Watching my mother guide my Mate from the room I wish I had Jing’s ability to hide his emotions and maintain a neutral facial expression.

“You really did it this time big brother.” Barnaby says smirking at me, “It’s not every day Ma changes the family dinner just to guilt trip one of us.”

“She told EVERYONE how her precious Mags was hiding his new Mate from the family. She was quite upset.” Brutus chimes in. “Imagine her precious Fluff butt keeping secrets.”

These assholes, I swear.

“And now, we find out not only did you not tell her about a Mate, but you were hiding a KID as well?”

My annoying younger siblings dissolve into hysterical laughter at the situation causing a growl to rumble from my chest.

“Don’t push your luck boys.” My voice is pitched low with irritation, “I can still kick both your asses, at the same time.”

“Is that a challenge OLD MAN?”

They both stand a little taller, puffing their chests out in testosterone fueled bravado.

Morgana rolls her eyes.

“Boys, you’re all pretty. Can’t we make it five minutes with out a pissing contest. BB, you two are 20 years old, grow the fuck up for a second, and Mags you know better than to take anything these two assholes say seriously. For fucks sake, you’re worse than toddlers.”

Mercutio smirks, leaning back against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest.

This whole day is turning out far worse than I expected.

Maybe it’s not too late to run away.

To another country.

Mercutio locks eyes with me and gestures with his head toward the door. When I glace at Morgana, she nods, her eyes soft and understanding, before turning back to the twins, distracting them.

Mercutio and I slip quietly out the door. My eyes instantly find my Mate, just as Ma pulls him into a tight hug and he rests his head on top of hers.

“Looks like he’s in good hands.” Mercutio whispers in my ear. “Let’s go before anyone spots us.

I start to follow him but not before I spot Iago looking up from his book, right at us. He gives me a small, barely there smile and a nod and I know he won’t tell anyone he saw us sneaking off. I’m much closer to Iago and Indy than Barnaby and Brutus, they are gentle souls.

Mercutio and I don’t talk but then again, we don’t really need to. It doesn’t take long to get to our old spot, where we used to come when needed a break from the insanity of such a loud, crazy family.

A ledge halfway up the mountain, overlooking the town with a clear view of our house.

We both sit on the ledge, legs dangling. Resting my elbows on my knees, I bury my head in my hands.

“What’s wrong old man? You’re not usually so easily riled up by the family. Especially Thing 1 and 2 down there.”

I snort, this family, I swear.

“First of all, Merc, I’m only older than you by two minutes, Morgana by 10.”

“A fact I will use against you till we die. Being the oldest is your cross to bear as well you know. If you could use it against us to get your way when we were kids, we get to use it against you now.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes, I know he is letting me gather my thoughts.

“When you and Hannah realized you were Mates, was it easy?”

“You know it was, but our situation was hugely different. We were eighteen and had know each other since we were cubs. We had grown up together, our culture was the same and there were no pasts to discuss.”

“This is all so overwhelming Merc. A week ago, I was alone and now….”

“Now you are trying to make sense of an unfinished bond, a Mate who was raised in a different culture than ours and a new cub as well. You have had extraordinarily little time to adjust. I’m sure you have spent all your time worrying about Zhen and not each other, and from the little I know of your Mate, he is not an easy man to read so you’re unsure about where you stand in all this. Not to mention the crazy in-law factor Ma decided to throw in before you officially Mated.”

Sometimes I forget how wise this fucker is.

“He’s just figuring out how to be a parent. I know we aren’t the priority and with my history, I don’t want to push the physical…”

“No matter how much you want to.” Mercutio nudges me with his elbow, a sly grin on his face.”

“UGH.” I groan, flopping onto my back, my hands still covering my face.

A bit melodramatic but I feel I’m allowed right now.

“He’s too fucking gorgeous Merc. I didn’t know I had this much self-control.”

“You did get rather lucky Mags. He’s smart, successful, independent, handsome,” Mercutio sighs deeply. “It’s a relief honestly, Morgana and I were a little worried.”

“Worried?” I lift my hands off my face and look at him.

“Let’s be honest here, you didn’t always have the best taste in me. The few I have met have been dumb, clingy and just annoying but Jing… He barely spoke and I already like him.”

A chuckle escapes me.

“I may not know him yet Mags but if he hasn’t run yet, he’s not going to. As for everything else, it’ll work out, it always does. As overwhelming as it may seem it boils down to one thing, are you happy? Underneath all the other shit, do those two pandas make you happy?”

I sit up and look down at my parents’ backyard. We’re two far away to see details but I easily spot Zhen’s black and white fur and Jing’s lighter brown hair.

My heart speeds up.

I feel content, settled….

Happy.

“More than anything Merc, more than anything.”