury asked Vane. "I've never eaten a Thanksgiving dinner before, have you?"
"No. I don't know what to wear, either. We'll ask Bride when she comes down." Fury rubbed the back of his neck. "Maybe this is a bad idea."
"I don't know why you're bitching, Fury. You were at least raised with Arcadians. I have no idea what a 'family' holiday entails. With the exception of the Peltiers, who are friggin' weird, Katagaria don't exactly celebrate holidays."
"You both look fine," Bride said, entering the room. It was somehow sweet and endearing to know they were as nervous as she was. "Just don't plug anything in if someone asks you to."
Fury gave a nervous laugh at that. Vane looked less than amused as he stood up. "Don't worry," she assured them. "My parents don't bite. Much."
The wolves exchanged a look that said they weren't so sure about that before Vane offered her his arm and led her toward the door.
Bride paused on the steps of Valerius's house as she caught a look at an elegant metallic-black Jaguar XKR coupe. "Whoa!" she breathed. "Whose car?"
"Otto's," Vane said as he led her toward it. "Since he went home to New Jersey for the holiday, he loaned it out to me for the visit with your family."
"I thought he drove a beat-up red Chevy IROC."
Fury laughed out loud. "He does that to piss off Valerius. He keeps the Jag over at Nick's house for the weekends."
"Otto is so evil," she said with a laugh as Vane opened the door for her and let her in while Fury climbed into the back from the driver's side.
One day, Valerius was going to kill his Squire, who couldn't seem to irritate the Dark-Hunter enough.
Once she was in the car, Vane shut the door and walked to his side. Man, he had a gait that would make any woman pant. Really, no one should be so innately masculine.
He slid in the car in one fluid motion and started it. Bride stared at his hands as he gripped the wheel and stick shift. If Fury hadn't been in the back seat, they probably wouldn't make it to her parents' house after all.
Vane gripped the wheel tight as he listened to Bride's instructions on how to get to her parents' house, which was in Kenner, about twenty-five minutes from Valerius's. He'd never been more nervous in his life. Worse, Fury kept fidgeting in the back seat.
In the back of his mind, he kept telling himself that he had to do this. If he were to stay with Bride, she would want her family to know him. He couldn't very well take her away from the people she loved so dearly. But still, this was awkward as hell for him.
What would they talk about?
Hi, my name's Vane and I howl at the moon late at night in the form of a wolf. I sleep with your daughter and don't think I could live without her. Mind if I have a beer? Oh, and while we're at it, let me introduce my brothers. This one here is a deadly wolf known to kill for nothing more than looking at him cross-eyed, and the other one is comatose because some vampires sucked the life out of him after we'd both been sentenced to death by our jealous father.
Yeah, that would go over like a lead balloon.
For that matter, what would Fury say to them? Vane had already threatened the wolf's life if he embarrassed Bride in any way.
Vane only hoped he didn't embarrass her.
This was a major fiasco just waiting to happen.
All too soon, they were pulling into the agate driveway of a new Victorian-style house. There were five cars already parked there.
"My brother and sister," she said before she opened the car door.