Sly as a Fox {Book One}

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Family

noun

-the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children

-a group of persons of common ancestry

-a group of things related by common characteristics

After the impromptu sharing session, Blithe shifted back to his human form so he could talk to both of my parents at once. All four of us sat down and discussed the ins and outs of how this came to be. We relayed virtually every detail of our life to my parents, from Monroe and the Alpha business to what we knew of our newfound "abilities". The only thing we left out was the part about Monroe being the instigator for the Shifter Riots, for obvious reasons.

After two hours of heated discussion, my parents finally relented and decided to go for a drive to clear their minds. They were understandably overwhelmed with this new information just like Blithe and I had been - and still were - and I couldn't blame them for any reaction they might have had. With a paleness to their faces that was unlike their normally rich, medium skin tones, they left the house in a daze and Blithe and I were left alone once more.

The light-heartedness of the day had exited our systems along with my parents and there was a slight tension between my mate and I that I disliked. It wasn't the kind of tension where we were about to fight, but more like an unsettling awkwardness that put me on edge. There was a lot that was still looming over our heads and dredging up all of the reasons why Blithe and I were having issues upset me more than it probably should have.

After discussing it with Blithe, I decided to call over my favorite Pantera couple. They were still unsure of how to feel about Blithe and I figured I might as well go ahead and get all of the awkwardness and feelings of unease over with at once; Blithe agreed. If we could go ahead and start to work on their relationship, at least that could be one less thing I had to worry about. Unsurprisingly, Kyle was spending the day at Serena's house and they agreed to come over.

"It'll be alright," I reassured Blithe with a squeeze of his hand.

Sitting beside me on the couch, his legs outstretched longer than mine as we propped our feet up on the ottoman, he snorted loudly, "Yeah, because it went so well the last time I saw him."

"I promise you he won't do anything." I turned to look up at him with a devious smile, "And if he does, I'll rip him to shreds myself."

Blithe chuckled and gently blinked his eyes, "Atta girl."

I saw two blonde heads walk past the windows and heard my friends' footsteps pound in the foyer a moment later. "Will?" Serena called out.

"In here," I responded. I leaned forward and laid my face on Blithe's shoulder lovingly while mind-linking him, "Their bark's worse than their bite."

He rolled his eyes and moved his legs off from the ottoman, preparing himself for whatever the Panteras had in store for him. "I already had his bite, I'd rather not screw around with that again."

Kyle came into view first, his usually sunny disposition as blank and uncertain as an overcast sky. Serena came up behind him but overtook him and walked in the den first, her blue eyes moving to my mate with a formal kindness. "Hey, Blithe."

Blithe stood up swiftly and nodded in greeting, standing as tall as the female in front of him, "Serena. I hope you guys enjoyed your ice creams the other night." I mirrored him and stood beside him, looping my arm around his to comfort the both of us.