Page 78 of Starting a New Life

“Soo… what you’re saying is, you’d prefer to meet like a single shifter or two at once?”

Nix pulled a face, and I expected an abrasive answer like him telling me he didn’t want to meet shifters at all, but in the end, he nodded tentatively. “I guess that’d be an option.”

An option and maybe an opening…

“Soo… if I told you my parents were here and wanted to meet you… you’d be open to that?”

“What?” Nix screeched, eyes wide. “Your… you said they’re in Europe.”

“Surprise.” I held up my hands and wiggled my fingers, making Nix smile briefly. I counted that as a win. “Apparently, my telling them I found my mate made them cut their trip short. They’re downstairs. But don’t worry, they don’t expect to meet you right now.”

“Good.” Nix nodded, eyes still wide, the sour stench of fear clouding up the room. “I don’t…” He pressed his lips into a thin line. “Meeting your parents seems…” He didn’t finish the sentence, just looked at me with impossibly wide eyes.

“Daunting?”

Nix laughed. “Meeting a shifter, no matter who it is, seems daunting to me. But your parents… that’s extra daunting.”

I hated the fact that he still thought meeting shifters was daunting, but I couldn’t fault him for that. The fuckers who’d been hunting him for half a year were still after him.

I could only imagine it was hard trying to open up to one pack of shifters when there was another still lurking in the shadows. And he was talking to me. That was something, right? And Rhett too. And Connie and Nick appeared to hang out regularly, which…

“Is having Connie and Nick around daunting too?” I asked, already planning on finding a solution. “If you’re not comfortable having them in your room, we could probably… set up some kind of living room for you all to share?”

Nix’s lips twitched, then pulled into a smile. “Please don’t build a living room for us. I’m trying to get them to go downstairs. If you build me a living room to host them, I’ll never get them to leave.”

I furrowed my brow, my wolf perking up, growling at the prospect of the pups terrifying my mate. “You don’t want them in your room?”

Okay, my voice sounded angrier than intended.

Nix shrank back for a second, then straightened, reaching for me. He interlaced our fingers, staring at the way his small, pale hand was swallowed by mine.

“That’s not what I mean. They’re actually… nice.” He shook his head. “Never thought I’d say that about two random shifter teens. I like them, I really do, but they’re spending all their time with me.”

“They feel safe with you.”

Nix snorted. “Fuck knows why, but apparently, yes.”

I laughed, squeezing his hand. “Nix, you saved them. You literally swooped in and saved their lives. Also… I don’t know how much they told you, if they told you anything, but you share trauma.”

Nix averted his eyes, looking out the window at the tree line.

I waited, watching the way the muscles in his face worked, tiny expressions of anger flickering across his face.

“Yeah, I gathered that,” he finally said, then looked back at me. “But I’m not sure hiding up here is healthy for them. Then again, I’m not a therapist.”

Neither was I.

“Maybe we should talk to Jasper or Oakley?” I offered. They were the closest thing to a therapist we currently had. Maybe we needed a real one. There certainly were enough members who could use one to work through their trauma.

Nix made a face, but eventually nodded. Apparently, he still wasn’t sure about meeting our pack doctor.

“Tomorrow,” he said.

“Sure,” I agreed, squeezing his hand. “We’ve got time. Tonight, I just want to spend time with you. Maybe talk about lighter topics.”

Nix snorted. “Such as?”

I shrugged. “Uhmm… your favourite colour?”