Everett
I knew my mother well enough to know that Felix's gender wouldn't be an issue. If anything upset her, it would be that I had known him for two and a half weeks already and hadn't moved in with him or told her about him before now. I was counting on her excitement to drown out her disappointment in me.
I drove through pack lands until I reached her house, which was on the edge of the property. Mom had chosen to move us to the Delta pack when I was a teenager because they had a daycare position available for her and because I dreamed of living in a pack like this one, where I would be encouraged to nurture my brains over my brawn. Even then, I had loved numbers and had known I would go into some STEM-related field.
Mom missed our old pack, though she rarely admitted it. She didn't like how built up things were here, how close together the houses were. That's why I had to drive out to see her, because her house was on the edge of pack lands, tucked away from everyone else.
I knew Mom had a late start on Wednesdays, not going into work until eleven. I also knew that she would be awake now. She claimed she was easing into the retirement lifestyle, slowly cutting her hours back as years passed. I didn't think she would ever quit entirely. She loved working at the pack's daycare too much.
I pulled my car behind hers and got out, completely unsurprised to see my mother standing in the open doorway of her home with a fuzzy pink robe on and a steaming mug in her hands, waiting for me.
I made my way up the driveway, unable to fight back the smile I'd been wearing since my conversation with Felix. She would know something was up, but I couldn't help it.
"Everett," Mom said, looking surprised. "You know I'm happy you're here, but what's the occasion?"
"Jeez, Mom, aren't you going to invite me in before interrogating me?" I teased.
Mom pulled a folded-up newspaper from her robe pocket – one that was sure to have a completed crossword in it – and swiped lightly at my nose like I was a misbehaving child. "I never raised you to be so insolent," she said, laughing. Mom stepped back so I could follow her into the house and poured another mug of coffee for me.
We sat at her kitchen table, where I fidgeted nervously, feeling oddly shy. Mom just watched me patiently, her lips twitching in amusement every now and then. She always had been good at waiting me out.
Finally, I broke. The persistent smile on my face widened and I said, "Mom, I found my mate."
She set her mug down so hard its contents splashed on the table and rushed out of her seat to launch herself at me in a tight hug. "Oh, Everett!"
I patted her back and tried not to laugh too hard. I'd always badly wanted to find my mate, and part of what I had dreamed of was telling my mother. It felt good to see her so happy. I had never understood why she wore a haunted expression so often while I was growing up, not until I learned about mates and what it really meant for her to have lost my father. Once I understood, I lived to make her smile.
Now that I had Felix, even after knowing him for such a short time, I couldn't imagine the pain my mother lived with every day.
I pulled myself back to reality, where my mother was gushing. "Tell me all about her! What pack is she in? How many kids does she want? When can I meet her?"
"Slow down, Mom," I said, laughing at her assumption. And why shouldn't she assume my mate would be a woman? After all, that had been my assumption, too.
"What's her name?" she continued.
I wondered how long my mother could go on asking questions before giving me a chance to answer any of them and decided to cut in. "First off, you should know that my mate is a man." The words were easier to get out than I ever could have imagined. In fact, I kind of enjoyed saying it because the look of surprise on my mother's face was so comical.

YOU ARE READING
Shifting Boundaries
WerewolfEverett knows who and where his mate is. What he doesn't know is whether he can handle all of the changes accepting his mate would bring to his life. For one, his mate is a man - a warrior, no less. Everett's pack has been at peace for decades...